LAS VEGAS, Nev.—The No. 1 ranked Big Red wrestling team finished in first place at the Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday.
Mack Lewnes (174),
Steve Bosak (184) and
Cam Simaz (197) all won individual titles in their respective weight classes. At 165 pounds,
Justin Kerber placed second. Also placing for Cornell was
Frank Perrelli (fifth, 125),
Chris Villalonga (eighth, 141) and
DJ Meagher (sixth, 157). The Big Red finished with 140 team points and was trailed by Wisconsin (101.5), Boise State (100), Oklahoma (99) and Illinois (91).
Kerber faced his toughest competition of the year in the finals at 165 meeting No. 1 ranked Andrew Howe of Wisconsin. The 2010 NCAA champion took down Kerber in the first period and notched another takedown to ride a 4-1 lead into the second period. No. 4 ranked Kerber chose down to start the second period and escaped, but Howe executed another takedown. Howe, grabbed an escape and a takedown in the third, and with 2:36 in riding time, won a 9-3 decision over Kerber. The Big Red wrestler won his semifinal match, 7-3 over Cal State Bakersfield's Trevor Hall.
Lewnes, ranked No. 1 in the country at 174, kicked his day off on the right foot with a 5-2 decision over Oklahoma's Tyler Caldwell in the semifinals. In the finals, he faced No. 6 Ben Bennett (Central Michigan), who Lewnes has defeated twice this season. After a scoreless first period, Bennett chose to start the second period down and took a one point lead with an escape. The two wrestlers were scrambling and Lewnes spun around for a takedown to take a 2-1 advantage. Bennett was hit with his second stall warning to give Lewnes a 3-1 advantage heading into the last period. Starting down in the third period, Lewnes reversed Bennett for two more points. Bennett would escape, but with riding time locked up the Big Red wrestler won a 6-2 decision. Lewnes won his third-straight Las Vegas Invitational title. As a freshman, he placed first at the Reno Tournament of Champions.
At 184 pounds, Bosak faced Wisconsin's Travis Rutt in the finals. Rutt had won their previous meeting at the 2010 National Duals, 8-7. The two were scoreless after the first period. Rutt chose down to start the second and was unable to escape Bosak's clutches. The Badger wrestler cut Bosak loose immediately in the third period. The two wrestlers scrambled but the action went out of bounds. With riding time, Bosak won a 2-0 decision to earn his first Las Vegas Invitational title. Earlier in the day, Bosak blanked Oklahoma's Erich Schmdike, 8-0 in the semifinals. The Cornell junior remains undefeated.
No. 2 Simaz met Purdue's Logan Brown for the third-straight year in the 197 pound bracket. In 2008, Brown defeated Simaz, 5-4, in the consolation semis, but Simaz won, 6-2, in the same round in 2009. In the finals, the two were scoreless after the first period. Simaz chose down to start the second and escaped. With a takedown, the Cornell junior held a 3-0 lead going into the third. Brown chose neutral in the third looking to score. Simaz earned another takedown, and with riding time won a 6-0 decision for his first Las Vegas title. In the semifinals, Simaz won a 12-2 major decision over Indiana's Matt Powless.
At 125 pounds, No. 19 Perrelli won a 6-2 decision over Boise State's Allen Bartelli to open his tournament. He followed with a 4-3 decision over the seventh seed, Aaron Kalili (Navy), before losing a 5-2 contest to No. 8 Jarrod Patterson of Oklahoma. In the wrestlebacks, Perrelli defeated Tyler Iwamura (Cal State Baktersfield), 6-2, and grabbed a 7-3 decision over No. 16 Steve Bonanno (Hofstra). In the consolation semifinals, Perrelli lost, 7-3 to No. 14 Jarrod Garnett of Virginia Tech. Perrelli placed fifth with a 9-8 upset of No. 5 ranked Logan Stieber of Ohio State.
The No. 11 seed at 133 pounds,
Joe Stanzione picked up bonus points for Cornell in both of his wins in the tournament. Stanzione pinned Brian Tharp (San Francisco State) in 2:47 in the championship bracket, and won by fall over Purdue's Jake Fleckenstein in 2:51 in the wrestlebacks. Stanzione finished 2-2 for the weekend.
At 141 pounds, freshman Villalonga got his tournament off to a good start with a pin against Marlos Serra (Western Wyoming) in 2:14. Villalonga moved to the wrestlebacks after losing a 10-4 decision to No. 17 Cole VonOhlen (Air Force), 10-4. Grabbing bonus points for the Big Red, Villalonga bounced back with a win by fall over Randall Languis (Ohio State) in 1:55. The Cornell wrestler won another decision before upsetting No. 16 Elijah Nacita (Cal State Bakersfield), 7-1. Villalonga finished in eighth place with a 5-3 record for the tournament.
Senior
Corey Manson moved up a weight class to compete at 149 pounds for Cornell. Manson won by major decision over North Idaho's Mckray Jones, 10-2. Manson was 1-2 for the invitational.
At 157 pounds, No. 20 Meagher won a 15-2 major decision over Steven Ross (Southern Illinois Edwardsville), before winning by fall in 1:05 against Western Wyoming's Dillon Karjanis. Meagher advanced to the quarterfinals with a 13-6 decision over No. 12 Colton Salazar (Purdue), but then lost 5-2 to No. 2 Adam Hall (Boise State). Meagher followed with two more wins in the wrestlebacks, but medical forfeited out of the competition to place sixth.
