STORY LINES
• The eighth-ranked Big Red wrestling team will kick off its dual meet season when Buffalo visits Newman Arena on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 12:30 p.m. at Newman Arena before turning its attention to the New York State tournament on Sunday.
• You can watch Saturday's dual meet against the Bulls live on the Ivy League Digital Network.
• The Big Red will be looking to claim its fifth consecutive title in the state championships and its 12th overall.
• A number of Cornell wrestlers are coming off outstanding efforts at the Jonathan Kaloust Binghamton Open, winning titles in three weight classes (Mark Grey at 133, Joey Galasso at 149 and Brandon Womack at 165) and taking a second (Ben Honis at 197 and Jeramy Sweany at heavyweight), four thirds (Will Koll at 141, Taylor Simaz at 157, Dillon Artigliere at 165 and Jake Anderson at 197), two fourths (Noah Baughman at 125 and Jonathan Furnas at 149) and a fifth (Kyle Simaz at 157).
• The Big Red has big goals — Cornell is eyeing yet another top five effort with a handful of wrestlers with national championships and All-America finishes in their sights.
• Two-time NCAA champ Gabe Dean (184 pounds) headlines an experienced and talented lineup that includes two-time All-American and 2015 national runner-up Brian Realbuto (174) and 2016 All-American Dylan Palacio (157).
• NCAA qualifiers Dalton Macri (125), Mark Grey (133), Joey Galasso (149), Owen Scott (197) and Jeramy Sweany (HWT) also return, giving Cornell eight returners who have competed at the national tournament.
• A year ago, the Big Red won its fourth straight New York State title, winning five individual titles and scoring 202 team points.
• Buffalo finished fourth in the team race with 125 points.
• Nahshon Garrett (133), Dylan Realbuto (141), Duke Pickett (165), Brian Realbuto (174) and Gabe Dean (184) all won titles, two more Big Red wrestlers reached the finals (Dalton Macri medically forfeited to second at 125; Will Koll lost to teammate Dylan Realbuto in a one-point decision in the finals) and the other three reached the semifinals, with Jeramy Sweany medically forfeiting out the rest of the tournament after winning his first two matches at heavyweight by fall.

THE STREAKS
• Cornell has won 10 consecutive EIWA team titles, the longest streak in conference history.
• Head coach Rob Koll's teams have racked up 14 Ivy League titles in a row, the longest title streak in any sport in conference history.
• Cornell has won 73 consecutive Ivy League dual meets dating back to the 2001-02 campaign.
• The Big Red has crowned at least one EIWA champion in each of the last 15 seasons and in 25 of the last 26 years.
• The Big Red is 50-1 (.980) in its last 51 duals against current EIWA competitors dating back to 2010-11.
• Cornell is 89-4-1 (.952) in dual meet action against current EIWA teams dating back to 2004-05, including 81-0 against teams other than Lehigh.
• Cornell has placed in the top five at the NCAA championships in six of the last eight seasons and in the top 10 in 12 of the last 14 years (nine straight).
• Cornell is 94-20-1 (.822) in dual meet competition in the last seven seasons.
• The Big Red is 37-5 (.881) in its last 42 home duals dating back to the 2009-10 season.
• Big Red wrestling has won 68 consecutive dual meets against unranked teams dating back to the beginning of the 2007-08 season.
• Cornell has won 28 straight meets against New York state opponents.
• The Big Red has won four consecutive New York State team titles.

ABOUT BUFFALO
• Buffalo is coming off its best season in 10 years after going 10-9 overall and return nine starters and 24 total letter winners.
• Heavyweight Jake Gunning is the top-ranked wrestler in the Mid-American Conference preseason rankings, while 2016 NCAA qualifier Joe Ariola is ranked No. 19 nationally at 184 pounds by Intermat.
• Also returning to the mat are NCAA qualifiers Bryan Lantry (133) and Colt Cotten (141).
• Buffalo has won nine New York titles over the years and will stay in Ithaca for the state championship on Sunday.
• Fourth-year head coach John Stutzman, a 1998 graduate of Buffalo, enters the season with a 18-40 mark coaching the Bulls.
• He previously served as head coach at Bloomsburg for eight years.

