CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The Ithaca College wrestling team began its competition at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships over two sessions Friday at US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Two Ithaca wrestlers won both of their matches to advance to the semifinals, which means Alex Gomez at 133 pounds and Kristopher Schimek at 165 pounds are guaranteed all-America status and will continue to wrestle for individual national championships Saturday. Four other Ithaca wrestlers also competed in the early rounds Friday and were eliminated in the consolation bracket.

133 - GOMEZ

Alex Gomez started his tournament run at 133 pounds with a convincing 7-1 decision win over Chad Bartschenfeld of Augsburg. Gomez got a takedown in each period and added a riding time point. Gomez advanced to take on sixth-seeded Jimmy Nehls of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the quarterfinals.

In the quarterfinal match, Gomez scored two first-period takedowns and led 4-1 after the opening three minutes. He started the second with the advantage in the second period and pushed his riding-time advantage to 1:10 before Nehls escaped for a 4-2 score. Another takedown gave Gomez a 6-2 lead heading to the third. Nehls started with the advantage in the third but Gomez escaped to get his 7-2 lead and that was the final score.

Gomez is guaranteed all-America status for the second straight year, after placing sixth at this tournament one year ago. His record is 29-3 on the year.

165 - SCHIMEK

Kristopher Schimek built a huge lead and held on for a 13-7 decision win over Stephen Cannon of Messiah in the 165-pound bracket. Schimek is the third seed in the tournament and used a takedown and near-fall points to take an 11-0 lead. Cannon got a reversal and near-fall points late in the second period, but Schimek avoided the pin and then got a third-period escape and riding-time point for the win.

Schimek faced Anthony Carlo of Ursinus in the quarterfinals. Carlo won an 11-2 major decision over sixth-seeded Josh Sampson of Wabash in the morning session. In the quarterfinal match, Schimek fell behind 7-1 headed into the third period and started the period with the advantage. He turned Carlo to his back three times for near-fall points and rallied to win the 10-7 decision.

Schimek is guaranteed all-American status for the third consecutive year, as he was a National Junior College All-American the last two seasons. He is now 34-2 this season.

125 - KAISHIAN

Freshman Jimmy Kaishian scored a takedown with 20 seconds remaining in the third period and defeated Sean Kempf of Cortland by a 3-1 final score in his opening bout. Kaishian advances to the quarterfinals at 125 pounds. Earlier in the morning, Kempf defeated seventh-seeded Daniel Page. It was Kaishian's second consecutive bout against Kempf, who scored a 6-2 win over Kaishian in the Northeast Regional finals.

In the quarterfinals, Kaishian faced second-seeded Gilberto Camacho of Wartburg, who placed third at the NCAAs last year, and whose only loss in that tournament game against Ithaca's national champion Ricardo Gomez. Camacho defeated Kaishian by an 11-1 major decision. Camacho built a 7-0 lead in the first period on a takedown and near-fall points and went on to the win.

Kaishian challenged Sean Ambrocio of Concordia-Wisconsin in the second round of the consolation bracket. Each wrestler scored an escape during the seven-minute segment, and Ambrocio got a takedown 40 seconds into the sudden-victory period to get a 3-1 decision win.

Kaishian finished his season with a 24-13 record and was an NCAA qualifier in his first college season.

141 - GIACOLONE

For the second straight year, Dominick Giacolone faced the top-seeded wrestler in his bracket in the first round. He dropped a 7-3 decision to top-ranked Kaleb Loht of Messiah, who is 45-1 on the season. Loht got three takedowns in the first period to take a 6-2 lead.

Giacolone got his first-career win in the NCAA Championships with a 5-3 sudden-victory win over Ben Henle of St. John's (Minn.). Giacolone fell behind 3-2 in the third period, but scored a late escape to send it to sudden victory. Giacolone got the takedown 38 seconds into that period for the win to stay alive in the consolation bracket.

He then faced the second-seeded Brandon Jones of New York University in the second round of the consolation bracket. The match went to sudden-victory 4-4 and Jones scored a takedown 53 seconds into the one-minute period to get the win and advance. Giacolone finished the year 17-7 and was a two-time NCAA Championship qualifier.

157 - COLLINS

Kevin Collins faced second-seeded and nationally-ranked Dimitri Boyer of Coe in the first round. Boyer earned a 7-0 decision win with a first-period takedown and near-fall points in the third period.

After a scoreless first period, Collins got a second-period escape but his opponent got a takedown before the period ended for a 2-1 lead. Jasinski got a third-period escape and won the dual 3-1. Collins made his first appearance in the NCAA Tournament and finished his season with a 24-15 record. It was a career-high in victories for Collins.

174 - TORIBIO

Carlos Toribio made his NCAA debut and lost an 11-5 decision against nationally-ranked Conner Lefever of Wabash in the opening round. Lefever got an early 8-2 lead and held on for the win. In a dual-match earlier this season, Toribio handed Lefever one of his only three losses of the season, but couldn't repeat that achievement this time.

In the consolation bracket, Toribio picked up an exciting win over Jamie Jakes of Alma. Toribio trailed 4-3 in the second period but got a takedown just before the second period buzzer sounded and led 5-4. That takedown was reviewed under the newly-installed video challenge system for the NCAA Championships. In the third period, Toribio scored an escape and two takedowns and went on to a 10-6 decision win.

Toribio's second bout of the evening session saw him take on Nicholas Allen of Olivet. The two wrestlers met during a regular-season dual and Allen scored a 9-7 sudden-victory win. This time, Allen won by 5-2 decision. Allen scored a takedown in the final five seconds of the first period for a 2-0 lead. The second period started neutral and Toribio answered with an early takedown to tie the score, but Allen got an escape. Olivet chose to start down in the third period and was awarded a stalling point and then got the escape for a 5-2 lead and that was the final score. Toribio made his first NCAA Championships appearance and finished the year with a 25-8 record.