Wrestling 21-22

upprdeck
Oklahoma State wrestler AJ Ferrari is lucky to be alive after the driving accident he caused this weekend.. lucky he got pulled out of the care before it caught in fire..

Attempted to pass 3 cars in a no-passing zone, police say.
[www.espn.com]

pre-game for Hahvahd with wrestling duals - 3pm vs Columbia, 5pm vs Navy

A pair of comfortable dual wins over Columbia and Navy today.

125: #3* Vito Arujau with a pair of dominant wins. He majored Columbia's #28 Manchio 12-4 then teched Navy 20-5.

133: #29 Dom LaJoie had a good start to the day with a comfortable 4-0 win against Columbia. Navy's #21 Koderhandt, though, was able to catch LaJoie at an awkward angle while he was trying to escape into a very pretty looking throw for a pin.

141: JJ Wilson got the call against Columbia against #16 Matt Kazmir. He hung tough but a late takedown for Kazmir was the difference in a 5-3 win. Against Navy, Cole Handlovic got back on the mat for the first time since Lehigh on January 8th. A very solid return, as he broke a 6 match losing streak and won 9-3. To be fair, those were 6 straight solid opponents.

149: #1 Yianni Diakomihalis is #1 for a reason. After getting a pair of pins last week against Brown and Harvard he got two more today.

157: Hunter Richard started the day with a comfortable 10-4 win over Columbia. Against Navy, he came from behind with a pair of late takedowns to beat #20 Cerniglia 5-4. A great win and with Yapoujian done for the season I expect Richard to replace him in the rankings.

165: Rough start as #9 Julian Ramirez had a lead over Columbia's #21 Ogunsanya when they bonked heads. He actually continued and stretched his lead, but I think he got his bell rung a second time or felt a little dizzy and asked off, losing by injury default. For Navy he was replaced by Adam Santoro who lost 8-3

174: #13 Chris Foca gave up a late takedown against Columbia when he was going for a major decision but still won 8-3. Against Navy, he rolled to a 13-3 major decision.

184: #15 Jonathan Loew rolled to a pair of major decisions, 10-1 over Columbia and 12-4 over Navy.

197: #19 Jacob Cardenas won comfortably 5-2 over Columbia; he had a chance at a major against Navy's #27 Koser but couldn't get off bottom in the last period and won 9-4 without ever being threatened.

285: #17 Lewis Fernandes had a hell of a day. After an 18-0 tech fall over Columbia he was about to get another tech fall against Navy when he converted the nearfall into a pin.

Final Scores:
Cornell 31-9 over Columbia
Cornell 34-9 over Navy

* 125 has a big 3 at the top of the weight class. Nick Suriano, 2019's national champ at 133 has dropped down to 125 after an Olympic redshirt. Princeton's Patrick Glory split a pair with Vito when they wrestled back in 2019 before Vito took a year off for his own Olympic redshirt in 2020 and Glory was undefeated before pandemic killed the 2020 tournament and the entire 2021 season for the Ivy League.

Big weekend. Cornell faces Princeton (Saturday @1pm) and Penn (Sunday @1pm) on the road with the goal of taking back the Ivy League trophy we *barely* lost to Princeton in 2020 when half our team was taking a year off. We also have a dual at 5pm on Sunday. The Ivy matches will stream on ESPN; Drexel will stream on Flo.

Interesting from the match notes is the first appearance by Ben Darmstadt at 197. He's been out all year with a back injury, which has plagued him since late in his freshman year. In his place, Jacob Cardenas has wrestled very well and is in the top 20 but Darmstadt is a 2x All-American and sui generis. If he's in form, that would be incredible. Is he in form? Probably not. Cardenas remains the likely starter for the rest of the year.

ugarte
Big weekend. Cornell faces Princeton (Saturday @1pm) and Penn (Sunday @1pm) on the road with the goal of taking back the Ivy League trophy we *barely* lost to Princeton in 2020 when half our team was taking a year off. We also have a dual at 5pm on Sunday. The Ivy matches will stream on ESPN; Drexel will stream on Flo.

Interesting from the match notes is the first appearance by Ben Darmstadt at 197. He's been out all year with a back injury, which has plagued him since late in his freshman year. In his place, Jacob Cardenas has wrestled very well and is in the top 20 but Darmstadt is a 2x All-American and sui generis. If he's in form, that would be incredible. Is he in form? Probably not. Cardenas remains the likely starter for the rest of the year.

So is Ben going to wrestle at Pton this Sat? I hope Cornell wins this time

blackwidow

ugarte
Big weekend. Cornell faces Princeton (Saturday @1pm) and Penn (Sunday @1pm) on the road with the goal of taking back the Ivy League trophy we *barely* lost to Princeton in 2020 when half our team was taking a year off. We also have a dual at 5pm on Sunday. The Ivy matches will stream on ESPN; Drexel will stream on Flo.

Interesting from the match notes is the first appearance by Ben Darmstadt at 197. He's been out all year with a back injury, which has plagued him since late in his freshman year. In his place, Jacob Cardenas has wrestled very well and is in the top 20 but Darmstadt is a 2x All-American and sui generis. If he's in form, that would be incredible. Is he in form? Probably not. Cardenas remains the likely starter for the rest of the year.

So is Ben going to wrestle at Pton this Sat? I hope Cornell wins this time

if i were a betting man, i would say that he will not wrestle in the dual but that cornell will still win it.


Penn has really returned to being a competitive team. They don't have anyone at the top of the rankings but they have 9 of 10 *in* the rankings between 15-33, which is cool to see. Princeton has fewer ranked guys but a couple of elite wrestlers in Glory (#2 at 125) and Monday (#11 at 157).

For comparison, Cornell has five in the top 15 (Yianni, Arujau, Ramirez, Foca, Loew), two more 15-20 (Cardenas, Fernandes) and 2 more in the top 33 (Richard and LaJoie).

ugarte
Interesting from the match notes is the first appearance by Ben Darmstadt at 197. He's been out all year with a back injury, which has plagued him since late in his freshman year. In his place, Jacob Cardenas has wrestled very well and is in the top 20 but Darmstadt is a 2x All-American and sui generis. If he's in form, that would be incredible. Is he in form? Probably not. Cardenas remains the likely starter for the rest of the year.

They can't, like, tag-team?

ugarte

Penn has really returned to being a competitive team. They don't have anyone at the top of the rankings but they have 9 of 10 *in* the rankings between 15-33, which is cool to see. Princeton has fewer ranked guys but a couple of elite wrestlers in Glory (#2 at 125) and Monday (#11 at 157).

And the Quakers just embarrassed Lehigh 24-7.

mountainred

ugarte

Penn has really returned to being a competitive team. They don't have anyone at the top of the rankings but they have 9 of 10 *in* the rankings between 15-33, which is cool to see. Princeton has fewer ranked guys but a couple of elite wrestlers in Glory (#2 at 125) and Monday (#11 at 157).

And the Quakers just embarrassed Lehigh 24-7.

I think we match up much better with Penn than Lehigh does, and Foca and Loew both losing was a weird abberation.

As for Princeton... the dual started at 165. Closes with the second best match of the day: #25 Richard v #11 Monday.

Ramirez still showing effects of last weekend's medical forfeit loss.

Al DeFlorio
Ramirez still showing effects of last weekend's medical forfeit loss.

Rough. 5-1 lead and loses 7-6.

ugarte

Al DeFlorio
Ramirez still showing effects of last weekend's medical forfeit loss.

Rough. 5-1 lead and loses 7-6.

He was still weakened. No energy last half of match. Game that he tried to go.

