Wrestling 2024 Postseason

EIWA tournament started today. Great morning session.

125: Brett Ungar WTF Eric Howe (Franklin & Marshall), 17-1 3:23. Easy peasy.

133: Vito Arujau W Hunter Adrian (Brown), 8-2. Either he took it slow or he's still not 100%. An opponent he has dominated in the past and this was never in doubt but still much closer than expected. Not going to cut it against Crookham if he wants to avenge his only loss.

141: Vince Cornella W Raymond Lopez (American), 9-2. Clearly not taking chances with his knee. Again, not in doubt but he'd have run away with this pre-injury.

149: Ethan Fernandez W Braden Bower (Bucknell), 4-1. Slow start for a guy in the 1 seed.

157: Meyer Shapiro WBF Andy Garr (Columbia), 0:58. This was almost cruel.

165: Julian Ramirez WBF Breon Phifer (American), 1:01. This was almost cruel as well.

174: Benny Baker WMD Jack Janda (Drexel), 15-7. Great start for Baker. He faces the 1 seed next, which isn't likely to go well for him, but he's in a position where he's got a very winnable match if he loses for a trip to NCAAs. A takedown at the buzzer turned this into a major decision win. Very nice.

184: Chris Foca WTF Dalton Harkins (Army West Point), 15-0 5:05. Straight up blowout.

197: Jacob Cardenas WTF Alex Whitworth (Harvard), 15-0 3:32. Another straight up blowout.

285: Lewis Fernandes WBF Alex Semenenko (Brown), 3:53. And we close with a straight up blowout. Before converting the pin, Fernandes was well on the way to another scoreless tech.

Cornell went 10-0 in the morning session and sits in first place, just a notch ahead of Lehigh.

Next round kicks off at 4:30.

We were the only team to go 10-0, which was nice. Fewer bonus points than I would have liked but maybe some guys are saving their energy for when it matters.

One of the nice things about going 10-0 is that we can use the break to watch women's hockey.

ugarte
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🚨 UPSET!!

No. 8 Benny Baker takes down No. 1 and Ivy Wrestler of the Year Phil Conigliaro (Harvard) ❗️ @BigRedWrestling pic.twitter.com/kyLozc4W9u

— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) March 8, 2024

?cxt=HBwWiMC62YKB-YIxAAAA&cn=ZmxleGlibGVfcmVjcw%3D%3D&refsrc=email]UPSET!![/url]
EIWA tournament started today. Great morning session.


174: [b]Benny Baker WMD[/b] Jack Janda (Drexel), 15-7. Great start for Baker. He faces the 1 seed next, which isn't likely to go well for him, but he's in a position where he's got a very winnable match if he loses for a trip to NCAAs. A takedown at the buzzer turned this into a major decision win. Very nice.

How bad did Cornella get hurt?

George64

ugarte
EIWA tournament started today. Great morning session.


174: Benny Baker WMD Jack Janda (Drexel), 15-7. Great start for Baker. He faces the 1 seed next, which isn't likely to go well for him, but he's in a position where he's got a very winnable match if he loses for a trip to NCAAs. A takedown at the buzzer turned this into a major decision win. Very nice.

🚨 UPSET!!

No. 8 Benny Baker takes down No. 1 and Ivy Wrestler of the Year Phil Conigliaro (Harvard) ❗️ @BigRedWrestling pic.twitter.com/kyLozc4W9u

— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) March 8, 2024

UPSET!!!

Nobody was happier to be wrong!

It was a strange second round. The good news is that we went 9-1. The bad news is that a lot of our guys are kind of underwhelming so far, even in victory.

125: Ungar W Max Gallagher (Penn) 4-3. He won, which is good, but he may have injured his right pectoral, which is not. He was able to finish the match - and even showed some strength - but he still appeared to be in pain after the match. He probably doesn't need to wrestle any more to qualify for NCAAs, but if he doesn't continue it would be very bad for the team race.

Up next, Drew Sotelo (Harvard), who beat Ungar in the dual last year but Ungar has beaten him three straight since.

133: Arujau W Max Leete (American), 4-2. Again, another victory but again a lackluster performance. It was a strange match; apparenlty Leete is vision-impaired, so the wrestlers have to stay in contact with each other, which isn't really Vito's style. In addition, Leete was pretty aggressive with the clubs and charging forward and Vito was getting kind of pissed. No harm no foul, and Crookham had a pretty bad second round as well, so onward and forward.

Up next, Braden Basile (Army), who stunned Penn's Colaiocco to advance.

141: Cornella L Dylan Chappell (Bucknell), 4-1 SV. This was not great. Cornella was injured a month ago and had only one match before the tournament. Against Chappell, he was able to almost score, but Chappell was able to repeatedly stalemate his attacks. In Sudden Victory, Chappell got in deep on Cornella's injured leg and finished the takedown quickly.

upprdeck
How bad did Cornella get hurt?

Unclear. Cornella took a medical forfeit in his consolation match and is finished. He did not advance far enough for an automatic bid, though his resume virtually guarantees him an at-large bid if he is healthy enough in two weeks to compete.

149: Fernandez WTF 6:53 Dominic Findora (Drexel), 17-2. Dominant performance. Really refreshing after an uninspiring opening round.

Up next, Jude Swisher (Penn), who he barely defeated at the dual meet.

157: Shapiro WTF 5:14 Jonathan Ley (Navy), 18-2. No contest. Back to back blowouts for Shapiro.

Up next, Nathan Lukez (Navy).

165: Ramirez WBF 2:10 Cael Berg. Second straight pin for Ramirez.

Up next, Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell).

174: Baker W Phillip Conigliaro (Harvard), 9-4. Incredible. Conigliaro is a 3x NCAA qualifier and near-AA who was the #1 seed at what was supposed to be our weakest weight. Trailing 4-2 late in the third, Baker countered a Conigliaro shot and finished the takedown to go up 5-4. If Conigliaro could escape in the final 20 seconds, this match would have gone to SV. In Conigliaro's scramble to escape, Baker trapped him on his back for an additional 4NF. I cheered at my desk. This victory punched Baker's ticket to NCAAs. If Cornella is OK, we're almost certainly sending the whole team.

Up next, 3x national qualifier Ben Pasiuk (Army). Tough battle, but Baker's on a roll.

184: Foca W David Key (Navy), 10-6. Another distressingly close match. Foca got the first two TDs, and led 6-2 when Key dragged Foca into a takedown and nearly flipped him to his back. Foca held off the turn but either the drag or resisting the back points appeared to put a strain on his shoulder. He held Key off, and scored the final takedown when Key was in desperation offense, but he shouldn't be in close matches. That said, this win qualified him for NCAAs.

Up next, Aaron Ayzerov, who has beaten him twice this season. Need the revenge W.

197: Cardenas WMD Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia), 11-3. Cardenas pushed for bonus points late and got it. Qualified for NCAAs.

Up next, Lou DePrez, who beat him just a couple of weeks ago at the Binghamton dual. Tough match.

285: Fernandes WMD Keaton Kluever (Hofstra) 13-0. Early in the season, Kluever outmuscled Fernandes and pinned him. This time, after a struggle to get the first take down, it was smooth sailing for Fernandes. Qualified for NCAAs.

Up next, Nathan Taylor (Lehigh). Taylor won their first matchup 6-2. The other half of the bracket is BUSTED, with the 2 and 3 seeds both losing. If Fernandes gets by Taylor he's got a great shot at his first EIWA title.

After Day 1, Cornell is in first place, 11 points ahead of Lehigh, with 9 wrestlers in the semis.

125: #15 Ungar v #23 Sotelo:

1: Sotelo had the better position for most of the period but couldn't break through Ungar's defense. Right before the whistle, Ungar got an ankle and converted right before the whistle. 3-0

2: Sotelo starts on bottom, escapes quickly. Ungar gets a single leg and converts. Strong ride, finishes out the period. 6-1. 1:03 RT.

