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On The Road to Nationals

James Bethel

By SUNY Oneonta

March 7^th, 2019

Meet James Bethel

James Bethel is one of the best wrestlers in SUNY Oneonta history. He goes into the 2019 NCAA Division III National Championships on March 8-10 as the top seed in the heavyweight class. His record for the 2018-19 season is 45-1, with 29 pins. He’s a 2018 NCAA National Finalist, three-time All-American and four-time regional champion.

Off the mat, James is an involved, successful student leader. A communication studies major, James is a dean’s list student, honor society vice president and two-time Scholar All-American. His research on the prevalence of motion sickness among student athletes was accepted for presentation at a national conference this May. On top of his athletic and academic commitments, James has performed more than 250 volunteer hours in service projects for the college and community.

12 Days To Go: NCAA Regional Championships

James is named the Mideast Regional Championship Outstanding Wrestler after winning his fourth regional heavyweight championship with an 8-2 decision over fifth-ranked Jake O'Brien of Ithaca College.

9 days to go: Training for the Top

With the regional competition behind him, James has two days off for recovery. Then, it's back to the mat and the gym for drilling, sparring and cross training. Even though it's the college's spring break, there's no break for James.

7 Days to Go: Giving Back to the Community

Earlier this week, Head Coach Duane Ritter got a call from the local Pee Wee wrestling club seeking volunteers to help with their tournament at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown. Ritter, Bethel and three other members of the wrestling team lead a workshop before the start of the tournament and then officiate the matches.

Mentoring the next generation of wrestlers

"It's an opportunity to give back to the sport they love, it's the building block of the future. Hopefully some of these kids will grow up and wrestle in college someday."

~Head Coach Duane Ritter

4 Days to go: bracket released

The NCAA releases the championship bracket and ranking for the heavyweight class. James Bethel is seeded No. 1 in the country. To clinch the championship, he must win four matches over the course of the tournament.

3 days to go: Final practice

“He’s a wrestler in a bracket, and that’s what it comes down to”

"He’s got to win every single match like everyone else does. Wrestling is great sport where anybody can beat anybody, so he’s got to go out there with the mindset that its 0-0 and win one match at a time and move forward. With that said, I’m proud of his accomplishment in gaining the number one seed in the tournament.”

~Rocco Caponi, Assistant Coach

2 days to go: Departing Oneonta

James cleans out his locker before he and Head Coach Duane Ritter leave Oneonta for Roanoke, VA. Win or lose, when James returns, he will have finished his collegiate wrestling career.

Last year, James finished second in the national championships. This is his last chance to win the title.

“As I come to the end of the long road that is the sport of wrestling, I know that when I look back I will never once feel regret. For in this sport I have learned to prepare for the worst, to overcome adversity, and to control the controllable. I am here to enforce my will on the world, and in doing so I will never settle. With that being said, it is time to win a national championship.”

~James Bethel

2019 NCAA DIII Championships

James Bethel closed out his collegiate wrestling career with a third place finish at the 2019 NCAA Division III championships, in addition to receiving the 2019 Most Dominant Wrestler Award in Division III . He leaves Oneonta as the all time leader in wins and pins, with a with an overall record of 167-16 with 91 pins and the only four-time All-American athlete in the program's 60-year history.

"It's been an amazing run. I am very proud of his perseverance with coming back and taking third. His presence both on and off the mat will be severely missed. He has forever changed the culture of our program with his leadership. He has been a voice for SUNY Oneonta Athletics that we will miss dearly, and we are extremely proud of all that he has accomplished."

~Duane Ritter, Head Coach

"I came out here looking to take it all. I hit a bump in that path and was forced to aim for the next best thing. Not many people can say that they ended their career on a win, so I will take pride in that, and be happy that I was able to achieve the status of a four time All-American. Gold is nice, but bronze shines just as well."