At heavyweight, junior
Oney Snyder lost his first match to No. 13 Eric Bugenhagen (Wisconsin), 13-4. Snyder followed with a 5-1 decision over Jack Callender of Drexel. The Big Red wrestler earned team bonus points with a win by fall in 1:44 over Southern Illinois Edwardsville's David Devine. Snyder finished the tournament with a 2-2 record.
Cornell will break for the winter holidays and resume action Dec. 29-30 at the Southern Scuffle.
Cornell Results (Seed)
125:#19 Frank Perrelli (10)
Perrelli dec. Allen Bartelli (Boise State), 6-2
Perrelli dec. Aaron Kalil (7) (Navy), 4-3
#8 Jarrod Patterson (2) (Oklahoma) dec. Perrelli, 5-2
Perrelli dec. Tyler Iwamura (Cal St. Bakersfield), 6-2
Perrelli dec. #16 Steve Bonanno (Hofstra), 5-3
#14 Jarrod Garnett (Virginia Tech) dec. Perrelli, 7-3
5th Place Match: Perrelli dec. #5 Logan Stieber (3) (Ohio State), 9-8
133: Joe Stanzione (11)
Stanzione win by fall Brian Tharp (San Francisco State), 2:47
#8 Lou Ruggirello (6) (Hofstra) dec. Stanzione, 6-2
Stanzione win by fall Jake Fleckenstein (Purdue), 2:51
Jose Mendoza (Cal State Bakersfield) dec. Stanzione, 8-6
141: Chris Villalonga (10)
Villalonga win by fall Marlos Serra (Western Wyoming), 2:14
#17 Cole VonOhlen (7) (Air Force) dec. Villalonga, 10-4
Villalonga win by fall Randall Languis (Ohio State), 1:55
Villalonga dec. Naveed Bagheri (San Francisco State), 10-3
Villalonga dec. #16 Elijah Nacita (8) (Cal St. Bakersfield), 7-1
Vincente Varela (Hofstra) dec. Villalonga, 8-3
7th Place Match: #17 Cole VonOhlen (7) (Air Force) dec. Villalonga,, 4-0
149: Corey Manson (12)
Manson maj. dec. Mckray Jones (North Idaho), 10-2
#11 Brian Stephens (5) (Virginia Tech) dec. Manson, 6-2
Andrey Patselov (North Dakota State) dec. Manson, 5-3 OT
157: #20 DJ Meagher (10)
Meagher maj. dec. Steven Ross (Southern Illinois Edwardsville), 15-2
Meagher win by fall Dillon Karjanis (Western Wyoming), 1:05
Meagher dec. #12 Colton Salazar ( 7) (Purdue), 13-6
#3 Adam Hall (2) (Boise State) dec. Meagher, 5-2
Meagher dec. Vincent Salminen (North Dakota State), 7-5
Meagher dec. Andrew Batch (Cal State Bakersfield), 9-1
Meagher medical forfeited out of the competition to place sixth
165: #4 Justin Kerber (3)
Kerber maj. dec. Tyler Johnson (North Dakota State), 12-4
Kerber dec. Clayton Gable (Air Force), 8-1
Kerber maj. dec. #18 Ryan Desroches (6) (Cal Poly), 18-7
Kerber dec. Trevor Hall (Cal State Bakersfield), 7-3
#1 Andrew Howe (1) (Wisconsin) dec. Kerber, 10-3
174: #1 Mack Lewnes (1)
Lewnes tech fall Joseph Stafford (Airforce), 17-1, 5:33
Lewnes win by fall Victor Carazo (Grand Canyon), 6:30
Lewnes maj. dec.#19 Ben Jordan (9) Wisconsin, 10-1
Lewnes dec. #7 Tyler Caldwell (4) (Oklahoma), 5-2
Lewnes dec. #6 Ben Bennett (3) (Central Michigan), 6-2
184: #4 Steve Bosak (1)
Bosak win by fall Zachary Johnson (San Francisco State), 1:36
Bosak maj. dec. Todd Noel (Cal State Fullerton)
Bosak dec. Tony Dallago (9) (Illinois), 8-1
Bosak maj. dec. #13 Erich Schmiditke (5) (Oklahoma), 8-0
Bosak dec. #11 Travis Rutt (3) (Wisconsin), 2-0
197: #2 Cam Simaz (1)
Simaz win by fall Brian Self (Duke), 2:22
Simaz tech fall Andrew Reggi (San Francisco State), 24-6 (5:37)
Simaz dec. Mario Gonzalez (9) (Illinois), 11-6
Simaz maj. dec. #18 Matt Powless (4) (Indiana), 12-2
Simaz dec. #10 Logan Brown (3) (Purdue), 6-0
HWT: Oney Snyder
#13 Eric Bugenhagen (4) (Wisconsin) maj. dec.
Oney Snyder, 13-4
Snyder dec. Jack Callender (Drexel), 5-1
Snyder win by fall David Devine (Southern Illinois Edwardsville), 1:44
Levi Cooper (Arizona State) dec. Snyder, 3-1
