This past weekend was the US Open wrestling tournament for U20 and Senior level. U17 also but afaik Cornell didn't have any commits there. No names I recognized.
At the senior level, the big news is that Yianni D. '23 is back. After some struggles making the world team at 65kg after his 2022 world silver, Diakomihalis bumped up to 70kg and dominated. He'll wrestle in June to make the world team against the winner of the World Team Trials in May.
Kyle Dake '13 jumped two weights, going from 74kg to 86kg. He hadn't wrestled at 86kg since the 2016 Olympic Trials, which was only to avoid then 3x defending World Champion Jordan Burroughs in Olympic qualifying. He blitzed the field until the final, but Zahid Valencia - who won a world bronze last year at 92kg - was too much for him. He'll have a second chance to make Team USA at the WTT in May.
Rising soph Simon Ruiz entered at 79kg and I think turned a lot of heads by going 5-1 and taking bronze.
Rising junior Vince Cornella entered at 65kg and went 3-2 to finish in 8th.
Finally, Nahshon Garrett '16 went 2-1 but opted out of the consolation rounds. Not surprising, as he announced his retirement after the tournament.
The U20 tournament had some great results too.
57kg: Anthony Knox ran over the field and will represent Team USA in Sofia this August.
65kg: The Cortez twins, Elijah and Isaiah, met in the consolation semifinals but chose not to wrestle. I don't know how they decided it, but Isaiah wrestled for third (and won) while Elijah wrestled for fifth (and also won).
70kg: Jaxon Joy had a great tournament and in the consolation final came very close to a huge comeback but ended up losing 7-6. Fourth place.
79kg: Louis Cerchio had a great tournament, losing only to the top seed in the semifinals and taking bronze.
125kg: Rocco Dellagatta took fourth place, losing only to the top two seeds.
Isaiah Cortez also wrestled in the senior greco event (at 60kg, so he must have wrestled way underweight for freestyle) and took fourth. Andrew Berreyesa '22 made it to the semis at 82kg before sliding to 6th place.
Not wrestling, but still in the picture: defending World Champion Vito Arujau '24, who will be waiting for the winner of the World Team Trials at Final X. As a '24 world medalist, he gets to skip qualifying and go straight to the best-of-three finals where he'll face the winner of the WTT. Because he is sitting in Final X, the 57kg US Open winner gets a bye to the WTT finals. There is no defending medalist at 70kg, so Yianni gets to skip WTT and go straight to Final X with Vito.
There were some other recruits and alumni wrestling at the Open but I only included the podium finishers for the good vibes.
We have some recruits and underclassmen wrestling in the U20 and U23 final qualifications this weekend. I'm not going to post everything, but today was the Greco U20 qualification.
Isaiah Cortez '30 is going to U20 Worlds at 60kg. His brother Elijah lost in the 63kg semi. Marcello Milani '28 lost in the U23 semis at 60kg.
Upcoming this weekend, freestyle:
U20:
57kg Anthony Knox '30 - has a bye to the best of 3 final
61kg Tyler Ferrera '28; Isaiah Cortez '30; Elijah Cortez '30
70kg Jaxon Joy '29
74kg Alessio Perentin '30
79kg Lou Cerchio '29
125kg Rocco Dellagatta '30
U23:
57kg Marcelo Milani '28; Joe Sciarrone '26
61kg Ernest Perry '28; George Oroudjov '28; Foster Cardinale '28; Daniel Aranda '29
65kg Vince Cornella '26; Ethan Qureshi '27; Gabriel Bouyssou '29
70kg Ethan Fernandez '26; Carter Tate '26; Ryder Yoshitake '29
86kg Simon Ruiz '28; Zahir Mclean-Felix '28
125kg Ashton Davis '27; Cash Henderson '29
Meyer Shapiro is apparently opting out. Simon Ruiz is bumping to 86kg because there are wrestlers who young enough to steal the 79kg spot based on their placement in Senior level competition.
Quote from: ugarteIsaiah Cortez '30 is going to U20 Worlds at 60kg.
Class of '30? Now you're just making up numbers.
Quote from: RichHQuote from: ugarteIsaiah Cortez '30 is going to U20 Worlds at 60kg.
Class of '30? Now you're just making up numbers.
With both Cortez brothers listed as '30, are they twins?
Quote from: David HardingQuote from: RichHQuote from: ugarteIsaiah Cortez '30 is going to U20 Worlds at 60kg.
Class of '30? Now you're just making up numbers.
