By: Sydney Duenckel, Athletics Communications Intern
PHILIDELPHIA, Pa. – Cornell wrestling ends the 2025 NCAA Championships with three fifth place finishes and three All-American in Meyer Shapiro, Simon Ruiz and Chris Foca.
SESSION FIVE ACTION
With only three wrestlers remaining, Cornell charged into the consolation semifinals with determination and earned three fifth place finishes.
No. 6 Chris Foca went a round with No. 4 Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State and was held without score till the third period. Plott earned a reversal at the end of the second period to take a 2-0 lead. Foca threw in an escape early in the third but could not put up another point falling 2-1. The senior was able to move on to win one last bout in the Big Red singlet as he took fifth over No. 8 Jaxson Smith of Maryland. Foca wrestled with nothing to lose and racked up two takedowns and an escape in his 7-4 victory over Smith. The New Jersey wrestler ended his senior career 18-2 and 95-20 all time for the Big Red.
No.2 Meyer Shapiro met the 157 first place seed Tyler Kasak of Penn State first thing. The top seeds made a match out of it as they pursued the third-place match. Kasak earned the first points of the match with a takedown in the first period. Shapiro was in control of the second period scramble ultimately letting Kasak escape and add another point the board. The sophomore would add an escape of his own and be rewarded with a penalty point falling 4-2 to the number one seed and moving on to the fifth-place match. Shapiro added one more bonus bout to his records earning a 11-0 major decision win over No. Vinny Zerban of Northern Colorado. With a takedown in each period as well as an escape and riding time the two-time All-American walks away from the championship in fifth place.
Freshman No. 5 Simon Ruiz held No. 2 Levi Haines scoreless through the first two periods of their consolation semifinal bout going into the third period with one escape. Ruiz then took control of the riding time looking to hold the Nittany Lion until the final 25 seconds as Ruiz took a shot to score and Haines got the upper hand to score a late takedown to win the match 4-1. Ruiz defeated No. 13 Cade DeVos of South Dakota State in his final freshman match to take fifth place in his first trip to the big show. Ruiz was in control of the match using an escape and riding time in a 2-1 victory. The freshman ended the season tied for third with the most wins by technical fall in a single season with nine after the tournament.
Match-by-match results (NCAA seed) Cornell team score: 46.0
125: No. 32 Marcello Milani
Pig Tails: Milani defeated No.33 Caleb Weiand 4-1 by sudden victory (MSU)
First Round: No. 1 Luke Lilledahl defeated Milani 19-4 by technical fall at 4:25 (PSU)
Consolation First Round: No. 17 Max Gallagher defeated Mailani 5-1 by decision (PENN)
133: No. 29 Tyler Ferrara
First Round: No. 4 Zeth Romney defeated Ferrara 7-3 by decision (POLY)
Consolation First Round: Ferrara defeated No. 20 Blake Boarman 5-3 by decision (CHAT)
Consolation Second Round: No. 3 Nasir Bailey defeated Ferrara 2-1 by decision (UALR)
141: No. 20 Josh Saunders
First Round: Saunders defeated No.13 Todd Carter 8-2 by decision (GW)
Second Round:No. 4 Josh Koderhandt defeated Saunders by fall at 3:32 (NAVY)
Consolation Second Round: No. 19 Mosha Schwarts defeated Saunders 13-8 by decision (OKLA)
149: No. 18 Ethan Fernandez
First Round: No. 15 Ty Whalen defeated Fernandez 4-0 by decision (PRIN)
Consolation First Round: Fernandez defeated No. 31 Sam Cartella 3-2 by decision (NW)
Consolation Second Round: Fernandez defeated No. 17 Jaden Abas by fall at 1:21 (STAN)
Consolation Third Round: Cross Wasilewski defeated Fernandez 7-3 by decision (PENN)
157: No. 2 Meyer Shapiro
First Round: Shapiro defeated No.31 Noah Castillo 20-2 by technical fall at 4:30 (CHAT)
Second Round: Shapiro defeated No. 15 Johnny Lovett 10-4 by decision (CMU)
Quarterfinals: Shapiro defeated No. 7 Vinny Zerban 9-4 by decision (UNCO)
Semifinals: No. 3 Antrell Taylor defeated Shapiro 7-2 by decision (NEB)
Consolation Semifinals: No. 1 Tyler Kasak defeated Shapiro 5-2 by decision (PSU)
Fifth Place Match: Shapiro defeated No. 7 Vinny Zerban 11-0 by major decision (UNCO)
165: No. 5 Julian Ramirez
First Round: Ramirez defeated No. 28 Mac Church 11-2 by major decision (VT)
Second Round: No.12 Christopher Minto defeated Ramirez 11-1 by major decision (NEB)
Consolation Second Round: Ramirez defeated No. 27 Tyler Lillard 6-1 by decision (IND)
Consolation Third Round: Ramirez defeated No. 30 Aiden Riggins by fall at 1:41 (ISU)
Consolation Fourth Round: No. 7 Hunter Garvin defeated Ramirez 16-12 by decision (STAN)
174: No. 5 Simon Ruiz
First Round: Ruiz defeated No. 28 Clayton Whiting 17-2 by technical fall at 7:00 (MINN)
Second Round: Ruiz defeated No. 21 Joshua Ogunsanya 4-2 by decision (UNC)
Quarterfinals: No. 13 Cade DeVos defeated Ruiz 4-3 by decision (SDSU)
Consolation Fourth Round: Ruiz defeated No. 8 Lenny Pinto 2-1 by decision (NEB)
Consolation Quarterfinals: Ruiz defeated No. 14 Matthew Singleton 10-0 by major decision (NCST)
Consolation Semifinals: No. 2 Levi Haines defeated Ruiz 4-1 by decision (PSU)
Fifth Place Match: Ruiz defeated No. 13 Cade DeVos 2-1 by decision (SDSU)
184: No. 6 Chris Foca
First Round: Foca defeated No. 27 Ross McFarland 5-3 by decision (HOF)
Second Round: Foca defeated No. 11 Gabe Arnold 12-1 by major decision (IOWA)
Quarterfinals: No. 3 Max McEnelly defeated Foca 10-7 by decision (MINN)
Consolation Fourth Round: Foca defeated No. 23 Aidan Brenot 2-0 by decision (NDSU)
Consolation Quarterfinals: Foca defeated No. 20 Donnell Washington 20-4 by technical fall at 4:32 (IND)
Consolation Semifinals: No. 4 Dustin Plott defeated Foca 2-1 by decision (OKST)
Fifth Place Match: Foca defeated No. 8 Jaxson Smith 7-4 by decision (MD)
197: No. 27 Mikey Dellagatta
First Round: No. 6 Mac Stout defeated Dellagatta 12-0 by major decision (PITT)
Consolation First Round: Dellagatta defeated No. 22 Mikey O'Malley 10-0 by major decision (DREX)
Consolation Second Round: No.12 Stephen Little defeated Dellagatta 16-5 by major decision (UALR)
285: No. 29 Ashton Davis
First Round: No. 4 Owen Trephan defeated Davis 17- 2 by technical fall at 5:40 (LEH)
Consolation First Round: Davis defeated No. 20 Jordan Greer 7-1 by decision (OHIO)
Consolation Second Round: No. 14 Gavin Hoffman defeated Davis 14-5 by major decision (LH)
