ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell wrestling team enters the season ranked in the top 10 nationally with a pair of national title contenders and a lineup full of EIWA championship and All-America contenders. Senior Yianni Diakomihalis will be attempting to cement his argument as the greatest collegiate wrestler ever. If that doesn't get the juices flowing, nothing will.

Head coach Mike Grey's Big Red will have its first chance to get on the mats against opponents in different color singlets when it competes at the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open on Sunday, Nov. 13 at Binghamton's Events Center. Wrestlers from Bucknell, Buffalo, Columbia, Franklin & Marshall, Navy, Northern Colorado, No. 1 Penn State and West Virginia will be sending grapplers to the tourney named in honor of the former Binghamton wrestler who was killed in the line of duty. Kaloust, a Navy SEAL, competed for the Bearcats from 2007-10.

Last season, Cornell won a pair of titles (Chris Foca at 174 and Jonathan Loew at 184) and had four others reach the finals (Greg Diakomihalis at 125, Cole Handlovic at 141, Colton Yapoujian at 157 and Jacob Cardenas at 197) in the non-team scoring event. Brett Ungar claimed third at 125 while wrestling at the Spartan Regional Training Center, while Gage McClenahan (157) and Julian Ramirez (165) also grabbed third at the event.

The annual tuneup for competition will lead the Big Red into its season opener on Nov. 19 against No. 12 Wisconsin, as the Big Red looks to repeat at Ivy League and EIWA champions and extend its stretch of top 10 finishes at NCAAs to 14 consecutive tournaments dating back to 2007 - a claim only Iowa can also make.

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The competition at 125 will be intense, with senior Dom LaJoie, sophomore Greg Diakomihalis and freshmen Joe Sciarrone and Brett Ungar up for the challenge. LaJoie was an NCAA qualifier at 125 last year and will swap with Vito Arujau in 2022. He grabbed third at EIWAs and won his first round match at nationals as padr of an 18-15 season. Diakomihalis was second at the Bearcat open and finished on the podium at the Southern Scuffle in seventh.

At 133, two-time All-American and 2022 EIWA champion Vito Arujau moved up from 125 after going 19-2 with 15 bonus wins. Arujau finished third at NCAAs and suffered just two losses all season - both to Princeton's Patrick Glory. He didn't miss a beat after sitting out two seasons on Olympic redshirt and enters his junior campaign with a 50-6 record. Senior Phillip Moomey, a U23 national team member in Greco-Roman, and sophomore Ethan Fernandez will be the primary backups  

At 141 pounds, seniors Sal Jones and JJ Wilson and freshmen Vince Cornella, Myles Griffin and Carter Tate will attempt to break into the lineup. Wilson represented Cornell at EIWAs, scoring points for the Big Red as the starter at 141. Cornella was 23-8 while competing at the Spartan Regional Training Center last year and made the U20 national team after winning four state titles in Colorado.

Diakomihalis will begin his quest to become the fifth collegiate wrestler in NCAA history to win four national titles (Iowa's Spencer Lee also has won three straight titles) when he begins the season at 149 pounds for the second straight year. The three-time EIWA champ sports a 94-1 career mark and a 75-match win streak entering the season. The two-time national team member claimed a silver medal at the 2022 Senior World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia this fall. If Diakomihalis can complete the task, Cornell will be the only school with two four-time champions (Kyle Dake from 2010-13). When Diakomihalis isn't on the mat, Owen Finn, Nate Wade and Wyatt Yapoujian will weigh in.

Colton Yapoujian began 2021-22 as the starter at 157 and was ranked nationally before suffering a season-ending injury. He opened the year 7-2 with a runner-up effort at the Bearcat Open. Cole Handlovic saw significant time as a 141-pounder last year, going 6-7 and competing for the Big Red at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and placed second at the Bearcat Open. Benny Baker also saw time at 157 and 165, going 8-7 and earning a spot in the lineup at the Southern Scuffle, while returning letter winner Cole Handlovic will also be in the mix, as will Gage McClenahan.

Rising sophomore Julian Ramirez was 22-10 at 165 pounds where he reached the round of 12 at NCAAs. He grabbed national attention early in the season with an upset of top-ranked and defending national champion Shane Griffith of Stanford in a dual and finished the campaign with 11 wins over ranked foes. Baker will be joined by junior Luke Gorg, sophomores Colt Barley and Justin Mayes, and freshman Brody Oleksak will compete at the weight throughout the season.

The Big Red had first-team All-Ivy selections from 174 to 285, and that begins with NCAA qualifier Chris Foca. The rising junior was 24-8 in his first season, grabbing third at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and winning the season-opening Bearcat Invitational as part of a 7-0 start to his career. Foca will be backed up by senior Andrew Merola, junior Jacob Yawn and freshmen Evan Canoyer and Christian Hansen.

All-American Jonathan Loew, the 2022 EIWA champion, placed eighth at NCAAs last spring at 184 pounds. The Southern Scuffle finalist went 30-8 to pace the team in victories. In all, 14 of his wins came against nationally ranked wrestlers. Sophomore Ethan Hatcher was 4-3 as a freshman, competing in three Ivy League contests with a pair of wins as Cornell claimed the Ancient Eight title, and senior Nathan Thacker is also a solid option.

Cardenas had a banner rookie season, posting a 23-8 record and earning a spot in the NCAA championship. After a season where he reached the podium in fifth at EIWAs, he was runner-up at the U23 world championships to launch his season.

At heavyweight, Lewis Fernandes advanced to the round of 12 with three victories over top 20 grapplers to cap a season that saw him go 21-9. The EIWA runner-up also finished second at the Southern Scuffle. Thirteen of his victories came with bonus points attached. Former NCAA qualifier and fifth-year senior Brendan Furman will rejoin the team in the spring and has a 33-19 record in the circle for the Big Red during his career.