PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Cornell wrestling team crowned six champions, including four first-timers, but was headlined by a four-timer as the Big Red ran away with the team title at the 2023 EIWA Championship at the Palestra. The Big Red closed the two-day championship tourney with 165.5 points, well clear of second-place Lehigh (120.5) and Ivy rival Penn (106).
Yianni Diakomihalis became the 14th four-time champ in conference history with his title at 149 pounds, but was already the third Big Red grappler to take hom a title at that point.
Vito Arujau (133) won his second straight championship and first at 133 pounds, while freshman
Vince Cornella grabbed his first at 141 pounds.
Julian Ramirez (165) and
Jacob Cardenas (197) each topped top five wrestlers in the finals for their first titles, with
Chris Foca also winning his first with his victory at 174 pounds. The six champions set a Cornell record and were one off the tournament record, while the 165.5 points scored was the seventh-highest by any team.
The lone runner-up came at 125 pounds where freshman
Brett Ungar fell in a tight 2-0 contest to second-ranked All-American Patrick Glory of Princeton. Additionally, heavyweight
Brendan Furman grabbed seventh at heavyweight, one place out of earning an NCAA bid. He'll be a contender for an NCAA at-large selection.
Gallery: (3-5-2023) EIWA Championship Day 2, 03.05.23
125: Ungar vs. Glory
Much of the first three minutes were a feeling out period with no scoring. Ungar went under to start the second and couldn't get off bottom against the second-ranked Glory. The Princeton Tiger escaped quickly in the third to take a 1-0 lead with nearly two minutes of riding time in his pocket and Ungar, though turning offensive in the final period, couldn't get the tying takedown.
133: Arujau vs. Colaiocco
The narrow loss didn't deter the Big Red, which bounced back at 133 when Arujau topped Colaiocco for his second straight EIWA crown. A wild takedown and two nearfall points along with a hard ride put the junior in position with a 4-0 lead after one. Arujau made it 5-0 with a second period escape after less than 20 seconds, then went back to work while thinking about bonus points. A big takedown and nearly five minutes of riding time ended the match 8-0.
141: Cornella vs. Ferrante
Three slick first period takedowns by Cornella gave the freshman a 6-2 lead after the first, and the rookie then reversed Ferrante from bottom to build his lead to 8-2. He had more than two minutes of riding time after ending the second period on top. Ferrante chose neutral in third only to see Cornella grab a fourth takedown to make it 10-2. A Ferrante escape couldn't prevent the major, as Cornella picked up a late takedown to win his first EIWA title with a 13-3 triumph.
149: Diakomihalis vs. Chappell
Diakomihalis didn't need any time to show his dominance against Chappell with two takedowns and more than a minute of riding time in the first 90 seconds, ultimately going into the first break with a 6-2 lead. Diakomihalis earned a quick reversal in the second to bring his lead to 8-2 and then went to work on top. He picked up up four big nearfall points with a bow-and-arrow to make it 12-2 entering the third. Chappell went neutral, but again was taken down twice in the final seconds and Diakomihalis finished with a 15-3 triumph for his fourth EIWA crown.
165: Ramirez vs. Monday
Monday and Ramirez traded takedowns in the first minute of their 165-pound championship match and ended knotted at 3-3 after one. Monday took the lead with a second period escape, but a Ramirez takedown with a minute left in the second gave the Big Red sophomore a 5-4 edge. The ensuing escape tied it up at 5-5 after two. A third period escape gave Ramirez the 6-5 lead, but despite a flurry of action, time ran out with the Big Red junior in the lead for his first Eastern title.
174: Foca vs. Pasiuk
Foca used two takedowns, including one in the final seconds to Pasiuk's back for nearfall, to build a 6-1 lead at the end of the first. A Foca escape made it 7-1, and a Foca takedown on a wild scramble pushed the score to 9-1. A Pasiuk escape made it 9-2 entering the third. Pasiuk chose bottom and escaped, but only after Foca went over a minute of riding time. The Big Red 174-pounder gave up an escape in the third and a takedown in the final minute, but Foca earned the 10-5 victory for his first Eastern title.
197: Cardenas vs. Beard
Beard picked up an early takedown and led 4-1 after three minutes. Beard escaped to go up 5-1, but Cardenas took over from there. The Big Red scored two second period takedowns to narrow the deficit to 7-5. Cardenas chose neutral in the final period, picked up a takedown midway through the third to get within 8-7 after the escape. Completely the aggressor, Cardenas earned a stall warning on Bears, then a second for backing out to tie it up at 8-8. Cardenas took the lead with a takedown in the final 20 seconds and ran out the clock for a 10-9 win over the second-ranked Beard,
Next Up
• Cornell's qualifiers will compete at the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships beginning on March 16-18 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.