With both Cortez brothers listed as '30, are they twins?
yes. they are going to take a greyshirt year (not enrolled but training at the RTC with substantial staff overlap and probably taking some classes at TC3) then come to Cornell. there are other '30s on the list as well as some '29s who are coming off greyshirt.
also, college year math is kind of a crapshoot. the better you are the more likely you are to fiddle with the timeline, especially if you have injury issues. Cornella is '26 but i wouldn't be surprised if he is somehow still around for '27 after sitting out a couple of fall semesters.
Quote from: RichHQuote from: ugarteIsaiah Cortez '30 is going to U20 Worlds at 60kg.
Class of '30? Now you're just making up numbers.
I noticed that too. Fuck, I never thought I'd get old.
Quote from: toddloseQuote from: RichHQuote from: ugarteIsaiah Cortez '30 is going to U20 Worlds at 60kg.
Class of '30? Now you're just making up numbers.
I noticed that too. Fuck, I never thought I'd get old.
It's been fifteen years or so since I started seeing '13 (and subsequent years) and had to think which '13 was being referenced.
A top-ranked Cornell wrestling recruit from New Jersey is in the news (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/us/new-jersey-wrestling-fight-assault.html?unlocked_article_code=1.LU8.PF2n.ZIZ7fdJbyy8E&smid=url-share) for going into the stands in response to taunting from opposing fans. He and his father have both been charged with simple assault. Cornell coach Mike Grey said the school is still expecting him to wrestle for the Big Red.
Quote from: dbilmesA top-ranked Cornell wrestling recruit from New Jersey is in the news (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/us/new-jersey-wrestling-fight-assault.html?unlocked_article_code=1.LU8.PF2n.ZIZ7fdJbyy8E&smid=url-share) for going into the stands in response to taunting from opposing fans. He and his father have both been charged with simple assault. Cornell coach Mike Grey said the school is still expecting him to wrestle for the Big Red.
.
Quote from: dbilmesA top-ranked Cornell wrestling recruit from New Jersey is in the news (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/us/new-jersey-wrestling-fight-assault.html?unlocked_article_code=1.LU8.PF2n.ZIZ7fdJbyy8E&smid=url-share) for going into the stands in response to taunting from opposing fans. He and his father have both been charged with simple assault. Cornell coach Mike Grey said the school is still expecting him to wrestle for the Big Red.
You're damn right he will. Anthony Knox is a national title contender out of the gate after he takes his greyshirt year. Today, he won the World Team Trials at 57kg for U20 and will be competing for Team USA this August in Bulgaria. Mike Grey was in his corner today.
In other WTT news, we have three wrestlers in the U23 QF:
65kg: Vince Cornella, who seems to have recovered very well from the injury that cost him the 24-25 season. He teched a 2x All-American from Penn to reach the QF. He's won all three of his matches by tech, 10-0. His next match is against a Northern Iowa backup who has had an undistinguished college career but wrestled very well today. Cornella is a clear favorite.
70kg: Ethan Fernandez is 4-0, but hasn't really faced anyone of note. His next opponent, Missouri's Josh Edmond, is coming off a middling sophomore year at 141 after a more impressive debut. Edmond is the favorite by seed but I don't see it unless he has an impressive freestyle resume.
86kg: Simon Ruiz is 3-0 with 10-0, 10-0 and 10-1 win but also hasn't beaten anyone of note. His QF opponent is Rocco Welsh, who finished second as an Ohio State true freshman at 174 before taking a redshirt year and transferring to Penn State to compete at 184. Tough assignment. Our best wrestler is also probably the longest shot because of his draw. Ruiz was seeded 9th, probably because he bumped up a weight class for the tournament. Fortunately, he didn't look small for the weight in his last match.
Cornella won his best of three final in back to back matches, 16-5 tech fall and a first period pin. He will represent Team USA at the world championships in Novi Sad, Siberia this October.
Ruiz made it to the third place match and honked away a 9-1 lead in the final minute to lose 9-9 on criteria. Strategically ridiculous.
Fernandez lost his first consolation match and didn't place.
Quote from: ugarteCornella won his best of three final in back to back matches, 16-5 tech fall and a first period pin. He will represent Team USA at the world championships in Novi Sad, Siberia this October.
Ruiz made it to the third place match and honked away a 9-1 lead in the final minute to lose 9-9 on criteria. Strategically ridiculous.
Fernandez lost his first consolation match and didn't place.
Novi Sad is in Serbia, not Siberia. Auto-corrupt?
Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82Quote from: ugarteCornella won his best of three final in back to back matches, 16-5 tech fall and a first period pin. He will represent Team USA at the world championships in Novi Sad, Siberia this October.
Ruiz made it to the third place match and honked away a 9-1 lead in the final minute to lose 9-9 on criteria. Strategically ridiculous.
Fernandez lost his first consolation match and didn't place.
Novi Sad is in Serbia, not Siberia. Auto-corrupt?
yeah lol i hate swype and i will never stop using it
In other news, Vince Cornella went tech, tech, tech, tech, tech, tech, pin and was awarded Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.
Quote from: ugarteQuote from: Jeff Hopkins '82Quote from: ugarteCornella won his best of three final in back to back matches, 16-5 tech fall and a first period pin. He will represent Team USA at the world championships in Novi Sad, Siberia this October.
Ruiz made it to the third place match and honked away a 9-1 lead in the final minute to lose 9-9 on criteria. Strategically ridiculous.
Fernandez lost his first consolation match and didn't place.
Novi Sad is in Serbia, not Siberia. Auto-corrupt?
yeah lol i hate swype and i will never stop using it
In other news, Vince Cornella went tech, tech, tech, tech, tech, tech, pin and was awarded Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.
.
How has no one commented that his name is Cornell-a
Quote from: ERQuote from: ugarteQuote from: Jeff Hopkins '82Quote from: ugarteCornella won his best of three final in back to back matches, 16-5 tech fall and a first period pin. He will represent Team USA at the world championships in Novi Sad, Siberia this October.
Ruiz made it to the third place match and honked away a 9-1 lead in the final minute to lose 9-9 on criteria. Strategically ridiculous.
Fernandez lost his first consolation match and didn't place.
Novi Sad is in Serbia, not Siberia. Auto-corrupt?
yeah lol i hate swype and i will never stop using it
In other news, Vince Cornella went tech, tech, tech, tech, tech, tech, pin and was awarded Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.
.
How has no one commented that his name is Cornell-a
well god damn i never noticed
Final X for Team USA qualification is June 14 in Newark. Originally there were three Cornellians scheduled to wrestle: Vito Arujau at 61kg, Yianni Diakomihlis at 70kg and Kyle Dake at 86kg. The latter two are still competing, but Arujau has exercised his right as a reigning world medalist to delay his match due to injury. A new date hasn't been set yet.
Diakomihalis will be facing recent high school graduate PJ Duke, who will be a redshirt freshman for Penn State this year. Duke is also the U20 representative and can "usurp" the U23 Team USA slot if he chooses, by virtue of his placement at the Senior qualifier.
Dake will go up against Zahid Valencia, who defeated him at the US Open. Valencia was a 92kg bronze medalist in 2023, whereas Dake had until recently been competing at 74kg (including the Tokyo and Paris Olympics where he took bronze both times). Dake won World gold in 2018 and 2019 at 79kg, as well as World gold at 74kg in 2021 and 2022 and World silver at 74kg in 2023. All this is to say that Dake is trying to prolong a seven year streak as a medalist at the World Championships and this is his toughest test since dethroning Jordan Burroughs at 74kg.
Arujau, whenever his match is rescheduled, will be facing Jax Forrest, who just finished his junior year of high school. Forrest is committed to wrestling at Oklahoma State when he graduates. Forrest can also take the U20 and U23 spots on Team USA if he chooses.
Dake lost in back to back matches to Valencia.
Diakomihalis won the first match by tech, 10-0, the blew leads in the next two, losing 17-10 and by fall. I've never left an event so angry.
Cornella story on his comeback (https://ithacavoice.org/2025/06/cornell-wrestler-wins-2025-u23-national-title-after-returning-from-injury/)
Quote from: ugarteCornella won his best of three final in back to back matches, 16-5 tech fall and a first period pin. He will represent Team USA at the world championships in Novi Sad, Siberia Serbia this October.
Actually... he will probably not be in Siberia
or Serbia. I didn't notice that the number three man on the Senior ladder is 18 year old Marcus Blaze, who I assume will take the U23 spot from Cornella. I didn't catch this until I saw in the article posted by upprdeck that Cornella wouldn't be wrestling more this summer. Of course, October isn't "this summer" so maybe he will be in Serbia as an alternate or, if Blaze gets hurt, will be Team USA's rep.
The same may actually be true for Anthony Knox, since Luke Lilledahl is #2 on the 57kg ladder and doesn't turn 20 until August 1. I'm not sure what the competition rules are. (As in, does U20 mean "20 and younger" or is the cutoff the day of the World tournament or during the qualification cycle.)
Incoming frosh Jaxon Joy took bronze at U20 Pan Ams in Peru. He lost in the semis on criteria to a Pitt RSFR from Canada but rolled the other two guys. He's #4 on the U20 ladder for 70kg but he was the one who wanted to go.
Anthony Knox, who we've talked about as a greyshirt, passed on repping the US at 57kg in favor of training with the RTC staff.