April 2, 2026

2026 SUNYAC Men's Wrestling Top Honors Announced

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The SUNYAC announces its 2026 Men's Wrestler of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Coaching Staff of the Year. These awards are nominated and voted on by the conference coaches.

Wrestler of the Year – Josh Harkless, Rochester Institute of Technology
Harkless is being honored with this award for the second year in a row. He is RIT's first national champion since 1999. This season he posted a 46-3 record which is second-most in a season in program history. His 32 pins in 2025-26 were a program record for pins in a season. Harkless is a three-time All-American, and he finishes his career third in program history with a 141-23 record. Harkless is third in program history with 141 career wins and second in program history with 83 career pins.

Wrestling Rookie of the Year - Trevor Middendorf, SUNY Brockport
Middendorf qualified for the national championship after a second-place finish at the NCAA Regionals in the 125lb division. He was the SUNYAC champion with three consecutive technical falls before pinning Cortland's Christian Lievano at the 4:10 mark in the final. At the New York State Championships, Middendorf put up 19 team points, including a pin in just 2:12 and a gritty 13-12 decision in the semifinals. Middendorf also finished third at the Wilkes Invitational and fourth at the Messiah Invite in his first season competing for the Golden Eagles.

Coaching Staff of the Year – Ithaca

Marty Nichols is the head coach of the Ithaca's men's wrestling team. He is assisted by Eze Chukwuezi, Ricardo Gomez, Marc Israel and Travis Jones. The staff led their squad to a third-place finish at the SUNYAC wrestling championships this year with 149 points. Seven athletes finished in the top three of their weight class while four were named to the All-SUNYAC team. The team went on to win the New York State Collegiate championship title and finished 32nd at the NCAA Division III championship. The coaching staff surpassed double-digit wins in duals finishing with 16 victories and was ranked 19th in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Top-25 Dual Team Poll. This season, Nichols, Chukwuezi, Gomez, Israel and Jones coached an All-American, five NCAA region qualifiers and 10 wrestlers that finished the regular season ranked regionally in their respective weight class.