Princeton notes as I watch:

165: #8 Ramirez jumped out to an early 5-1 lead but, possibly showing the aftereffects of getting his bell rung against Columbia, clearly tired and fell 7-6 to an unranked opponent. [PU 3-0]

174: #12 Foca with a comfortable 10-4 win. [3-3]

184: #15 Loew with a solid win over #10 Stefanik. Loew's loss to Stefanik in 2020 were the deciding points that clinched the dual for Princeton and ended Cornell's 17 year reign atop the Ivies. He's beaten Stefanik twice since (2020 EIWAs and today). [CU 6-3]

197: #19 Cardenas with a slow and tense 3-1 SV win over #18 Stout. Cardenas nearly scored off a knee-pull with ~20 seconds left in regulation but Stout was able to get the action out of bounds. In SV, Cardenas got in on a blast double and Stout tried to drag the attempt off the mat again, but Cardenas adjusted and got the takedown at the edge for the win. Really solid, and clutch for conference seeding. [CU 9-3]

285: #_ Fernandes with a 13-4 win. He got himself in trouble a couple of times and it looked like he was vulnerable to a fall but got two nearfalls for 6 points and rode hard in the third period to get the major. [CU 13-3]

125: #3 Arujau got in trouble early and wasn't able to come all the way back. Arujau got a pair of reversals and a pair of takedowns but lost 11-9. After two quick TDs that made a comeback seem inevitable, Arujau's last two good takedown attempts were defended well by Glory and ended in scrambles which Glory converted to a TD and a stalemate. Glory spent the last 15 seconds or so running away but not getting called for stalling. Arujau will get him back at EIWA, imo. [CU 13-6]

133: #30 Dom LaJoie with a tight match comes through with a good ride and a late takedown to win 4-1. [CU 16-6]

141: JJ Wilson got the start and came close to a couple of takedowns but couldn't pull it off and loses 8-5. [CU 16-9]

149; Disappointing result from #1 Yianni as he got a quick takedown, a 4NF, a 4NF a 4NF and a 2NF to win by technical fall 16-0 in 2:04 but it breaks his streak of 4 straight wins by fall. [CU 21-9] - clinches the dual; tomorrow's match v. Penn for the Ivy title

157: #25 Hunter Richard in a bit of a brawl with #11 Monday. Richard slapped Monday pretty hard in the ear and Monday got him back with a hard club in the face or across the chest after getting Richard's leg in the air. They also tumbled hard out of bounds and off the mat to the gym floor later in the round. Ugly all around. Nobody's fault in particular (or everybody's). Monday was the better wrestler today and wins 8-5 but Richard did get a late takedown on a smooth counter. [CU 21-12 FINAL]

ugarte
Princeton notes as I watch:

165: #8 Ramirez jumped out to an early 5-1 lead but, possibly showing the aftereffects of getting his bell rung against Columbia, clearly tired and fell 7-6 to an unranked opponent. [PU 3-0]

174: #12 Foca with a comfortable 10-4 win. [3-3]

184: #15 Loew with a solid win over #10 Stefanik. Loew's loss to Stefanik in 2020 were the deciding points that clinched the dual for Princeton and ended Cornell's 17 year reign atop the Ivies. He's beaten Stefanik twice since (2020 EIWAs and today). [CU 6-3]

197: #19 Cardenas with a slow and tense 3-1 SV win over #18 Stout. Cardenas nearly scored off a knee-pull with ~20 seconds left in regulation but Stout was able to get the action out of bounds. In SV, Cardenas got in on a blast double and Stout tried to drag the attempt off the mat again, but Cardenas adjusted and got the takedown at the edge for the win. Really solid, and clutch for conference seeding. [CU 9-3]

285: #_ Fernandes with a 13-4 win. He got himself in trouble a couple of times and it looked like he was vulnerable to a fall but got two nearfalls for 6 points and rode hard in the third period to get the major. [CU 13-3]

125: #3 Arujau got in trouble early and wasn't able to come all the way back. Arujau got a pair of reversals and a pair of takedowns but lost 11-9. After two quick TDs that made a comeback seem inevitable, Arujau's last two good takedown attempts were defended well by Glory and ended in scrambles which Glory converted to a TD and a stalemate. Glory spent the last 15 seconds or so running away but not getting called for stalling. Arujau will get him back at EIWA, imo. [CU 13-6]

133: #30 Dom LaJoie with a tight match comes through with a good ride and a late takedown to win 4-1. [CU 16-6]

141: JJ Wilson got the start and came close to a couple of takedowns but couldn't pull it off and loses 8-5. [CU 16-9]

149; Disappointing result from #1 Yianni as he got a quick takedown, a 4NF, a 4NF a 4NF and a 2NF to win by technical fall 16-0 in 2:04 but it breaks his streak of 4 straight wins by fall. [CU 21-9] - clinches the dual; tomorrow's match v. Penn for the Ivy title

157: #25 Hunter Richard in a bit of a brawl with #11 Monday. Richard slapped Monday pretty hard in the ear and Monday got him back with a hard club in the face or across the chest after getting Richard's leg in the air. They also tumbled hard out of bounds and off the mat to the gym floor later in the round. Ugly all around. Nobody's fault in particular (or everybody's). Monday was the better wrestler today and wins 8-5 but Richard did get a late takedown on a smooth counter. [CU 21-12 FINAL]

Glad cornell won but seems like ivy wrestling title will no longer be as straightforward as it used fo be.

Cornell with dual meet wins over Penn and Drexel. More later. Only upset loss of the day was fairly minor, IIRC. (Dom LaJoie losing at Drexel.) More later, probably.

Yet another Diakomihalis. From today’s Rochester D&C —

17 2 : Jake Scherbyn (Spencerport) pinned Elijah Diakomihalis (Hilton) 2:00 18 9 : Joe Marcello (Spencerport) dec. Nick Smith (Pittsford) 3-2 215 : John Santowski (Pittsford) dec. Jackson Burns (Spencerport) 7-2 285: Nathan Zimmerman (Webster Schroeder) dec. Bobby Foltz (Pittsford) 6-1 SuperSectionals Division II Finals At SUNY Brockport Two wrestlers per weight class advanced to state championships.
.

George64
Yet another Diakomihalis. From today’s Rochester D&C —

17 2 : Jake Scherbyn (Spencerport) pinned Elijah Diakomihalis (Hilton) 2:00 18 9 : Joe Marcello (Spencerport) dec. Nick Smith (Pittsford) 3-2 215 : John Santowski (Pittsford) dec. Jackson Burns (Spencerport) 7-2 285: Nathan Zimmerman (Webster Schroeder) dec. Bobby Foltz (Pittsford) 6-1 SuperSectionals Division II Finals At SUNY Brockport Two wrestlers per weight class advanced to state championships.
.

The state Section IV, Division I champ at 138 is another name you'd recognize if you knew that for some reason everyone in the family spells their last name differently. He's undefeated on the year. I would be very surprised if he didn't come to Cornell.

Ithaca’s George Oroudjov with a pin for the 138-pound DI title. pic.twitter.com/G6eymksXiY

— Section4Scores (@Section4Scores) February 13, 2022

Lost a close one to Wisconsin. Foca still out, Ramirez pinned by a great freshman and title contender in Hamiti and LaJoie lost a tough one.

On the other hand, a major from Arujau and big wins from Richard and Loew.

Glad to see Ramirez on the mat at all and hope Foca is ok for the conference tournament.

Allocated spots come out on Thursday so the borderline guys will see where they have to finish to get a trip to NCAAs. I don't think Vito, Yianni, Foca, Loew, Cardenas or Fernandes have to worry, tbh, they will get at-large bids if they show up. I worry about Ramirez getting an at-large because of his post-concussion struggles. Richard is wrestling too well for me to think he doesn't earn a bid but I worry that he doesn't have the profile. Dom LaJoie and JJ Wilson are going to have to take a spot from someone else. LaJoie did it two years ago before COVID stole his chance.

Tough results for Cornell in the bids EIWA is going to receive. Couple of guys are going to need to overperform to get a free trip.

125: 4 bids. Vito will get an at-large bid regardless of how he does at the tournament but there is only one guy in EIWA he could conceivably lose to. He's 1-2 in college against Princeton's Patrick Glory and he definitely wants to even that up in Ithaca next weekend.

133: 2 bids. Rough for Dom LaJoie, who earned a bid in the COVID season when the tournament was cancelled. He has lost to the top two at 133 already this season. EIWA should be a three-bid conference but Lehigh's Hines was banged up and missed some time. The conference bid-allocation process is complicated to explain in a sentence, but he needed to have 15 matches to earn the conference a bid and he only had 14. Lehigh tried to boost his numbers by sending him out to take an injury default in an exhibition match against Arizona State (as teams have been doing the last few years) but the NCAA announced during the preallocation process that they wouldn't be counting such matches. Just desserts, in a way, but the whole conference takes the hit here.

141: 4 bids. Our expected starter at 141, Saunders, has been out all semester for unclear reasons. The guy who earned the starting spot, Handlovic, couldn't hold the cut to 141. JJ Wilson has had some good matches this season but it would be a very cool surprise if he made it into the top 4. He's not seeded.

149: 4 bids. Yianni does not have significant in-conference competition.

