Wrestling 2022-23

do we know if any of the other top guys are hurt either?

upprdeck
do we know if any of the other top guys are hurt either?

i don't think so. only one person who earned a bid for his conference at heavyweight didn't hold it, and that's the guy from maryland. it's possible that there could be an injury in the intervening two weeks but i assume if you look at brackets and see guys who earned the necessary placement and then forfeited out, it's precautionary / protective not a real injury.

ugarte
I've been poking around to see what Furman's chances are and I'm cautiously optimistic but there are a lot of contingencies.

You have to have 2 of the eligibility criteria to be considered for at at-large bid, and those are:

NCAA guide
- .700 overall winning percentage
- .700 Division I winning percentage at the weight class
- Top 33 RPI (taken after the qualifying tournaments)
- Top 33 Coaches Ranking (Taken after the qualifying tournament)
- One win against a wrestler who qualified for the National Tournament
- Qualifying event placement one below AQ

He is 9-8, so he doesn't meet the win% criteria, and he went 0-8 against NCAA qualifiers. On the other hand, he went 9-0 against non-qualifiers so he has no bad losses (a subjective consideration if he can make it over the first hurdle). According to a website that tries to approximate RPI, he sits in 34th, which is killing me. The calculation may be incorrect because it could count certain matches that the NCAA doesn't (non D-I, ECM, medical forfeits in tournaments, that sort of thing) and if he moves up a slot that would be huge. He also could make it into the final CR because some of the guys at the bottom of the pre-tournament CR didn't perform well at their conference tournaments.

There are 4 at-large bids available and while one is probably accounted for, I don't know how many guys are even eligible for consideration. If Furman can get on the consideration list his chances aren't bad.

Pulling for Brendan, but it seems unlikely to me. He's going to need a lot of things to break right for him.

Still, what a tournament!

mountainred
Pulling for Brendan, but it seems unlikely to me. He's going to need a lot of things to break right for him.

Still, what a tournament!

The biggest thing that he has going for him is that the non-AQ heavyweights simply aren't all that impressive. (Brendan aside, who is great. Also, I met his dad in Philly and we talked for a bit. (For those who don't know), Furman's brother is a Cornell commit, though probably going to be at the RTC for a gap year.) If he can make it over the "eligible for consideration" hurdle I have a good feeling.

Tournament recap:
[seeds in brackets]

125: [1]* Brett Ungar hit the ground running with a 15-0 Tech fall and followed it up with a 5-0 win to reach the SF. In the semis he faced Harvard's Sotelo, who beat him 1-0 in the dual meet by refusing to let him stand up for two minutes. This time, when Ungar took bottom, he got a quick reversal. The match went to SV tied at 2 but Ungar pulled out the win with a clean takedown. In the finals he met Princeton's Glory - the real top seed - and hung tough for a 2-0 loss. A huge improvement on the 10-2 loss at the dual meet. His second place finish was more than enough to qualify him for NCAAs in his first season wrestling for the Big Red. He's a long shot for AA but he'll score some points for the team.

133: [1] Vito Arujau was a heavy favorite to take the title. He did not disappoint. He breezed through the bracket 15-0 TF, 16-1 TF, 13-5 MD, 8-0 MD for his second straight EIWA title. It's his third trip to the NCAA tournament and he's finished 4th and 3rd in his two previous trips. Barring injury he's a lock for AA (knock wood) but he's ranked third because the top two - defending champ Ramon Bravo-Young of Penn State and two-time runner up Daton Fix of Okie State are also in the bracket. Incredible depth. Any of them can win; anyone else would be a shock.

141: [1] Vince Cornella finished off his first year really breezing through his bracket. He sat out for a couple of weeks to end the regular season but any concern of lingering effects was quickly put to rest. His first three rounds went pin, pin, pin - the third over the defending conference champ. In the final, he rolled to a 13-3 major decision. He will head to the tournament with a seed in the 10-13 range and a credible shot at AA this year and a high likelihood of getting on the podium before his career is done. On the other hand, WIN Magazine jumped him to #7 so maybe all the pins is getting him some more respect from people than the computers give him.

149: [2]* Yianni Diakomihalis was never threatened. He had a pin, an 18-1 tech, an 18-3 tech and closed with a 15-3 MD. He's going to win his 4th national championship. His only loss this year may not even need to be avenged. Austin Gomez returned from his injury for the B1G tournament and lost his first round match and was DQ'd from his first consolation match for an illegal throw (an accidental piledriver is how i'd describe it). Gomez will be at NCAA's but he's clearly off his game.

157: [8] Cole Handlovic started with a 3-0 win before losing 6-1 to the top seed. He was upset in his first consolation bout, 5-2 by Princeton's Ty Whalen, who he'd handled easily at the dual meet. Disappointing tournament but he didn't go 0-2 and he had a long road to NCAAs in a three-bid weight. Great job stepping up for the team when Yapoujian was off and/or injured.

165: [1] Julian Ramirez earned the top seed by beating a finalist from last year's NCAA's, Princeton's Quincy Monday, in the dual meet. Ramirez' path wasn't exactly a cakewalk but he wasn't ever really threatened until the final. After starting the tournament with a pin, he won a couple of close matches: 3-1 over Harvard's Kim (who gives him fits defensively but also can't score on him) followed by a very annoying 3-1 SV win over Binghamton's Cassella. Cassella spent the entire match backing away and the fact that he wasn't constantly called for stalling was infuriating. The final - a rematch against Monday, as expected, was a thriller. After multiple lead changes, Ramirez took a 1 point lead when Monday conceded an escape to start the third period then held off two minutes of offensive pressure, including a scramble for the final 10 seconds, to claim the title. Monday (4) and Ramirez (7) were both considered AA candidates before the tournament and probably will both be seeding as AA chalk, but they are probably going to flip positions now.

174: [1] Chris Foca opened with a 38 second pin and followed it up with a 6-2 win, a 19-4 tech and a comfortable 10-5 win in the finals. He's had an incredible year - only one loss, by a single point to a former national champ and is looking incredible heading into his second trip to NCAAs.

184: [16] Christian Hansen was an unlikely representative, since this tournament was his first action at this weight all year. Accordingly, he was given the 16th seed out of 17 ahead of only a wrestler from Sacred Heart with a full schedule and no normal wins over a D-I opponent all year. The seeding committee was right to assume Hansen was the favorite because he opened up a 15-3 lead before finishing off the match with a pin. He even got the first takedown of the match in his next match, against the eventual EIWA champ,** before losing back to back matches to end the tournament. There probably isn't a spot in the starting lineup for him for a while if Jon Loew's shoulder heals up but he's a very solid wrestler.

197: [2] Jacob Cardenas was a real highlight. 12-3 MD, 12-0 MD, 8-1 win in the semis over Princeton's Luke Stout, who beat him at the tournament last year, to set up a match against top seed, #2 Michael Beard of Lehigh. Beard was an All-American at Penn State before they brought in former Cornellian Max Dean to take his spot in the starting lineup, prompting his transfer. Beard jumped out to a 5-1 lead but Cardenas got aggressive and Beard couldn't defend against it. With two takedowns in the second period and two more in the third, plus a point for stalling, Cardenas won 10-9 and Beard looked totally gassed and demoralized. Cardenas is making his second trip to NCAAs and this win should see him leap up the seedings.

285: [9] Brendan Furman has been the subject of a lot of posts by me here already, so I won't belabor it. He won his first match comfortably before losing 7-2 to the top seed. In the wrestlebacks, he won his first match 8-2 before facing Penn's Ben Goldin for the second time this season. Just like last time, it was 1-1 heading to SV and Goldin was able to get the winning takedown. Furman wrestled more aggressively this time, and came very close to scoring more than once, but he wasn't able to convert his shots. He shook off the disappointment and won the 7th place bout, which was huge, since finishing one spot short of a bid is one of the criteria for choosing at-large candidates. I'm still bummed that he missed his trip to NCAAs in 2020 when the tournament was canceled for Covid and I'm really rooting for him to get an at-large bid.

Overall, the team won in a walk. 7 finalists, 6 champs and a 7th place for good measure. Everyone on the team had at least one win and even the pigtail win from Hansen was a pin. Great work and I'm really looking forward to NCAAs in two weeks. Only time I've ever wished I lived closer to Tulsa.

* The top seeds at 125 and 149 were a bit of a joke. Glory is a defending national finalist and currently ranked #2 in the country. Yianni is a 3x champion and currently ranked #1 in the country. They both got the 2 seed at the conference tournament because EIWA decided to do the seeding by a strict mathematical formula that (a) included RPI and (b) included the NCAA 15-match minimum requirement for RPI. Glory and Yianni both had fewer than 15 matches at the relevant weight, so both were given a 0 in the formula for that criteria. The rules allow for a supermajority of coaches to vote to "fix" anomalies like these, but not enough coaches who would get hurt by moving the obvious future champ to their side of the bracket were willing to vote ethically. It's honestly no different than leaving someone off your Coaches Ranking ballot but that's life.

** Jon Loew would have been a heavy favorite for the title if his season wasn't ended with a shoulder injury. He was at the tournament in a sling that suggests surgery and he reportedly intends to return next year.

ugarte

mountainred
Pulling for Brendan, but it seems unlikely to me. He's going to need a lot of things to break right for him.

Still, what a tournament!

The biggest thing that he has going for him is that the non-AQ heavyweights simply aren't all that impressive. (Brendan aside, who is great. Also, I met his dad in Philly and we talked for a bit. (For those who don't know), Furman's brother is a Cornell commit, though probably going to be at the RTC for a gap year.) If he can make it over the "eligible for consideration" hurdle I have a good feeling.

Hope you are right and a weak bubble helps. I've been disappointed in the past with candidates who I thought had better resumes. (Please don't ask for names, right though.)

mountainred

ugarte

mountainred
Pulling for Brendan, but it seems unlikely to me. He's going to need a lot of things to break right for him.

Still, what a tournament!

The biggest thing that he has going for him is that the non-AQ heavyweights simply aren't all that impressive. (Brendan aside, who is great. Also, I met his dad in Philly and we talked for a bit. (For those who don't know), Furman's brother is a Cornell commit, though probably going to be at the RTC for a gap year.) If he can make it over the "eligible for consideration" hurdle I have a good feeling.