THE CORNELL-BUFFALO SERIES
• Cornell leads the all-time series 6-4 after Buffalo won the last meeting, 21-19, during the 2000-01 season.
• The Big Red's last win in the series came on Feb. 17, 2000 with a 23-13 victory - the last of three straight Cornell wins against the Bulls.
• The two teams first met during the 1949-50 campaign, a 17-13 Big Red triumph.

LAST TIME VS. BUFFALO
• Cornell wrestling team trailed 21-0 after five matches and couldn't complete a full rally as Buffalo held on for a 21-19 victory on Feb. 20, 2001 at UB's Alumni Arena.
• The long night for Cornell began in the third period of the first match. Senior tri-captain and defending EIWA champion Corey Anderson led Taylor Lehmann 8-4 in the third period, but he ended up losing the 197-pound match by injury default. That loss, followed by a Buffalo pin at heavyweight, put the Big Red in an early 12-0 hole.
• It wasn't until Gabe Webster decisioned Bill Jacoutot 5-0 at 149 pounds that Cornell earned its first victory.
• The win incited a rally, as Leo Urbinelli earned a 14-4 major decision over Labe Black to cut the team score to 21-7.
• Clint Wattenberg's 9-5 defeat of David Giuarino at 165 pounds meant that Cornell needed consecutive pins over the final two matches to earn the victory.
• It got only one of them, as Randy Stout pinned Josh States in the final match of the night.
 
A WIN OVER BUFFALO WOULD
• start Cornell off 1-0 in dual meets in 2016-17.
• give Cornell its sixth consecutive season-opening dual meet win dating back to 2009.
• extend the Big Red's lead in the all-time series to 7-4.
• make the Big Red 254-81-3 (.806) all-time against teams from New York state, including 31 straight dating back to a 16-15 loss to Hofstra at the 2004 National Duals.
• give the Big Red a 786-396-20 (.672) all-time dual meet record.

NOTES TO KNOW
• Senior Gabe Dean looks to join Jace Bennett '15 as the second New York State Champion in school history.
• Dean enters the weekend with 118 career wins and needs two more to reach 120 and join the school's top 10 all-time.
• Cornell will be looking for its first win over Buffalo in a dual meet since 2000 when the two teams open the season on Saturday afternoon.
• The Big Red will be looking to protect a 30-match win streak against teams from New York dating back to 2004, including 17 consecutive at home.
• Cornell will be out for its fifth consecutive New York state title, matching Buffalo's run from 1974-78 as the longest in tournament history.

STORY LINES
• Nahshon Garrett earned his second Ivy League Wrestler of the Year award and Joey Galasso became the third Cornellian in the last four years to capture Ivy League Rookie of the Year when the Ancient Eight announced its 2015-16 all-league teams.
• In addition, Rob Koll captured Ivy League Coach of the Year honors for the second straight year, sharing the honor with Princeton's Chris Ayres.
• Garrett (133) and Galasso (149), both unanimous first-team picks, were joined on every ballot by first-teamers Gabe Dean (184), Brian Realbuto (174) and Dalton Macri (125).
• Duke Pickett (165) captured second-team accolades, while Dylan Realbuto (141) and Jeramy Sweany (285) took spots on the honorable mention squad.

THE BIG RED AT THE NEW YORK STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
• Cornell first competed at the championships in 1979, sending a B team to compete and finishing ninth overall.
• The Big Red won its first title in 1992, claiming six champions in the 10 weight classes.
• Cornell has won 83 individual titles over the years and 11 team titles, second to only Army West Point (13) and two ahead of Buffalo (nine).
• Other teams to have won NYS titles are Syracuse (5), Brockport (3), Binghamton (2), Hofstra (2), Columbia (1) and St, Lawrence (1).
• The Big Red will be looking for its fifth straight title, matching Buffalo's record of five from 1974-78.
• Current Cornellians who have previously won New York State titles are three-time champ Gabe Dean (2013, 2014, 2015), two-time champion Brian Realbuto (2013, 2015) and single-time champion Mark Grey (2013), Dylan Realbuto (2015) and Owen Scott (2012).

