PHILIDELPHIA, Pa. –  The Cornell wrestling team currently sit in eighth as a team with 17 points at the first session of the 2025 NCAA Championships in the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The Big Red will have nine wrestlers advancing and three in the quarterfinals looking at the second day. Meyer Shapiro (157), Chris Foca (184) and Simon Ruiz (174) are one win away from reaching the semifinals and clinching All-America podium finishes.

SESSION TWO ACTION

No. 5 Simon Ruiz held Joshua Ogunsanya of North Carolina through the first two periods and grabbed an escape for himself before finally throwing in a takedown to send himself to the quarterfinals.

No. 6 Chris Foca keeps rolling hot defeating No. 11 Gabe Arnold 12-1 starting with a takedown then nearfall combo.

No.2 Meyer Shapiro went tooth and nail with No. 15 Johnny Lovett of Central Michigan coming out the first period tied up at 4-4. Shapiro then dominated the second and third period to pull ahead and win 10-4.

After a quite first period, Tyler Ferrara earns a spot in the second day of competition with a 5-3 decision over No. 20 Blake Boarman of Chattanooga. No. 18 Ethan Fernandez will wrestle another day after 3-2 victory over No. 31 Sam Cartella.

For the heavy weights, No. 27 Mikey Dellagatta turned it around after his first match to defeat No. 22 Mickey O'Malley 10-0 by major decision to keep moving through the consolation bracket. No. 29 Ashton Davis capped off the night with a 7-1 victory over No.20 Jordan Greer of Ohio to secure his spot to continue wrestling tomorrow.

Even through the first period No.5 Julian Ramirez earned the first point of the bout with an escape but then fell to No.12 Christopher Minto of Nebraska 11-1. Ramierz will have the chance to wrestle back to All-American goal tomorrow starting with No.27 Tyler Lillard of Indiana. No. 20 Josh Saunders also got knocked to the consolation bracket with a loss by fall to No. 4 Josh Koderhandt of Navy.

No. 32 Marcello Milani ran into the 125-pound Ivy League runner-up No. 17 Max Gallagher in the consolation bracket to knock him out with a 5-1 loss.
 

SESSION ONE ACTION

Shapiro did not play around in his first match of the day with a 20-2 two period technical fall victory over No.31 Noah Castillo. Shapiro totaled four takedowns and a four-point nearfall.

Ramirez was on top of his match, the senior accumulated over two minutes of riding time in 11-2 victory over No. 28 Mac Church of Virginia Tech.

Freshman Ruiz held his opponent to zero points until the third period of the bout dominating with five takedowns to move on with a 17-5 victory.

In a tight match, Foca fought from behind after an early takedown from No. 27 Ross McFarland. The senior pulled out two reversals and ultimately earned a point for riding time.

Saunders started his first NCAA match with a quick take down to gain an edge over opponent No. 13 Todd Carter. Saunders would add two more take downs and gain riding time to remain in the championship bracket.

Milani wrestled his way into the 125-pound main bracket with a sudden victory over No. 33 Caleb Weiand of Michigan State before he would face the number one seed from Penn State Luke Lilledahl.

Fernandez opened the NCAAs with a familiar opponent in No. 15 Ty Whalen of Princeton who he beat at the Ivy League Championship just two weeks ago. Whalen got a jump on Fernandez and then held him to zero points to win 4-0. Ashton Davis lost to No. 4 Owen Trephan of Lehigh 17- 2 by technical fall for the second time this season in his opening bout.

Match-by-match results (NCAA seed) Cornell team score: 17.0

125: No. 32 Marcello Milani

Milani defeated No.33 Caleb Weiand 4-1 by sudden victory (MSU)

No. 1 Luke Lilledahl defeated Milani 19-4 by technical fall at 4:25 (PSU)

No. 17 Max Gallagher defeated Mailani 5-1 by decision (PENN)

133: No. 29 Tyler Ferrara

No. 4 Zeth Romney defeated Ferrara 7-3 by decision (POLY)

Ferrara defeated No. 20 Blake Boarman 5-3 by decision (CHAT)

141: No. 20 Josh Saunders

Saunders defeated No.13 Todd Carter 8-2 by decision (GW)

No. 4 Josh Koderhandt defeated Saunders by fall at 3:32 (NAVY)

149: No. 18 Ethan Fernandez

No. 15 Ty Whalen defeated Fernandez 4-0 by decision (PRIN)

Fernandez defeated No. 31 Sam Cartella 3-2 by decision (NW)

157: No. 2 Meyer Shapiro

Shapiro defeated No.31 Noah Castillo 20-2 by technical fall at 4:30 (CHAT)

Shapiro defeated No. 15 Johnny Lovett 10-4 by decision (CMU)

165: No. 5 Julian Ramirez

Ramirez defeated No. 28 Mac Church 11-2 by major decision (VT)

No.12 Christopher Minto defeated Ramirez 11-1 by major decision (NEB)

174: No. 5 Simon Ruiz

Ruiz defeated No. 28 Clayton Whiting 17-2 by technical fall at 7:00 (MINN)

Ruiz defeated No. 21 Joshua Ogunsanya 4-2 by decision (UNC)

184: No. 6 Chris Foca

Foca defeated No. 27 Ross McFarland 5-3 by decision (HOF)

Foca defeated No. 11 Gabe Arnold 12-1 by major decision (IOWA)

197: No. 27 Mikey Dellagatta

 No. 6 Mac Stout defeated Dellagatta 12-0 by major decision (PITT)

Dellagatta defeated No. 22 Mikey O'Malley 10-0 by major decision (DREX)

285: No. 29 Ashton Davis

No. 4 Owen Trephan defeated Davis 17- 2 by technical fall at 5:40 (LEH)

Davis defeated No. 20 Jordan Greer 7-1 by decision (OHIO)

UP NEXT

Session Three of the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships will start at 12 p.m. tomorrow for the quarterfinals and wrestle backs.