3: Ungar starts on bottom. Sotelo gets RT under a minute. Ungar stall warning for not trying to get up. Second stall call. Third stall call. Final score 6-3. Ungar on to the finals for a rematch with Luke Stanich and qualifies for NCAAs.

133: #2 Arujau v #32 Basile

1: Arujau with an early takedown. Basile stands up, Arjuau takes too long to return him to the mat and gets a stall warning. RT at 1:04 and Basile escapes. 3-1

2: Arujau starts on bottom. RT under a minute. Arujau rolls... to a reversal. Basile escape. Basile shoots but Arujau counters and finishes the TD as his headgear comes off (it's been giving him trouble all weekend). Basile escapes. RT at 1:02. 8-3

3: Basile on bottom, escapes quickly. Arujau backing up gets hit for stalling again. As the point is awarded he fires off a shot and converts. Basile escapes. Final score 12-5. Arujau is on to the finals for a rematch with Ryan Crookham and earns an automatic bid to NCAAs.

Update on Cornella is unofficial but he really did look like he was in serious pain at the end of yesterday's QF. He is probably done for the year.

149: #21 Fernandez v #23 Swisher (Penn)

1: Swisher gets the first TD. Fernandez out quickly. Fernandez with a huge takedown at the whistle. 4-3

2: Fernandez chooses down. Escape. Scramble at the end but no points. 5-3

3: Swisher chooses down. Swisher out fast. Swisher single leg... But Fernandez grabs an ankle... and a takedown! and a reversal by Swisher. official's review... If the call is reversed, I think the score would revert to 5-4. If not, it's 8-6 Fernandez with Swisher on top and 25 seconds left. Call stands. Penn challenges for independent review. Call stands. Swisher starts at neutral, so Escape for Fernandez. Stall warning on Fernandez... time runs out. Fernandez wins 9-6, on to the finals and he earns an automatic bid to NCAAs.

Challenge took so long that 165 starts before 157.

#3 Ramirez v #21 Mulvaney (Bucknell)

1: Ramirez off the whistle TD. Mulvaney escapes quickly. Ramirez heel pick to a double, Mulvaney trying to stalemate but the TD is awarded. Bucknell challenge that Mulvaney was still in stalemate position. No change. Escape. 6-2

2: Ramirez bottom. Escape. Ramirez ankle pick but can't convert. 7-2

3: Mulvaney bottom. Escape. Mulvaney gets to an ankle but Ramirez steps out and gets behind for TD. Escape. 10-3 final. Ramirez on to the final an earns an automatic bid to NCAAs.


157 starts while 165 is ongoing.

#6 Shapiro v Lukez (Army)

1. Shapiro TD off the whistle. Escape. Lukez stall warning. Lukez shot... stalemate. Shapiro single leg... stalemate. 3-1

2: Shapiro down. Immediate escape. Gets a leg... OOB. Lukez shoots, Shapiro sprawls and gets behind for the TD. RT at 1:39. 7-1

3: Lukez neutral. Lukez shoots, Shapiro drapes over him... stalemate. Lukez tries to go for a blast double, Shapiro crunches him down for another TD... short time... major decision for Shapiro. Wins 11-1, on to the final against Brignola (Lehigh), and earns an automatic bid to NCAAs.

Meanwhile Baker's 174 final started but I paused it.

174: Baker v #14 Pasiuk (Army)

1: Pasiuk shot... great defense from Baker to stalemate. Double stall call for just standing around... no score.

2: Baker down... Escapes in 18 seconds. Pasiuk with a body lock... OOB. No more scoring. 1-0

3: Pasiuk down... Escape. Quick stall call on Baker ... Pasiuk upper body throws Baker to his back and sticks him.


184 of course starts while I'm watching 174. Paused.

Baker pinned by Army. Foca trailing Ayzerov late 2nd. 9-6 Ayzerov final.

184: #7 Foca v #26 Ayzerov (Columbia)

1: Foca blast double for the first TD. Off a restart, Ayzerov traps an arm and gets a Reversal. Escape. Foca single leg but Ayzerov gets a headlock... they go to the mat... Ayzerov gets behind for TD. No escape. 44 seconds of RT. 5-4 Ayzerov.

2: Foca on bottom. Stall warning on Ayzerov... RT over a minute... with short time, Escape. 5-5 but 2:30 RT for Ayzerov.

3: Ayzerov neutral. Ayzerov shot... neutral danger TD called for Ayzerov. Cornell challenge. Challenge lost. Escape. Foca needs to score... nope. Ayzerov wins 9-6. Beats Foca for the third time.

I've got to keep pausing, so now skip to Heavyweight.

285: #16 Fernandes v #8 Taylor (Lehigh)

1: Taylor with a double... scramble... finishes. Fernandes Escape. Fernandes shoots, Taylor counter for TD... turns Fernandes over and gets the Fall.

197: #8 Cardenas v #7 DePrez

1: No score.

2: DePrez chooses down. Escape. 0-1

3: Cardenas down. Escape immediately. Stall warning on Cardenas for backing up... Cardenas shoots gets a leg, back trip to TD! 4-1 win! Cardenas moves on to the final for a rematch against Michael Beard (Lehigh).

PSU has 8 goals and has made 6 saves. Cornell has 1 goal and 1 save.

Al DeFlorio
PSU has 8 goals and has made 6 saves. Cornell has 1 goal and 1 save.

Appreciate the note but wrong thread!

125: #15 Ungar v #3 Stanich (Lehigh) in the finals. Stanich won the first matchup.
133: #2 Arujau v #1 Crookham (Lehigh) in the finals. Crookham won the first matchup.
141: Nobody left for Cornell. Lehigh has #17 Hines going for third.
149: #21 Fernandez v Crook (Harvard) in the finals. Fernandez won the first matchup. Lehigh's Griffin WBF in the consi semi; wrestling for third.
157: #6 Shapiro v #24 Brignola (Lehigh) in the finals. Shapiro won the first matchup.
165: #3 Ramirez v #16 Cerniglia (Navy) in the finals. Lehigh has Logan, an underdog, in the consi semi.
174: Baker v Takats (Bucknell) in the consi semi. Lehigh does not have a wrestler left.
184: #7 Foca v #12 Nolan (Binghamton) in the consi semi. Foca won the first matchup. Lehigh does not have a wrestler left.
197: #8 Cardenas v #3 Beard (Lehigh) in the final. Beard won this year's matchup and they split last year.
285: #16 Fernandes v #17 Day (Binghamton) in the consi semi. Lehigh's #8 Taylor is heavily favored to win the final.

With the middle weights going in the consi semi now, the wins by Hines and Griffin have pulled Lehigh sightly ahead of Cornell. We have Baker, Foca and Fernandes to come and they have Logan (165). We have 6 finalists, Lehigh has 5. 4 are head to head. Cornella's injury and Foca's trouble with Ayzerov have turned this into a tight race. I really want to win the final EIWA tournament that we wrestle in.

165: Lehigh loses in the consi semi and will wrestle for 5th.

184: Baker v Takats

1: In fast, Baker gets the TD. Takats out. Baker in again, converts again. Takats out. RT just over a minute. 6-2
2: Baker down. Escape, RT down to :32. Baker has a single leg... OOB. Baker gets the leg again, trip to a TD. 10-3
3: Takats down. Escape but RT back over a minute. Baker trying for the major... has a leg... OOB. Gets a single leg again... front trip to a TD. Baker wins 14-4 and will wrestle for third against Conigliaro (Harvard), who he stunned in the QF.

174: Foca v Nolan

1: Nolan shoots, Foca chin-whips him straight to his back, TD... NF4... PIN. Nice. Foca will wrestle for third against Key (Navy) who he beat in the QF.

Cornell is back in front of Lehigh, 144.5-138.5, pending Fernandes' bout and the medal rounds, which start at 4:45.

