ITHACA, N.Y. — The No. 11 Cornell wrestling team opens its season at the Journeymen Classic on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 9 a.m. at Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pa. 

The Big Red, led by Mike Grey, who enters his fourth season as The David Dunlop '59 Head Coach of Wrestling, returns five national qualifiers and one All-American from last year's team, which finished second at the NCAA Championships.

"I'm excited about seeing some fresh faces in the lineup," Mike Grey stated. "We have experience in the sense that we have returners and guys who have been on campus for a while, but not starters. It will be fun to see their experience take the mat."

The Weight Classes

125: Senior Greg Diakomihalis steps into the line up ready to become a threat for Cornell. Diakomihalis was 16-3 last season, most notably beating No. 22 Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) by fall at the National Collegiate Duals and No. 27 Diego Sotelo (Harvard) by major decision in Cornell's dual win over the Crimson.

133: Brett Ungar jumps up from 125 with big shoes to fill in 133. Ungar has made two-straight NCAA appearances and was an EIWA runner-up. He went 20-9 overall and won five matches against nationally-ranked wrestler.

141: Joshua Saunders will step in for Vince Cornella, who is currently out due to injury. Saunders went 9-4 last season and represented Team USA at the U23 Wrestling World Championships in Albania back in October.

149: Ethan Fernandez returns for his senior season looking to return to the NCAA mats. Fernandez went 24-9 last season, capturing his first EIWA title to earn the No. 9 seed at 149 pounds in the NCAA Championships.

157: Coach Grey is looking to Meyer Shapiro to step up his sophomore season and lead the team. As a freshman, Shapiro earned All-American status at the NCAA Championships and EIWA title, the first freshman to win both since four-time national champion Yianni Diakomihalis in 2018. He went 29-3 overall and won 16 matches against nationally-ranked opponents.

165: Senior Julian Ramirez returns looking to advance to his fourth-straight NCAA Championship, advancing to the Round of 12 in 2022 and 2023. He went 24-4 overall while winning his second EIWA title.

174: Freshman Simon Ruiz is likely to slip into the starting spot at 174. Ruiz is coming to the East Hill as a two-time New Jersey state champion and is ranked No. 17 in InterMat and No.12 in FloWrestling preseason rankings.

184: Chris Foca is looking to be at the top of the upperweights ts this season after going 23-8 last season and finishing in the Round of 12 at the NCAA Tournament.

197: The Big Red has a handful of wrestlers in the mix at 197. Expectations are high for freshman Mikey Dellagatta, who Intermat.com has ranked No. 29 coming into the season.

285: Ashton Davis went 13-4 with three pins last season. He went 4-0 at the NYS Collegiate Championships and 3-0 at the National Collegiate Open. Davis is joined by freshman Aiden Compton, a three-time Pennsylvania state qualifier.

Individual Rankings (FloWrestling/Intermat.com)

Greg Diakomihalis (No. 14/No.12)

Brett Ungar (No. 17/No. 20)

Vince Cornella (No. 14/No.12)

Ethan Fernandez (NA/No.13)

Meyer Shapiro (No. 2/No. 2)

Julian Ramirez (NA/No. 5)

Simon Ruiz (No. 12/No.17)

Chris Foca (No. 14/No.11)

Mikey Dellagatta (NA/No. 29)

Preseason Polls

The Big Red sits at No.11 on InterMat preseason polls and is the only Ivy League team in the top 30. Cornell has nine individual wrestlers ranked in the top 30 (InterMat) in their respective weight classes. Meyer Shapiro comes in at No. 20 on FloWrestling's pound-for-pound list.

Opening Weekend

Marcello Milani – 125

Joe Sciarrone – 125

Ernest Perry – 125

Brett Ungar – 133

Tyler Ferrara – 133

Ethan Fernandez – 149

Nate Wade – 149

Macario Calavitta – 149

Meyer Shapiro – 157

Kaleb Williams – 165

Brody Oleksak – 165

Evan Canoyer – 165

Gage McClenahan – 165

Simon Ruiz – 174

Christian Hansen – 174

Matt Furman – 184

Colt Barley – 184

Justin Mayes – 184

Zahir McLean-Felix – 184

Michael Dellagatta – 197

Eric Carlson – 197

Ashton Davis – 285

Aiden Compton – 285

Key Duals

• Cornell will host No. 8 NC State on Dec. 22. The Wolfpack finished in 11^th place at the 2024 NCAA Championships and return All-American Kai Orine.
• The Big Red travel to Columbia, Mo. to face No. 9 Missouri. The Tigers return seven NCAA qualifiers from last season, including Noah Surtin, Kade Moore, Josh Edmond, Logan Gioffre, Keegan O'Toole, Colton Hawks and Rocky Elam. O'Toole moves up to 174 pounds for the first time in his career after two national titles and four All-America finishes at 165.
• In collaboration with Cornell Gymnastics, the Big Red will host longtime EIWA rival Lehigh on Jan. 12 for Rumble and Tumble.
• The Big Red look forward to Ivy competition against Penn and Princton at home Feb. 8-.The Tigers return senior Luke Stout and Penn brings back Max Gallagher, both NCAA qualifiers in 2024.
• Cornell will face Bucknell for the first time since 2013 on Feb. 22.