LAST TIME AT THE NEW YORK STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
• Cornell pinned its way to a fourth consecutive New York State Wrestling title, easily securing the title by winning five individual titles and cruising past second place Army 202-171 at Barton Hall.
• Binghamton (133.5), Buffalo (125) and Columbia (123.5) rounded out the top five teams.
• Nahshon Garrett (133), Dylan Realbuto (141), Duke Pickett (165), Brian Realbuto (174) and Gabe Dean (184) all won titles, two more Big Red wrestlers reached the finals (Dalton Macri medically forfeited to second at 125; Will Koll lost to teammate Dylan Realbuto in a one-point decision in the finals) and the other three reached the semifinals, with Jeramy Sweany medically forfeiting out the rest of the tournament after winning his first two matches at heavyweight by fall.
• Winning by fall became a theme on the day, as the Big Red won 15 matches by pin in the championship bracket, where its 10 scoring wrestlers posted a cumulative 35-4 record with 26 bonus point victories.

NOTES TO KNOW
• Senior Gabe Dean became the 23rd Cornellian with 100 career wins and now ranks 13th (118).
• Dean has 30 falls in his first three seasons, good for eighth in school history.
• Dean also ranks third all-time at Cornell in individual winning percentage (118-6, .952), behind only Dave Auble (.981, 51-1) and Dake (.972, 137-4).
• Junior Brian Realbuto (92-16) is within striking distance of becoming the 25th wrestler in Cornell history to reach 100 wins.
• Since the Friedman Wrestling Center opened in January of 2003, the Big Red is 66-13-1 in dual matches (.831).
• Head coach Rob Koll became the ninth Big Red coach in any sport to reach 250 career victories with a sweep at the Grapple at the Garden in 2014 and now sports a 267-87-5 record in dual meets.
• The Big Red has won 14 consecutive Ivy crowns and 73 straight Ivy matches.
• Cornell's 14 straight Ivy League titles build on the Big Red's record of consecutive Ivy titles by the same team in a sport. The wrestling team has won three more than Cornell had in men's gymnastics (from 1967-68 to 1976-77) and men's lacrosse (1973-74 to 1982-83), as well as Princeton in men's lacrosse (1994-95 to 2003-04).  
• Every four-year member of the Cornell wrestling team who has enrolled since 1980 has won at least one Ivy League title during their career.
• The Big Red is 253-81-3 all-time against teams from New York state in its history — Army (11-17-1), Binghamton (7-0), Brooklyn Poly (2-0), Buffalo (6-4), Clarkson (2-0), Colgate (29-2), Columbia (88-13), Cortland (17-1), Geneseo (1-0), Hofstra (18-4), Ithaca (12-3), Long Island (1-0), Manhattan (1-0), NYU (2-0), Queens (1-0), RPI (2-0), RIT (7-0-1), St. Lawrence (0-1), Syracuse (42-35-1), Union (2-1) and Wagner (2-0).
• The Big Red's coaching staff has combined for 11 All-America accolades and three individual NCAA titles at a total of two different weight classes as collegiate athletes.

DEAN DOMINATES AT NWCA ALL-STAR CLASSIC
• Two-time defending national champion Gabe Dean got his senior year off by dominating his NWCA All-Star Classic match against 2016 NCAA 174-pound champion Myles Martin of Ohio State on Nov. 5, 2016.
• Dean picked up five takedowns in a dominant 13-4 triumph over the preseason No. 2 wrestler at 184 pounds in the main event of the evening.
• Martin, who bumped up a weight class as a sophomore after his run to the title last spring, looked to be an early season test, but Dean had little trouble in becoming the first Cornell wrestler to twice win matches at the All-Star Classic.
• Dean defeated Old Dominion's Jack Dechow 5-2 in 2014 in a battle of preseason No. 1 vs. No. 2.
• Cornell wrestlers are now 8-7 all-time at the NWCA All-Star Classic.