285: Fernandes v Day

1: Fernandes in on a high-crotch single and converts... Day tries to reverse... Fernandes hands on. 3-0, 1:04 RT

2: Day chooses down. Day almost reverses... but a scramble and Fernandes catches him on his back... PIN. On to third place against Cover (Princeton), who he beat 8-0 at the dual.

The win stretches Cornell's lead to 150-138.5. See you at 4:45.

Definitely not turning on the lacrosse game.

Ungar goes down 6-0 to Stanich.
Arujau gives up a late takedown to lose 9-6 and may have injured his knee on the final takedown. Awful.

After the H2H losses at 125 and 133, Cornell only led by 3.5.

141: Hines (Lehigh) loses his third place match at 141.

149: Fernandez with a huge 20-5 Tech Fall to win EIWAs and pick up bonus points.
149: Griffin (Lehigh takes third place with a major decision).

Heading to 157, Cornell now leads 155.5-148.5.

A first place match is worth 4, all other placement matches worth 1, plus 2 for a pin, 1.5 for a tech, 1 for a major decision.

Meyer Shapiro, true frosh, wins the EIWA! Stretches the Cornell lead to 11.

Julian Ramirez wins the EIWA championship at 165!

Lehigh's Logan takes the 5th place match, but Cornell adds 3 to the lead in the team race.

Benny Baker! What a run! Beats Conigliaro AGAIN to take third place!

Lehigh didn't have anyone at the weight, so Cornell gains another point. Up to 15 now.

Cornell clinched the team title with the Ramirez win, so we leave the conference as champs.

Ugh. Foca injury defaults in his third place match. Hope it's precautionary.

197: Cardenas gets the first takedown but gives up a quick escape. Beard rides out the second period, then quickly escapes in the third, sendin the match to SV, 3-3. Cardenas takes a shot but gets extended, and Beard is able to convert. Possible that it was still in stalemate but Cornell didn't have any challenges left. He finishes in second place.

285: Fernandes wins 8-2 over Cover (Princeton). Some hairy moments but a solid third place showing for Fernandes.

All in all:

125: Ungar 2d place, chalk.

133: Arujau 2d place, NCAA bid, but this one kinda sucks. Very disappointing, especially if Vito aggravated his knee injury. Not just for NCAAs but also for the upcoming Olympic Trials.

141: Cornella injured in the QF and defaulted out. He didn't earn a bid but would qualify for an at-large if he's healthy enough to wrestle. I doubt that he is.

149: Huge EIWA title for Fernandez in his first season as a starter, especially after jumping two weight classes to fill a hole in the lineup.

157: Shapiro cruises to an EIWA title in his freshman year.

165: Ramirez with his second EIWA title.

174: Baker is the hero of this story. On February 10, Baker lost his 9th straight match. Since then he won three straight dual meet matches, then went 4-1 at the conference tournament, finishing in third place with a pair of wins over a top-10 wrestler and earned a bid to NCAAs in his senior year - his only year as a starter.

184: Foca lost to Ayzerov for the third time this season in the semis, after possibly getting hurt in the QF against Key (Navy). He won one consolation match then faced Key again and again appeared to get hurt. This time he chose to default instead of continue, finishing in 4th place. Good enough for an automatic bid, but it's unclear if he can use it.

197: Another great conference tournament for Cardenas. Avenges his loss to DePrez in the semis then takes Beard to SV in the finals.

285: Fernandez with a 4-1 record at EIWA takes third. Gets a revenge win against Kleuver and a win by fall over a ranked wrestler.

Nine of ten wrestlers finish in the top four and the team wins the team title in their final EIWA tournament by 5 points over Lehigh.

On to NCAAs in two weeks. Not sure when they release the at-large bids or the seeds. LGR.

ugarte

On to NCAAs in two weeks. Not sure when they release the at-large bids or the seeds. LGR.

Per the NCAA: The 2024 NCAA wrestling Division I championship brackets will be revealed during a selection show streamed live on NCAA.com at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 13.

I'm guessing at large bids will be announced before, but the only drama there for a Cornell fan is whether Cornella is healthy enough. I have my doubts too.

mountainred

ugarte

On to NCAAs in two weeks. Not sure when they release the at-large bids or the seeds. LGR.

Per the NCAA: The 2024 NCAA wrestling Division I championship brackets will be revealed during a selection show streamed live on NCAA.com at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 13.

I'm guessing at large bids will be announced before, but the only drama there for a Cornell fan is whether Cornella is healthy enough. I have my doubts too.

Not the only drama! I'm worried about Vito and Foca too. Vito has the Olympic trials soon after the season and he has to buy to 57kg to boot.

ugarte

mountainred

ugarte

On to NCAAs in two weeks. Not sure when they release the at-large bids or the seeds. LGR.

Per the NCAA: The 2024 NCAA wrestling Division I championship brackets will be revealed during a selection show streamed live on NCAA.com at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 13.

I'm guessing at large bids will be announced before, but the only drama there for a Cornell fan is whether Cornella is healthy enough. I have my doubts too.

Not the only drama! I'm worried about Vito and Foca too. Vito has the Olympic trials soon after the season and he has to buy to 57kg to boot.

Coach Grey sent around a weekend recap that strongly implies that all of our guys are set to wrestle at Nationals, even Cornella, if he gets an at-large bid as expected.

The at-large bids came out and Vince Cornella was given an at-large bid to the tournament. With the rest of the team qualifying directly, for the first time ever, Cornell is sending wrestlers at all 10 weights to NCAAs. Cool as hell.

Now if the can just get healthy

upprdeck
Now if the can just get healthy

As a wise man once said

Seeds are out. Some info about the seeeds, the path forward and some quick thoughts:

125: Ungar (17) v Peterson (Rutgers - 16)
Good news, Davis (PSU - 1)
Bad news, loser of the pigtail then (probably) DeAugustino (Mich - 18) or Smith (Neb - 15)

133: Arujau (6!!!) v Strickland (Lock Haven - 27)
Good news, winner of Romney (Cal Poly - 11)/Zaccone (Campbell - 22). Crookham got the 2, so same side of the bracket with Orine (NC State - 3) in the way.
Bad news, not thinking about it. Means he's hurt.

141: Cornella (24) v Hardy (Nebraska - 9)
Good news, winner of Pucino (Illinois - 25)/Lemley (Michigan - 8)
Bad news, loser of Pucino/Lemley, then (probably) Haeppel (UNI - 7) or Jamison (Ok. St. - 10)

149: Fernandez (9!) v Tyus (SIUE - 24)
Good news, winner of Swiderski (ISU - 8)/Williams (Army - 25)
Bad news, loser of Swiderski/Williams, then (probably) Lamer (Cal-Poly - 10)

157: Shapiro (3!) v Washleski (Rider - 30)
Good news, winner of Chittum (ISU - 14)/Aksey (App. St. - 19). Interesting that Daniel Cardenas is the 6 set for the QF.
Bad news... come on.

165: Ramirez (3) v Hamilton (UVA - 30)
Good news, winner of Petrucelli (Air Force - 14)/Filipowicz (Army - 19). Mesenbrink is the 2, with Carr and O'Toole on the other side of the bracket.
Bad news... come on. Even though Hamilton won the ACC, it wasn't a strong ACC weight this year.

174: Baker (26) v Wolak (Columbia - 7)
Good news, winner of Incontrera (Penn - 10)/Augustine (Pitt - 23)
Bad news, loser of Incontrera/Augustine then (probably) Kemp (Cal Poly - 8) or a less-than-100% Starocci.

184: Foca (14) v Conway (F&M - 19)
Good news, Plott (Ok. St. - 3). Plott probably remembers last year...
Bad news, Duval (GMU - 30) then (probably) ... Ayzerov (Columbia - 13) but if he loses to Conway, he's hurt.

197: Cardenas (5) v Wehmeyer (Columbia - 28)
Good news, winner of Elam (Mizzou - 12)/Stout (Pitt - 21). Beard (4) waiting in the QF.
Bad news, I don't want to think about.

