James Bethel honored by SUNY Oneonta Athletics Department

2018 May 2

The SUNY Oneonta athletics department held its 29th annual awards ceremony on Tuesday, May 1 and honored 16 student athletes as major award recipients.

James Bethel of Saugerties, NY was one of the major award winners for the 2017-18 year.

Bethel is receiving his second consecutive Athlete of the Year award. This past winter, he continued to dominate within the region while moving closer to the top of the heavyweight division nationally. Bethel became the first Oneonta wrestler to reach the national championship match where he finished as runner-up to earn his third All-American honor. He became the first Oneonta wrestler to become a three-time All-American and will go for a fourth next year with one more season of eligibility remaining. Bethel completed a 34-4 record with 18 pins while winning the NCAA Mideast Region and ECWC title in his weight class.

The Athlete of the Year Award goes to the male and female who have exemplified athletic excellence in their sport during the current athletic year inclusive of the previous spring.

A liberal arts institution with a strong focus on undergraduate research and service learning, SUNY Oneonta consistently gains recognition for delivering excellence and value. The college has been named to Kiplinger's list of "100 Best Values in Public Colleges" for 10 years running and sits at No. 9 on the 2016 U.S. News and World Report list of the best public institutions in the region. SUNY Oneonta enrolls 6,000 students in its 70 undergraduate majors and 14 graduate programs.

The College boasts 21 NCAA Division III varsity sports and competes in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) and the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference (ECWC).