Cooper Pontelandolfo, Jason Geyer and Trent Furman of New York University's wrestling team competed at day one of the 2024 NCAA Division III Championships on Friday, March 15, at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, WI.

The La Crosse Center is a special place for the program, as Assistant Coach Nathan Pike '17 won NYU's lone National Championship here seven years ago. After day one the chance for another NYU national title in La Crosse is still alive as Pontelandolfo (157) and Geyer (174) progressed to the semifinals of their weight classes and clinched All-America honors.

Pontelandolfo is now a three-time All-American, achieving the accolade in each of his first three collegiate seasons. Geyer, a graduate student, is a two-time National Qualifier and earned his first All-America honor this evening. 

"I think our two semifinalists wrestled great and it's exciting to get them there," said Head Coach Bruce Haberli. "They're excited, more is ahead of them and they feel capable that they can have some success tomorrow."

Pontelandolfo, the #2 seed at 157 pounds, opened the tournament with a 15-4 major decision over Baldwin Wallace's Thomas West. Pontelandolfo notched a takedown 25 seconds in to open the scoring, before a pair of nearfalls in a 45-second span gave him a 10-1 lead after the first period. His takedown with seven seconds left in the second all but put the bout away as he led 15-2 entering the final period.

The junior followed by winning via 6-0 decision against #7 seed Clayton McDonough of Luther, putting the first points on the board with a takedown at 0:26 in the first. Pontelandolfo's reversal with 1:22 left in the second made it 5-0 as he picked up his final point from riding time and punched his ticket to the semis. He placed sixth at the last two Championships, already guaranteeing a career-best finish this year.

Geyer, who is seeded #5 at 174, battled to a 10-8 decision over Adrian's Blake Williams in his first bout. His takedown with 1:05 left in the first were the only points across the opening two periods. Most of the scoring came in the third, as Geyer produced four escapes and a takedown which were enough to hold off a pair of takedowns from Williams in the final 50 seconds.

Then, in the quarters, Geyer upset #4 seed Stefan Major of Stevens to avenge multiple previous defeats against the local rival. The first period was scoreless before Major took a 1-0 advantage into the final frame after an early escape in the second. But, Geyer notched an escape with 1:20 left and delivered a takedown with 33 seconds on the clock to complete the comeback and claim his place in the semis.

Furman fell 8-4 to Niall Schoenfelder of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in his first-round bout, but posted a gritty, 1-0 victory in his first consolation match against Averett's George Moseley as Furman's second-period escape proved to be the difference. However, Sean Malenfant of Alfred State pinned Furman in 6:15 in the next bout despite NYU's 184-pounder leading 4-2 after two periods.

"Trent wanted it, but unfortunately just fell a little bit short," Haberli said. "But, he's proved to be a two-time NCAA Qualifier, a force to be reckoned with and a quality wrestler."

In tomorrow morning's semifinals, Pontelandolfo will face off against #3 seed Peter Kane of Williams College while Geyer takes on top-seeded Jared Stricker of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

"These guys will now go get a good night's rest, regroup, get ready for tomorrow and let it fly," Haberli added. "Whatever happens, happens. You can't predict these things. I know they're ready physically, I know they're ready mentally and that's the best we can do at this point."

Day two from the La Crosse Center begins at 11:00am (Eastern) tomorrow, Saturday, March 16. Follow the action live on TrackWrestling and tune into the livestream on NCAA.com.