285: Fernandes (15) v Szuba (Rider - 18)
Good news, Bastida (ISU - 2). Bastida beat him last year when Bastida was 197 and wrestling up a weight for the day. Yeesh.
Bad news, Tabor (Minn - 31), then probably a familiar face in Greiss (Navy - 16) or Day (Binghamton - 17)

upprdeck
How bad did Cornella get hurt?

UPDATE: Badly enough that he has withdrawn from NCAAs on the eve of the tournament.

NCAA round 1:

125: Brett Ungar in the 16/17 matchup against a kid from Rutgers. Listless bout where neither guy took any risks. The first 9 minutes ended tied 1-1. In the rideout tiebreaker, Ungar escaped in 9 seconds then held down Rutgers for the full 30. Ballgame. Boring but it counts. He faces the 1 seed next round so I'm peeking at his path through the consolation bracket

133: Vito Arujau, who ended up with the 6 seed because he didn't wrestle much and lost twice (to the 2 seed), had an easy time of it. He probably should have gotten a tech fall instead of a major decision but the ref didn't give him the benefit of a late call that cost him 2 points. His opponent in the next round won in an upset, so he's got the 22 seed instead of the 11.

141: Pouring one out for Vince Cornella, who had to withdraw with an injury.

149: Ethan Fernandez, with a surprisingly high 9 seed, took advantage of his good fortune and won comfortably. His next match is against Casey Swiderski (ISU) who stunned Cornella with a bluffed release and pinned him at 141 last year. I want revenge. Ethan, get Cornell its revenge.

157: Meyer Shapiro wins by fall. Easy peasy. There was an upset in the 14/19 match, so he gets a guy who he blew out a month ago.

165: Julian Ramirez took an early lead, sat on it, and nearly lost because of it. Escapes with a 5-4 win, and it looked like he was dead to rights on a late takedown that he was able to barely hold off as time expired. Up next is the 14 seed, who won his first match by fall.

174: Benny Baker was up against Columbia's Wolak, who just won Easterns. Couldn't keep it close. He does have a winnable match in the consolations, though Pitt's Augustino did beat him in December.

184: Chris Foca was up 4-0 heading into the 3d period against an inferior wrestler. He spent that period backing up, was called for stalling three times, then relaxed before the buzzer and gave up a takedown with one second left to lose 5-4. I will see that in my nightmares for a while. He gets the winner of the 30/33 match in the consolation bracket.

197: Jacob Cardenas took the lead then coasted at the end. He nearly scored a TD to make it a major decision at the whistle, but no dice. His next match is against Mizzou's Mocco, who he beat earlier this year.

285: Lewis Fernandes started slow but eventually cracked the code and cruised to a MD win. Up next is #2 Bastida, who has beaten him twice, including once when Bastida was a bumped up 197.

After the first session, Cornell is tied for 7th.

Next session at 7pm Eastern.All of the matches are streaming on ESPN+ and there's an ESPN channel showing the featured matches.

Championship:
125: [16] Ungar v [1] Braeden Davis (PSU)
133: [6] Arujau v [22] Dominic Zaccone (Campbell)
149: [9] Fernandez v [8] Casey Swiderski (ISU) - Get some revenge for Cornella here, please!
157: [3] Shapiro v [19] Tommy Askey (App St) - Teched him at the dual
165: [3] Ramirez v [14] Giano Petrucelli (AFA)
197: [5] Cardenas v [12] Rocky Elam (Mizzou) - Cardenas won at the dual
285: [15] Fernandes v [2] Yonger Bastida - Bastida is 2-0 against Fernandes, including when he was bumping up from 197

Consolation:
174: [26] Baker v [23] Luca Augustine (Pitt) - Augustine won back in December before Baker went off
184: [14] Foca v winner of [30] Malachi DuVall (GMU)/[33]Tomas Brooker (App St)

Session 2 recap:

Championship:
125: [16] Ungar v [1] Braeden Davis (PSU) - Davis may have hurt his hand in the first match, which may have slowed him down. The result was another slog of a match. The only difference between this and Ungar's first round match is that Davis was better in the top position and picked up a RT point to win 2-1 in regulation. Ungar's next match is against DeAugustino (Michigan), who he was leading back in December when DeAugustino defaulted. A tough matchup and the road to AA doesn't get easier. Most likely has to get through the 9 seed for the right to face the loser of 3 vs 6.

133: [6] Arujau v [22] Dominic Zaccone (Campbell) - Arujau breezed to an 11-1 MD. The QF at 133 is chalk, so he's got the 3 seed, NC State's Kai Orine. Arujau skipped the NC State dual, so they've never met. A win gets Arujau on the podium but for a returning NCAA champion, that's not the goal.

149: [9] Fernandez v [8] Casey Swiderski (ISU) - Fernandez got the first takedown but Swiderski got one of his own and took the match to OT, eventually winning in rideouts. A good fight from Fernandez but couldn't quite get there. His next match is against (7) Kasak (Penn State) and if he gets through that he'd eventually have to beat the loser of the 3v6 QF. Tough road.

157: [3] Shapiro v [19] Tommy Askey (App St) - Shapiro has looked like our best wrestler at NCAAs. Another tech fall over Askey to get to the QF where he has a shot at revenge against Stanford's Cardenas. Hard to see him losing the way he's been wrestling.

165: [3] Ramirez v [14] Giano Petrucelli (AFA) - Ramirez had no trouble, winning 9-3. Tough QF against Iowa's Caliendo, a returning All-American who has been scoring points in bunches at the tournament.

197: [5] Cardenas v [12] Rocky Elam (Mizzou) - Cardenas came out flat; in the second period he was literally flat. Elam rode him the full two minutes, picking up two points for Cardenas's stalling (kind of unfair, since he couldn't get any leverage to get up). In the end, Cardenas lost 4-0. Cardenas has a manageable path back to the podium but he is likely to have to beat Binghamton's DePrez again - no small task, with his toughest match along the way probably Nebraska's Allred, who he handled in December.

285: [15] Fernandes v [2] Yonger Bastida - This went about how I expected. Bastida kept taking Fernandes down then letting him up on the way to a 20-5 tech fall. His first match in the consolation is against Day (Binghamton), who he pinned at the conference tournament. After that, the path is ... rough. First, NC State's Trephan, who has beaten him twice (including by fall) and then the path is blocked by a pair of top-flight wrestlers he is also 0-2 against, again including once by fall.

Consolation:
174: [26] Baker v [23] Luca Augustine (Pitt) - Augustine handled Baker pretty easily, winning 8-2. Only a moderately disappointing 0-2 because just getting to the tournament at all was a huge accomplishment for Baker and I'm glad he got to do it before graduating.

184: [14] Foca v winner of [30] Malachi DuVall (GMU) - Foca took Duvall apart, winning by tech 15-0. Annoyingly (maybe inevitably) his next match is against Columbia's Ayzerov. Ayzerov has had his number, beating him three times this season. No time like the present to turn it around! No easy wins on the path if he gets past Ayzerov, but also I don't think any impossible opponents.

Cornell is in 8th heading into day 2.

Thanks for the recaps ugarte! As a non-wrestling expert who only tunes in for the NCAA's, I'm glad you were just as confounded by Foca's first match. I was watching live, glanced away for one of the basketball games, and when I checked in again, he was shaking hands. I rewound and was just as confused as to how it all happened. Pretty disappointing.

Also regarding the Cardenas match, but maybe more of a general question, I am somewhat confused about being assessed stalling points when on bottom. What is the criteria the official is looking for that he'd hit Cardenas twice when he doesn't have leverage to do anything? He at least appeared (to my untrained eyes) to be continuously searching for a more favorable position to begin an escape attempt, but apparently not...

semsox
Thanks for the recaps ugarte! As a non-wrestling expert who only tunes in for the NCAA's, I'm glad you were just as confounded by Foca's first match. I was watching live, glanced away for one of the basketball games, and when I checked in again, he was shaking hands. I rewound and was just as confused as to how it all happened. Pretty disappointing.