157: 5 bids. Hunter Richard also earned a bid in the COVID season and it would be great for him to get back. He was so close to earning a 6th bid for EIWA. The criteria were that you needed 2 out of 3 of RPI/CR/% of 28/28/.720; he had an RPI of 18 but a coaches' rank of 29. All 5 of the guys who earned allocations are tough. He's 1-4 against them this season. I think he definitely can earn a bid but it's a really solid weight for the conference. If he finishes in 6th he still could pull an at-large.

165: 7 bids. Julian Ramirez would ordinarily be a lock but he got a concussion at the end of January and hasn't really been the same since. He starts his matches strong but has appeared to get dizzy after his heart rate gets up. I'm not a doctor, I hope he's fine. He's an All-American candidate if he's healthy.

174: 4 bids. Chris Foca had an upset loss to Lehigh's wrestler but otherwise has been solid all season. Should qualify. Don't really know how he'd do against his top competition - Drexel's O'Malley - because 30 seconds into their match he got a concussion. He skipped the next two duals, so he's another guy who I'm hoping is healthy. No reason to think he doesn't qualify if he's ok.

184: 3 bids. Jonathan Loew was the class of the conference this season, with a notable upset loss against Lehigh. He did have a close call against Penn and Navy but he should get an at-large even if he stumbles finishes in 4th.

197: 5 bids. Jacob Cardenas has one conference loss on the season. It would be shocking if he didn't earn a bid and shocking if he didn't get an at-large anyway.

285: 4 bids. Lewis Fernandes should not have a problem. Jordan Wood is the heavy favorite to win but 4 bids is a lot of room for error. Also a high likelihood of an at-large.

[www.nj.com]

toddlose
[www.nj.com]

Great article. Fun read for everyone here.

Session 1 is underway. Cornell didn't have anyone in the pigtail rounds so we start at R16.

125: Arujau got a quick takedown and never looked back on his way to a tech. WTF 19-1 6:00; nearly a pin but Vito lost his wrist grip.

133: LaJoie started slow but once he got going it was no contest. WBF 6:30;it would have been a 16-1 tech if LaJoie hadn't pushed for the fall.

141: Wilson gave up the first takedown but reversed. Down 3-2 after 1. Gives up an escape in the second but can't escape in the third. L 5-2.

149: Yianni got a couple of early takedowns then started turning. 14-1 after 1. WTF 20-2 3:54.

157: Richard can't turn his opponent but never gets taken down. 3TDs, a reversal and RT. WMD 9-1.

165: Ramirez may be back to form. Got a takedown a couple of turns and finished it off in the first period. WBF 2:37.

174: Foca gives up a reversal but no takedowns and gets a reversal of his own. WMD 14-4.

184: Loew gets a takedown off the whistle and turns it into a first period fall. WBF 1:48.

197: Cardenas dominant and gets a tech to close out R16 for Cornell. WTF 17-2 4:38.

285: Fernandes with a quick takedown and a pin. WBF 1:14.

Didn't get to watch the second round live but the upshot is that we have 8 in the semifinals (Arujau, LaJoie, Yianni, Ramirez, Foca, Loew, Cardenas and Fernandes) and one still alive in the consolation bracket (Richard). Only JJ Wilson is out, and even he had a WBF in the consolation bracket and contributed to the team score.

After Day 1 Cornell is in first place.

ugarte
Didn't get to watch the second round live but the upshot is that we have 8 in the semifinals (Arujau, LaJoie, Yianni, Ramirez, Foca, Loew, Cardenas and Fernandes) and one still alive in the consolation bracket (Richard). Only JJ Wilson is out, and even he had a WBF in the consolation bracket and contributed to the team score.

After Day 1 Cornell is in first place.

didnt realize how competitive Penn wrestling has gotten lately. Do you know where I can find the team scoreboard? I saw the Cornell tweet that it has a 2 point lead over Penn (

Four on to the finals with five qualified for NCAAs and two more wrestling for a bid in the afternoon session at the EIWA Championship. @BigRedWrestling clings to a two-point lead in the team race over Penn. #YellCornell

— CornellSportsGameday (@CUBigRedGameday) March 6, 2022

?s=20&t=i5y94gnQhzEWGPKiVXCu3Q)

You can find the stats on Flo -- [arena.flowrestling.org]

When competition is underway, you can follow the matches in real time without a subscription. Click on the 9 squares icon at the bottom of the screen.

dag14
You can find the stats on Flo -- [arena.flowrestling.org]

When competition is underway, you can follow the matches in real time without a subscription. Click on the 9 squares icon at the bottom of the screen.

Ty so much. I was furiously refreshing twitter lol

Flo arena can take a while to get used to. The red and green avatars show you what position the wrestlers are in and the time will count down when the clock is running. However, points are awarded without explanation so you either have to be paying close attention or you have to guess as to the sequence of events in some cases.

Final results

125: Vito Arujau with his first EIWA title, getting revenge on Princeton's Pat Glory who beat him earlier this year and in the 2019 EIWA finals. Arujau dominated the match today, winning 19-6 and nearly getting a tech fall. He was a buzzsaw in this tournament, winning by tech, major, pin before his dominant win in the final. He'll probably be the 2 seed at NCAA behind Michigan's Nick Suriano.

133: Dom LaJoie had a great run to the semifinals and then to third place. Unfortunately, 133 was a two-bid conference so he has to rely on the committee to give him an at-large bid. There are four available and only two of the wrestlers who earned bids for their conference lost them. To be considered for an at-large bid, you need at least two of a list of criteria and LaJoie has at least three (finished on the bubble, beat a national qualifier during the year (two, actually), top 33 RPI and maybe top 33 CR). Fingers crossed. Don't know when they release the results.

141: JJ Wilson was thrust into the starting role and made the most of it. Despite some good wins during the season, it wasn't to be here. He was seeded 13th, which tells you he probably wasn't expected to win a match. Despite that, he pinned the 12 seed before getting eliminated. He's got one more year, though, to be honest, if he is the starter next year I would be very surprised.

149: Yianni Diakomihalis won his third EIWA title. He was unstoppable this weekend. He won by tech, and a pair of majors, with his semifinal opponent taking a medical forfeit. He'll be the top seed and prohibitive favorite for the NCAA title.

157: Hunter Richard had the toughest road to an NCAA bid. 5 bids available and he finished in 6th, losing close twice to Penn's Zapf and once to the top seed, Lehigh's Humphreys. 157 has 5 at-large bids available and three "stolen" AQs. Richard's at-large bid profile is similar to LaJoie's except that he definitely will be both top-33 CR and RPI. I'd be surprised if he were passed over but I haven't given a deep look at the other contenders.

165: Julian Ramirez went in as the 1 seed and finished in 4th, good enough for an AQ. Disappointing all the same. Lost in the semifinals to a guy he was beating before the concussion that upended his season. Also lost badly in the third place match.

174: Chris Foca was cruising through the tournament, into the semifinals and up 2-1 when for the second time this season he got headbutted and immediately checked out with what looked like another concussion. He slid to 6th with the forfeits in a 4-bid conference, so he has to count on an at-large bid. Of course, he has an outstanding at-large profile and it's inconceivable that he'd be passed over. More concerned about his health than whether he makes the tournament.

184: Jonathan Loew won his first EIWA championship and qualified for the NCAA's for the second time. This will he his first trip since COVID cancellations started between the conference tournament and NCAAs. Loew beat Travis Stefanik for the third straight time since his loss at the 2019 Princeton dual, "cost" Cornell the Ivy title for the first time in 17 years. Every time he beats him, I hope that loss hurts a little less.

197: Jacob Cardenas cruised to the semifinals before losing a pair of matches to wrestlers he beat earlier this year, Princeton's Stout and Penn's Urbas. He recovered to take 5th place and earn an automatic bid.

285: Lewis Fernandes coasted into the finals with 2 pins and a 5-0 win before losing to Lehigh's Wood, a 2019 All-American 2-0, a much closer match than their last meeting. Second place is more than good enough to get an automatic bid.

In the end, Cornell qualified 6 (Arujau, Diakomihalis, Ramirez, Loew, Cardenas and Fernandes) and placed three on the bubble with great to decent chances of at-large bids (Foca, Richard and LaJoie).

The team won the EIWA title back for the first time since Lehigh started a five year win streak (on the heels of Cornell's 11 years at the top). We pulled away from Penn in the last session with three titles and two more wins in placement matches. Hope that we can hang on to it for a while.

ugarte
Final results

125: Vito Arujau with his first EIWA title, getting revenge on Princeton's Pat Glory who beat him earlier this year and in the 2019 EIWA finals. Arujau dominated the match today, winning 19-6 and nearly getting a tech fall. He was a buzzsaw in this tournament, winning by tech, major, pin before his dominant win in the final. He'll probably be the 2 seed at NCAA behind Michigan's Nick Suriano.