Hope you are right and a weak bubble helps. I've been disappointed in the past with candidates who I thought had better resumes. (Please don't ask for names, right though.)

Most of my disappointments in the past (Baughman, for example) were resolved by learning that they weren't eligible in the first place. jdalu75 was the EIWA SID (I don't think he still is?) and is a good resource on those issues but SHP and gimpeltf are both also great on the nuts and bolts of the NCAA/EIWA numbers game. Even jdalu admitted to sometimes being confused by some of the interpretations of the criteria.

DM'd with Berreyesa today and he pointed out that his win over the NQ from Binghamton doesn't help his case because he wrestled Casella at 174 but Casella dropped to 165 later in the year and qualified for NCAA at that weight. Blech.

Heavy heart. Neither Furman nor Berreyesa got at-large bids. I still have hope that they are alternates and are late additions to the field if someone who qualified withdraws (not that i wish harm on anyone).

Cornell is still sending 7 to the tournament and most if not all will be in the top half of the bracket. Love it.

Seeds are out and... everyone is in the top half of the bracket.

125: #15 Brett Ungar vs #17 Ryan Miller (Penn) - Miller won the first matchup, a month ago, 6-1. Not a great draw. Winner faces #2 Glory, an even worse draw! Honestly the path to AA may be easier if he loses to Miller if chalk in his path holds. Obviously want him to win though.

133: #3 Vito Arujau vs #29 Angelo Rini (Columbia) - Vito won 12-3 in late January and I'd expect a repeat. A surprisingly tricky path for a 3 seed. #14 is Jesse Mendez, a good frosh from Ohio State (who he beat 6-1) and then #6 is Sam Latona (VT) who handed him his only loss of the year, 3-2, though Vito won their earlier matchup 6-1. I do think Vito is, as his seed would indicate, the best in his quadrant. The top two seeds are 3x runner-up Daton Fix (OK State) and 2x champ Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State), so it's a deep weight.

141: #7 Vince Cornella vs #26 McKenzie Bell (Rider) Bell has some very good wins but some truly head-scratching losses. He defaulted out of the MAC tournament after getting upset. If Cornella wins, his next matchup would be against either #10 Lachlan McNeil (UNC), who beat him earlier this year, or #26 Cole Mattin (Michigan), who beat McNeil. If he clears that hurdle, #2 undefeated Andrew Alirez (N. Colorado) will probably be there. I looked at his path through the likely courses through the consolation bracket if he holds seed and it's not terrible if chalk holds. He'd be facing the 11/12 winner for AA.

149: #1 Yianni Diakomihalis vs the winner of #32 v #33 It doesn't get interesting until the SF (knock wood) when he could potentially face #5 Paniro Johnson (Iowa State) who took him to SV. Last year's finalist took a redshirt year, he's never had a particularly close match with the #2 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State). #15 Austin Gomez, the only man to beat him this year, got injured and missed most of the year then lost the opening match of the B1G tournament on his return then got DQ'd in the consolation round for slamming a kid on his head - and he has to get through Sasso and the rest of his half of the bracket. As always, it's Yianni's tournament to lose.

165: #4 Julian Ramirez vs #29 Caleb Fish (Michigan State) Fish has no interesting wins and lost to the Princeton backup. The second round is a surprisingly tough matchup in #13 Alex Facundo (Penn State). Facundo stumbled a bit at B1G, which hurt his seed, but he was a top recruit and otherwise had a very good year. Bummer of a second round match. If he gets through Facundo, round 3 with #5 Quincy Monday probably awaits.

174: #4 Chris Foca vs #29 Cael Valencia (AZ State) Valencia had a bad year but a good Pac-12 tournament, though it isn't a strong conference. Next up would probably be #13 Cade DeVos (S. Dakota State), who Foca beat 6-4 earlier this year. #5 Dustin Plott (OK State) is very good.

197: #10 Jacob Cardenas vs #23 Luke Stout (Princeton) Winning the conference gave Cardenas a huge boost in seed. He gets his third matchup with Stout this year. After splitting their meetings in 2022, Cardenas has won comfortably twice this year. A win probably gets him #7 Tanner Sloan (S. Dakota State) who is very good. Win again and it's probably 2x AA Bernie Truax (Cal Poly); lose and it's a dogfight through the bottom bracket for AA but it looks doable if chalk holds - his paths mostly lead him to the part of the bracket with 4/5 at the head. 4 is Rider's Ethan Laird; 5 is Michael Beard, who he just beat in the EIWA final. No easy paths for a 10 seed.

If all the seeds hold perfectly across the tournament (which won't happen, but still), and not accounting for bonus points, Cornell would finish in 3d place with 5 All-Americans. Great year so far. One mission left. LGR.

Two days away from NCAA's, which run Thursday - Saturday. This is when I start getting twitchy with anticipation. The tournament is on ESPNU in the morning/afternoon sessions and the Mothership in the evenings plus streaming coverage of all mats on ESPN+.

ugarte
Two days away from NCAA's, which run Thursday - Saturday. This is when I start getting twitchy with anticipation. The tournament is on ESPNU in the morning/afternoon sessions and the Mothership in the evenings plus streaming coverage of all mats on ESPN+.

Nice. Thanks.

Is there any source that tells which match will be on which mat, or do I just have to watch that 8-in-1 screen?

nshapiro
Is there any source that tells which match will be on which mat, or do I just have to watch that 8-in-1 screen?

you can find the upcoming bouts on Track. First guy up is our 125, Brett Ungar, the third match on Mat 8. The mat assignments will have current, on deck and in the hole posted. After the initial assignments, wrestlers get assigned as matches finish and slots open up. Some features of Track work with a Flo subscription (and password) but it isn't fully integrated yet. You can also get text alerts of mat assignments and/or results by team or wrestler.

First matches at 11 eastern.

ugarte

nshapiro
Is there any source that tells which match will be on which mat, or do I just have to watch that 8-in-1 screen?

you can find the upcoming bouts on Track. First guy up is our 125, Brett Ungar, the third match on Mat 8. The mat assignments will have current, on deck and in the hole posted. After the initial assignments, wrestlers get assigned as matches finish and slots open up. Some features of Track work with a Flo subscription (and password) but it isn't fully integrated yet. You can also get text alerts of mat assignments and/or results by team or wrestler.

First matches at 11 eastern.

Thanks! You Da Man!

ESPN/ESPN+ coverage not starting until noon. Hopefully only the pigtails are at 11am

nshapiro
ESPN/ESPN+ coverage not starting until noon. Hopefully only the pigtails are at 11am

it's 11 central sorry!

Unger advances

4 wins so far:
Unger 6-1
Vito 12-6
Cornella 7-4
Yianni 6-1

Ugh rough for Ramirez. MSU kept trapping him with a front headlock and using it to great effect. First bad loss for CU.

Focal fall

Al DeFlorio
Foca fall

goddamit i missed it while watching ramirez lose!

ugarte
Ugh rough for Ramirez. MSU kept trapping him with a front headlock and using it to great effect. First bad loss for CU.

Penn State's Alex Facundo upset as well, so to avoid 0-2, Ramirez is going to have to beat the 13 seed.

6-1 morning with a rough upset for Ramirez (he looked wiped out at the end too) and Foca scoring the only bonus points.

Evening matches start at 7. I think the 4 interior mats have the R16 and the 4 outside mats get the consolations.

Session 1 recap:

125: [15] Brett Ungar v.[18] Miller (Penn). Miller beat him at the dual meet. They didn't face each other at the conference tournament because of the seeding shenanigans that put Ungar at 1 instead of 2, so this was effectively a "true second" match among guys who lost to Pat Glory. Ungar wrestled a great match with two takedowns on sneaky counters. On the first he used Miller's aggression against him and slid behind for 2; on the second, Miller started to shoot and Ungar got lower and beat him to the punch. He added over three minutes of riding time for a W 6-1. Up next, [2] Glory (Princeton). Ungar couldn't score but defended well and kept the conference final to a close 2-0 loss.

133: [3] Vito Arujau v. [30] Rotondo (Cal Poly). Vito should have had a major but with time winding down and holding an 8 point lead, he relaxed and gave up a takedown. No contest. W 12-6. Up next, [14] Redding (Iowa State).

141: [7] Vince Cornella faced [26] Bell (Rider) in a match that had some wild moments. Cornella got the first takedown. Bell tied the match with a pair of escapes. Cornella got another takedown in a scramble, but Bell emerged on top to tie the match again. With just over a minute of riding time, Cornella chose to start the third on neutral and picked up one more takedown for the final margin. W 7-4. Up next, a revenge match against [10] McNeil (UNC), who beat Cornella 4-0 in the dual earlier this year.

149: [1] Yianni Diakomiahalis v. [33] Demas (Cal Poly). Demas was an All American back in 2019 when he was at Oklahoma but hasn't returned to the podium since. This year, he needed another wrestler to drop out to even qualify for NCAAs. Yianni scored early and held the lead. He didn't shoot aggressively and kind of coasted. W 6-1. Up next, [16] Arrington (NC State).

165: [4] Julian Ramirez v [29] Fish (Michigan St.) wasn't supposed to be close, but Fish was the aggressor from the whistle. He used a front headlock to trap Ramirez and put pressure on him from above. In the first period, he wasn't able to score off of the move, and in fact Ramirez had the only score, building up over 1:40 of riding time. Ramirez chose to start the second period on bottom but wasn't able to quickly escape. When it looked like he had the escape, he tried to convert it to a big throw but ended up underneath, fighting for his life. He only gave up 4, but it seemed to take a lot out of him. He did escape to close the gap to 4-3. Fish scored the only two takedowns of the third period - converting off of that brutal front headlock - and that was it. L 4-8. Up next, [13] Facundo (Penn St.) What was supposed to be a match for a trip to the QF is now an elimination bout after both wrestlers were upset.

174: [4] Chris Foca v. [29] Valencia (Arizona St.). Valencia is the youngest of three brothers who ... have each gotten a little worse than the brother who came before. Valencia barely qualified for the tournament, winning a true second match in a 2-bid conference but with a record barely above .500. Foca took him down and got him on his back quickly then put him in danger for what felt like 10 seconds but according to the ref it was apparently multiple short exposures with the same grip, so he only got 2 NF points. He let him up, took him down again quickly, turned him over again quickly and this time settled in for the pin. WBF 2:22. Up next, [13] DeVos (SD St.) Foca won the matchup this year; DeVos won last year.