Also regarding the Cardenas match, but maybe more of a general question, I am somewhat confused about being assessed stalling points when on bottom. What is the criteria the official is looking for that he'd hit Cardenas twice when he doesn't have leverage to do anything? He at least appeared (to my untrained eyes) to be continuously searching for a more favorable position to begin an escape attempt, but apparently not...

Foca's issue arguably relates back to a shoulder injury at the conference tournament but idk. It seemed more like he relaxed for whatever reason - or stumbled - and got caught by Conway who wrestled to the whistle. His 15-0 destruction of his next opponent weighs against it being injury-related imo.

Calling stalling on bottom is tricky. I don't know how refs decide it. Without having been trained as a ref, I imagine it's something like "if you don't try to elevate yourself to escape - which also naturally risks giving the top person better access to a grip to turn you over - you're stalling." So, yeah, he was kind of trapped underneath, but he was totally bellied out and arguably trying harder to stay totally flat than to get up. That's a best guess anyway.

I have never wrestled so I can only guess about what happened at the end of Foca's match. I felt like he thought the match was over rather than not wrestling to the end, just the way he moved. Was someone counting down the final seconds maybe a little too fast? Did he misread the clock if he could see it? It all just seemed very strange to me.

Curious for anyone with actual knowledge how the program seems to be fairing post Koll? Both in terms of recruiting and actual performance

underskill
Curious for anyone with actual knowledge how the program seems to be fairing post Koll? Both in terms of recruiting and actual performance

Really great classes coming in. Performance remains really solid, though this class is still part Koll.

125: Ungar v [18] DeAugustino - Slow start, as Ungar gets hit twice for stalling in the first period, costing him a point. In the second period, Ungar starts on bottom and gets out after ~50 seconds to tie the match. In the third, Ungar lets DeAugustino up pretty quickly. He could send the match to OT with a two-minute ride, but the worst case scenario is riding *almost* two minutes because it would mean no time to come back. With ~30 seconds left, Ungar finally FINALLY scores an offensive point, with a neat duck-under double and stays on top to the end for a clutch 4-2 win to stay alive.

His path to the podium got "easier" on paper because the 9 seed lost to SDSU's [23] Tanner Jordan. If he gets past Jordan, Ok. State's [6] Troy Spratley will be waiting in the blood round.

133: Arujau v [3] Orine - Domination. Arujau nearly gave up a takedown once, but turned it into his own offense. I think his knee isn't perfect because he hasn't really been working to stay in the top position for riding time, preferring neutral. 13-3 Major Decision.. Arujau is an All-American for the 4th time.

Up next, in the SF, Lehigh's undefeated freshman [2] Ryan Crookham. Crookham stunned Arujau in the first match of the year then beat him again in the conference final. Third time's the charm? It better be!

149: Fernandez v Kasak - looked away and missed it, but Kasak pinned Fernandez in under a minute. Fernandez will be back for his junior year. This whole season was a very pleasant surprise.

157: Shapiro v Cardenas - As I type, Shapiro is in the concussion protocol. He and Cardenas were in a body lock, went down and Shapiro banged his head on the mat. He's back. At the time he went into the protocol, Shapiro was up 3-0. Cardenas rode him for the full two minutes. In the third period, Shapiro needed to be on top for a minute to wipe out the RT point but Cardenas was out in ~30 seconds. With :48 seconds left, Shapiro got hit with a kind of iffy stall warning. Between the RT and the escape, another stall point would send the match to SV 3-3. Without the stall call, Shapiro probably spends the last 20 seconds running away, but instead he takes a decent shot but doesn't quite catch the leg clean and Cardenas spins behind him for a TD, falling behind 5-3 (with the RT). He got a restart with 14 seconds left needing a reversal to go to OT. He got the escape but not reversal, and he goes down 5-4. Frustrating!

He'll need to win one more to get to the podium. As long as his head is OK, he shouldn't have a problem with anyone fighting to get to him but... this is exactly what happened to him in LV and his match after losing to Cardenas he was clearly a bit in a fog and lost to a far-inferior wrestler. The top seeded wrestler in the "pod" fighting to get him just got knocked out. As long as he's healthy, it's hard to see him falling short of the podium.

165: Ramirez v Caliendo - Caliendo just beat him in every position, 9-4. Didn't look good at all.

Ramirez is back in the blood round for the third straight time, needing one more win to get to All-American. He'll be the clear favorite over whoever he faces and it will be heartbreaking if he misses it. Defector has a great article about the blood round from a former Wyoming wrestler and I recommend it.

184: Foca v Ayzerov After losing to Ayzerov three times, I guess Foca had enough. He took him down off the whistle, straight to his back for 4 back points. He then turned him over for 4 more back points. Then turned him over again for 2 more back points. He let Ayzerov up after a restart then took him down again for a hilariously dominant 16-1 TF win in about 90 seconds.

He's got to win one more match to get to the blood round, where [7] Stewart Jr. fom VT is waiting. I'm not looking past that match he has to win - it's [12] Bullock (Michigan), and it should be fun. Foca's last two matches have been fantastic after that first round brain fart.

197: Cardenas v Smith - Cardenas with an escape early in the second and a takedown late in the period, he was up 4-0 heading to the third period. He spent the third period basically avoiding trouble and advanced with a 4-2 win. 2 away from the blood round.

Up next, Northern Iowa's [19] Voelker.

285: Fernandes v Day - Ugh. Scoreless tie, Fernandes started the second period on top, Day rolled him over, reached back and the refs called a flash defensive pin. Fernandes is out.

I had to run, so I wasn't able to watch the third round of consolation matches live. We had three guys going.

125: Ungar v Jordan - No scoring in the first period. Jordan chose down in the second. Ungar with a strong ride, got RT up over a minute but as they tumbled out of bounds something happened to Ungar's ankle. He got it taped up but he wasn't the same. Jordan cleverly chose top, betting on Ungar's ankle making it hard for him to stand up and got RT under a minute. In the third period, Ungar chose neutral but as he limped around you could kind of sense that it wouldn't end well and it didn't. Jordan was able to take him down and Ungar couldn't stand up. Loses 3-0.

184: Foca v Bullock - All Foca. Foca scored the first takedown a minute in to the match, though Bullock escaped quickly. In the second period, Bullock escaped again, but Foca quickly scored another takedown and this time held Bullock down long enough to head to the third with a 6-3 lead and 1:09 in RT. Foca started on bottom and got out immediately, scoring the escape and retaining his RT. With 31 seconds left, Foca got another TD and Bullock basically gave up. With the RT point, Foca picked up a major decision.

197: Cardenas v Voelker - No scoring in the first period. Cardenas started the second period down and was out off the whistle; he got a late takedown to go to the third up 4-0. In the third, voelker escaped quickly, but Cardenas got a takedown. Voelker escaped, but then backed up so much he got hit with a stalling penalty point even though he was losing. With time running out, Cardenas got a final takedown at the whistle and RT for a 12-2 major decision.

That means that in tonight's session (starting at 8 eastern) we have 5 wrestlers still alive.

Semis:

133: [6] Arujau v [2] Crookham (Lehigh) in the semifinals. Is the third time the charm for Vito against Crookham?

Blood round: (winner is AA)

157: [3] Shapiro v [26] Johnny Lovett (CMU)

165: [3] Ramirez v [9] Hall (WV)

184: [14] Foca v [7] Stewart Jr. (VT)

197: [5] Cardenas v [10] Allred (Nebraska)

All winnable, nothing guaranteed.

We've falling to 11th in the team race, though 6 - 11 are tightly packed.

The evening session was equal parts thrilling and disappointing but now that the dust has settled, here we go:

133: [6] Arujau v [2] Crookham (Lehigh) in the semifinals. Is the third time the charm for Vito against Crookham?

Indeed it was. Vito went for the jugular early and never let up. Takedown at the beginning of the first. Takedown at the end of the first. Takedown at the end of the second. Takedown at the end of the third. When the smoke cleared, Vito got his revenge with a 13-3 MD.

Up next is Oklahoma State's [1] Daton Fix. Fix is a four-time All-American and a former World Silver medalist... but he's never won. Finished second three times and fourth last year ... after Vito beat hmi in the semis. Vito has looked much better in the tournament so far. Hoping he finishes the job tomorrow.


Blood round: (winner is AA)

157: [3] Shapiro v [26] Johnny Lovett (CMU)

Lovett came out attacking but Shapiro was too much. Shapiro had two takedowns in the first period, got 3NF points in the third and, with a riding time point at the end, won by Major, 13-5. As a true freshman, Shapiro is an All-American. And he still had one more match to go.

After the blood round, they hold one more round. Winners go to the consolation semifinal, losers go to the 7th place match. His opponent was Iowa's [10] Jared Franek, last year's 7th place finisher (when he was at NDSU). Shapiro continued his barrage, with takedowns in every period and won by major again, 11-2. He'll be in the consolation semifinal tomorrow (winner goes for 3d, loser for 5th) against VT's [12] Bryce Andonian, who he beat twice this year (the second time by injury default but IIRC he was winning handily at the time).

165: [3] Ramirez v [9] Hall (WV)

After the loss to Caliendo, Ramirez had to clear his head to face WV's [9] Peyton Hall. Hall pinned him last year, but Ramirez was having a better season. Today wasn't his day, though. Hall scored in the first and second periods and Ramirez was never really in this one. Lost 8-2. This is the third year in a row that he's lost in the blood round. He's got one more year to break through. I believe.

184: [14] Foca v [7] Stewart Jr. (VT)

Foca had been on fire after his shocking first round loss. Not to be, though. He gave up a second period TD and went into the third trailing 3-2. In the third, he almost got a takedown once... twice... three times. But each time the action went out of bounds before he could finish. Disappointing loss. I feel like next year, when he knows he'll be 184 from the jump, he's an AA easy.

197: [5] Cardenas v [10] Allred (Nebraska)

Cardenas was an AA last year and I knew he'd get back. He beat Allred pretty badly early in the year. It wasn't as easy today, but he won a workmanlike match, 5-2 to get back on the podium for a second straight year. Like Shapiro, he had one more match to see if he would guarantee an improvement on last years result.

Up next was UALR's [9] Stephen Little. It's been a historic year for Little Rock, whose team is around five years old. They got their first national qualifier ever in 2021 and this year they got a pair of All-Americans. We can't worry about that, though. Cardenas needed to win. And win he did. Got a takedown in the first period, tilted Little and got his shoulders square. BAM. Pin in 1:18. He'll be in the consi semifinal tomorrow morning, along with Shapiro.

When all was said and done, we have one finalist and two still alive for third place. Not as good as I'd hoped but not bad by any measure.

The team is currently in 6th. This is how the top 10 shapes up, with the remaining possible scorers. Winning the title gets a team 4 points, winning the consi semi is worth 3, winning the 3/5/7 match is worth 1. Plus more for bonus point wins.

	 	  	Final	3/5	7th	
1  Penn State 	 148!!!	6!!!	2	-
2  Michigan 	  64.5	2	2	-
3  Iowa		  60	1	2	1
4  Arizona State  59.5	2	2	-
4  Iowa State 	  59.5	1	2	1
6  Cornell 	  58.5	1	2	-
7  Ohio State	  57    2	1	-
8  Oklahoma State 55	2 	1	-
9  Virginia Tech  53	1	2	1
10 Nebraska	  52	-	3	2

Saturday morning, action starts at 11.

157: [3] Meyer Shapiro v [12] Bryce Andonian (VT) - Meyer is 2-0 vs Andonian.

On the other side of the bracket, [6] Cardenas (Stanford) vs [7] Keller (Ohio). The winners face off for third, the losers for fifth. Cardenas beat Shapiro twice this season. Revenge would be sweet.

197: [5] Jacob Cardenas v [12] Rocky Elam (Mizzou) - Cardenas won at the dual and Elam got him back here in the second round.

On the other side of the bracket, [3] Sloan (SDSU) v [8] Buchanan (Oklahoma).

After these matches, they'll have the 3/5/7 placement matches.

The finals start at 7pm.

157: [3] Meyer Shapiro v [12] Bryce Andonian (VT) - Meyer is 2-0 vs Andonian.

On the other side of the bracket, [6] Cardenas (Stanford) vs [7] Keller (Ohio). The winners face off for third, the losers for fifth. Cardenas beat Shapiro twice this season. Revenge would be sweet.

The revenge match will be for third place. Both Shapiro and Cardenas won their placement matches by pin. The first period was wild. Shapiro exposed Andonian's back in a scramble then finished the takedown for a 5-0 lead. Andonian then exposed Shapiro during a reversal to tie the match at 5. I thought Shapiro should have scored 7 but in the end it didn't matter. Shapiro started the second period on bottom and pulled off the most creative pin I've ever seen.

While trying to ride Shapiro, Andonian ended up riding high like a backpack. Shapiro got up in a tripod, pulled Andonian forward and squared his shoulders to the mat while still in the tripod position for the fall.

The third place match against Cardenas is coming up soon.

197: [5] Jacob Cardenas v [12] Rocky Elam (Mizzou) - Cardenas won at the dual and Elam got him back here in the second round.

On the other side of the bracket, [3] Sloan (SDSU) v [8] Buchanan (Oklahoma).

Cardenas had a less exciting match, but it was satisfying all the same. Cardenas scored the only two takedowns of the match, winning 7-2.

Buchanan pulled off a modest upset to beat Sloan, who i really didn't want to see.

Those two wins, plus the bonus points from Shapiro's pin - have pulled Cornell up into third place. We trail only Penn State - who keeps piling on points - and Michigan heading into the third place matches.

Third place matches:

157: [3] Meyer Shapiro v [6] Daniel Cardenas (Stanford)

Third time is the charm, as Shapiro finally managed to wrestle Cardenas without getting bonked on the head. Shapiro did all of the scoring in this match, with two TDs in the first period and another in the second. I was kind of hoping for one final takedown in the third period for the MD and an exclamation point on the victory but he didn't push for it at the end. I knew Shapiro would win in an injury-free match. Third place finish for Shapiro, who (barring injury) is the favorite to win the title the next three years.

A second storyline to this rivalry is that Cardenas had committed to Cornell before Rob Koll left, and he followed Koll to Stanford. Probably for the best because I don't know if Shapiro or Cardenas could comfortably go 149 and Ramirez is already sitting at 165. Cardenas didn't follow Koll again when he left Stanford for North Carolina.

197: [5] Jacob Cardenas v [8] Stephen Buchanan (Oklahoma).

Buchanan pulled off a modest upset to beat Sloan, who i really didn't want to see.

I'll be honest: I didn't want to see Buchanan either. I was happy that by beating Elam, Cardenas would finish ahead of one of these guys without having to wrestle them (see also, Lehigh's Michael Beard, who lost to Buchanan and fell to the 7th place match.)

Cardenas was never really in this one. Buchanan protected his legs and finished his shots and finished his career with a 9-4 win to take third place.

This also marks the end of Cardenas's career at Cornell, as he didn't take time away from school during COVID and will graduate with his class. He's going to go into the transfer portal to wrestle somewhere else as a grad student and (unless he's wrestling one of ours) I'm going to cheer for him to get a third AA for the trophy case. He finished 8th last year and improved to 4th this year. It's been great to watch him develop.

[The early matches] have pulled Cornell up into third place. We trail only Penn State - who keeps piling on points - and Michigan heading into the third place matches.

This is still true. Heading into the finals - starting tonight at 7 Eastern - Cornell is within striking distance of Michigan for second place, and (almost*) clinches third with a win from Vito.

Here are the teams vying for a spot on the podium. Literally to save money on trophies, the NCAA has changed the podium from 4 to 3.