125 (top 6 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: (1) #21
Brett Ungar (Cornell) won by technical fall over (16) Grayson McLellan (Bucknell), 15-0 (3:02)
Quarterfinal: (1) #21
Brett Ungar (Cornell) won by decision over (9) Micah Roes (Binghamton), 5-0
Semifinal: (1) #21
Brett Ungar (Cornell) won by decision over (4) #18 Diego Sotelo (Harvard), 4-2 (sv1)
Final: (2) #2 Patrick Glory (Princeton) won by decision over (1) #21
Brett Ungar (Cornell), 2-0
133 (top 5 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: (1) #3
Vito Arujau (Cornell) won by technical fall over (16) Anthony Sobotker (Binghamton), 15-0 (4:42)
Quarterfinal: (1) #3
Vito Arujau (Cornell) won by technical fall over (8) Hunter Adrian (Brown), 16-1 (6:59)
Semifinal: (1) #3
Vito Arujau (Cornell) won by major decision over (5) #30 Brendan Ferretti (Navy), 13-5
Final: (1) #3
Vito Arujau (Cornell) won by major decision over (2) #7 Michael Colaiocco (Penn), 8-0
141 (top 5 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: (1) #17
Vince Cornella (Cornell) won by fall over (16) Christopher Martino (Princeton), 1:52
Quarterfinal: (1) #17
Vince Cornella (Cornell) won by fall over (9) Justin Hoyle (Hofstra), 2:07
Semifinal: (1) #17
Vince Cornella (Cornell) won by fall over (4) #22 Matt Kazimir (Columbia), 4:37
Final: (1) #17
Vince Cornella (Cornell) won by major decision over (6) Carmen Ferrante (Penn), 13-3
149 (top 2 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: (2) #1
Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) won by fall over (15) Mike McGhee (Sacred Heart), 2:24
Quarterfinal: (2) #1
Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) won by technical fall over (7) Luke Nichter (Drexel), 18-1 (2:54)
Semifinal: (2) #1
Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) won by technical fall over (6) Danny Fongaro (Columbia), 18-3 (5:25)
Final: (2) #1
Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) won by major decision over (5) Dylan Chappell (Bucknell), 15-3
157 (top 3 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: (8)
Cole Handlovic (Cornell) won by decision over (9) Jack Nies (American), 3-0
Quarterfinal: (1) #17 Anthony Artalona (Penn) won by decision over (8)
Cole Handlovic (Cornell), 6-1
Consolation Round of 8 #2: (10) Ty Whelan (Princeton) won by decision over (8)
Cole Handlovic (Cornell), 5-2
165 (top 5 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: (1) #8
Julian Ramirez (Cornell) won by fall over (16) Matt Rogers (Hofstra), 2:26
Quarterfinal: (1) #8
Julian Ramirez (Cornell) won by decision over (9) Josh Kim (Harvard), 3-1
Semifinal: (1) #8
Julian Ramirez (Cornell) won by decision over (5) #31 Brevin Cassella (Binghamton), 3-1 (sv1)
Final: (1) #8
Julian Ramirez (Cornell) won by decision over (2) #5 Quincy Monday (Princeton), 6-5
174 (top 4 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: (1) #4
Chris Foca (Cornell) won by fall over (17) Ryan Bolletino (Sacred Heart), 0:39
Quarterfinal: (1) #4
Chris Foca (Cornell) won by decision over (8) Kole Mulhauser (Princeton), 6-2
Semifinal: (1) #4
Chris Foca (Cornell) won by technical fall over (5) #30 Lennox Wolak (Columbia), 19-4 (7:00)
Final: (1) #4
Chris Foca (Cornell) won by decision over (3) #14 Ben Pasiuk (Army West Point), 10-5
184 (top 4 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 32: (17)
Christian Hansen (Cornell) won by fall over (16) Owen Ayotte (Sacred Heart), 5:54
Round of 16: (1) #18 Tate Samuelson (Lehigh) won by major decision over (17)
Christian Hansen (Cornell), 15-4
Consolation Round of 8 #1: (8) Sahm Abdulrazzaq (Army West Point) won by major decision over (17)
Christian Hansen (Cornell), 15-7
197 (top 5 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: (2) #16
Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) won by major decision over (15) Dimitri Gamkrelidze (Binghamton),12-3
Quarterfinal: (2) #16
Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) won by major decision over John Crawford (Franklin & Marshall), 12-0
Semifinal: (2) #16
Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) won by decision over (3) #21 Luke Stout (Princeton), 8-1
Final: (2) #16
Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) won by decision over (1) #2 Michael Beard (Lehigh), 10-9
285 (top 6 qualify for NCAAs)
Round of 16: (9) #28
Brendan Furman (Cornell) won by decision over (8) Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra), 8-3
Quarterfinal: (1) #7 Yaraslau Slavikouski (Harvard) won by decision over (9) #28
Brendan Furman (Cornell), 7-2
Consolation of 8 #2: (9) #28
Brendan Furman (Cornell) won by decision over (11) WIlliam Jarrell (American), 8-2
Consolation of 4: (5) #31 Ben Goldin (Penn) won by decision over (9) #28
Brendan Furman (Cornell), 3-1 (sv1)
Seventh Place Match: (9) #28
Brendan Furman (Cornell) won b y decision over (12) Austin Kohlhofer (Army West Point), 6-0