197: [10] Jacob Cardenas v. [23] Stout (Princeton). Cardenas beat Stout twice earlier this year, fairly easily. Today, he got the first takedown of the match and went defensive from there. W 3-1. Up next, [7] Sloan (SD St.) Tough match.

After the first session, Cornell has 6 wins plus 2 bonus points for Foca's pin. 8 points has us in a tie for 10th.

                Rem.	Score       
 1 Penn State	 9	16.0
 2 NC State	 9	12.5
 3 Iowa	        10	12.0
 4 N. Iowa	 7	10.0
   Ohio State	 9	10.0
 6 Minnesota	 9	 9.0
   Missouri	10	 9.0
   Wisconsin	 8	 9.0
 9 Nebraska	 7	 8.5
10 Cornell	 7	 8.0
   Illinois	 5	 8.0 
   Iowa St.	 8	 8.0
   Michigan	 8	 8.0

Second session is in the books. A mixed bag but nothing terrible.

Championship bracket:
125: [15] Brett Ungar v [2] Glory (Princeton). This was never going to go well and it didn't. L 0-10.

All things considered, his path to the podium (top 8) isn't awful. The next two rounds are vs [33] Owens (Air Force), followed by the winner of [24] Babin (Columbia) v [26] Wagner (UNC), both of whom he beat earlier this year. After that, of course, is R12 - the blood round* - which is always hard and it would be against either [4] Ramos (Purdue) or the deceptively low-seeded [28] Cardinale (WV), who is a returning All-American who missed most of the year with an injury.
---
133: [3] Vito Arujau v [14] Redding (Iowa State) Vito wasn't going to let a major slip away again and he held the big lead he needed. MD 12-4.

His path is still what it always has been. His QF opponent is [6] Latona (Va. Tech), who he split matches with this year. A win and he can't finish worse than 6th.
---
141: [7] Vince Cornella v [10] McNeil (UNC). McNeil won the first match with a tough ride and the story was the same today. Cornella got in on a couple of single leg shots but couldn't convert. McNeil got the quick escape, Cornella did not and that was the difference. L 1-2.

Like Ungar, the path to the podium isn't bad. [24] Swiderski (Iowa State) followed by the winner of [18] Tal Shahar (NW) v [32] (MD). Blood round will be either [12] Filius (Purdue) or [4] Hardy (Nebraska). Again, blood round is never easy: Filius beat him earlier this year and Hardy didn't get the 4 seed by accident.
---
149: [1] Yianni Diakomihalis v [16] Arrington (NC State). Yianni ran away with this one. Took him down, Arrington escaped. Took him down again, cradled him, stuck him. WBF 2:11.

Waiting in the QF is [8] Murin (Iowa), who he beat in the QF last year. If he gets past Murin, the semifinal is a surprise: the 4 and 5 seeds both lost in the second round. Instead of a 4 v 5 QF, it's 12 v 20.
---
174: [4] Chris Foca v [13] DeVos (SD State). Foca started scoring early and just kept scoring. W 8-2.

His QF opponent, as expected is [5] Plott (OK State). Win and he's on the podium.
---
197: [10] Jacob Cardenas v [7] Sloan (SD State). Cardenas had the first two good shots. The first was a nice blast double that drove both of them out of bounds; the second was a nice single leg that Sloan was able to counter and turn into his own takedown. That takedown was basically the only scoring, since Cardenas couldn't stand up and Sloan couldn't turn Cardenas over. L 0-4.

Cardenas, like his teammates before him, has a good path to the blood round. Beating [24] Hopkins (Campbell) would lead to either [15] Surber (OK State) or [32] Shaw (UNC). He then would have the loser of [4] Laird (Rider) or [12] Braunagel (Illinois) for hardware. Not impossible!
---
Consolation bracket:
165: [4] Julian Ramirez v [13] Facundo (Penn State). Facundo never really came close to scoring and with ~30 seconds left, he caught Facundo and took him right to his back for a six-point move and a major decision. MD 12-2.

His next match is [19] Braunagel** (Illinois) and then probably [6] Kennedy (Iowa) to get to the blood round. The blood round is ... rough. [1] Carr (Iowa State) and [8] Griffith have both won national championships. He did beat Griffin last year, though, so also a reasonable path. He lost in the blood round last year on a takedown with ~4 seconds left so I really want him to clear the hurdle.
---
After Day 1, Cornell is in a tie for 6th. 3 in the championship bracket, 4 still alive in the consolations.

                Rem.	Score       
 1 Penn State	 9	26.0
 2 Iowa	        10	21.5
 3 Missouri	10	17.5
 4 NC State	 9	16.5
   Minnesota	 9	16.5
 6 Cornell	 7	15.5
   Nebraska	 7	15.5
 8 Michigan	 8	14.5
   Ohio State	 9	14.5

* Winners finish top 8 and All American, losers are done, so they leave it all out there.
** Yes, they're brothers.

Brutal squander by Cornella at 141 followed by a bit of a nail-biter for Yianni.

Yes. Too may times the Cornellians have lost the last 30 seconds of the final round, often costing them the win

semsox
Brutal squander by Cornella at 141 followed by a bit of a nail-biter for Yianni.

Overall great round so far.

125: Ungar, WBF.
133: Vito, W. All American.
141: let's not talk about it right now
149: Yianni turns a dominant match into a nailbiter but survives 8-7. All American
165: Ramirez turns a dominant match into a nailbiter but I think he butted heads a couple of times early and started fading late. He charges in head first and has gotten a bunch of concussions from it in the past... survives 17-15 (yeah, 17-15)
174: Foca takes Plott feet-to-back and sticks him in the first round to move into the semis. All American.
197: Cardenas coming soon

cornella could have just run away and won that match

upprdeck
cornella could have just run away and won that match

yeah but we're in the team race and i'm sure he was being encouraged to get the major. nothing in the first 6:30 indicated he couldn't. can't monday morning qb it.

I think winning is more important than a bonus pts when you are trying to wrestle back to the podium.

upprdeck
I think winning is more important than a bonus pts when you are trying to wrestle back to the podium.

sure but it happens - Gable Steveson won a gold medal in the Olympics because the Georgian didn't run away on the restart with 2 seconds left.

ugarte

semsox
Brutal squander by Cornella at 141 followed by a bit of a nail-biter for Yianni.

Overall great round so far.

125: Ungar, WBF.
133: Vito, W. All American.
141: let's not talk about it right now
149: Yianni turns a dominant match into a nailbiter but survives 8-7. All American
165: Ramirez turns a dominant match into a nailbiter but I think he butted heads a couple of times early and started fading late. He charges in head first and has gotten a bunch of concussions from it in the past... survives 17-15 (yeah, 17-15)
174: Foca takes Plott feet-to-back and sticks him in the first round to move into the semis. All American.
197: Cardenas coming soon

Update: Ungar wins again, Ramirez wins again and Cardenas wins two in a row. We've got 3 on the podium and wrestling in the semis tonight and 3 more in the R12, 1 match away from hardware. Full recap before the late session.

Session III Recap

Championship bracket:
133: Vito Arujau got the anticipated rubber match against [6] Latona (Va. Tech). Wild start, as Latona got the first takedown, Arujau reversed him, and then Latona reversed back. Vito escaped then got a takedown with short time in the period and didn't allow the escape for a 5-4 lead. He escaped quickly to start the second, 6-4. In the third, he rode for over a minute but gave up the escape with what a potentially fateful :59 on the RT clock and only a 6-5 lead. Latona pressed for a takedown but Vito was able to counter a desperation shot and go behind for a TD with time winding down. Unclear why he didn't get the final second of RT for the extra point but... it doesn't matter. W 8-5.

His semifinal match will be against [2] Daton Fix (OK State), a three-time finalist looking for his first title.
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149: Yianni Diakomihalis was facing [8] Max Murin in the QF for the second straight year. Yianni generated all the offense for almost the entirety of the match. He scored two takedowns in the first, another in the second and started the third period with a reversal for 8 points. In between all of those points were 5 escapes by Murin and not as much riding time as you'd expect, so with time winding down, Yianni only had an 8-5 lead. With 32 seconds left, Murin took a shot, grabbed an ankle and converted for 2. He immediately started to turn, and for the scariest 10 seconds in Cornell wrestling history it looked like he might get it. Yianni stabilized, looked like he might have been in position for a reversal and then bellied out to run out the clock and take the victory. W 8-7. Whew.

His semifinal opponent is a surprise: [12] Van Ness (Penn State) upset the 5 seed and then fell behind 7-1 in the QF before storming back for a 10-7 win.
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174: Chris Foca v [5] Plott (OK State). I barely got to catch my breath after the insane Ramirez match (see below) before the Foca - Plott match started. And as soon as it started, it was over. Just over a minute into the match, Foca caught Plott as he shot, hooked an arm and planted him flat on his back. Plott squirmed around for a bit but it was over. WBF 1:54.

In the semis Foca will face [1] Starocci (Penn State), a 2x defending champ. They met last year and Foca held it to a 3-2 loss, and after a year of bonus point wins Starocci has had a couple of close ones at the tournament. It can happen.

Consolation Bracket:
125: Brett Ungar started the day needing three wins to get to the podium. Now he needs one. His first match, against [33] Owens (Air Force) started slow - in part because Owens wasn't engaging. The first period was scoreless. Ungar started the second period on bottom, escaped quickly... and that period was otherwise scoreless. Owens did get a stall warning. They started the third neutral and after more backing away, Owens was called for stalling again to make it 2-0. Deciding he had to try to score, he took a shot, Ungar caught him under his arm, flipped him straight to his back and got the pin. WBF 5:52.

Ungar's next match was against a familiar opponent, [24] Babin (Columbia) and it was no contest. He got a takedown and two 4NF in the first period. Ungar chose top to start the second and turned him for another 4NF to go up 14-0. Unfortunately, he gave up an escape and couldn't get another takedown for the tech. In the third period, Babin also chose top and after a couple of attempts to escape or reverse for the tech Ungar settled in on his stomach, endured three stalling calls and moved on. MD 14-3.