133: Dom LaJoie had a great run to the semifinals and then to third place. Unfortunately, 133 was a two-bid conference so he has to rely on the committee to give him an at-large bid. There are four available and only two of the wrestlers who earned bids for their conference lost them. To be considered for an at-large bid, you need at least two of a list of criteria and LaJoie has at least three (finished on the bubble, beat a national qualifier during the year (two, actually), top 33 RPI and maybe top 33 CR). Fingers crossed. Don't know when they release the results.

141: JJ Wilson was thrust into the starting role and made the most of it. Despite some good wins during the season, it wasn't to be here. He was seeded 13th, which tells you he probably wasn't expected to win a match. Despite that, he pinned the 12 seed before getting eliminated. He's got one more year, though, to be honest, if he is the starter next year I would be very surprised.

149: Yianni Diakomihalis won his third EIWA title. He was unstoppable this weekend. He won by tech, and a pair of majors, with his semifinal opponent taking a medical forfeit. He'll be the top seed and prohibitive favorite for the NCAA title.

157: Hunter Richard had the toughest road to an NCAA bid. 5 bids available and he finished in 6th, losing close twice to Penn's Zapf and once to the top seed, Lehigh's Humphreys. 157 has 5 at-large bids available and three "stolen" AQs. Richard's at-large bid profile is similar to LaJoie's except that he definitely will be both top-33 CR and RPI. I'd be surprised if he were passed over but I haven't given a deep look at the other contenders.

165: Julian Ramirez went in as the 1 seed and finished in 4th, good enough for an AQ. Disappointing all the same. Lost in the semifinals to a guy he was beating before the concussion that upended his season. Also lost badly in the third place match.

174: Chris Foca was cruising through the tournament, into the semifinals and up 2-1 when for the second time this season he got headbutted and immediately checked out with what looked like another concussion. He slid to 6th with the forfeits in a 4-bid conference, so he has to count on an at-large bid. Of course, he has an outstanding at-large profile and it's inconceivable that he'd be passed over. More concerned about his health than whether he makes the tournament.

184: Jonathan Loew won his first EIWA championship and qualified for the NCAA's for the second time. This will he his first trip since COVID cancellations started between the conference tournament and NCAAs. Loew beat Travis Stefanik for the third straight time since his loss at the 2019 Princeton dual, "cost" Cornell the Ivy title for the first time in 17 years. Every time he beats him, I hope that loss hurts a little less.

197: Jacob Cardenas cruised to the semifinals before losing a pair of matches to wrestlers he beat earlier this year, Princeton's Stout and Penn's Urbas. He recovered to take 5th place and earn an automatic bid.

285: Lewis Fernandes coasted into the finals with 2 pins and a 5-0 win before losing to Lehigh's Wood, a 2019 All-American 2-0, a much closer match than their last meeting. Second place is more than good enough to get an automatic bid.

In the end, Cornell qualified 6 (Arujau, Diakomihalis, Ramirez, Loew, Cardenas and Fernandes) and placed three on the bubble with great to decent chances of at-large bids (Foca, Richard and LaJoie).

The team won the EIWA title back for the first time since Lehigh started a five year win streak (on the heels of Cornell's 11 years at the top). We pulled away from Penn in the last session with three titles and two more wins in placement matches. Hope that we can hang on to it for a while.

Great recap as always. Vito and Yianni were stellar. I’m probably most disappointed with Cardenas’ result; hopefully he can have a good showing at the NCAA’s

scoop85

Great recap as always. Vito and Yianni were stellar. I’m probably most disappointed with Cardenas’ result; hopefully he can have a good showing at the NCAA’s

Thanks. I'm more worried about Ramirez than Cardenas tbh.

Cardenas and Stout are pretty evenly matched and the worst part of Cardenas' game is once he's on bottom. He took a bad shot and Stout countered him well and that was it. After Cardenas scored off the opening whistle, Stout went into a shell. Cardenas didn't adjust. He should be willing to get a little deeper to make his shots cleaner. I haven't watched Cardenas' match against Urbas but I did watch the Penn dual and ... Urbas isn't good enough for Cardenas to be so cautious on his feet. He has to score from neutral, which the rest of the conference seemed able to do. It's doubly true because once Urbas is laying on his back, Cardenas can't get up. Even in his win over Urbas earlier this season, Cardenas ended the period where he chose bottom on bottom.

I haven't watched Ramirez's loss to Columbia's Ogunsanya yet, but it's definitely disappointing. He was up 5-1 early in the Columbia dual before the concussion that ended the match and ruined the season. His lost to Bucknell's Hartmann was a blowout and I'm not sure what to make of it. Quality opponent and low stakes (since he earned the bid either way).

Of course the biggest worry is Foca. This is his second concussion from an accidental headbutt in a month and his first competition back since taking a month off after the first one. He'll get a bid but an alternate will be on-call for a lucky call-up if he can't wrestle.

Fingers crossed for all of the bubble boys to get invited to NCAAs.

ugarte

scoop85

Great recap as always. Vito and Yianni were stellar. I’m probably most disappointed with Cardenas’ result; hopefully he can have a good showing at the NCAA’s

Thanks. I'm more worried about Ramirez than Cardenas tbh.

Cardenas and Stout are pretty evenly matched and the worst part of Cardenas' game is once he's on bottom. He took a bad shot and Stout countered him well and that was it. After Cardenas scored off the opening whistle, Stout went into a shell. Cardenas didn't adjust. He should be willing to get a little deeper to make his shots cleaner. I haven't watched Cardenas' match against Urbas but I did watch the Penn dual and ... Urbas isn't good enough for Cardenas to be so cautious on his feet. He has to score from neutral, which the rest of the conference seemed able to do. It's doubly true because once Urbas is laying on his back, Cardenas can't get up. Even in his win over Urbas earlier this season, Cardenas ended the period where he chose bottom on bottom.

I haven't watched Ramirez's loss to Columbia's Ogunsanya yet, but it's definitely disappointing. He was up 5-1 early in the Columbia dual before the concussion that ended the match and ruined the season. His lost to Bucknell's Hartmann was a blowout and I'm not sure what to make of it. Quality opponent and low stakes (since he earned the bid either way).

Of course the biggest worry is Foca. This is his second concussion from an accidental headbutt in a month and his first competition back since taking a month off after the first one. He'll get a bid but an alternate will be on-call for a lucky call-up if he can't wrestle.

Fingers crossed for all of the bubble boys to get invited to NCAAs.

The reason I was more disappointed about Cardenas is because not only did he previously beat the guys he lost to this past weekend, but he didn't have the injury issue Ramirez has been dealing with, and which has clearly affected Ramirez's performance.

scoop85
The reason I was more disappointed about Cardenas is because not only did he previously beat the guys he lost to this past weekend, but he didn't have the injury issue Ramirez has been dealing with, and which has clearly affected Ramirez's performance.

for sure, i just am more worried that the concussion is having lasting effects than i am that gwiz won't beat some aggression into cardenas at practice

ugarte

133: Dom LaJoie had a great run to the semifinals and then to third place. Unfortunately, 133 was a two-bid conference so he has to rely on the committee to give him an at-large bid. There are four available and only two of the wrestlers who earned bids for their conference lost them. To be considered for an at-large bid, you need at least two of a list of criteria and LaJoie has at least three (finished on the bubble, beat a national qualifier during the year (two, actually), top 33 RPI and maybe top 33 CR). Fingers crossed. Don't know when they release the results...

157: Hunter Richard had the toughest road to an NCAA bid. 5 bids available and he finished in 6th, losing close twice to Penn's Zapf and once to the top seed, Lehigh's Humphreys. 157 has 5 at-large bids available and three "stolen" AQs. Richard's at-large bid profile is similar to LaJoie's except that he definitely will be both top-33 CR and RPI. I'd be surprised if he were passed over but I haven't given a deep look at the other contenders.

174: Chris Foca was cruising through the tournament, into the semifinals and up 2-1 when for the second time this season he got headbutted and immediately checked out with what looked like another concussion. He slid to 6th with the forfeits in a 4-bid conference, so he has to count on an at-large bid. Of course, he has an outstanding at-large profile and it's inconceivable that he'd be passed over. More concerned about his health than whether he makes the tournament.

It's a party. LaJoie, Richard and Foca all receive at-large bids and are heading to Detroit. Cornell qualified 9 for NCAAs. Penn qualified 9 as well, with Lehigh (7) and Princeton (6) the other top EIWA teams.

now hopefully all can show up healthy

upprdeck
now hopefully all can show up healthy

Coach Grey said that they believe Foca's injury was mild but a trainer will ultimately make the call.

