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Thunderwolves send 10 to nationals, win Northeast District title Saturday; Poe records 50th career win
Posted: Feb 22, 2026

Thunderwolves send 10 to nationals, win Northeast District title Saturday; Poe records 50th career win

For only the third time in program history, SUNY Niagara is sending a whole bus-load of grapplers to Iowa.

With an overall team score of 119 points, the Thunderwolves won their 28th NJCAA Region III and 25th Northeast District championships in program history Saturday at Jamestown CC. The blue-and-gold finished 28.5 points ahead of the runners-up, Nassau CC, and had all 10 of its wrestlers advance to the NJCAA national championships March 6-7 in Iowa.

Trevor Copes (141), Aidan Gillings (149), Matt Leehan (157), Joseph Cicco (165), Bobby Ranger (184) and Jacob Stephenson (197) all won first-place in their weight divisions. Jaron Barrientos (125), Vinny Falsetti (133) and Aiden Poe (174) placed second and Hamza Merrick (285) placed third at 285 and punched his ticket to nationals as a wildcard.

SUNY Niagara head coach Keith Maute received Northeast District I Coach of the Year honors. Falsetti, Cicco, Poe and Ranger all advanced to nationals for the second time in their careers.

Gillings, Leehan, Cicco, Ranger and Stephenson all won first place and recorded two wins each in their divisions. Copes, Barrientos, Falsetti, Poe and Merrick all earned one win apiece.

At 149, Gillings pinned Jamestown CC's Wyatt Bryman in the opening round in 2 minutes, 27 seconds. The Newfane resident later pinned Onondaga CC's Darik Soucia in 4:26. 

At 157, Leehan began his outing with a pin against Onondaga CC's Charles Caputo. He then won the division after Nassau CC's John De La Rosa forfeited and received co-Most Outstanding Wrestler honors.

At 165, Cicco recorded back-to-back pins. He did so against Jamestown CC's Shayne Irvin in the first round and then Nassau's Kenaje Demosthene for the title.

After a runner-up finish at 197 last year, Ranger returned as the No. 3 seed at 184 and defeated both top two seeds for the regional crown. Ranger won in a 5-1 decision against Jamestown's Brad Smith and then defeated Nassau's Noah Foster in an 8-7 decision in the finals. 

At 197, Stephenson recorded two pins. The freshman and Wilson resident pinned Nassau's Ibrahim Khalil in the opening round and only 65 seconds to take down Onondaga's Enver Bulatov for the regional title.  

At 141 pounds, Copes received a bye in the opening round and defeated Nassau's Jonathan Fox in a 16-1 technical fall for the title. This was Copes' first appearance since the NJCAA Division III National Duals on Jan. 10 in Sanborn.

At 125, Barrientos defeated Onondaga's Matt Dougherty in a 17-1 technical fall but then lost in the championship to Nassau's Shane Dobbins in a 4-1 decision. Barrientos then earned second place after a no-contest was declared.

After winning at 141 last year, Falsetti returned and placed second at 133. Falsetti began his day with a pin against Onondaga's Marek Sokolowski but lost to Nassau's Joseph Ramirez in a 19-4 technical fall. 

Aiden Poe had a 1-1 day at 174 and recorded his 50th career win with an opening-round pin against Nassau's Anthony Valasquez. Poe later lost in a 19-4 technical fall to Onondaga's Charlie Foster. 

At 285, Merrick lost and was pinned by Onondaga's Mykola Fabian in the open round. Merrick, however, won third and earned a wildcard spot for nationals as he pinned Jamestown CC's Jamison Caldwell.

 

Team scores: 1. SUNY Niagara 119.0; 2. Nassau 90.5; 3. Onondaga 63.5; 4. Jamestown CC 18.0

 

NOTES:

 

  • With his opening-round pin against Nassau's Anthon Valasquez, Poe became the 33rd member of SUNY Niagara's 50-win club and the second this season alone (Joe Cicco at Whizzer Open on Feb. 1). The sophomore from Philadelphia, NY has won 14 of his last 19 matches since his perfect 5-0 day at the NJCAA Division III National Duals on Jan. 10 in Sanborn. Poe is now 26-10 this season, 50-14 in his career and is tied with 1995 graduate Jon Hoover and 1989 graduate Joe Muscarella for 31st in career wins.  