Waiting in the blood round is [28] Killian Cardinale (WVU) but ignore the seed. This is his third straight year in the blood round, with a 7th place finish in 2021. But for his injuries this year, he'd be in the top 10 and he hasn't looked hurt this weekend.
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141: Vince Cornella. siiiiiiiiiiiigh. Cornella dominated this match. He did all of the scoring in the first 6:30 against Swiderski (Iowa State) and had a 7-1 lead with time running out. Whether it was his call or the coaches', he pressed forward for a major decision. A bad shot resulted in a TD for Swiderski. Swiderski then faked a release; Cornella didn't take sufficient care as he was standing up and Swiderski grabbed him in a front headlock and flipped him over for a pin with 12 seconds left in the match. Brutal. Swiderski won his next match and the blood round is tough but winnable. LBF 6:48.

This one is going to haunt Cornella but he's got three years to make up for it - and Swiderski's a freshman too.
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165: Ramirez first match today was against Braunagel (Illinois) and it's kind of impossible to do it justice. I'm just going to point to the scoresheet, which shows how big his lead was and how close he came to losing it. And even that doesn't show how close it was because Braunagel had an ankle and was trying to tie it up as time expired (I think? A lot of this is a blur.) Ramirez spent a lot of time bleeding - above the eye from a head butt, maybe from a bloody nose, from cutting his hand on broken headgear - and that could have affected him too. But he held on. W 17-15.

Up next for Ramirez was [6] Kennedy (Iowa), a big match both for his own progress and for the team. Very little action early, and the first period ended scoreless. Ramirez started the second period on top and took a foolish stalling call for an extra two seconds of riding time, and the period ended with Kennedy up 1-0. Ramirez tied the match by escaping quickly and scored the first takedown of the match shortly after to go up 3-1. Kennedy escaped quickly and the stall warning loomed large. With 1:18 to go, the score was 3-2 and Ramirez couldn't just back away because another stall would tie the match. He did enough work to keep from getting called and with time running out and Kennedy desperate, Ramirez was able to take advantage of a bad shot to score. W 5-2. After a shocking first round loss, Ramirez fought back through the consolation bracket and is one win away from All American.

To get there he'll have to beat [9] Griffith (Stanford), a 2x All American who won it all in 2021 and finished in second last year. Ramirez stunned everyone by beating Griffith in Ithaca last year. This year, Griffith has a great record this year but he has been grinding out wins without much scoring and lost a couple of matches late in the season to Olguin (Oregon State), who Ramirez beat earlier this year.
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197: Jacob Cardenas started with a match against [24] Hopkins (Campbell) and had no trouble. 6 points on an early feet-to-back takedown and then in the third period, a bit of catch and release to get the major decision. MD 13-4. It's not just Cornella who tries for team points!

His next match, against [15] Surber (OK State) was more of the same. He ran out of time for the major but moves on. W 12-5.

To make the podium he needs to get through [12] Braunagel (Illinois), who is in the blood round against a Cornellian for the second straight year. Last year, Loew knocked him out.

After three sessions, Cornell is in third place with 3 in the championship bracket and 3 in the blood round.

                Rem.	Score       
 1 Penn State	 8	78.0
 2 Iowa	         6	48.0
 3 Cornell	 6	45.5
 4 Nebraska	 5	44.0
 5 Michigan	 5	39.0
 6 Missouri	 6	34.0
 7 Ohio State	 x	31.0
 8 NC State	 x	29.0
 9 Iowa State	 x	28.0

Going to be honest I got tired of looking up how many guys were left after Mizzou.

Let's go - Ungar on Mat 1

Hard fought match. Shame it was the riding time that decided it. In an upset, Ramos of Purdue knocks off the 3-time champ Lee of Iowa.

Vito majors into the finals.

Al DeFlorio
Vito majors into the finals.

Ended his opponent's 29 match winning streak as well

some crazy wrestling tonight,

Some crazy sports tonight. I don't have enough screens

Session IV was a wild one. Some great results, some crushing blows and some decent prospects for the future.

Championship Bracket:

133: [3] Vito Arujau v [2] Daton Fix (OK State). Everyone considered this the Big Two weight class, with Penn State's [1] Roman Bravo-Young and Fix a notch above Arujau and then a sizeable gap to fourth. The semifinals did a hell of a job of forcing a reevaluation. Vito started scoring early and never stopped. He scored the only takedown in the first period, countering a clean Fix shot on his leg and gradually working to improve his position for the takedown, then rode out the period to finish it with a 2-0 lead. He started the second period on bottom and got a reversal to improve to 4-0. Fix escaped, then escaped again to start the third period, bringing the match to within two points. Arujau got charged for stalling for backing out of the mat, so he went back on the attack and scored another takedown with a little over a minute to go. After Fix escaped, he really needed to go, and I think he expected Arujau to back away. Instead, Arujau drove right into his chest and took Fix to his back for 2NF, at which point Fix bellied out and stopped fighting and conceded the major decision. MD 11-3. After finishing 4th in 2019 and 3rd last year (with an Olympic redshirt and pandemic in between), he finally reached his first NCAA final.

Meanwhile, on the other mat, RBY was in a dogfight with his opponent, [4] Michael McGee from Arizona State. RBY ultimately won in overtime but he didn't generate much of his own offense and - though McGee was rarely able to finish - McGee kept getting to his ankle. Vito already took out one of the big two - can he get them both?

149: [1] Yianni Diakomihalis v. [12] Shane Van Ness (Penn State). Penn State always has their guys ready to wrestle. There was very little action in the first period, but Van Ness was able to get in on a couple of shots and only Yianni's insane ability to scramble out of danger kept Van Ness off the scoreboard. In the second period, Van Ness escaped quickly to take a 1-0 lead. In the third, Yianni returned the favor and tied the score. About 30 seconds into the third, Yianni took an uncharacteristically sloppy shot and Van Ness made him pay, grabbing his ankle and pushing into him to finish the takedown before Yianni could gumby his way out of it. Yianni escaped almost immediately, leaving himself down a point with 1:15 to go. Everyone watching knew that earlier in the evening, Iowa's 3x champion Spencer Lee lost his semifinal and the idea 2 3x champs could go down within 30 minutes of each other was palpable. With just over a minute remaining, Yianni started shooting. A half shot at a single, backed off then fired a double into Van Ness's waist, then slid off to a high-single, locking his hands underneath Van Ness's crotch and throwing him down to his back for 2 and the lead. His throw left him in great position and he was able to hold Van Ness on his back for NF4 and while he wasn't able to get the fall, he did ride out the rest of the period for the win. Never in doubt, right? W 8-3. Yianni moves on to his 4th NCAA final and he'll face [2] Sammy Sasso (Ohio State), who he beat twice last year, including last year's semifinal.

174: [4] Chris Foca v. [1] Carter Starocci. I know I suggested that Starocci didn't seem invincible after the quarterfinals. He looked invincible against Foca. Starocci scored the only two takedowns of the match, didn't concede an escape, and his positioning was so solid that Foca wasn't able to even take chances when they were on their feet. I was shocked at how dominant Starocci was, and he's a 2x defending champ. L 0-6.

It's not over for Foca, though. In the early session he'll face [11] Nelson Brands (Iowa) in the consolation semifinal. Winner wrestles for 3rd place, loser wrestles for 5th. In the other consy semi, 2019 NCAA champ and 2022 finalist [3] Mekhi Lewis (Va. Tech) faces off against [5] Plott, who Foca pinned in the QF.
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Consolation Bracket / Blood Round:

125: [15] Brett Ungar v [28] Killian Cardinale (WVU) - The scoring started about halfway through the first period, with Cardinale using a head swipe to get Ungar to turn away then swept in and grabbed his ankle for a quick takedown. Ungar couldn't do anything to get off bottom, and the period ended with Cardinale up 2-0 and holding over a minute of riding time. And that's all the scoring there was for almost the rest of the match. Cardinale chose neutral to start the second and nobody scored; Ungar took one great, deep single-leg shot but Cardinale stalemated it and almost scored himself. Ungar also chose neutral to start the third and, his strategy became clear. Ungar spent the period trying to get underhooks in - his arms under both of Cardinale's armpits - to throw Cardinale to his back to make up the three point deficit. The first time he did it, Cardinale backed out of the circle for a stall warning. With about 10 seconds left, though, Ungar got a hook in again and hip tossed Cardinale right to his back on the edge of the mat for 2. It looked to all the world like he had him in position for back points and the win but the ref ruled they went out of bounds. If both wrestlers are completely out of bounds, the match stops. Cornell challenged, and ... damn. It's clear on replay that for the smallest fraction of a second, Ungar's momentum carried his trailing foot an inch out of the circle before he got it back in. The takedown temporarily tied the match at 2, but with the riding time from the first period, Cardinale got the W. L 2-3.

Kind of a bummer but ... we've got three more years to watch him wrestle and he'll be back. I don't see him graduating without making the top 8.
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165: [4] Julian Ramirez v. [9] Shane Griffith (Stanford). I don't even know how to describe this match. Both guys went at each other hammer and tongs for seven minutes but until the very end, the only thing they weren't able to do was take each other down. Ramirez scored a reversal to start the second period but Griffith quickly escaped. Griffith then quickly escaped in the third as well, to tie the score at 2. I don't think I've ever seen a 2-2 match that had this much action. Both guys were taking good shots, but both guys were countering, scrambling, escaping danger to keep the score from changing. With 12 seconds left, Ramirez and Griffith both grabbed an ankle at the exact same time, but the way they fell to the mat allowed Griffith to elevate Ramirez's leg straight in the air, putting Ramirez flat on his back without any leverage to move. Holding him in the danger position got Griffith 2NF and a takedown as the clock ran out and leaving Ramirez just shy of the top 8. L 2-6.

After a disappointing first round loss, the run Ramirez made through the consolation bracket was fantastic, even if it ended in disappointment. It's his second straight year losing in the blood round on a last second takedown, which really sucks, but he's got two more years to get over this hurdle and I'm sure he will.
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197: [10] Jacob Cardenas v [12] Zac Braunagel (Illinois) Cardenas' best offensive move is a blast double, when he fires at both of his opponents' legs and drives through them. He opened the scoring by getting inside on his double, switching to a single leg, elevating it, then tripping Braunagel for the takedown. I sometimes worry it's his only move and he's going to have to diversify. Braunagel escaped, then escaped again after choosing to start the second period on bottom to tie the match. With a little over 30 seconds left in the second period, Cardenas hit a clean single leg on Braunagel, switched to a chest lock from behind, lifted him and slammed him to the mat for another takedown. It was beautiful. He rode out the period and finished with 1:07 in RT. Cardenas started the third on bottom, figuring (I assume) that either he gets up quickly and the RT is a bonus point, or Braunagel rides him for a while and as long as he doesn't get turned over, his 4-2 lead will hold up. It took him 11 seconds to escape, which made the decision basically a wash. Braunagel got a takedown with around 10 seconds left, but it only cut the lead to 5-4, so he had to let Cardenas up. Cardenas stood up carefully then ran away for the last few seconds for the victory. W 6-4. It's Cardenas's first All American honor. He is Cornell's 4th All American this year.

