DETROIT, Mich. -- Sophomore
Vito Arujau (125) and junior
Yianni Diakomihalis (149) took their first steps toward 2022 national titles on Thursday, winning two matches to advance to Friday's quarterfinals as the Cornell wrestling team completed day one of competition at Little Caesars Arena. The Big Red ended day one in ninth place in the team standings with 14.0 points and eight Big Red wrestlers still alive entering Friday.
The Big Red had a solid first session, advancing five to the second round and ending in 11th place with 7.0 points. Led by sophomore
Vito Arujau's major decision at 125 and top-seeded
Yianni Diakomihalis' first round win over 2021 NCAA All-American Zach Sherman of North Carolina, six different Cornell grapplers picked up a win.
Arujau outscored his opponents 25-7 in two wins to get within one victory of his second All-America finish and two Friday victories from reaching the finals. He dominated from the first whistle in a first round win over Antonio Lorenzo of Cal Poly behind a 16-4 victory. He backed that up with a 9-3 win over Brody Teske of Northern Iowa, his second win this season against Teske. He'll wrestle 10th-seeded Michael DeAugustin of Northwestern for a spot in the semis.
Diakomihalis, in search of his third NCAA title, controlled his match with Sherman in a 9-2 win over the seventh-place finisher from a year ago. He then topped No. 16 Willie McDougald of Oklahoma, 11-5. A buzzer-beating takedown for a major decision was given, then taken away by review. either way, the junior is a victory over Iowa's eighth-seeded Max Murin away from capturing his third All-America honor. He extended his win streak to 72
All nine Big Red qualifiers pick up at least one win on Thursday, with Arujau and Diakomihalis being joined by senior
Hunter Richard with two victories. Richard won a pair of matches in the back draw, including a 3-2 win over No. 19 Kendall Coleman of Purdue.
The Big Red's six wrestlers in the back draw each enter Friday's action needing to win three matches to earn All-America honors.
Dom LaJoie earned a prelim win over Domenic Zaccone of Campbell and put up plenty of resistance in a loss to No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State. He'll look to stay alive in the 133-pound bracket when he wrestlers No. 17 Haiden Drury of Utah Valley.
At 157 pounds, Richard had the most eventful day, going 2-1 after a one-point loss to third-seeded Jacori Teemer. The senior chased the Sun Devil all around the mat for seven minutes, but the only credited takedown went to Teemer and Richard fell just short of the mammoth upset. He bounced back with consecutive one-point wins in the back draw, including a 3-2 vicitory over 19th-seeded Kendall Coleman to set up a match with No. 13 Justin Thomas of Oklahoma.
Julian Ramirez used a takedown and four back points to surive his 165-pound first round match vs. William Fomato of App State, but lost a 15-11 contest to No. 4 Dean Hamiti of Wisconsin on the strength of a six-point move by the Badger. He's one of three Big Red wrestlers who will face an opponent within one seed line of them in the back draw on Friday when the 13th seed meets No. 14 Joshhua Ogunsanya of Columbia in a rematch of the EIWA semifinals.
At 174,
Chris Foca bounced back from a first round loss to pin Binghamon's Jacob Nolan for important bonus points in the team race. The No. 14 seed will wrestle No. 13 Matt Finesilver of Duke for the right to continue through the bracket.
More bonus points came from
Jacob Cardenas in the back draw, with the sophomore majoring Penn's Cole Urbas 11-2 after losing in his first match to Greg Bulsak of Rutgers. His task gets bigger on day two, as former Princeton All-American and current Michigan grad student Patrick Brucki stands in his way as the No. 4 seed.
Both
Jonathan Loew at 184 and
Lewis Fernandes at 285 will try to bounce back from second round losses after dominant wins in their first NCAA matches. Loew nearly majored Michigan State's Layne Malczewski (11-4), while Fernandes dominated in a 4-0 win over Campbell's Taye Ghadiali. Loew, the No. 11 seed, will scrap with No. 12 Brit Wilson of Northern Illinois, while Fernandes will meet No. 17 Trent Hilger (Wisconsin).
Wrestling begins in session three with the quarterfinals at 11 a.m., followed by wrestlebacks.
125
First Round: #2
Vito Arujau (Cornell) won by major decision over #31 Antonio Lorenzo (Cal Poly), 16-4
Second Round: #2
Vito Arujau (Cornell) won by decision over #15 Brody Teske (Northern Iowa), 9-3
Quarterfinal: #2
Vito Arujau (Cornell) vs. #10 Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern)
133
Championship Prelim: #32
Dom LaJoie (Cornell) won by decision over #33 Domenic Zaccone (Campbell), 9-5
First Round: #1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) won by major decision over #32
Dom LaJoie (Cornell), 16-4
Consolation First Round: #17 Haiden Drury (Utah Valley) won by decision over #32
Dom LaJoie (Cornell), 10-5
149
First Round: #1
Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) won by decision over #33 Zachary Sherman (North Carolina), 9-2
Second Round: #1
Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) won by decision over #16 Willie McDougald (Oklahoma), 11-5
Quarterfinal: #1
Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) vs. #8 Max Murin (Iowa)
157
First Round: #3 Jacori Teemer (Ariona State) won by decision over #30
Hunter Richard (Cornell), 3-2
Consolation Prelim Round: #30
Hunter Richard (Cornell) won by decision over #32 Jordan Slivka (Ohio), 6-5
Consolation First Round: #30
Hunter Richard (Cornell) won by decision over #19 Kendall Coleman (Purdue), 3-2
Consolation Second Round: #30
Hunter Richard (Cornell) vs. #13 Justin Thomas (Oklahoma)
165
First Round: #13
Julian Ramirez (Cornell) won by decision over #20 William Formato (Appalachian State), 8-3
Second Round: #4 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) won by decision over #13
Julian Ramirez (Cornell), 15-11
Consolation Second Round: #13
Julian Ramirez (Cornell) vs. #14 Joshua Ogunsanya (Columbia)
174
First Round: #19 Thomas Flitz (Appalachian State) won by decision over #14
Chris Foca (Cornell), 9-6
Consolation First Round: #14
Chris Foca (Cornell) won by fall over #30 Jacob Nolan (Binghamton), 5:16
Consolation Second Round: #14
Chris Foca (Cornell) vs. #13 Matt Finesilver (Duke)
184
First Round: #11
Jonathan Loew (Cornell) won by decision over #22 Layne Malczewski (Michigan State), 11-4
Second Round: #6 Trey Munoz (Oregon State) won by major decision over #11
Jonathan Loew (Cornell), 12-2
Consolation Second Round: #11
Jonathan Loew (Cornell) vs. #12 Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois)
197
First Round: #14 Greg Bulsak (Rutgers) won by decision over #19
Jacob Cardenas (Cornell), 7-0
Consolation First Round: #19
Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) won by major decision over #30 Cole Urbas (Penn), 11-2
Consolation Second Round: #19
Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) vs. #4 Patrick Brucki (Michigan)
285
First Round: #18
Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) won by decision over #15 Taye Ghadiali (Campbell), 4-0
Second Round: #2 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) won by fall over #18
Lewis Fernandes (Cornell), 0:52
Consolation Second Round: #18
Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) vs. #17 Trent Hilger (Wisconsin)