MANOTTI INDUCTED INTO THE CORNELL ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME
• Cornell wrestling legend Dustin Manotti was inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 24.
• He finished eighth as a freshman, fourth as a sophomore, sixth as a junior and third as a senior at the NCAA Championships to become Cornell's second four-time NCAA All-American.
• He made his mark on Cornell's record book, graduating as the third-winningest wrestler in program history with 135 career victories and ranked 10th in overall winning percentage at .839 (135-26).
• Manotti was a three-time All-Ivy selection, earning first-team honors in 2005 and second-team recognition in 2003 and 2004.
• As a freshman in 2003, he was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year.
• Manotti's last All-America honor may have been his most impressive.
• After losing in the first round, he came back through the wrestlebacks to top the tournament's No. 9, 8, 3 and 4 seeds before easily disposing of the No. 1 seed in the third-place match.
• Manotti was a four-time EIWA placewinner that ranked second in school history in wins by major decisions (43) and in the top 10 in career bonus wins (68).

DAKE MAKES FINALS AT OLYMPIC TRIALS
• Four-time NCAA champion Kyle Dake fell just short of qualifying to represent the United States in Olympic Qualifying after dropping a best-of-three series against J'Den Cox at 86kg at the 2016 Trials on April 10, 2016 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• Dake lost the rubber match 4-3 after a 5-3 victory in the second match sent it to a decisive final bout.
• Dake had run through qualifying with a 10-7 win over Richard Perry in the quarterfinals before yet another victory over rival David Taylor, this time 4-3 in the semis.
• He lost an 8-1 contest to Cox in the first match before rallying from down 3-1 after one period to extend the series.
• Cox wrestled at 197 pounds throughout his college career - even wrestling heavyweight this season in a dual against Cornell - while Dake began his career at 141 before becoming the first collegiate athlete to win titles at four different weight classes.
• In addition, 2016 NCAA champion and four-time All-American Nahshon Garrett placed sixth at the Trials at 57kg. Included was a win over 2016 NCAA champ Nico Megaludis.

2016 EIWA CHAMPIONSHIPS
• The Cornell wrestling team clinched its 10th consecutive EIWA team title, winning four individual crowns and qualifying eight for the NCAA championships as day two of the 2016 EIWA championship meet concluded at Princeton's Jadwin Gymnasium.
• The Big Red posted 170.5 team points to squeak by runner-up Lehigh (160) - the sixth time in the last eight years the Mountain Hawks finished right behind Cornell.
• Senior Nahshon Garrett became the 10th wrestler in the history of the EIWAs to win four individual titles, joining fellow Cornellians Travis Lee '05, Mack Lewnes '11 and Cam Simaz '12 in reaching that milestone.
• He also moved into third place on the school's career wins list with 144, surpassing two-time national champion Lee.
• Garrett was given the Coaches Award as the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler and the Fletcher Award for the second straight year for posting the most career team points at the EIWA championships after improving to 32-0.
• Junior Gabe Dean held to form as well, becoming the 58th wrestler to claim three Eastern titles with an electric tournament that concluded with the Sheridan Award (most pins in the shortest period) and a pin in the finals in less than a minute.
• Cornell had a dominant first session on Sunday, winning six of its seven semifinal matches and earning six more NCAA bids on top of the two that qualified on Saturday.
• It was the eighth consecutive year Big Red wrestlers captured at least three individual EIWA titles.
• It was also the sixth straight year the Big Red had all 10 wrestlers place and the second straight year it left the tournament with eight NCAA qualifiers.

NEXT UP
• Cornell will compete in the Grapple at the Garden on Sunday, Nov. 27 when it meets Hofstra (10:30 a.m.) and nationally ranked Rutgers (12:30 p.m.).
• Cornell has been a part of all five Grapple at the Garden events and is 4-4 in its previous three trips.
• The Big Red is 2-0 against unranked opponents in Madison Square Garden and 2-4 against nationally ranked teams with all four losses coming to squads ranked in the top 14.