Placement match:
The winners of the blood round have one more Session IV match before they can rest: winners advance towards third place, losers head to the 7th place match. Cardenas's opponent was [14] Jacob Warner (Iowa), who became a 4x All American after his blood round victory. Warner doesn't wrestle pretty, but he wins a lot. About 30 seconds into the first period, Warner did a slick little swim move to turn Cardenas around; Cardenas tried to get some distance but Warner snatched an ankle to trip him for a takedown. Warner is brutal on top and he held Cardenas down for a little over a minute before he could escape. Cardenas chose bottom for the second and that was probably a mistake. Warner held him down for another crushing minute before Cardenas could stand up. Warner escaped quickly in the third. With riding time, Warner effectively had a 4-2 lead, which means you can stall a LOT and he did. He only got called for it once, though, with about 11 seconds left which isn't even a point. Cardenas nearly tripped Warner to his back with just a few seconds left but Warner was able to wriggle out of trouble.

Cardenas will wrestle for 7th place against a familiar face: former Big Red wrestler and defending NCAA champion Max Dean, who is now a 4x All American like his big brother Gabe. They wrestled once last year, with Dean winning 4-2. Any chance to stand on the podium is great but it's always better to be on an odd number because it means you won your last match.

Cornell is in third in the team race, with the top four getting a team trophy. Four? Why? No idea. But it's four.

                Rem.	Score       
 1 Penn State	 8	116.5  5 F, 2 3-6, 1 7/8
 2 Iowa	         6	 77.0  1 F, 5 3-6
 3 Cornell	 4	 64.0  2 F, 1 3-6, 1 7/8
 4 Ohio State	 5	 62.0  1 F, 2 3-6, 2 7/8
 5 Missouri	 5	 55.0  1 F, 2 3-6, 2 7/8
 6 Michigan	 3	 51.0  1 F, 1 3-6, 1 7/8
   Nebraska	 4	 51.0  1 F, 3 3-6
 8 Iowa State	 2	 44.0  1 F, 1 3-6
 9 NC State	 2	 41.5  0 F, 2 3-6
10 Virginia Tech 5	 41.5  0 F, 2 3-6, 3 7/8

Penn State has clinched first. Second is in reach, but a long reach. One of Ohio State's wrestlers is likely to advance to the third place match on a medical forfeit, which sucks because it counts the same as a pin. On the other hand, their finalist is facing Yianni, so it's up to us to take care of business and put more space between us and them.

Other schools with finalists: Purdue, Princeton, Northern Colorado, North Carolina, Northern Iowa, Pitt and South Dakota State. College wrestling is awesome.

First match of the day is Chris Foca v Nelson Brands (Iowa) in the 3/5 placement match at 174.

Early in the first it looks like Foca is going for a throw but Brands slips his head out and ends up on top for tbe f9rst TD. Brands rides for over two minutes but with time running out on the period, Foca gets a reversal and nearly gets back points. Tied at 2, but Brands has significant riding time.

Brands chooses bottom for the second period and Foca gets to work. He breaks Brands down flat then torques him over for four back points. He almost gets another exposure but the period ends.Foca up 6-2 and riding time back under a minute.

Foca starts the third underneath but Brands has to cut him to try and catch up. No more scoring and Foca advances 7-2, He'll face VT's Mekhi Lewis for 3rd. The win also moves Cornell into a tie with Ohio State in the team standings, at least temporarily.

197: Jacob Cardenas v Max Dean for 7th

Cardenas gets the first takedown of the match, tries for a turn but can't get it. Dean escapes. Dean gets a TD to go up 3-2 can't get a turn but rides out the period.

Dean chooses bottom, out quickly. 4-2. No more scoring. Not enough action from Cardenas but Dean's defense is rock solid.

Cardenas takes neutral... more of the same. Dean not trying to score but also not blatantly running. Strong positional defense. Dean wins 4-2.

Ohio State won one of their 7th place matches by major decision, so they are ahead of us by 2 for 3rd place again.

Foca v Lewis for third. Very little scoring, Over the first 9 minutes of action, including OT, the only points scored were the escapes. Lewis came close to scoring but Foca did incredible scrambling work to stalemate the positions.

After a scoreless OT period, they went to rideouts. Foca wins the coin toss and defers his decision. Lewis chooses bottom and escapes in 18 seconds. To win, Foca would have to escape faster than that. On the first restart he stood up but Lewis dragged him out of bounds. RT down to 6 seconds. Foca up and ... OUT with two seconds to spare. Lewis needs to score but Foca sprawls to block the attempt and time runs out. W 3-2. CHRIS FOCA, THIRD PLACE.

Meanwhile, Ohio State's Romero pulled off an upset to win the third place match at 197. Ohio is still up by 2 points for third with only the championship matches to go.

We have two finalists, Ohio State has one: Sasso v Yianni head to head. We've clinched fourth and a win from Yianni locks up third. Unless Vito wins by fall, his match won't affect the team race.

Finals start at 7 but if you're only interested in Cornell, relax. Matches start at 157 so they can end on Yianni going for number 4.

Vito time

Vito dominates Bravo-Young 10-4

YESSSSSSSSSS VITOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

what an incredible year

Yanniiiiiiiii!

incredible match, incredible career from yianni.

Great tournament. Great last half hour.
Vito wins.
BU wins sending us to NCAA's
at that point, 52 seconds left in Colgate-Harvard and I can switch my allegiance from Harvard to Colgate.
and Yianni wins

and in between Vito and Yianni, a Northern Colorado wrestler coached by 4-time Cornell All-American Troy Nickerson, won at 141.

When I listened to the UNCO wrestler interview, I was impressed by his appreciation for the coaching staff, as well as his work ethic, as he acknowledged that he lost in the finals last year because he wasn't prepared. His interview sounded a lot like Vito's and Yianni's. Learning that a Cornell wrestler is his coach goes a long way in explaining his attitude, and how he worked his way to the top of the podium this year.

jkahn
Great tournament. Great last half hour.
Vito wins.
BU wins sending us to NCAA's
at that point, 52 seconds left in Colgate-Harvard and I can switch my allegiance from Harvard to Colgate.
and Yianni wins

and in between Vito and Yianni, a Northern Colorado wrestler coached by 4-time Cornell All-American Troy Nickerson, won at 141.

And while it wasn’t in that time frame, lacrosses dominating Yale in New Haven was a nice way to start the day.

dag14
When I listened to the UNCO wrestler interview, I was impressed by his appreciation for the coaching staff, as well as his work ethic, as he acknowledged that he lost in the finals last year because he wasn't prepared. His interview sounded a lot like Vito's and Yianni's. Learning that a Cornell wrestler is his coach goes a long way in explaining his attitude, and how he worked his way to the top of the podium this year.

He didn't lose in the finals last year, actually. He lost in the blood round, falling short of AA. He had a mission this year!

What a night. The entire slate was great and knowing that the last two of the last three matches were going to be Cornell wrestlers made it even better.

At 133, Vito Arujau went right after Roman Bravo-Young. He started attacking early and I don't think RBY was expecting it. A fake shot that he doubled up with a real shot to grab an ankle and convert for a takedown. RBY got an escape and Vito went right back at his leg and turned it into a second takedown and he finished the period on top with 1 minute of riding time.

In the second period, he started on bottom and got a clean reversal and exposed RBY's back for 2NF before giving up the escape. At the end of the period, he had an 8-2 lead and 1:06 in RT. In the second period he stayed on top before getting reversed, but because of the deficit, RBY had to cut him quickly. There was no more scoring except for the RT point and Vito won his first title, 10-4, over a 2x defending champ. For that win, and for winning by major decision over Fix in the semi, Vito was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler.

Cornell jumped into third in the team race with the win, but unless Yianni beat Sasso at 149, Ohio State would flip the standings back.

There was no scoring in the first period. Yianni was taking shots and getting to Sasso's leg, but Sasso was doing a great job sprawling to prevent any scoring. When Sasso seemed close, Yianni was able to stalemate the action as well.

In the second period, Yianni started on bottom and was able to get a reversal for 2. He didn't ride for long and with time running out in the period he switched from a leg shot to a cradle and scored another takedown, just missing out on back points. After 2, Yianni led 4-1.

Yianni gave up an escape to start the third period and played defense to run out the clock. Sasso grabbed a leg with short time left in the match, but Yianni stymied the move until the clock ran out to clinch his 4th NCAA title and the team's 3rd Place finish.

It was an incredible night, with the added bonus of former Cornell national champ Troy Nickerson, the current head coach at Northern Colorado, coaching Andrew Alirez to the 141 pound title in between the Cornell wins.

Cornell graduates Yianni and Heavyweight Brendan Furman but this team is already reloading. Jon Loew (184) and Lewis Fernandes (Heavy) should both be returning to the lineup healthy. All Americans Chris Foca (3rd, 174) and Jacob Cardenas (8th, 197) will be back. Julian Ramirez (165) and Brett Ungar (125) both made it to the blood round. Nobody is more upset about Vince Cornella's mental lapse than he is, and he will be back to defend his 7 seed. Meyer Shapiro, the top ranked senior in the country according to Flo, should step right into the lineup at 149 or 157 and the incoming class may have more surprises.

2023 was great and somehow 2024 might be even better. See you next year.

Many thanks for all your great reporting over the season, ugarte!

CU77
Many thanks for all your great reporting over the season, ugarte!

Seconded. Ugarte, thanks for all you post and write. I follow Cornell wrestling largely by what you and others put on this forum.