The bracket is out and here are the Cornell seeds:

125: Vito Arujau (2)
133: Dom LaJoie (32) in the pigtail vs #33 with #1 waiting for the winner.
149: Yianni Diakomihalis (1)
157: Hunter Richard (30)
165: Julian Ramirez (13)
174: Chris Foca (14)
184: Jonathan Loew (11)
197: Jacob Cardenas (19)
285: Lewis Fernandes (18)

I like the first round matchups for most of our guys. Obviously Richard has a very tough one out of the gate but if he can pull a big upset I like his chances in the second round. Everyone else has winnable first matches in my opinion. We got a lot of small schools - two from Appalachian State and one from Campbell among our middle seeds. That doesn't mean those are guaranteed wins but in general I'd rather see App State than NC State.

NCAA tournament kicks off at noon eastern.

Nine wrestlers, one favorite, one title contender as many as five more guys who I could see sneaking on to the podium if the bracket breaks right and even the last two could get us team points.

Let's go Red.

LaJoie wins his pigtail.

125: Arjuau WMD 16-4. Dominant.
133: LaJoie in the pigtail W 9-5 before LMD 16-4 to the #1 seed.
149: Diakomihalis W 9-2. Bonus would have been nice here but he kind of cruised. Never threatened.
157: Richard L 3-2 to the #3 seed but was in it until the end. Came close to converting a couple of takedowns but couldn't quite.
165: Ramirez W 8-3. Nice to see him get the W. Not threatened.
174: Foca L 9-6. Was up 5-3 to start the third period and 6-5 in the waning seconds but gave up a very late TD and 2NF to lose. Should have been stalling!
184: Loew W 11-4. Just short of a bonus point that would have been nice. Tried for a turn when maybe catch-and-release the better strat for the major.
197: Cardenas L 7-0. Bullied by a strong grad student who probably should have an AA on his resume by now.
285: Fernandes W 4-0. Late takedown in the second and was on top of his opponent for the full third period.

6 wins, 5 wrestlers still alive in the championship bracket, 1 bonus point. Cornell sits in 7th after the morning session.

Evening session starts at 7pm Eastern.

Cardenas got in on the single leg like 3 times got no points and 1 turned into pts against him.

ugarte


6 wins, 5 wrestlers still alive in the championship bracket, 1 bonus point. Cornell sits in 7th after the morning session.

Evening session starts at 7pm Eastern.

ugarte, I don't know how you feel about setting expectations in the middle of the competition, but you're definitely the one who knows the most wrestling on this forum. Wouldn't a top 10 finish in the coach's first year be considered a strong result?

djk26

ugarte


6 wins, 5 wrestlers still alive in the championship bracket, 1 bonus point. Cornell sits in 7th after the morning session.

Evening session starts at 7pm Eastern.

ugarte, I don't know how you feel about setting expectations in the middle of the competition, but you're definitely the one who knows the most wrestling on this forum. Wouldn't a top 10 finish in the coach's first year be considered a strong result?

Eh. i
It's all Koll recruits still, even though Grey was very involved in recruiting. Chalk has Cornell top 10 so while I think the team is well-served by Grey I don't really think of this as "his" first team yet in terms of NCAA finish.

ROUND OF 16
125: #2 Arjuau W 9-3. never in doubt. Next vs DeAugustino (10-Northwestern) in QF.
149: #1 Diakomihalis W 11-5. Takedown at the buzzer for a major was reviewed and waved off as after time ran out. Next vs Murin (8-Iowa) in QF.
165: #13 Ramirez L 15-11. Had a big lead early and nearly a fall but time ran out in the first period before slowly getting routed. Next vs Ogunsanya (14-Columbia) in Consy 2.
184: #11 Loew LMD 12-2. Munoz dominated from the opening whistle. Next vs Wilson (12-N. Illinois) in Consy 2.
285: #18 Fernandes LBF :52. Didn't see it but... Schultz is very good, so... Next vs Hillger (17-Wisconsin) in Consy 2.

Consolation 1
133: #32 LaJoie L 10-5 to Utah Valley. His season / career at Cornell is over. 1-2 at NCAAs.
157: #30 Richard W 3-2. Didn't see it. Huge win. Next vs Thomas (13-Oklahoma) in Consy 2.
174: #14 Foca WBF 5:17. Dominant win and a great reversal straight to a fall. Next vs Finesilver (13-Duke).
197: #19 Cardenas WMD 11-2. Revenge over Urbas (Penn) who beat him at EIWA. Next vs Brucki (4-Michigan) in Consy 2. Blech. That's bad luck.

Cornell has 2 alive in the championship bracket and 6 still fighting in the consolation bracket. Everyone on the team won at least one match.

In the team race, Cornell is tied for 9th with 14 points. 6th place has 15 points. Doing well, especially since Yianni and Vito are expected to score a lot. If we can pick up some back side wins we're in great shape. All of the consolation matches are tough but I think we'll pull some out.

Quarterfinals - Win and you get on the podium

125: #2 Arujau v #10 DeAugustino (Northwestern)
149: #1 Diakomihalis v #8 Murin (Iowa)

Consolation - Need 3 wins to get on the podium
157: #30 Richard v #13 Thomas (Oklahoma)
165: #13 Ramirez v #14 Ogunsanya (Columbia) - Ramirez got his concussion while beating Ogunsanya then lost to him straight up in the EIWA semifinals.
174: #11 Loew v #12 Wilson (N. Illinois) - Wilson is a returning AA (6th)
184: #14 Foca v #13 Finesilver (Duke)
197: #19 Cardenas v #4 Brucki (Michigan) - 2019 AA (4th) when he was at Princeton. Tough break to have him fall in Cardenas' path.
285: #18 Fernandes v #17 Hillger (Wisconsin) - Hillger won 6-2 at the Wisconsin dual last month. Revenge time.

Action starts at 11 Eastern.

Quarterfinals

125: #2 Arujau W 6-0. Moves to the semifinal. 2x All-American. Another match against #3 Glory (Princeton) coming. Currently 2-2. Vito pinned Glory at the dual in 2019 then lost a high scoring EIWA final. This year, Glory won a high-scoring dual match before Arujau dominated him in the EIWA final. Chalk all the way at 125. The other semifinal is #1 Suriano (Michigan - 2x finalist, 2019 champ at 133 when he was at Rutgers) and #4 Courtney (Arizona State - 2021 finalist).

149: #1 Diakomihalis W 6-3. Moves to the semifinal. 3x All-American. Will face #4 Sasso (Ohio State) next. Sasso is a returning finalist; earlier this season Yianni won 6-2. The other side of the bracket exploded. #10 Lovett (Nebraska) pinned #2 Wilson (NC State) and #11 Andonian (VT) pinned #3 Gomez (Wisconsin).

2 into the semis moves Cornell into 5th place but there are still 6 weights to go in the top bracket and even more on the bottom.

nice job by both controlling the matches..

Consolation 2:
157: #30 Richard W 6-5. Stayin' alive. Two clean takedowns in the first. Didn't stay on top very long so he gave up 3 escapes but he also got up quickly at the start of the third and after getting taken down. Stayed active as the clock wound down. Will face defending 149 pound champion #11 O'Connor (N. Carolina). O'Connor isn't the same at 157 but in a way neither is Richard. O'Connor won in 2020 when they faced each other. The winner gets #7 Humphrey (Lehigh) for a spot on the podium. It's never easy.

165: #13 Ramirez WMD 14-3. After an injury default and a loss against Ogunsanya while he looked like he was still recovering, Ramirez blows out Ogunsanya after the cobwebs are gone. He gets another shot at revenge against #12 Hartman (Bucknell) who dominated him at EIWA. Even if he wins that it just gets harder: the winner faces #7 Kharchla, who beat him twice - pre-concussion - in Las Vegas. It's never easy!

174: #14 Foca L 7-2. Season over but a good future. Had some real close calls for back points but Finesilver fought him off and had deeper lungs for the stretch and pulled away for a convincing W.

184: #11 Loew W 11-4. Great win. Got to Wilson's legs over and over. Wilson was slippery but Loew did a great job. Up next is #20 Poznanski (Rutgers), who is having a tougher 2022 but finished 4th last year. Winner gets #9 Braunagel (Illinois). It's still never easy but #20-#9 is as good a path as you could ask for if you're Loew.

