ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell men's wrestling team opened its home schedule in emphatic fashion Friday night, defeating Army West Point 25-13 at Friedman Wrestling Center on Military Appreciation Night.

Cornell used a dominant middle stretch of the lineup to seize control of the dual, posting three technical falls and one major decision to pull away from the Black Knights after the teams split the opening bouts.

Army struck first at 125 pounds, where Charlie Farmer earned a 14–4 major decision over Joe Sciarrone after breaking open a tight match late, giving the visitors an early 4–0 lead.

The Big Red answered immediately at 133, as No. 15 Tyler Ferrara outlasted No. 10 Ethan Berginc in a hard-fought bout. The match went scoreless through regulation and sudden victory before Ferrara won on riding time in the tiebreakers, securing a 2–2 TB-1 decision to put Cornell on the board.

Cornell took the lead for good at 141 behind Vince Cornella, who controlled the action with three first-period takedowns and cruised to a 9–4 decision over Conor Collins.

From there, the Big Red's offense erupted. Jaxon Joy delivered a statement performance at 149, building a 14–1 lead after two periods before closing out a 17–1 technical fall over Ryan Franco. One bout later, Meyer Shapiro followed suit, scoring early and often en route to an 18–3 technical fall against Joe Antonio early in the second period.

Freshman Simon Ruiz continued the surge at 174, piling up points with takedown-and-release sequences and stall points before earning a 20–4 technical fall early in the third period to further extend Cornell's advantage.

At 184, Christian Hansen turned in a strong performance after a scoreless opening period, stringing together multiple takedowns to secure a 13–3 major decision over David Barrett.

Army picked up a decision at 197, where Wolfgang Frable defeated Aiden Hanning 4–0, trimming the margin before the heavyweight finale.

At 285, No. 17 Brady Colbert closed the night with a 4–2 decision over Cash Henderson, countering a late shot attempt to seal the bout.

The victory marked Cornell's first home dual of the season and capped an evening that also honored military alumni and service members in attendance. Among those recognized was Troy Nickerson, a four-time All-American and NCAA champion for Cornell who now serves as Army West Point's head coach, along with Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff, Naval ROTC leadership, and an ROTC student recipient of a prestigious national award.

Cornell will continue its season with home back to back duals on Sunday, January 25 vs. Brown at 12:00 p.m. and Harvard at 2:00 p.m. The matches will be livestreamed on ESPN+ and tickets are available here.

Match-by-Match Results

• 125: Charlie Farmer (Army) major dec. Joe Sciarrone (Cornell), 14–4
  Army West Point leads 4–0

• 133: Tyler Ferrara (Cornell) def. No. 10 Ethan Berginc (Army), TB-1 (2–2, riding time)
  Army West Point leads 4–3

• 141: Vince Cornella (Cornell) dec. Conor Collins (Army), 9–4
  Cornell leads 6–4

• 149: Jaxon Joy (Cornell) tech. fall Ryan Franco (Army), 17–1
  Cornell leads 11–4

• 157: Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) tech. fall Joe Antonio (Army), 18–3
  Cornell leads 16–4

• 174: Simon Ruiz (Cornell) tech. fall Cooper Haase (Army), 20–4
  Cornell leads 21–4

• 184: Christian Hansen (Cornell) major dec. David Barrett (Army), 13–3
  Cornell leads 25–4

• 197: Wolfgang Frable (Army) dec. Aiden Hanning (Cornell), 4–0
  Cornell leads 25–7
   
• 285: No. 17 Brady Colbert (Army) dec. Cash Henderson (Cornell), 4–2