Its too bad not enough people pay attention to the finals weekend in wrestling. Its like OT hockey but for every match

upprdeck
Its too bad not enough people pay attention to the finals weekend in wrestling. Its like OT hockey but for every match

I agree with this sentiment 100%. Because you never know going into the weekend when a Cornell wrestler will be on the mat, you almost have to commit to being available most of each round. I block out the entire weekend and kill time between Cornell matches in the early rounds doing chores around the house. By Saturday, I inevitably find myself watching total strangers wrestle, just because it is so exciting.

JasonN95

CU77
Many thanks for all your great reporting over the season, ugarte!

Seconded. Ugarte, thanks for all you post and write. I follow Cornell wrestling largely by what you and others put on this forum.

Agreed. Thank you for your relentless and detailed updates all season long.

The continued success at a national level of the Cornell wrestling program is a truly impressive feat. To finish third in a sport dominated by big-time athletic powerhouses is a great accomplishment. And it's not like this year was a fluke. Thanks to the program Koll built up and Grey has inherited, Cornell is a national wrestling power nearly every year.

Chris '03

JasonN95

CU77
Many thanks for all your great reporting over the season, ugarte!

Seconded. Ugarte, thanks for all you post and write. I follow Cornell wrestling largely by what you and others put on this forum.

Agreed. Thank you for your relentless and detailed updates all season long.

you're welcome. i wish it were something less like a compulsion and more like benevolence but as long as the former seems like the latter, everyone wins.

ugarte

Chris '03

JasonN95

CU77
Many thanks for all your great reporting over the season, ugarte!

Seconded. Ugarte, thanks for all you post and write. I follow Cornell wrestling largely by what you and others put on this forum.

Agreed. Thank you for your relentless and detailed updates all season long.

you're welcome. i wish it were something less like a compulsion and more like benevolence but as long as the former seems like the latter, everyone wins.

Thank you as well. Without your posts, there’s 0% chance I would’ve tuned in for any of the coverage over the weekend. I watched most of the day yesterday along with checking in the days prior.

Vito and Yianni championship matches:

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]

Great quote from the announcer during Yianni's bout: "Cornell looking for its first national champion since 20 minutes ago."

CU77
Vito and Yianni championship matches:

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]

Great quote from the announcer during Yianni's bout: "Cornell looking for its first national champion since 20 minutes ago."

Love it!

CU77
Vito and Yianni championship matches:

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]

Great quote from the announcer during Yianni's bout: "Cornell looking for its first national champion since 20 minutes ago."

Vito also had the "Most Outstanding Post-match Interview" (included in the video linked above). Doing the interview with his arm around his Olympic medalist father who inserted the best comment of the day ("Genetics!" when Vito was explaining his pre-match prep - Priceless!

[On the flip side the cringiest post-match interview was Aaron Brooks. He went beyond the usual crediting it all to a god and its prophets to making sure people knew that Muhammed was a false prophet. Ouch.]

Vito showed the best of humanity, Brooks demonstrated the worst.

Cornell hosts Ukraine national wrestling team.

Deadspin just published this long article about how Princeton is becoming a wrestling powerhouse, without a single mention of Cornell in the entire story. The article makes it sound like no Ivy team has ever become a national contender in wrestling. In any case, with an ambitious coach and big bucks backing from Wall Street, it sounds like Princeton will be our toughest rivals in the Ivies in the coming years.

dbilmes
Deadspin just published this long article about how Princeton is becoming a wrestling powerhouse, without a single mention of Cornell in the entire story. The article makes it sound like no Ivy team has ever become a national contender in wrestling. In any case, with an ambitious coach and big bucks backing from Wall Street, it sounds like Princeton will be our toughest rivals in the Ivies in the coming years.

The author goes (went) to Princeton. Think that says it all on the bias.

toddlose

dbilmes
Deadspin just published this long article about how Princeton is becoming a wrestling powerhouse, without a single mention of Cornell in the entire story. The article makes it sound like no Ivy team has ever become a national contender in wrestling. In any case, with an ambitious coach and big bucks backing from Wall Street, it sounds like Princeton will be our toughest rivals in the Ivies in the coming years.

The author goes (went) to Princeton. Think that says it all on the bias.

I didn't bother to read the story, but I think the concept is legitimate: it's about a doormat becoming a contender. Sort of like a Cornell grad writing a 2030 article about how a coach turned around our football team.

Swampy

toddlose

dbilmes
Deadspin just published this long article about how Princeton is becoming a wrestling powerhouse, without a single mention of Cornell in the entire story. The article makes it sound like no Ivy team has ever become a national contender in wrestling. In any case, with an ambitious coach and big bucks backing from Wall Street, it sounds like Princeton will be our toughest rivals in the Ivies in the coming years.

The author goes (went) to Princeton. Think that says it all on the bias.

I didn't bother to read the story, but I think the concept is legitimate: it's about a doormat becoming a contender. Sort of like a Cornell grad writing a 2030 article about how a coach turned around our football team.

sure but if you're going to make a big deal about turning around an ivy program, and mention that princeton won its first ivy crown in however many years, it's strange to not mention that there is an ivy program that is consistently among the elite programs with individual champions that has won all of the other titles for two decades (and obviously sour grapes to point this out, but had three wrestlers taking olympic redshirts the year princeton won their ivy title).

ugarte

Swampy

toddlose

dbilmes
Deadspin just published this long article about how Princeton is becoming a wrestling powerhouse, without a single mention of Cornell in the entire story. The article makes it sound like no Ivy team has ever become a national contender in wrestling. In any case, with an ambitious coach and big bucks backing from Wall Street, it sounds like Princeton will be our toughest rivals in the Ivies in the coming years.

The author goes (went) to Princeton. Think that says it all on the bias.

I didn't bother to read the story, but I think the concept is legitimate: it's about a doormat becoming a contender. Sort of like a Cornell grad writing a 2030 article about how a coach turned around our football team.

sure but if you're going to make a big deal about turning around an ivy program, and mention that princeton won its first ivy crown in however many years, it's strange to not mention that there is an ivy program that is consistently among the elite programs with individual champions that has won all of the other titles for two decades (and obviously sour grapes to point this out, but had three wrestlers taking olympic redshirts the year princeton won their ivy title).

One of the few times it’s a shame there’s not a comment section.

From today’s D&C — Meet the 2023 All-Greater Rochester Division 1 Wrestling Team . . .

The US Open is in progress, as part of the process of choosing Team USA. The team selection process is pretty confusing.

Any returning 2022 World medalist who claims their spot, gets a pass to Final X in June. That includes Yianni Diakomihalis '23 (65kg) and Kyle Dake '13 (74kg). In fact, 7 of the 10 weight classes have returning medalists. (One, J'Den Cox at 92kg, relinquished his bye to challenge for the spot at 97kg.) The three weights without a returning champ are 61kg, 92kg and 125kg.

Winners of the US Open at the 7 weights with returning medalists advance directly to Final X to face the 2022 World medalist for a spot at 2023 Worlds.

For the three open weight classes, the winner of the US Open advances to Final X and will face the winner of the World Team Trials in May. The qualifiers for WTT in those three weight classes are: Top 7 finishers at their weight at the US Open; 2021 and 2022 world team members who did not medal in 2022, NCAA/NAIA* champions and certain other tournament winners.

At the US Open, there are/were plenty of Cornell competitors (and here I only include Cornell wrestlers and coaches, not guys training at Spartan Combat):

Greco-Roman:
We don't have any returning GR medalists, so the winner of the US Open will face the winner of WTT.

60kg: Philip Moomey '23 went 2-2 and did not place. Because he was a 2022 World Team member, he is already qualified for WTT. Winner of WTT will face Dalton Roberts.

82kg: Andrew Berreyesa '22, went 4-1 to finish in 3d Place and earn a spot at WTT. The winner of WTT will face Spencer Woods.

Freestyle:
61kg: Vito Arujau '24 is 4-0 and in the finals. He was already qualified for WTT by virtue of his NCAA title, 2022 age group medal and place as the 2022 Team USA Senior backup. In the US Open QF he beat Nahshon Garrett 9-2. If he wins the US Open he will skip the WTT and go straight to Final X.

61kg: Nahshon Garrett '16 is 4-1 and still alive in the consolation bracket. He is already qualified for WTT from a different event but has filled another slot at WTT by finishing in the top 7.

65kg: Joshua Saunders '25,** a former age-group world medalist, went 3-2 and did not place.

74kg: Julian Ramirez '25** went 2-2 and did not place.

92kg: Julian Cardenas '25** is 3-2 and will be wrestling for 7th place. He is already qualified for WTT after winning a medal at the 2022 U23 Worlds.

125kg: Nick Gwiazdowski, assistant coach, is 4-0 and in the finals. He also had previously qualified for WTT by virtue of his spot as 2022 Team USA Senior backup. If he wins the US Open, he can skip WTT and wait for the winner at Final X.


We also have multiple current and future wrestlers competing in the U20 freestyle tournament, which starts tomorrow. I can't quite figure out the qualification process for the U20 WTT but Cornella was on Team USA for 2022 U20 Worlds and Meyer Shapiro won 2021 Cadet*** gold at Worlds:

61kg: Ethan Qureshi '27
65kg: Vince Cornella '26
65kg: Ethan Fernandez '26
70kg: Nate Wade '26
70kg: Meyer Shapiro '27
79kg: Evan Canoyer '26

* NCAA does not sponsor women's wrestling at scale (yet) so the NAIA champions get the spot.
** It's generally impossible to figure out what year people are during the COVID era, especially with the more liberal granting of medical redshirts.
*** U16, I think

Garrett moves on to the Consolation semis with a 10-0 tech fall. UPDATE: his opponent in the consolation semis dropped out, so Garrett is wrestling for 3d.

Cardenas loses by fall and will wrestle in the 7th place match.

61kg: About a minute into the match, Vito Arujau gets a takedown and a series of exposures for a 10-0 tech fall and he'll be at Final X in June.

At the same time, on a neighboring mat, Nahshon Garrett gets a takedown off the whistle and a series of exposures for a tech fall in 14 seconds to take third place. He's a strong contender at WTT in May for the right to face Vito.

92kg: Jacob Cardenas was down 6-1 and rallied for a 7-6 win to take 7th place. He'll take another shot at WTT to get to Final X but ... he's got potential but he's not ready yet imo.

