KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Senior Vito Arujau became the ninth four-time All-American in Cornell wrestling history and advanced to the semifinals with a 13-3 major decision over #3 Kai Orine (North Carolina State) during session III of the NCAA Wrestling Championships on Friday afternoon at the T-Mobile Center.
Arujau, the #6 seed and defending national champion at 133 pounds, faces #2 Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) in the semifinal match on Friday night. Crookham has beaten Arujau twice this season, including in the EIWA Championship match two weeks ago.
Freshman Meyer Shapiro (#3 at 157), junior Julian Ramirez (#3 at 165) and seniors Chris Foca (#14 at 184) and Jacob Cardenas (#5 at 197) can become All-Americans tonight with wins in the fourth round of the consolation bracket.
Cornell has 32.2 points as a team, .5 shy of a spot in the top 10. Penn State leads the tournament with 86.5 points.
Session IV matches start at 8 p.m. EST on ESPN.
Cornell Notes and Highlights
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Arujau joined Yainni Diakomihalis, Kyle Dake, Gabe Dean, Nashon Garrett, Travis Lee, Dustin Manotti, Troy Nickerson and Cam Simaz as one of nine four-time All-Americans in Cornell history.
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Arujau has won all three of his matches in this tournament by major decision.
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Arujau has 18 wins over his four appearances in the NCAA Championships, tied for sixth in program history. He has won 11 straight matches in the tournament dating back to 2022.
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Arujau has won 10 straight matches in the tournament dating back to the 2022 NCAA Championships.
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Foca beat #13 Aaron Ayzerov (Columbia) 16-1 by technical fall in the second round of the consolations, snapping a three-match losing streak against Ayzerov. All three of those matches happened this season, including at the EIWA Tournament.
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Foca and Cardenas are looking to become two-time All-Americans Friday night.
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Ramirez and Shapiro, who'd won 19 matches in a row entering the day, are looking to become first-time All-Americans.
Match-By-Match Results
125 — #17 Brett Ungar (2-2)
First Round: #17 Ungar def. #16 Dean Peterson (Rutgers) 2-1 by decision (TB)
Second Round: #17 Ungar lost to No. 1 Braeden Davis (Penn State) 2-1 by decision
Consolation Second Round: #17 Ungar def. #18 Michael DeAugustio (Michigan) 4-2 by decision
Consolation Third Round: #17 Ungar lost to #23 Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State) 3-0 by decision
133 — #6 Vito Arujau (3-0)
First Round: #6 Arujau def. #27 Gable Strickland (Lock Haven) 17-4 by major decision
Second Round: #6 Arujau def. #22 Domenic Zaccone (Campbell) 11-1 by major decision
Quarterfinal Match: #6 Arujau def. #3 Kai Orine (North Carolina State) 13-3 by major decision
Semifinal Match: #6 Arujau vs. #2 Ryan Crookham (Lehigh)
149 — #9 Ethan Fernandez (1-2)
First Round: #9 Fernandez def. #24 Caleb Tyus (SIUE) 7-2 by decision
Second Round: #9 Fernandez lost to #8 Casey Swiderski (Iowa State) 8-5 by decision (TB)
Consolation Second Round: #9 Fernandez lost to #7 Tyler Kasak (Penn State) by fall in 0:37
157 — #3 Meyer Shapiro (2-1)
First Round: #3 Shapiro def. #30 Colton Washleski (Rider) by fall in 4:17
Second Round: #3 Shapiro def. #19 Tommy Askey (Appalachian State) 17-2 by technical fall
Quarterfinal Match: #3 Shapiro lost to #6 Daniel Cardenas (Stanford) 5-4 by decision
Consolation Fourth Round: #3 Shapiro vs. #26 Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan)
165 — #3 Julian Ramirez (2-1)
First Round: #3 Ramirez def. #30 Nick Hamilton (Virginia) 5-4 by decision
Second Round: #3 Ramirez def. #14 Giano Petrucelli (Air Force) 9-3 by decision
Quarterfinal Match: #3 Ramirez lost to #6 Mike Caliendo (Iowa) 9-4 by decision
Consolation Fourth Round: #3 Julian Ramirez vs. #9 Peyton Hall (West Virginia)
174 — #26 Benny Baker (0-2)
First Round: #26 Baker lost #7 Lennox Wolak (Columbia) 10-1 by major decision
Consolation First Round: #26 Baker lost to #23 Luca Augustine (Pitt) 8-2 by decision
184 — #14 Chris Foca (3-1)
First Round: #14 Foca lost to #18 James Conway (Franklin & Marshall) 5-4 by decision
Consolation First Round: #14 Foca def. #30 Malachi DuVall (George Mason) 15-0 by technical fall
Consolation Second Round: #14 Foca def. #13 Aaron Ayzerov (Columbia) 16-1 by technical fall in 1:43
Consolation Third Round: #14 Foca def. #12 Jaden Bullock (Michigan) 11-3 by major decision
Consolation Fourth Round: #14 Foca vs. #7 Thomas Stewart Jr. (Virginia Tech)
197 — #5 Jacob Cardenas (3-1)
First Round: #5 Cardenas def. #28 Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia) 6-0 by decision
Second Round: #5 Cardenas lost to #12 Rocky Elam (Missouri) 4-0 by decision
Consolation Second Round: #5 Cardenas def. #11 Jaxon Smith (Maryland) 4-2 by decision
Consolation Third Round: #5 Cardenas def. #19 Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa) 11-2 by major decision
Consolation Fourth Round: #5 Cardenas vs. #10 Silas Allred (Nebraska)
285 — #15 Lewis Fernandes (1-2)
First Round: #15 Fernandes def. #18 David Szuba (Rider) 12-2 by major decision
Second Round: #15 Fernandes lost to #2 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) 20-5 by technical fall
Consolation Second Round: #15 Fernandes lost to #16 Cory Day (Binghamton) by fall in 3:16