197: #19 Cardenas L 8-6 SV. Incredible near comeback with two third period TDs by Cardenas to take a 6-5 lead. Unsure why he cut Brucki with 25 seconds left instead of trying to ride out for the win but it cost him as he gave up a TD early in SV. Good foundation for his first year on the mat.

285: Fernandes W 2-1. Pretty reversal in the second period and a dominant ride for the rest of the period to wipe out Hillger's riding time advantage. In the third period he kept the pressure on and he didn't break through but Hillger couldn't do anything either. Fernandes gets his revenge - and has another shot at revenge against #10 Traxler (VT). Winner gets #12 Lance (Nebraska). Another not easy path to the podium but as clean as you can expect in this spot.

Round of 16:

157: #30 Richard L 8-1. Down 3-1 late, Richard got robbed of a TD (he would still have been losing with RT). A desperation attempt at a takedown before the whistle ended up with him on his back for 2+2NF. Great match, though. Pressured hard. Real tough opponent. I'll miss him.

165: #13 Ramirez WBF 2:48! After giving up the first takedown he got one of his own, locked up a cradle and got the pin. Awesome. One win away.

184: #11 Loew W 9-4! Poz never came close to scoring. One win away.

285: #18 Fernandes W 10-4! Starting on top in the 3rd Fernandes worked his power half to turn Traxler over for 4NF. I think Traxler maybe got a penalty point for claiming he was getting choked to get out of the hold? Another revenge win for the Big Red. One win away.

Tonight's session:

Semis
125: #2 Arujau v #3 Glory (Princeton)

149: #1 Diakomihalis v #4 Sasso (Ohio State)

Blood round (Winner gets All-American)

165: #13 Ramirez v #7 Kharchla (Ohio State)

184: #11 Loew v #9 Braunagel (Illinois)

285: #18 Fernandes v #12 Lance (Nebraska)

Cornell is still in 6th heading into the semis/blood round.

Welp..

Semis
125: Not Arujau's night. He gave up a takedown and while escaping got into a scramble where he ended up getting exposed for 4NF. Had to come from behind and it left him vulnerable. LMD 13-5. He will wrestle #8 McKee (Minnesota) in the placement match to see if he wrestles for 3rd or 5th.

149: Yianni's trip to the finals was never in doubt. W 6-3. Sasso never close to scoring. Yianni will face #10 Lovett of Nebraska in the Finals. Despite the seed, Lovett gave Yianni his only scare of the season before Yianni won in SV.

Blood round

165: Ramirez was robbed. With a one point lead and time winding down, Kharchla went for a shot and they got into a scramble. They looked parallel all the way to the whistle and even though it didn't look like the position changed, at some point Kharchla was awarded a TD. The call was upheld on challenge but I'm not buying it. L 4-3.

184: Incredible win by Loew. W 3-1 SV. Loew made all the attempts at scoring but it was still 1-1 when it went to SV. I thought Loew got robbed by a stalemate call when he was on the verge of scoring but it didn't matter when he finally converted early in SV for the W.

Loew's reward for the win over Braunagel was a match with #4 Keckeisen (N. Iowa). Keckeisen generated most of the offense, with 2 TD and a reversal, but Loew kept it close by getting out from bottom quickly. His 4 escapes had him within striking distance and when he got a TD with ~1:20 left to tie the score it looked like he might have a chance. Keckeisen escaped quickly and Loew wasn't able to chase him down in the last 1:11. L 7-6. Loew will wrestle for 7th against #8 Marcus Coleman (Iowa State).

285: Fernandes was so close. SO CLOSE. He escaped in the second to take a 1-0 lead. Starting the third on top, he was riding hard and accumulated over a minute of RT. Lance stood up and Fernandes threw him back to the mat but Nebraska successfully challenged that Fernandes had locked his hands during the return and Lance was awarded a penalty point. If Fernandes had been able to ride him out, he'd have won 2-1 with the RT. Alas, Lance escaped, so the RT point only sent the match to SV. Lance got the first clean takedown of the match. L 4-2 SV.

After Day 2, Cornell is in 8th place. Yianni will go for his third title tomorrow night. In the 11am session, Vito will wrestle for placement and then wrestle for either 3rd or 5th and Loew will wrestle for 7th place.

Three All-Americans is better than chalk but still disappointing the way it went down. Ramirez and Fernandes were both seconds away from joining their teammates. They'll be back.

Vito Arujau has no trouble in the morning session. In the consolation semifinal he beats #8 McKee (Minnesota) W 7-3 and follows it up in the the third place match with a WMD 10-2 over #10 DeAugustino (Northwestern). Congrats to Vito on his second All-American finish, and an improvement on his 4th place finish in 2019, but his face showed how much he expected/wanted to be wrestling tonight for the title.

Cornell sits in 8th place with a shot at 6th (Loew for 7th soon, then Yianni for 1st tonight) but the teams in 6th (NW) and 7th(VT) still have opportunities to score, as do a couple of teams in shouting distance behind us like Missouri.

ugarte
Vito Arujau has no trouble in the morning session. In the consolation semifinal he beats #8 McKee (Minnesota) W 7-3 and follows it up in the the third place match with a WMD 10-2 over #10 DeAugustino (Northwestern). Congrats to Vito on his second All-American finish, and an improvement on his 4th place finish in 2019, but his face showed how much he expected/wanted to be wrestling tonight for the title.

Cornell sits in 8th place with a shot at 6th (Loew for 7th soon, then Yianni for 1st tonight) but the teams in 6th (NW) and 7th(VT) still have opportunities to score, as do a couple of teams in shouting distance behind us like Missouri.

how would you rate Vito's talent level? Do you think he has enough raw talent to make it at the highest level? Wondering if his inconsistency comes from his not having enough maturity as a strategist.

blackwidow

ugarte
Vito Arujau has no trouble in the morning session. In the consolation semifinal he beats #8 McKee (Minnesota) W 7-3 and follows it up in the the third place match with a WMD 10-2 over #10 DeAugustino (Northwestern). Congrats to Vito on his second All-American finish, and an improvement on his 4th place finish in 2019, but his face showed how much he expected/wanted to be wrestling tonight for the title.

Cornell sits in 8th place with a shot at 6th (Loew for 7th soon, then Yianni for 1st tonight) but the teams in 6th (NW) and 7th(VT) still have opportunities to score, as do a couple of teams in shouting distance behind us like Missouri.

how would you rate Vito's talent level? Do you think he has enough raw talent to make it at the highest level? Wondering if his inconsistency comes from his not having enough maturity as a strategist.

yeah for sure. dude was a junior world silver medalist. finished in second at US Senior Nationals to a multiple world medalist. He's like 22?

Yianni wins 11-5 for his third national title. Cornell finishes in 7th in the team race. They've been top 10 every year* since 2008. nbd.

* of course they didn't compete at all in 2021

Ugarte, a couple of questions. I really look forward to your postings on this.

Is Arujau better in freestyle than folkstyle? It seems he has gone further in international than college competition. Does he have the higher upside there? And I assume he has a higher upside in general than, say, Glory. I don't remember as big a difference between free and folk back decades ago (even if the style names were different then).

What is the story with Max Dean? There seemed to be a lot not mentioned tonight by the ESPN commentators and unasked by Kessenich in his interview. Dean also was cryptic, but it sounded as if there were issues. If his transfer was just because of the Ivy cancellation of the season, that would be simple to report. You made some mention at the time about the requirement of vaccinations.

Chuck Henderson
Ugarte, a couple of questions. I really look forward to your postings on this.

Is Arujau better in freestyle than folkstyle? It seems he has gone further in international than college competition. Does he have the higher upside there? And I assume he has a higher upside in general than, say, Glory. I don't remember as big a difference between free and folk back decades ago (even if the style names were different then).

What is the story with Max Dean? There seemed to be a lot not mentioned tonight by the ESPN commentators and unasked by Kessenich in his interview. Dean also was cryptic, but it sounded as if there were issues. If his transfer was just because of the Ivy cancellation of the season, that would be simple to report. You made some mention at the time about the requirement of vaccinations.

Thanks.

He's not "better" at freestyle than folk, necessarily, but there were three exceptionally talented freestylers in college this year. He is a much better folkstyle prospect than Glory, but I don't know if he is necessarily a better prospect than either Nick Suriano (who missed 2021 Senior nationals with COVID) or Spencer Lee (if he comes back from surgery at his best). Vito did beat Suriano the last time they faced each other in freestyle but it was close and considered an upset at the time. And Gilman keeps on trucking too. We're very deep at 57kg!