61kg: Ethan Qureshi is 2-1 and still alive in wrestlebacks.
65kg: Vince Cornella is 5-0 and only one match made it out of the first round. 2 pins, 2 tech falls and a 9-7 win. In the semis.
65kg: Ethan Fernandez is 4-1, losing in the QF to the 2 seed. Still alive in wrestlebacks, one W from top 8.
70kg: Nate Wade is 2-1 and still alive in wrestlebacks.
70kg: Meyer Shapiro is 5-0, with 4 tech falls. In the semis.
79kg: Evan Canoyer is 2-1 and still alive in wrestlebacks.

SF:
65kg: Cornella L 3-4. He took a 3-2 lead late but gave up a takedown with around a minute left and couldn't return the favor. He drops into the wrestlebacks and is waiting in the consolation semifinals. He can't finish worse than 6th.

70kg: Shapiro WTF 11-0. Never in doubt. Just blew through his opponent, a wrestler who decommitted from Cornell and followed Koll to Stanford. He will face a wrestler who was a redshirt freshman at Nebraska last year.

Consi:
61kg: Qureshi won by fall and then lost, and he's done.
65kg: Fernandez isn't going to wrestle again today and is a win away from a top 8 finish.
70kg: Wade lost his next match and he's done.
79kg: Canoyer has won five in a row in the consolation bracket and is still alive with a 6-1 record. He's got one more to go today, I think. wild - NCAA limits you to five in a day. He's a round behind where Fernandez sits. There's a reason it's nice to get to the QF instead of losing in R64. Update: Canoyer wins another and he's a win away from a top 8 finish.

Not a great day for the Red so far. Fernandez and Canoyer lost their blood round matches and fall just short of the top 8.

Cornella took an early 6-0 lead in the consolation semifinal but couldn't hold it and fell 10-8.

The US Open closes with the U20 placement matches and the final session is supposed to start at 8pm. Cornella with wrestle for 5th at 65kg and Shapiro in the title match at 70kg.

Cornella went down early but rallied to take 5th with a 14-4 tech fall.

Some terrible scoring decisions went against Shapiro, including a pin that wasn't called, but it didn't matter. He won 7-2.

I thought this was the competition to choose the national team, but it turns out the U20 is also a preliminary event. By winning, Shapiro gets a pass into the best of three finals that will be decided at the World Team Trials in Geneva, OH, June 2-4, along with the U23 event. Everyone else will get another chance to challenge for the top spot. I expect Cornella to register but I don't know about anyone else. Canoyer and Fernandez certainly acquitted themselves well enough to take another shot but I think Cornella can actually win it.

At the Pan Am Wrestling Championships - which I have learned is different from the Pan Am World Wrestling Championships Qualifier and the Pan Am Games - Arujau, Yianni and Dake all took gold. In fact, the USA took gold in 9 weights and a bronze in the 10th.

Yianni named Cornell Male Senior Athlete of the Year by the Sun.

Yianni gets a brief writeup and photo in the June issue of Sports Illustrated, in recognition of being only the 5th four-time national champion wrestler in D1.

Chris H82
Yianni gets a brief writeup and photo in the June issue of Sports Illustrated, in recognition of being only the 5th four-time national champion wrestler in D1.

Nice little spot on @yiannidiako_LGR in the new issue of @SInow. @BigRedWrestling #LGR pic.twitter.com/lqIY4JgM9o

— Troy S. (@Sutfin63) May 22, 2023

At the WTT over the weekend, Nahshon Garrett followed up his strong third place showing at the US Open and the 61kg tournament, earning a spot at Final X on June 10th in Newark. He'll face vito Arujau, guaranteeing Cornell will represent the weight for the US.

They will be joined by Yianni (65kg) and Kyle Dake (74kg). And me, weight undisclosed, not fighting.

This weekend is the final qualification tournament for Team USA's U20 and U23 teams and of course we're sending a lot of people.

U20 Freestyle: June 3
65kg Vince Cornella - Vince will wrestle in the challenge tournament hoping to wrestle in the best 3 final
70kg Meyer Shapiro - Meyer is sitting in the final best 2 of 3 series based off his US Open Championship in April

U23 Greco: June 2
60kg Phillip Moomey - He won this last year and has been an age group representative at Worlds multiple times.

U23 Freestyle: June 3-4
57kg Joe Sciarrone
57kg Brett Ungar

65kg Josh Saunders - A former world age group gold medalist, he hasn't adapted his success to freestyle at Cornell.
65kg Carter Tate
65kg Nate Wade
65kg Myles Griffin

70kg Cole Handlovic

74kg Julian Ramirez - Based on current entries, I can see him winning.

79kg Colt Barley
79kg Evan Canoyer
79kg Brody Oleksak

92kg Jacob Cardenas - He won this last year and took silver at 2022 Worlds.

ugarte

U23 Greco: June 2
60kg Phillip Moomey - He won this last year and has been an age group representative at Worlds multiple times.

Moomey is in the finals, winning his first three matches by tech fall, 8-0 (0:37), 8-0 (1:36), 9-1 (4:56).

ugarte

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U23 Greco: June 2
60kg Phillip Moomey - He won this last year and has been an age group representative at Worlds multiple times.

Moomey is in the finals, winning his first three matches by tech fall, 8-0 (0:37), 8-0 (1:36), 9-1 (4:56).

Wins the best of 3 final. 7-2; 3-1. LGR. Good start to the tournament.

ugarte

U20 Freestyle: June 3
65kg Vince Cornella - Vince will wrestle in the challenge tournament hoping to wrestle in the best 3 final
70kg Meyer Shapiro - Meyer is sitting in the final best 2 of 3 series based off his US Open Championship in April

Cornella won his first two matches, 11-0 and 10-1 to make it to the semis. In the semis he lost 10-1. Dropping to the consolation bracket he won his first match 10-0 and will wrestle for third.

Shapiro had a bye to the best of three final and he'll face the same wrestler he beat at the US Open.

ugarte

ugarte

U20 Freestyle: June 3
65kg Vince Cornella - Vince will wrestle in the challenge tournament hoping to wrestle in the best 3 final
70kg Meyer Shapiro - Meyer is sitting in the final best 2 of 3 series based off his US Open Championship in April

Cornella won his first two matches, 11-0 and 10-1 to make it to the semis. In the semis he lost 10-1. Dropping to the consolation bracket he won his first match 10-0 and will wrestle for third.

Shapiro had a bye to the best of three final and he'll face the same wrestler he beat at the US Open.

Shapiro blew out his opponent in the final, winning consecutive matches 8-0, 11-0. Shapiro will be on Team USA at U20 Worlds.

ugarte
U23 Freestyle: June 3-4...

57kg Joe Sciarrone - 2-2, DNP
57kg Brett Ungar - 5-2. Lost in the QF but won a few on the back side to finish 7th.

61kg Foster Cardinale - 1-2, DNP
61kg Myles Griffin - 3-2, DNP

65kg Josh Saunders - 6-2. Lost in the QF but won on the back side to finish 5th.
65kg Carter Tate - 0-2, DNP
65kg Nate Wade - 0-2, DNP

70kg Benny Baker - 3-2, DNP
70kg Cole Handlovic - 8-2. lost in R16 but fought back through the consolation bracket to finish 7th.

74kg Julian Ramirez - See below

79kg Colt Barley - 4-2, DNP
79kg Evan Canoyer - 3-2, DNP
79kg Brody Oleksak - 2-2, DNP

86kg Aiden Hanning - 1-2, DNP

92kg Jacob Cardenas - see below

------

74kg: Julian Ramirez entered the tournament as the 4 seed. He won his first three matches by 10-0 TF in under a minute to reach the QF. He won the QF over Penn's Revano, 7-3. In the semis, he faced WV's Peyton Hall, who pinned him early last season. Hall jumped out to a 9-0 lead, mostly off of counters rather than his own offense. The second period was an entirely different match. Ramirez started the comeback with a 5-point suplex. He kept the pressure on and got a pair of exposures to even the match at 9, though the suplex gave him the lead by criteria. Hall challenged the exposure call but lost, making the score 10-9, which is how it ended.

In the best-of-three final, Ramirez faced Matt Lee, a Penn State backup. In the first match, Ramirez fell behind early and he was getting outmuscled on the shots he took to mount a comeback. He lost by TF, 12-2.

In the second match, Ramirez got a quick point on a step-out. He took a good shot and it looked like he was going to score again, but Lee rolled him through for an exposure to take a 2-1 lead. It was short lived, though, because Ramirez stopped the momentum and held Lee with his back exposed to retake the lead, 3-2. That's how the score stayed until the closing seconds of the match. Lee tried for a throw at the end but Ramirez was able to brace himself and Lee landed flat on his back, making the final score 5-2 and evening up the series.

In the rubber match, things got going early with Lee in on a shot and Ramirez countering. The refs scored it 4 for Lee (since Ramirez landed on his back and 2 for Ramirez on the counter exposure but tbh I thought the call was weak since the momentum came from Ramirez and exposing yourself when you are providing the force isn't supposed to count against you. His coaches agreed, they challenged... they lost. Penalty point for a lost challenge, 5-2 Lee. Ramirez then got a clean takedown and his hold trapped Lee's arm against his body, making it easy to turn him over for another 2. He lost the arm but was able to gut wrench again to make the score 8-5 in his favor. It stayed that way until the closing seconds when Ramirez was hit with a caution for backing away, making the score 8-6. Just as it was in the second match, Lee tried for a big move at the end but Ramirez fought it off and ended up on top for a final score of 10-6 to take the series 2-1. Julian Ramirez may be the Team USA U23 representative. Because of team selection rules, Missouri's Keegan O'Toole - a U23-eligible wrestler - could potentially finish in the top 3 in the Senior rankings at 74kg. If that happens, O'Toole has the option to take Ramirez's spot at U23 Worlds. Though this may seem moderately unfair, Ramirez didn't place at Senior Nationals while O'Toole finished 3rd. As a prelude to Final X next week, O'Toole will wrestle Vincenzo Joseph, who finished in second at Nats, in a "true-third" match for the ranking ladder (behind the Final X participants) since they didn't face each other in the Nats semifinal. If Joseph wins, Ramirez holds the U23 spot.

92kg: Jacob Cardenas, 2 seed but returning World U23 silver medalist, won four straight matches by 10-0 TF to reach the finals against Oklahoma State's Luke Surber. Much like Ramirez' first match, Cardenas was the aggressor but got punished for it. Surber kept blocking and countering his attacks and took the first match by TF 10-0 in a little over 2 minutes.