 

  • The victory at 184 marked Ranger's first-ever first-place finish at an event in his SUNY Niagara career. Ranger previously played fourth at the Thunderwolves Open on Dec. 6 and had two second-place finishes, including at last year's regional finals. The sophomore from Hornell is now 9-14 this season and 16-28 all-time.

 

  • The first-place finish at 125 Saturday was Barrientos sixth top placement at an event this season. The other events this season are the Ben McMullen Open on Nov. 1, Defend the Lake Open on Nov. 8, the state collegiate championships on Nov. 22, the Jamestown CC Jayhawk Open on Jan.25 and the Whizzer Open on Feb. 1).  Heading into nationals, the former two-time state qualifier at Lewiston-Porter High School is second on the Thunderwolves in wins (29-7) and is third on the team in pins (10). 

 

  • At 2-0 at 149, Gillings went unbeaten at an event for the fourth time this season (Defend the Lake Open Nov. 8, NJCAA Div. III National Duals Jan. 10, Whizzer Open Feb. 1). Previously a five-time state qualifier at Newfane High School, Gillings is now 21-2 this season with the Thunderwolves and has a team-high 15 pins.

 

  • Following a loss in the consolation round of the state collegiate championships on Nov. 22, Copes has won each of his 16 matches at 141. Before Saturday, Copes' last appearance for the Thunderwolves was his 4-0 day at the NJCAA Divison III National Duals on Jan. 10. A two-time NJCAA Region III Athlete of the Week, Copes leads SUNY Niagara with a 27-2 record and is tied for fourth on the team in pins (10).

 

  • With the 2-0 day, Cicco leads the Thunderwolves with 30 wins (30-10) overall and is SUNY Niagara's first wrestler with at least 30 in a season since Mike Syposs (33) and Te'Shaun Mathews (32) last year. Cicco has won 15 of his last 19 matches, dating back to a victory against Garrett College at the Thunderwolves Open on Dec. 5. Named the NJCAA Region III Athlete of the Week in wrestling for Dec. 10, the Niagara Wheatfield graduate is also 54-23 in his SUNY Niagara career and is tied with 1999 graduate Brad Rowe and 1989 graduate Dan Bethke for 29th all-time in wins.

 

  • Fresh off winning at 157 during the John Carroll Open on Feb. 14, Leehan recorded two pins and is the fifth Thunderwolf to post 10 in that category this season. Leehan has now won each of his last eight matches, dating back to a pin against Gannon's James Rogler in the 157 consolation semifinal at the Jayhawk Open at Jamestown CC on Jan. 25. Leehan's longest win streak was 11 straight matches, a stretch which began with his 4-0 day at the Thunderwolves Open on Dec. 6 through his win against Gannon's Luke Ankney in the quarterfinal of the Jayhawk Open. Leehan is now 19-1 this season with 10 pins.

 

  • Stephenson recorded his second-ever championship (fourth placement overall) of his SUNY Niagara career at 197 and previously won at the Whizzer Open at Henry Ford College on Feb. 1. Previously a state runner-up in each of his last two seasons at 160 at Wilson High School, Stephenson is now 15-2 this season and is one of 11 SUNY Niagara wrestlers with at least 10 wins this season. His 12 pins are third on the Thunderwolves, trailing only Aidan Gillings (16) and Joe Cicco (13). 

 

  • This was Falsetti's first runner-up finish this season and the second of his career,  including his win at 141 at the NJCAA Region III championships last year. Falsetti won at the Defend the Lake Open at 133 on Nov. 8. The Niagara Falls High School alum is now 15-14 this season and 29-30 in his SUNY Niagara career.

 

  • Merrick's streak of at least two wins in an event did not extend to a fourth outing, but he has now won 12 of his last 17 matches. One of five different Thunderwolves with at least 10 pins this season, the former state champion at Wilson High School is now 17-17 at SUNY Niagara.

 

  • Saturday marked the 63rd edition of the Northeast District Championships. The district has produced 27 NJCAA national champions since 1963. SUNY Niagara is tied with Delhi College for the most all-time with six (Willie Moore 1977, Mark Jurek 1989, Dan Uhteg 1991, Rashad Evans 2000, Troy Keller 2018, Jordan Bushey 2020).

 

  • Including the six from Saturday, SUNY Niagara has produced 164 Northeast District champions. Bob Sanders became SUNY Niagara's (then Niagara CC) first district champion when he won the 150-pound division in the 1974-75 season, just the program's second year.