Max Dean - and his brother Gabe - are both antivaxers. New York State, Cornell and the Ivy League all had vaccine policies that would not work for Dean and so he left. I do not give much credence to his claim that he needed to go to Penn State to win a title. His brother won two in Ithaca, he had an incredible upset win to get to the 2019 finals and then imo choked the final himself and to the extent he won a title because he was at Penn State this year it's because Cael Sanderson worked the refs and got Dean bullshit calls in his second round and QF matches against Aiello and DePrez that flipped the results. He also got very lucky that he had a glide path to the title. #21 in the semifinal and #7 in the final.

Post-COVID Cornell was a bad fit for him, but everything that isn't about the vaccine policy is a retcon.

ugarte

Chuck Henderson
Ugarte, a couple of questions. I really look forward to your postings on this.

Is Arujau better in freestyle than folkstyle? It seems he has gone further in international than college competition. Does he have the higher upside there? And I assume he has a higher upside in general than, say, Glory. I don't remember as big a difference between free and folk back decades ago (even if the style names were different then).

What is the story with Max Dean? There seemed to be a lot not mentioned tonight by the ESPN commentators and unasked by Kessenich in his interview. Dean also was cryptic, but it sounded as if there were issues. If his transfer was just because of the Ivy cancellation of the season, that would be simple to report. You made some mention at the time about the requirement of vaccinations.

Thanks.

He's not "better" at freestyle than folk, necessarily, but there were three exceptionally talented freestylers in college this year. He is a much better folkstyle prospect than Glory, but I don't know if he is necessarily a better prospect than either Nick Suriano (who missed 2021 Senior nationals with COVID) or Spencer Lee (if he comes back from surgery at his best). Vito did beat Suriano the last time they faced each other in freestyle but it was close and considered an upset at the time. And Gilman keeps on trucking too. We're very deep at 57kg!

Max Dean - and his brother Gabe - are both antivaxers. New York State, Cornell and the Ivy League all had vaccine policies that would not work for Dean and so he left. I do not give much credence to his claim that he needed to go to Penn State to win a title. His brother won two in Ithaca, he had an incredible upset win to get to the 2019 finals and then imo choked the final himself and to the extent he won a title because he was at Penn State this year it's because Cael Sanderson worked the refs and got Dean bullshit calls in his second round and QF matches against Aiello and DePrez that flipped the results. He also got very lucky that he had a glide path to the title. #21 in the semifinal and #7 in the final.

Post-COVID Cornell was a bad fit for him, but everything that isn't about the vaccine policy is a retcon.

Thank you for the input. Could you expand on your view that vito seems to be a better folkstyle prospect than pat?

blackwidow

ugarte

Chuck Henderson
Ugarte, a couple of questions. I really look forward to your postings on this.

Is Arujau better in freestyle than folkstyle? It seems he has gone further in international than college competition. Does he have the higher upside there? And I assume he has a higher upside in general than, say, Glory. I don't remember as big a difference between free and folk back decades ago (even if the style names were different then).

What is the story with Max Dean? There seemed to be a lot not mentioned tonight by the ESPN commentators and unasked by Kessenich in his interview. Dean also was cryptic, but it sounded as if there were issues. If his transfer was just because of the Ivy cancellation of the season, that would be simple to report. You made some mention at the time about the requirement of vaccinations.

Thanks.

He's not "better" at freestyle than folk, necessarily, but there were three exceptionally talented freestylers in college this year. He is a much better folkstyle prospect than Glory, but I don't know if he is necessarily a better prospect than either Nick Suriano (who missed 2021 Senior nationals with COVID) or Spencer Lee (if he comes back from surgery at his best). Vito did beat Suriano the last time they faced each other in freestyle but it was close and considered an upset at the time. And Gilman keeps on trucking too. We're very deep at 57kg!

Max Dean - and his brother Gabe - are both antivaxers. New York State, Cornell and the Ivy League all had vaccine policies that would not work for Dean and so he left. I do not give much credence to his claim that he needed to go to Penn State to win a title. His brother won two in Ithaca, he had an incredible upset win to get to the 2019 finals and then imo choked the final himself and to the extent he won a title because he was at Penn State this year it's because Cael Sanderson worked the refs and got Dean bullshit calls in his second round and QF matches against Aiello and DePrez that flipped the results. He also got very lucky that he had a glide path to the title. #21 in the semifinal and #7 in the final.

Post-COVID Cornell was a bad fit for him, but everything that isn't about the vaccine policy is a retcon.

Thank you for the input. Could you expand on your view that vito seems to be a better folkstyle prospect than pat?

i think you mean freestyle - folk is college. anyway, it ain't the stock market. past performance is indicative of future results (no guarantees though). also, one of glory's best attributes as a folkstle wrestler is his top game. this matters less in freestyle, where there is no riding time and no escape points. after a takedown, if nobody can get a turn, the ref blows stalemate and the match restarts on your feet in neutral.

ugarte

blackwidow

ugarte

Chuck Henderson
Ugarte, a couple of questions. I really look forward to your postings on this.

Is Arujau better in freestyle than folkstyle? It seems he has gone further in international than college competition. Does he have the higher upside there? And I assume he has a higher upside in general than, say, Glory. I don't remember as big a difference between free and folk back decades ago (even if the style names were different then).

What is the story with Max Dean? There seemed to be a lot not mentioned tonight by the ESPN commentators and unasked by Kessenich in his interview. Dean also was cryptic, but it sounded as if there were issues. If his transfer was just because of the Ivy cancellation of the season, that would be simple to report. You made some mention at the time about the requirement of vaccinations.

Thanks.

He's not "better" at freestyle than folk, necessarily, but there were three exceptionally talented freestylers in college this year. He is a much better folkstyle prospect than Glory, but I don't know if he is necessarily a better prospect than either Nick Suriano (who missed 2021 Senior nationals with COVID) or Spencer Lee (if he comes back from surgery at his best). Vito did beat Suriano the last time they faced each other in freestyle but it was close and considered an upset at the time. And Gilman keeps on trucking too. We're very deep at 57kg!

Max Dean - and his brother Gabe - are both antivaxers. New York State, Cornell and the Ivy League all had vaccine policies that would not work for Dean and so he left. I do not give much credence to his claim that he needed to go to Penn State to win a title. His brother won two in Ithaca, he had an incredible upset win to get to the 2019 finals and then imo choked the final himself and to the extent he won a title because he was at Penn State this year it's because Cael Sanderson worked the refs and got Dean bullshit calls in his second round and QF matches against Aiello and DePrez that flipped the results. He also got very lucky that he had a glide path to the title. #21 in the semifinal and #7 in the final.

Post-COVID Cornell was a bad fit for him, but everything that isn't about the vaccine policy is a retcon.

Thank you for the input. Could you expand on your view that vito seems to be a better folkstyle prospect than pat?

i think you mean freestyle - folk is college. anyway, it ain't the stock market. past performance is indicative of future results (no guarantees though). also, one of glory's best attributes as a folkstle wrestler is his top game. this matters less in freestyle, where there is no riding time and no escape points. after a takedown, if nobody can get a turn, the ref blows stalemate and the match restarts on your feet in neutral.

Your earlier posting said Arujau was a better FOLKSTYLE prospect than Glory. I think the confusion started there.

Al DeFlorio

ugarte

blackwidow

ugarte

Chuck Henderson
Ugarte, a couple of questions. I really look forward to your postings on this.

Is Arujau better in freestyle than folkstyle? It seems he has gone further in international than college competition. Does he have the higher upside there? And I assume he has a higher upside in general than, say, Glory. I don't remember as big a difference between free and folk back decades ago (even if the style names were different then).

What is the story with Max Dean? There seemed to be a lot not mentioned tonight by the ESPN commentators and unasked by Kessenich in his interview. Dean also was cryptic, but it sounded as if there were issues. If his transfer was just because of the Ivy cancellation of the season, that would be simple to report. You made some mention at the time about the requirement of vaccinations.

Thanks.

He's not "better" at freestyle than folk, necessarily, but there were three exceptionally talented freestylers in college this year. He is a much better folkstyle prospect than Glory, but I don't know if he is necessarily a better prospect than either Nick Suriano (who missed 2021 Senior nationals with COVID) or Spencer Lee (if he comes back from surgery at his best). Vito did beat Suriano the last time they faced each other in freestyle but it was close and considered an upset at the time. And Gilman keeps on trucking too. We're very deep at 57kg!