In the second match, Cardenas got out much faster, taking a 6-0 lead on a 4 point takedown and an additional exposure. A minute later, Surber countered with a counter exposure from a Cardenas shot, then scrambled behind, locked up a leg lace and turned Cardenas five times before going out of bounds, to take a 12-6 lead into the break. Off the whistle in the second period, Cardenas fired a blast double at Surber's thighs and took him straight back; Surber used Cardenas' momentum to flip him over. The officials awarded 4 points to Surber, but Cardenas challenged the ruling, believing it was his offensive move. After review, the officials agreed. From a series-ending 16-6 loss, Cardenas now only trailed 12-10. Again Cardenas shot, and AGAIN Surber countered for an exposure, but this time Cardenas was able to get an exposure of his own in the scramble, get control and get a second exposure to even the score at 14. With his two 4-point moves, Cardenas led on criteria with two minutes to go. In those last two minutes, Cardenas got a point on a step-out, a clean takedown and a jiu jitsu step-out point while being penalized once for an illegal grip for an 18-15 win to even up the series.

In the rubber match, Cardenas again took a shot and again Surber tried to counter but this time Cardenas finished clean, got a leg lace of his own and quickly turned Surber four times for a blink-and-you-miss-it 10-0 tech fall and a series win. Jacob Cardenas is the Team USA U23 representative for Worlds. Cardenas can give some pointers to Ramirez on how to sweat out waiting for true-third results. Last year, Cardenas was in the same position - he needed Isaac Trumble to lose his true-third match to hold on to his spot... and he did, with literally one second left in the match.

Ugarte, thanks for your usual terrific recap of the matches. While enjoy wrestling and following our guys I’m certainly no expert, and I’m curious to know if you think either the freestyle or folk style versions of the sport presents a “truer” test of wrestling ability, and which version (if either) you prefer.

scoop85
Ugarte, thanks for your usual terrific recap of the matches. While enjoy wrestling and following our guys I’m certainly no expert, and I’m curious to know if you think either the freestyle or folk style versions of the sport presents a “truer” test of wrestling ability, and which version (if either) you prefer.

weasel answer: i like aspects of both. if i had to choose, i think freestyle is a more coherent competition. the riding-time permission/culture of folk chews up time on boring stuff. the rules of freestyle

1) force you to engage; backing away is penalized more quickly and thoroughly to the point that you don't really see it at the top level
2) put the wrestlers back at neutral quickly instead of the riding time and pseudo-scoring attempts that folk encourages. score exposure points fast or you restart.
3) step-out point further penalizes backing up because edge wrestling is so dangerous
4) an escape worth half a TD is too much and the freestyle scoring on escaping is a hearty "attaboy"

i don't love criteria as a tiebreaker, tbh, but i also don't hate it. and i definitely like folk a lot, i just think the international competition is more geared to forcing wrestling action than a demonstration of strength/dominance.

ugarte

scoop85
Ugarte, thanks for your usual terrific recap of the matches. While enjoy wrestling and following our guys I’m certainly no expert, and I’m curious to know if you think either the freestyle or folk style versions of the sport presents a “truer” test of wrestling ability, and which version (if either) you prefer.

weasel answer: i like aspects of both. if i had to choose, i think freestyle is a more coherent competition. the riding-time permission/culture of folk chews up time on boring stuff. the rules of freestyle

1) force you to engage; backing away is penalized more quickly and thoroughly to the point that you don't really see it at the top level
2) put the wrestlers back at neutral quickly instead of the riding time and pseudo-scoring attempts that folk encourages. score exposure points fast or you restart.
3) step-out point further penalizes backing up because edge wrestling is so dangerous
4) an escape worth half a TD is too much and the freestyle scoring on escaping is a hearty "attaboy"

i don't love criteria as a tiebreaker, tbh, but i also don't hate it. and i definitely like folk a lot, i just think the international competition is more geared to forcing wrestling action than a demonstration of strength/dominance.

That's helpful. I agree that in folkstyle the takedown-escape scoring seems disproportionate. And it does seem there's more constant action in freestyle.

The new wrestling rule changes are interesting to see.. going to 3 for a takedown rewards guys attacking

upprdeck
The new wrestling rule changes are interesting to see.. going to 3 for a takedown rewards guys attacking

And one hand behind your back for overtime.

upprdeck
The new wrestling rule changes are interesting to see.. going to 3 for a takedown rewards guys attacking

it also, appropriately, puts more distance between the value of a takedown and an escape.

ugarte
At the WTT over the weekend, Nahshon Garrett followed up his strong third place showing at the US Open and the 61kg tournament, earning a spot at Final X on June 10th in Newark. He'll face vito Arujau, guaranteeing Cornell will represent the weight for the US.

They will be joined by Yianni (65kg) and Kyle Dake (74kg). And me, weight undisclosed, not fighting.

In other news, Final X was yesterday for the best-of-three matches to earn a place on Team USA.

61kg: In the Cornell v Cornell battle, Vito Arujau beat Nahshon Garrett in two, 6-5 and 13-10. The matches were wild. In the first, Nahshon scored to cut the match to 1 with just a few seconds left and was straining with all his might to get a last second turn to take the lead. In the second, it was back and forth the whole time and if this ends up on youtube or somewhere without a paywall, I'll post it because it was incredible. Vito is going to Belgrade on behalf of Team USA.

65kg: Tough day for Yianni. He lost back to back matches, 7-6 and 8-8. In the first match, he gave up a penalty point for backing off the mat on his knees

upprdeck
The new wrestling rule changes are interesting to see.. going to 3 for a takedown rewards guys attacking

it also, appropriately, puts more distance between the value of a takedown and an escape.

ugarte
At the WTT over the weekend, Nahshon Garrett followed up his strong third place showing at the US Open and the 61kg tournament, earning a spot at Final X on June 10th in Newark. He'll face vito Arujau, guaranteeing Cornell will represent the weight for the US.

They will be joined by Yianni (65kg) and Kyle Dake (74kg). And me, weight undisclosed, not fighting.

In other news, Final X was yesterday for the best-of-three matches to earn a place on Team USA.

61kg: In the Cornell v Cornell battle, Vito Arujau beat Nahshon Garrett in two, 6-5 and 13-10. The matches were wild. In the first, Nahshon scored to cut the match to 1 with just a few seconds left and was straining with all his might to get a last second turn to take the lead. In the second, it was back and forth the whole time and if this ends up on youtube or somewhere without a paywall, I'll post it because it was incredible. Vito is going to Belgrade on behalf of Team USA.

65kg: Tough day for Yianni. He lost back to back matches, 7-6 and 8-8 to Nick Lee. In the first match, he gave up a penalty point for backing off the mat on his knees and on top of that, he was forced to start down in par terre position and Lee was able to gut wrench him over for 2 - Yianni did get one back on a reversal, but he still found himself down three with short time left. He got a late takedown but, like Nahshon, wasn't able to get another turn. In the second match, they traded takedowns and exposures and with a minute left, Yianni was up 8-4. He kept pressing for more points and it cost him. He was able to get to Lee's leg, but not with much leverage and twice in the final minute Lee was able to lift Yianni and expose his back to the mat to tie the score and win on criteria, as the last wrestler to score.

74kg: Final Cornellian of the day was Kyle Dake, facing his opponent from 2022 Final X, Jason Nolf. Second verse, same as the first. Dake takes him out 6-0, 3-0. Not much to say. Dake will be going for his 5th straight* World gold in Belgrade, a run he started in 2018.

Final worlds note, it looks like Julian Ramirez will get bumped from U23 Worlds. Keegan O'Toole won the Senior true-third match by forfeit so he has the right to take any subsidiary age-group slot that he qualifies for. He's considered likely to claim the spot.

* Consecutive if you don't count the 2020 Olympic bronze.

Final Final X note: Yianni won the silver at 2022 Worlds and his loss wasn't remotely the biggest news of the tournament.

57kg: Zane Richards beat Thomas Gilman. Gilman is also a returning silver medalist, but it was his second world silver to go with his 2021 gold and 2020 Olympic bronze. Richards was a 2x All-American, but never finished better than 4th. Gilman was a 3x All-American and never finished worse than 4th. Be that as it may, after a stunning win over 2x NCAA champ Nick Suriano at the World Team Trials qualifier, Richards knocked off Gilman to make his first world team.

79kg: The biggest shock of the tournament was Chance Marsteller defeating Jordan Burroughs to make his first World team. Marsteller is a 2x All-American who had an insane path. After a stellar Pennsylvania high school career and a disappointing freshman year at Oklahoma State, he took a year off and transferred to Lock Haven to be closer to home. At Lock Haven, he was a 2x All-American, with 3d and 4th place finishes. After college, though, he developed a fentanyl addiction, hit rock bottom and somehow worked himself back to being a world-class athlete. At the same time, Jordan Burroughs was becoming a legend. After a 3x AA college career that included a pair of undefeated title seasons, Burroughs went on to win an Olympic gold, six world championships and an additional three bronze medals. Still, Marsteller beat Burroughs 3-3, 5-4, 8-3 to take two of three.

92kg: After losing the US Open finals at 86kg to Aaron Brooks, Zahid Valencia decided to go up in weight rather than cut to face Brooks and, if he won, face David Taylor. It was a good decision. He won the World Team Trials, then beat the US Open champion, Mike Macchiavello, at Final X to make the world team.

97kg: The most anticipated matchup of the tournament - Olympic/World Champ Kyle Snyder v World Champ/Olympic Bronze J'Den Cox - didn't happen. Cox weighed in but left the weigh-in on crutches and resigned due to injury.

And of course, it isn't an upset, but Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson returned from WWE to the freestyle mat and didn't drop a match, taking out Mason Parris in straight sets.

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upprdeck
The new wrestling rule changes are interesting to see.. going to 3 for a takedown rewards guys attacking

it also, appropriately, puts more distance between the value of a takedown and an escape.

I recall Kyle Dake wrestling in a match against Binghamton University. Binghamton had a pretty good wrestler in Kyle’s weight class, but not good enough to beat Kyle, so their coach moved him to a different weight class and put some hapless guy in to wrestle Kyle. Kyle took him down and immediately released him. He repeated this until he had enough points for a major decision, then decided, oh well, I’ll just pin him. With the new rule, the match would have been even shorter.
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