CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Sophomore
Yianni Diakomihalis made his 2018-19 dual meet debut and Cornell ran off wins in the final three matches to overcome a deficit and top Northern Iowa 21-14 on Sunday afternoon at West Gym, The eighth-ranked Big Red improved to 3-0, while the Panthers fell to 1-2 with the loss.
Diakomihalis got Cornell off to a great start, running through No. 10 Josh Alber 12-2 as the meet opened at 141 pounds. Diakomihalis posted the only four takedowns, surrendered just two escapes and piled on a top 10 ranked wrestler on the road.
Max Dean won the main event at 184 after halftime, erasing an early 4-1 deficit by dominating from the top position to rally for a 6-5 victory over No. 7 Drew Foster at 184. Riding time proved to be the difference, as Dean avoided a last-second takedown attempt that needed to be reviewed before he was officially declared the winner.
Vitali Arujau and
Chas Tucker closed out the meet with major decision victories, with Arujau displaying explosiveness in his debut at 125 to give Cornell the lead, and Tucker dominating with a pair of takedowns and two separate two-point nearfalls to close out the dual win - the Big Red's 12th consecutive victory overall and on the road.
Fredy Stroker earned a win at 157 and
Jeramy Sweany evened his record at 2-2 on the season with a victory at heavyweight to wrap up the team's six triumphs on the day. Stroker remained unbeaten at 3-0 in dual meet competition.
Cornell head coach
Rob Koll, who won his 296th match on the Cornell sidelines, was honored in a pre-match ceremony — his father, Bill, went undefeated as a Panther to earn three NCAA wrestling titles in the late 1940s. UNI's wrestling room is named in Bill's honor thanks to Sandy Stevens, who was also honored. Koll and his family created an endowed scholarship to help future Panthers.
The Big Red will take a holiday break before heading to Florida for the South Beach Duals. Cornell will wrestle off against nationally-ranked opponents North Dakota State, Wyoming and Missouri, as well as Indiana out of the Big Ten.
#8 Cornell 17, #16 Northern Iowa 14
141: #1
Yianni Diakomihalis (Cor) won by major decision over #10 Josh Alber (UNI), 12-2
149: #10 Max Thomsen (UNI) won by major decision over
Hunter Richard (Cor), 14-4
157:
Fredy Stroker (Cor) won by decision over Patrick Schoenfelder (UNI), 12-6
165: #12 Bryce Steiert (UNI) won by decision over
Milik Dawkins (Cor), 8-6
174: #8 Taylor Lujan (UNI) won by major decision over #14
Brandon Womack (Cor), 14-5
184: #10
Max Dean (Cor) won by decision over #7 Drew Foster (UNI), 6-5
197: Tyrell Gordon (UNI) won by decision over
Jake Taylor (Cor), 3-2
285:
Jeramy Sweany (Cor) won by decision over Izaak Shedenhelm (UNI), 6-2
125:
Vitali Arujau (Cor) won by major decision over Jay Schwarm (UNI), 17-7
133: #14
Chas Tucker (Cor) won by major decision over Jack Skudlarczyk (UNI), 12-2
