ITHACA, N.Y.—The Big Red wrestling team pinned five of its opponents to cruise to a 44-6 victory over Harvard winning its eighth-straight Ivy League title on Saturday afternoon. Cornell has won 43-straight Ancient Eight matches to capture its 31st conference crown. The Big Red pinned five of its opponents including falls by Troy Nickerson (125), Mike Grey (133), Justin Kerber (165), Mack Lewnes (174) and Cam Simaz (197).
After the Big Red honored its nine seniors before the start of the match, Nickerson faced off against Steven Keither. With 11 seconds off the clock the Big Red senior took down his opponent and won by fall in 1:20 for his second pin of the weekend.
At 133 pounds, Grey followed Nickerson's lead for the second match in a row. Grey quickly brought Chad Eason down to the mat and pinned him in 1:45. The Big Red junior has seven falls for the season after notching two this weekend.
Freshman Cody Kelly moved to 2-0 in dual competition after receiving his second win by forfeit in as many matches. With Kelly's six team points, Cornell gained an 18-0 lead over the Crimson.
At 149 pounds, Corey Manson held a 2-0 lead over Paul Liguori with a takedown with 25 seconds left in the first period. After increasing his advantage to 4-1 in the second period, Manson grabbed two more takedowns and with 2:01 in riding time he won a 10-2 major decision.
Sophomore Derek Schreiner squared off against No. 1 ranked JP O'Connor at 157 pounds. Schreiner wrestled well in front of the home crowd of the Friedman Wrestling Center, but O'Connor's experience helped him to a 7-2 decision.
After an intermission featuring exhibition bouts by the Cornell ROTC, No. 16 ranked Kerber took on Michael Sadler at 165 pounds. Kerber notched two takedowns and added nine back points in the first period to bring a commanding 13-1 lead into the second period. Kerber chose to start the second from the top position which proved to be the right decision, and the Big Red junior won by fall in 3:40. With Kerber's pin, the Big Red took a 28-3 lead and secured its Ivy title.
No. 1 ranked Lewnes took the mat at 174 pounds against David Lalo. Lewnes wasted no time, taking down Lalo with only nine seconds off the clock. Lewnes took his opponent down two more times before pinning him in 2:59. The Big Red junior completed his third Ivy season with three pins, a tech fall and a major decision. Lewnes has not let an opponent score any offensive points on him this season.
At 184 pounds, No. 16 Steve Bosak faced No. 6 Louis Caputo. After a scoreless first period, Caputo reversed Bosak to take a 2-0 lead into the third. Bosak chose to start at neutral in the third looking to score, but Caputo countered an attack by the Big Red wrestler for another takedown. Caputo won a 5-0 decision.
At 197 pounds, No. 5 ranked Simaz brilliantly countered an attack by Sean Murphy early in the first period. The Cornell sophomore quickly turned Murphy to win by fall in 36 seconds, which marks Simaz's fastest career pin.
Senior Josh Arnone faced Spencer DeSana in his last home match at heavyweight for the Big Red. Arnone took a 2-0 lead into the second with a takedown with 15 seconds left in the period. The senior rode a 6-1 advantage after two periods with another takedown and two back points. Arnone continued to dominate in the third period, and with two more takedowns and 1:52 in riding time, he won a 12-3 major decision.
Cornell has completed is dual season and will wrestle at the EIWA Championships on March 6-7 at Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa.