	 	  	Finalists	
1  Penn State 	 155.5	6
2  Michigan 	  71	2
3  Cornell	  68.5	1
4  Iowa           67	1
5  Iowa State 	  64.5	1
6  Airzona State  60.5  2

The finals:

125: [3] Ayala (Iowa) v [8] Figueroa (ASU)
133: [1] Fix (OK St.) v [6] Arujau (Cornell)
141: [1] Mendez (OH St.) v [2] Bartlett (PSU)
149: [4] Henson (VT) v [6] Gomez (Michigan)
157: [1] Haines (PSU) v [2] Teemer (ASU)
165: [2] Mesenbrink (PSU) v [4] Carr (ISU)
174: [6] Welsh (OH St.) v [9] Starocci (PSU)
184: [1] Keckeisen (N. Iowa) v [3] Plott (OK. St.)
197: [1] Brooks (PSU) v [2] Hidlay (NC St.)
285: [1] Kirkvliet (PSU) v [10] Davison (Michigan)

My gut says Vito wins 133, Iowa loses 125, Michigan wins 149 but loses 285 and Cornell finishes in third.

* If Vito wins by regular decision and Iowa's Ayala pins Figueroa, Iowa would leapfrog Cornell, 73-72.5.

ugarte
Third place matches:

157: [3] Meyer Shapiro v [6] Daniel Cardenas (Stanford)

Third time is the charm, as Shapiro finally managed to wrestle Cardenas without getting bonked on the head. Shapiro did all of the scoring in this match, with two TDs in the first period and another in the second. I was kind of hoping for one final takedown in the third period for the MD and an exclamation point on the victory but he didn't push for it at the end. I knew Shapiro would win in an injury-free match. Third place finish for Shapiro, who (barring injury) is the favorite to win the title the next three years.

A second storyline to this rivalry is that Cardenas had committed to Cornell before Rob Koll left, and he followed Koll to Stanford. Probably for the best because I don't know if Shapiro or Cardenas could comfortably go 149 and Ramirez is already sitting at 165. Cardenas didn't follow Koll again when he left Stanford for North Carolina.

197: [5] Jacob Cardenas v [8] Stephen Buchanan (Oklahoma).

Buchanan pulled off a modest upset to beat Sloan, who i really didn't want to see.

I'll be honest: I didn't want to see Buchanan either. I was happy that by beating Elam, Cardenas would finish ahead of one of these guys without having to wrestle them (see also, Lehigh's Michael Beard, who lost to Buchanan and fell to the 7th place match.)

Cardenas was never really in this one. Buchanan protected his legs and finished his shots and finished his career with a 9-4 win to take third place.

This also marks the end of Cardenas's career at Cornell, as he didn't take time away from school during COVID and will graduate with his class. He's going to go into the transfer portal to wrestle somewhere else as a grad student and (unless he's wrestling one of ours) I'm going to cheer for him to get a third AA for the trophy case. He finished 8th last year and improved to 4th this year. It's been great to watch him develop.

[The early matches] have pulled Cornell up into third place. We trail only Penn State - who keeps piling on points - and Michigan heading into the third place matches.

This is still true. Heading into the finals - starting tonight at 7 Eastern - Cornell is within striking distance of Michigan for second place, and (almost*) clinches third with a win from Vito.

Here are the teams vying for a spot on the podium. Literally to save money on trophies, the NCAA has changed the podium from 4 to 3.

	 	  	Finalists	
1  Penn State 	 155.5	6
2  Michigan 	  71	2
3  Cornell	  68.5	1
4  Iowa           67	1
5  Iowa State 	  64.5	1
6  Airzona State  60.5  2

The finals:

125: [3] Ayala (Iowa) v [8] Figueroa (ASU)
133: [1] Fix (OK St.) v [6] Arujau (Cornell)
141: [1] Mendez (OH St.) v [2] Bartlett (PSU)
149: [4] Henson (VT) v [6] Gomez (Michigan)
157: [1] Haines (PSU) v [2] Teemer (ASU)
165: [2] Mesenbrink (PSU) v [4] Carr (ISU)
174: [6] Welsh (OH St.) v [9] Starocci (PSU)
184: [1] Keckeisen (N. Iowa) v [3] Plott (OK. St.)
197: [1] Brooks (PSU) v [2] Hidlay (NC St.)
285: [1] Kirkvliet (PSU) v [10] Davison (Michigan)

My gut says Vito wins 133, Iowa loses 125, Michigan wins 149 but loses 285 and Cornell finishes in third.

* If Vito wins by regular decision and Iowa's Ayala pins Figueroa, Iowa would leapfrog Cornell, 73-72.5.

Thank you as always for spelling this out for the casual March wrestling fans. Do we know what weight they are starting with tonight?

Chris '03

Thank you as always for spelling this out for the casual March wrestling fans. Do we know what weight they are starting with tonight?

NCAA Wrestling on Twitter says it will be: 285, 125, 133, 141, 149, 157, 165, 174, 184, 197.

So Vito's the third match. Don't know how they determine the order--I guess if soemone was wrestling for a fourth straight national title or something he would be in the last match? It can't be for team drama this year--there is none--Penn State is lapping the field and has already clinched the title. Would be very satisfying to see Cornell finish in the top three.

Thanks as always to ugarte.

Chris '03
Thank you as always for spelling this out for the casual March wrestling fans. Do we know what weight they are starting with tonight?

You're welcome!

I haven't seen an announcement yet. There are so many good stories. If I were setting it up, I'd start at Heavyweight and end at 197. You open with a defending PSU champ almost certainly repeating and then you close with Brooks going for his 4th straight title against Hidlay. Hidlay is a 3X AA who, has been knocked out of the championship bracket by Brooks three straight times.

EDIT:

djk26
NCAA Wrestling on Twitter says it will be: 285, 125, 133, 141, 149, 157, 165, 174, 184, 197.

WHAT A CALL!

To see the crazy Shapiro pin, go to ~25:30 here [www.espn.com]

that whole match was pretty wild

ugarte

The finals:

285: [1] Kerkvliet (PSU) v [10] Davison (Michigan)
125: [3] Ayala (Iowa) v [8] Figueroa (ASU)
133: [1] Fix (OK St.) v [6] Arujau (Cornell)
141: [1] Mendez (OH St.) v [2] Bartlett (PSU)
149: [4] Henson (VT) v [6] Gomez (Michigan)
157: [1] Haines (PSU) v [2] Teemer (ASU)
165: [2] Mesenbrink (PSU) v [4] Carr (ISU)
174: [6] Welsh (OH St.) v [9] Starocci (PSU)
184: [1] Keckeisen (N. Iowa) v [3] Plott (OK. St.)
197: [1] Brooks (PSU) v [2] Hidlay (NC St.)

My gut says Vito wins 133, Iowa loses 125, Michigan wins 149 but loses 285 and Cornell finishes in third.

So far, so good. Kerk and Figueroa both win.

Vito National Champion !!!!!!!!!!!!!

that was one frustrating match to watch

ugarte

ugarte

The finals:

285: [1] Kerkvliet (PSU) v [10] Davison (Michigan)
125: [3] Ayala (Iowa) v [8] Figueroa (ASU)
133: [1] Fix (OK St.) v [6] Arujau (Cornell)
141: [1] Mendez (OH St.) v [2] Bartlett (PSU)
149: [4] Henson (VT) v [6] Gomez (Michigan)
157: [1] Haines (PSU) v [2] Teemer (ASU)
165: [2] Mesenbrink (PSU) v [4] Carr (ISU)
174: [6] Welsh (OH St.) v [9] Starocci (PSU)
184: [1] Keckeisen (N. Iowa) v [3] Plott (OK. St.)
197: [1] Brooks (PSU) v [2] Hidlay (NC St.)

My gut says Vito wins 133, Iowa loses 125, Michigan wins 149 but loses 285 and Cornell finishes in third.

So far, so good. Kerk and Figueroa both win.