Max Dean - and his brother Gabe - are both antivaxers. New York State, Cornell and the Ivy League all had vaccine policies that would not work for Dean and so he left. I do not give much credence to his claim that he needed to go to Penn State to win a title. His brother won two in Ithaca, he had an incredible upset win to get to the 2019 finals and then imo choked the final himself and to the extent he won a title because he was at Penn State this year it's because Cael Sanderson worked the refs and got Dean bullshit calls in his second round and QF matches against Aiello and DePrez that flipped the results. He also got very lucky that he had a glide path to the title. #21 in the semifinal and #7 in the final.

Post-COVID Cornell was a bad fit for him, but everything that isn't about the vaccine policy is a retcon.

c
Thank you for the input. Could you expand on your view that vito seems to be a better folkstyle prospect than pat?

i think you mean freestyle - folk is college. anyway, it ain't the stock market. past performance is indicative of future results (no guarantees though). also, one of glory's best attributes as a folkstle wrestler is his top game. this matters less in freestyle, where there is no riding time and no escape points. after a takedown, if nobody can get a turn, the ref blows stalemate and the match restarts on your feet in neutral.

Your earlier posting said Arujau was a better FOLKSTYLE prospect than Glory. I think the confusion started there.

probably should have checked that lol

Just talked to Meyer. 100% to Cornell. I'll be with him at Sem tomorrow. [t.co]

— 🤴🤼‍♀️🧠 (@MatScoutWillie) April 12, 2022

?s=19

How high is he rated?

blackwidow

How high is he rated?

I'll look up his ranking but he's a freestyle Cadet (U17) world champ at 65kg. That's Yianni's weight class but I assume if he's wrestling cadet at 65kg he'll wrestle bigger than that in college.

Edit: Flo has him at #3 overall in the all-weights ranking for the Class of '23.

ugarte

blackwidow

How high is he rated?

I'll look up his ranking but he's a freestyle Cadet (U17) world champ at 65kg. That's Yianni's weight class but I assume if he's wrestling cadet at 65kg he'll wrestle bigger than that in college.

Edit: Flo has him at #3 overall in the all-weights ranking for the Class of '23.

Thank you. This is awesome!

Cornell recruit Vince Cornella (where else would he go?) won the U20 US Open at 65kg, beating many higher-ranked guys along the way.

Greg D. took fourth in the Senior Men's 57kg class; a great showing.

Next year: Greg D, Vito, Vince, Yianni, Colton, Ramirez, Foca, Loew, Cardenas, Fernandes

klehner
Cornell recruit Vince Cornella (where else would he go?) won the U20 US Open at 65kg, beating many higher-ranked guys along the way.

Greg D. took fourth in the Senior Men's 57kg class; a great showing.

Next year: Greg D, Vito, Vince, Yianni, Colton, Ramirez, Foca, Loew, Cardenas, Fernandes

and that even assumes greg d. beats out ungar. embarrassment of riches.

Lot of international qualifying going on. Day 1 of Final X, in Stillwater, was on June 3 and the US age group trials for the U20 and U23 teams started on June 3 as well.

At Final X, Vito Arujau lost 2-0 (12-2, 13-2) to multiple world/Olympic medalist Thomas Gilman. He's the alternate for Senior Worlds in Belgrade this September.


At the U23 trials, Philip Moomey, a Greco specialist and probably a great workout partner, won the 60kg title over the former U20 champ Max Black 2-0 (WBF, 8-0) and will represent the US at the world championships in Pontevedra, Spain this October.

At the U20 trials, Vince Cornella '26 came from behind to beat Oklahoma State's Carter Young 2-1 (3-4, 12-10, 4-1) and will represent the US at 65kg at the world championships in Sofia this August.

The U20 and U23 freestyle qualifiers are still going on. We do not have any wrestlers still alive in U20 (though Ethan Hatcher did beat the 1 seed at 86kg before losing a pair.) In U23, Greg Diakomihalis (57kg), Josh Saunders (65kg), Jonathan Loew (86kg) and Jacob Cardenas (92kg) are still alive in the QF. A lot of wrestlers are still alive in the consolation rounds, including Julian Ramirez, Chris Foca and Brendan Furman.

The second day of Final X qualifying, for the last 15 weights (across greco and men's and women's freestyle), is on June 8 at MSG. Yianni Diakomihalis (65kg) and Kyle Dake (74kg) will each have a best of three match for the chance to join Team USA in Belgrade.

Learned today that by finishing second at Senior nationals, if Vito wants to take the U23 spot, he can. The broadcasters were assuming he would.

In the actual tournament, Jacob Cardenas won at 92kg, but may have his U23 spot taken (the same way Vito can take it) if Isaac Trumble wins his True Third* match at Final X on Wednesday.

Our other medalists:

57kg: Greg Diakomihalis - 3rd place
65kg: Jonathan Saunders - 6th place
86kg: Jonathan Loew - 4th place
86kg: Chris Foca - 6th place

*At World Team Trials, Nate Jackson beat Jay Aiello in the semis and Trumble in the finals. Because they both lost to the same guy, a "true third" match eliminates the luck of the draw. since both wrestlers only losses were to Jackson. If Aiello wins the True Third, Cardenas will hold his spot because only top 3 finishers at Senior Nationals can take an age-group slot they are eligible for and Aiello is 27 24 (the person who said 27 was kidding).

ugarte
Learned today that by finishing second at Senior nationals, if Vito wants to take the U23 spot, he can. The broadcasters were assuming he would.

In the actual tournament, Jacob Cardenas won at 92kg, but may have his U23 spot taken (the same way Vito can take it) if Isaac Trumble wins his True Third* match at Final X on Wednesday.

Our other medalists:

57kg: Greg Diakomihalis - 3rd place
65kg: Jonathan Saunders - 6th place
86kg: Jonathan Loew - 4th place
86kg: Chris Foca - 6th place

*At World Team Trials, Nate Jackson beat Jay Aiello in the semis and Trumble in the finals. Because they both lost to the same guy, a "true third" match eliminates the luck of the draw. since both wrestlers only losses were to Jackson. If Aiello wins the True Third, Cardenas will hold his spot because only top 3 finishers at Senior Nationals can take an age-group slot they are eligible for and Aiello is 27.

Update: Arujau will take the 57kg slot at U23; Aiello beat Trumble (in the final seconds) for true third, thus Cardenas will wrestle 92kg as well.

klehner

ugarte
Learned today that by finishing second at Senior nationals, if Vito wants to take the U23 spot, he can. The broadcasters were assuming he would.

In the actual tournament, Jacob Cardenas won at 92kg, but may have his U23 spot taken (the same way Vito can take it) if Isaac Trumble wins his True Third* match at Final X on Wednesday.

Our other medalists:

57kg: Greg Diakomihalis - 3rd place
65kg: Jonathan Saunders - 6th place
86kg: Jonathan Loew - 4th place
86kg: Chris Foca - 6th place

*At World Team Trials, Nate Jackson beat Jay Aiello in the semis and Trumble in the finals. Because they both lost to the same guy, a "true third" match eliminates the luck of the draw. since both wrestlers only losses were to Jackson. If Aiello wins the True Third, Cardenas will hold his spot because only top 3 finishers at Senior Nationals can take an age-group slot they are eligible for and Aiello is 27.

Update: Arujau will take the 57kg slot at U23; Aiello beat Trumble (in the final seconds) for true third, thus Cardenas will wrestle 92kg as well.

After Aiello's big win for Cardenas, Yianni D. won (11-9, 14-4) for the 65kg title and Kyle Dake won (4-2, 2-1) to win at 79kg. So the final Cornell roster going to world championships:

U20 (August Sofia, Bulgaria)

65FS Vince Cornella '26

U23 (October Pontevedra, Spain)

57FS Vito Arujau '24
60GR Phillip Moomey '23
92FS Jacob Cardenas '25

Senior (September Belgrade, Serbia)

65FS Yianni Diakomihalis '23
74FS Kyle Dake '13

Ugarte, I think you mean Dake at 74kg

cu155
Ugarte, I think you mean Dake at 74kg

uh... that's what i said.

TBD but Yianni, because he's still U23 eligible, may take the U23 spot at 65kg as well, adding a trip to Spain to his passport regardless of what happens in Belgrade.

Jordan Leen to become head coach at Brown: [www.teamusa.org]

ugarte
TBD but Yianni, because he's still U23 eligible, may take the U23 spot at 65kg as well, adding a trip to Spain to his passport regardless of what happens in Belgrade.

based on an email from coach Grey, yianni is taking the u23 spot. huge congrats to Jordan Leen. his title run was great.