Arujau, who lost to Crookham twice this season, including in the EIWA championship match, never trailed his previously unbeaten opponent this time. He went on the attack early and led 6-1 after recording a pair of first-period takedowns. The four-time All-American added another takedown in the second and one more in the third before tacking on an escape to win by 10. 

Arujau, the #6 seed, faces #1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) in the championship match. He beat Fix 11-3 by major decision in the semifinal last year. 

The championship session starts at 7 p.m. EST Saturday and will be broadcast on ESPN. 

"He's got a gamey sense to him," Arujau said of Crookham. "He's waiting, he's watching, he's waiting for that perfect moment. My game plan tonight was not to give it to him. It was to stay on the offense and just do what I do best. I don't need to -- the best way for me to game plan someone is to lean into things that I do very well and do those things very well."

(6) Vito Arujau is headed back to the finals!

📺 ESPN#NCAAWrestling x @BigRedWrestling pic.twitter.com/Lth4Hfxbza

— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) March 23, 2024

Arujau is one of three Cornell wrestlers still alive entering the final day. Freshman Meyer Shapiro (#3 at 157) became a first-time All-American, and senior Jacob Cardenas (#5 at 197) earned All-American status for the second straight year during the night session Friday. Both will wrestle in the consolation semifinals tomorrow. 

Cornell finished the second day with 58.5 points, good for sixth in the team race. The Big Red is a point behind Iowa State and Arizona State for fourth and two points behind third-place Iowa. 

Shapiro, who lost to #6 Daniel Cardenas in the quarterfinals, dominated his consolation opponents. He beat #26 Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan) 13-5 by major decision and #10 Jared Franek (Iowa) 11-2 by major decision.

Shapiro will face #12 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) in the consolation semifinals, which start at 11 a.m. EST on Saturday. He beat Andonian twice during the regular season, including by major decision at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite. 

Cardenas rattled off four wins in the consolation bracket Friday after losing to #12 Rocky Elam (Missouri) in the second round on Thursday. He beat #11 Jaxon Smith (Maryland) by decision and #19 Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa) 11-2 by major decision in the afternoon session. In the night session, he beat #10 Silas Allred (Nebraska) 5-2 by decision and #9 Stephen Little (Little Rock) by fall in 1:11. 

Cardenas will get a rematch against Elam in the consolation semifinals. He went 1-1 against Elam this season, beating him 4-0 in Cornell's 20-16 dual win over then-No. 2 Missouri on Jan. 28. 

Cornell Notes and Highlights

• Arujau will look to become Cornell's fourth three-time champion. He would join Travis Lee, Gabe Dean and Dave Auble.

• Arujau has 19 wins over four appearances at the NCAA Championships, tied for the second-most in school history. Dean also had 19. 

• Arujau ranks sixth in Cornell history in winning percentage in the tournament (.864). 

• Arujau took out two top-five seeds (#3 Kai Orine and #2 Crookham) on his way to the finals. He has won all four of his matches by major decision. 

• Only one Cornell wrestler seeded outside of the top five in his weight class has won a national title. Jordan Leen did so as the No. 8 seed at 157 pounds in 2008. 

• With his win over Orine in the afternoon session, Arujau became the ninth four-time All-American in Cornell history. 

• Cardenas is now a two-time All-American. He's the 14th two-time All-American in program history. 

• Cardenas improved to 2-0 against Allred and Little on the season. 

• Shapiro is Cornell's first All-American at 157 pounds since Dylan Palacio in 2016. 

• Shapiro became the seventh Big Red freshman to earn All-American status since 2009, joining Cam Simaz (2009), Kyle Dake (2010), Nashon Garrett (2013), Gabe Dean (2014), Yianni Diakomihals (2018) and Arujau (2019). All of those wrestlers ended up as four-time All-Americans. 

• Cornell is looking to lock up its 23rd-top 10-finish in the tournament. It would be the third under Mike Grey, the David Dunlop '59 head coach of wrestling. 

NCAA Championships 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 (4-0)

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 def. #2 Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) 13-3 by major decision 

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 (4-1) 

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 def. #26 Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan) 13-5 by major decision

Consolation Fifth Round: #3 Shapiro def. #10 Jaren Franek (Iowa) 11-2 by major decision 

165 — #3 Julian Ramirez (2-2) 

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 Ramirez lost to #9 Peyton Hall (West Virginia) 8-2 by decision 

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 (3-2)

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 lost to #7 Thomas Stewart Jr. (Virginia Tech) 3-2 by decision 

197 — #5 Jacob Cardenas (5-1)

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 def. #10 Silas Allred (Nebraska) 5-2 by decision

Consolation Fifth Round: #5 Cardenas def. #9 Stephen Little (Little Rock) by fall in 1:11 

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