Everything coming up Cornell today! Not only does Vito beat Fix and the NCAA officiating crew, but Henson takes out Gomez at 149, so Cornell finishes in 2nd place!

ugarte
Everything coming up Cornell today! Not only does Vito beat Fix and the NCAA officiating crew, but Henson takes out Gomez at 149, so Cornell finishes in 2nd place!

Fantastic!

I must admit that I don't follow very closely. Are we a deep team or a young team?

Any chinks in the armor of the Penn State juggernaut? Quite a kick in the head that the mantle passed from Iowa to Penn State right at our previous peak.

Great end result for the team. I follow the season, but appreciate having the summaries and insight here, thanks ugarte!

Scersk '97

ugarte
Everything coming up Cornell today! Not only does Vito beat Fix and the NCAA officiating crew, but Henson takes out Gomez at 149, so Cornell finishes in 2nd place!

Fantastic!

I must admit that I don't follow very closely. Are we a deep team or a young team?

Any chinks in the armor of the Penn State juggernaut? Quite a kick in the head that the mantle passed from Iowa to Penn State right at our previous peak.

Not deep - only Penn State is - and we are losing some significant people.

We are losing Vito (133), Baker (174), Cardenas (197) and Fernandes (285) to graduation. Making it worse, Cornella (141) and Ungar (125) got hurt at the end of the year, and I hope they're ok long term.

We do have Fernandez (Top 15-20 at 149), Shapiro (3d place at 157), Ramirez (3x one match short of AA at 165) and Foca (3d place in 2023 at 174, just short at 184) returning. We have some talented freshmen coming in, particularly Simon Ruiz at 174, but the real reinforcements come for the 25-26 season.

ugarte
We do have Fernandez (Top 15-20 at 149), Shapiro (3d place at 157), Ramirez (3x one match short of AA at 165) and Foca (3d place in 2023 at 174, just short at 184) returning. We have some talented freshmen coming in, particularly Simon Ruiz at 174, but the real reinforcements come for the 25-26 season.

Neat. My lasting dislike for Andy Noel notwithstanding, I do hope that wrestling can eventually break through that silver ceiling as a team, i.e., that Grey can continue and surpass what Koll (and, to a lesser extent, Noel) wrought.

Anything that breaks through a Big 10 hegemony is a good thing.

Is there a link to an online source that has the final results. Last I searched I couldn't find one.

marty
Is there a link to an online source that has the final results. Last I searched I couldn't find one.

trackwrestling.com but i don't have the direct link to the event offhand

marty
Is there a link to an online source that has the final results. Last I searched I couldn't find one.

[www.ncaa.com]

[www.ncaa.com]

U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials begin on Friday, 4/19, and will be streamed on Peacock.

George64
U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials begin on Friday, 4/19, and will be streamed on Peacock.

Vito Arujau '24, expected to wrestle at 57kg has dropped out. He said that the cut from the 133 he wrestled in college (or the 61kg he last wrestled internationally) was exacerbating the injuries he's been dealing with all year. He is going to bypass the Olympics at 57kg and instead stick with 61kg for the 2024 World Championship. The Olympics only have 6 weight classes while Worlds has 10.

4x NCAA champ and 2022 World Senior silver Yianni Diakomihalis '23 and 1x NCAA champ Nahshon Garrett '16 will both be trying to qualify at 65kg.

4x NCAA champ, 4x World gold and 2020 Olympic bronze Kyle Dake '13 and 2023 World U20 gold and 2024 AA Meyer Shapiro '27 will be trying to qualify at 74kg. Dake has a bye into the best of three finals after winning 2023 World silver. Horrible news, as Kyle's father just passed away last Thursday at 62. I wish Kyle the best generally and at Trials

2x Cornell AA (plus NCAA champ at Penn State) Max Dean will be trying to qualify at 86kg.

2x NCAA champ (for NC State) and 2x World bronze Nick Gwiazdowski, a Cornell assistant coach, will be trying to qualify at 125kg.

Also, 2x U23 world team member Philip Moomey '24 will be trying to qualify at 60kg in Greco. He rarely wrestled for Cornell, but that wasn't a suprise. He was a Greco specialist - having already been on the U17 Greco team as well - and not competitive at the D1 level in freestyle. Plus, he was at the same weight as Vito. Probably good to be at a school with an "affiliated" RTC.

Day 1 is underway. Here are the results so far. Consolation matches are worth winning because third place is officially a national team member, as second alternate, with a training stipend. Not everyone sticks around for it so you see a lot of consolation forfeits.

ugarles

George64
U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials begin on Friday, 4/19, and will be streamed on Peacock.

4x NCAA champ and 2022 World Senior silver Yianni Diakomihalis '23 and 1x NCAA champ Nahshon Garrett '16 will both be trying to qualify at 65kg.

Yianni had a tricky first round match against Kaleb Larkin, who is built like angel hair pasta, but wins 13-8.

Garrett loses in the first round. Advances on a default in the first consolation match.

4x NCAA champ, 4x World gold and 2020 Olympic bronze Kyle Dake '13 and 2023 World U20 gold and 2024 AA Meyer Shapiro '27 will be trying to qualify at 74kg. Dake has a bye into the best of three finals after winning 2023 World silver.

Shapiro is way too small for the weight. Goes 0-2, getting teched twice.
Dake is still waiting in the final.

2x Cornell AA (plus NCAA champ at Penn State) Max Dean will be trying to qualify at 86kg.

Dean gets teched 13-1 in the main bracket. Wins by tech in his first consolation round.

2x NCAA champ (for NC State) and 2x World bronze Nick Gwiazdowski, a Cornell assistant coach, will be trying to qualify at 125kg.

Gwiz wins and is in the semis.

Also, 2x U23 world team member Philip Moomey '24 will be trying to qualify at 60kg in Greco.

Moomey wins his first match - against the 2023 World team member at 55kg - but gets teched by the defending US World 60kg representative.
Moomey wins his first consolation match to stay alive.

ugarte
Yianni had a tricky first round match against Kaleb Larkin, who is built like angel hair pasta, but wins 13-8.

Garrett loses in the first round. Advances on a default in the first consolation match.

Yianni opts out of continuing in the consolation bracket. Garrett loses in the consolation semifinals.

Dake is still waiting in the final. at 74kg.

Dake wins back to back matches and will represent the USA at the 2024 Olympics.

2x Cornell AA (plus NCAA champ at Penn State) Max Dean will be trying to qualify at 86kg.

Dean loses in the consolations.

2x NCAA champ (for NC State) and 2x World bronze Nick Gwiazdowski, a Cornell assistant coach, will be trying to qualify at 125kg.

Gwiz lost in the Challenge finals and then won the match for True 2d, so he's #3 on the heavyweight ladder.

Also, 2x U23 world team member Philip Moomey '24 will be trying to qualify at 60kg in Greco.

No dice for Moomey. Lost in consolations.

ugarte

ugarte
Yianni had a tricky first round match against Kaleb Larkin, who is built like angel hair pasta, but wins 13-8.

Garrett loses in the first round. Advances on a default in the first consolation match.

Yianni opts out of continuing in the consolation bracket. Garrett loses in the consolation semifinals.

Dake is still waiting in the final. at 74kg.

Dake wins back to back matches and will represent the USA at the 2024 Olympics.

2x Cornell AA (plus NCAA champ at Penn State) Max Dean will be trying to qualify at 86kg.

Dean loses in the consolations.

2x NCAA champ (for NC State) and 2x World bronze Nick Gwiazdowski, a Cornell assistant coach, will be trying to qualify at 125kg.

Gwiz lost in the Challenge finals and then won the match for True 2d, so he's #3 on the heavyweight ladder.

Also, 2x U23 world team member Philip Moomey '24 will be trying to qualify at 60kg in Greco.

No dice for Moomey. Lost in consolations.

Kyle Dake '13 swept Jason Nolf in two matches in the 74kg freestyle best-of-three championship series at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and will be headed to Paris in August. Tragically, his father passed away just last week.