ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell wrestling team has qualified one wrestler to NCAAs, has eight alive to the semifinals and leads the team race after day one of the 118th EIWA Championship on Saturday at Newman Arena. The Big Red has 94.5 team points, eight clear of Ivy rival Penn and 25 more than Princeton.

The Big Red piled up the bonus points in going 19-3 on the day, recording eight wins by fall, three by tech fall and five by major decision. Everyone contributed to the lead, as all 10 wrestlers earned at least one bonus point win. Heavyweight Lewis Fernandes was one of three wrestlers to win a pair of bonus point wins on the way to the semis, never getting out of the first period with two pins. Julian Ramirez was the lone Big Red wrestler able to qualify on day one, as the seven allocations at 165 pounds means he will finish no worse than sixth after reaching the semifinals.

The morning session will go a long way in determining the 2022 EIWA team title, as three of Cornell's eight semifinalists will square off against Penn wrestlers with a fourth against Princeton.Wins in the noon semifinal matchups would clinch NCAA berths for any of the eight Big Red grapplers.

In search of his third EIWA title, Yianni Diakomihalis outscored his two opponents 32-4 in dominant wins at 149 pounds, setting up a semifinal battle with 20th-ranked and fourth-seeded PJ Ogunsanya of Army West Point. He'll take the mat after Vito Arujau attempts to make his second EIWA finals appearance at 125 pounds and Dom LaJoie tries tp make his first at 133. Arujau won by tech fall and major decision and will be one of the three Big Red wrestlers to face a Penn opponent - he'll see 23rd-ranked and third-seeded Ryan Miller. LaJoie will look to avenge a loss to Navy's top-seeded and 22nd-ranked Josh Koderhandt and punch his ticket to NCAAs, as only the two finalists will earn an automatic bid at the weight.

With Julian Ramirez qualified for NCAAs after two wins, including a tough 5-3 quarterfinal triumph over Binghamton's Brevin Cassella, he now eyes his first EIWA title. To get to the championship match, he'll need to best fourth-seeded and 18th-ranked Joshua Ogunsanya of Columbia. A win for Chris Foca at 174 over third-seeded Nick Incontrera of Penn at 174 pounds would not only clinch an NCAA spot, but also help the Big Red in the team race.

The upper weight hammers will also look to continue scoring big team points, as Cornell earned bonus points in five of six matches from 184 to heavyweight. Jonathan Loew moved to the semifinals with a pin and a comfortable 5-0 decision, but he'll be tested in the 184 semis the the Quakers' Neil Antrassian. Jacob Cardenas earbed a tech fall (17-2) in round one and a 28-second pin in the quarterfinals to get 19th-ranked and third-seeded Luke Stout of Princeton for a spot in the finals. Fernandes rounds out the finals seekers, wrestling 3:36 total to secure two wins by fall. Another top 20 opponent awaits, as he'll face No. 18 Zachary Knighton-Ward, the No. 3 seed.

Still alive in the consolation bracket is Hunter Richard at 157 pounds. After dropping a tight quarterfinal battle to third-seeded Doug Zapf of Penn, Richard pinned Drexel's Parker Kropman and will look to guarantee a top six finish with a win. He needs to wins on Sunday to earn an NCAA bid.

Wrestling resumes at 10 a.m. with the semifinals and wrestlebacks.
 
 

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125 (3 qualifiers)
First Round: #3 (2) Vito Arujau (Cornell) won by technical fall over (15) Ryan Chauvin (Army), 19-1
Quarterfinal: #3 (2) Vito Arujau (Cornell) won by major decision over (11) Gio Diaz (F&M), 12-2
Semifinal: #3 (2) Vito Arujau (Cornell) vs. #23 (3) Ryan Miller (Penn) 

133 (2 qualifiers)
First Round: (4) Dom LaJoie (Cornell) won by fall over (13) Anthony Petrillo (SHU), 6:30
Quarterfinal: (4) Dom LaJoie (Cornell) won by decision over #32 (5) Kurt Phipps (Bucknell), 2-1
Semifinal: (4) Dom LaJoie (Cornell) vs. #22 (1) Josh Koderhandt (Navy)

141 (4 qualifiers)
First Round: #28 (4) Darren Miller (Bucknell) won by decision over (13) JJ Wilson (Cornell), 5-2
Consolation First Round: (13) JJ Wilson (Cornell) won by fall over (12) Michael Jaffe (Harvard), 1:50
Consolation Quarterfinal: (7) Wil Gill (F&M) won by major decision over (13) JJ Wilson (Cornell), 15-5

149 (4 qualifiers)
First Round: #1 (1) Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) won by  technical fall over (16) Marshall Keller (Princeton), 20-2
Quarterfinal: #1 (1) Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) won by major decision over (8) Nick Lombard (Binghamton), 12-2
Semifinal: #1 (1) Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) vs. #20 (4) PJ Ogunsanya (Army West Point)

157 (5 qualifiers)
First Round: #24 (6) Hunter Richard (Cornell) won by major decision over (11) Joe McGinty (Hofstra), 9-1
Quarterfinal: #19 (3) Doug Zapf (Penn) won by decision over #24 (6) Hunter Richard (Cornell), 5-4
Consolation Quarterfinal: #24 (6) Hunter Richard (Cornell) won by fall over (8) Parker Kropman (Drexel), 5:35
Consolation Semifinal: #24 (6) Hunter Richard (Cornell) vs. (7) Nick Delp (Bucknell)

165 (7 qualifiers)
First Round: #9 (1) Julian Ramirez (Cornell) won by fall over Noah Fox (F&M), 2:37
Quarterfinal: #9 (1) Julian Ramirez (Cornell) won by decision over (8) Brevin Cassella (Binghamton), 5-3
Semifinal: #9 (1) Julian Ramirez (Cornell) vs. #18 (4) Joshua Ogunsanya (Columbia) 

174 (4 qualifiers)
First Round: #14 (2) Chris Foca (Cornell) won by major decision over (15) Ross McFarland (Hofstra), 14-4
Quarterfinal: #14 (2) Chris Foca (Cornell) won by major decision over (10) Nate Dugan (Princeton), 14-5
Semifinal: #14 (2) Chris Foca (Cornell) vs. #22 (3) Nick Incontrera (Penn) 

184 (3 qualifiers)
First Round: #13 (1) Jonathan Loew (Cornell) won by fall over Colin Shannon (American), 1:48
Quarterfinal: #13 (1) Jonathan Loew (Cornell) won by decision over (8) Brian Bonino (Columbia), 5-0
Semifinal: #13 (1) Jonathan Loew (Cornell) vs. #29 (5) Neil Antrassian (Penn)

197 (5 qualifiers)
First Round: #18 (2) Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) won by technical fall over (15) Will Hoeft (Harvard), 17-2
Quarterfinal: #18 (2) Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) won by fall over (10) Mason McCready (Bucknell), 0:28
Semifinal: #18 (2) Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) vs. #19 (3) Luke Stout (Princeton)

285 (4 qualifiers)
First Round: #16 (2) Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) won by fall over (15) Nick Copley (SHU), 1:14
Quarterfinal: #16 (2) Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) won by fall over (7) Kade Carlson (Army), 2:22
Semifinal: #16 (2) Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) vs. #18 (3) Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra)