SUNY Buffalo State Announces New Women's Team, Head Coach

The State University of New York at Buffalo State has announced that it will begin a new women’s wrestling program with its inaugural season coming in 2024-2025.

Buffalo State Athletic Director Renee Carlineo announced that Steve Hart will be the head coach of the program. Carlineo stated the following about Steve: "Stephen is an extremely respected and successful coach in the wrestling community, and we're excited to bring in a coach of Stephen's caliber to build and lead this program."

Coach Hart is no stranger to wrestling in the Section VI area. Last year, Hart’s team won the NYSPHSAA Dual Meet Championships Division I title in Syracuse and Hart was selected as the Section VI Coach of the Year.

Hart had this to say about his appointment as the coach of the Bengal’s program. "I am thankful to Mrs. Renee Carlineo and the Buffalo State Athletics Department for this tremendous opportunity. Women's wrestling is an ever-growing sport with the potential to move the entire sport of wrestling to the next level here in Western New York."

Buffalo will join five other colleges in the Empire State to have a program. The Chapter wishes all the best to Coach Hart and the Buffalo State Bengals women's wrestling team!

Please read the official announcement from Buffalo State University:

https://buffalostateathletics.com/news/2023/9/29/stephen-hart-selected-to-lead-womens-wrestling-team.aspx

Cornell Moves Out of EIWA in 2025

Cornell University wrestling will be moving from the EIWA to a new qualifying tournament with the announcement of the formation of the formation of the Ivy League Tournaments which will start in 2025 at Princeton. The news release can be found below pertaining to the development via IvyLeague.com:

PRINCETON, N.J. — The Ivy League has announced the addition of a postseason wrestling tournament, set to begin in the 2024-25 academic year.
 
"This is an exciting day for the Ivy League and, most importantly, for our league’s wrestling student-athletes and coaches," said Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris. "This new postseason event will provide an unforgettable experience for our student-athletes and is a terrific way to further showcase the sustained national strength of Ivy League athletics.”
 
Last year, three Ivies (Cornell’s Vito Arujau and Yianni Diakomihalis and Princeton’s Patrick Glory) were crowned NCAA national champions, and five Ivies made it to the semifinal round. In the last 10 years, Ivies have been crowned wrestling national champions 10 times and have earned 50 wrestling All-American honors.
 
The six Ivy League schools that sponsor wrestling currently compete in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA). Beginning in 2024-2025, the Ivy League institutions will compete in the Ivy League Wrestling Tournament to determine automatic berths to the NCAA Tournament.
 
“We want to acknowledge the EIWA membership and the long history of success that our programs have benefited from over the many decades of their affiliation,” said Harris.
 
The first tournament is scheduled for March of 2025 in Jadwin Gymnasium on the campus of Princeton. The tournament will be the 19th overall Ivy League postseason event. The site and rotation of the Ivy League wrestling tournament for 2026 and beyond will be determined in the coming months.

Hogan and Smith Match – 50th NCAA Wrestling Tournament at Oregon State

While at the September’s Upstate New York Chapter’s Induction ceremony, Mike Hogan, Upstate Board of Directors member, and Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, were reacquainted. It seems that Hogan while wrestling for Hofstra University had the pleasure of wrestling Lee Roy at the 1980 NCAA wrestling tournament in Oregon. According to both gentlemen the two met early in the tournament; however, there was a lapse of memory on Hogan’s behalf about what the final score was.

Upon some investigation it appears that Lee Roy, the first seed, wrestled Hogan in the very first round and was a winner by decision, 10-2. Lee Roy went on to win the tournament defeating Andre Metzger in the finals, 10-7. The Oklahoma State team finished second that year to the Iowa Hawkeyes and both teams crowned two national champions.

It should be noted that two other Upstate New York wrestlers did very well in Oregon. Tom Pickard, Baldwinsville High School standout, placed 4th for Iowa State and Port Jervis’s Ed Banach captured a national championship for the Hawkeyes. Baldwinsville and Port Jervis were coached by two other Upstate Hall of Famers, Leo Johnson and Mark Faller. The Outstanding Wrestler in the tournament was Oregon State Howard Harris who also was the Gorriaran Award winner, too. Small World!!!