TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
 
ITHACA, N.Y. – The No. 3 Ithaca College wrestling team finished off its first weekend off the 2016-17 season in sterling fashion on Saturday when it returned to the mats at the Athletics & Events Center for the second and final day of the 2016 Ithaca Invitational. Sitting in second place entering the day, the Bombers posted a huge effort on day two, overtaking Johnson & Wales to win the team title in the 33^rd annual installment of the invitational with a total of 173.5 points. Johnson & Wales finished in second with 161.5 points, while No. 5 Stevens Institute of Technology ended up in third place with 152.0 points.
 
The Bombers crowned six individual weight-class champions on Saturday, headlined by senior, Carlos Toribio, who took home the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award at the tournament after a thrilling victory in the 197-pound bracket. In total, Ithaca amassed 15 place-winners among its 28 participants in the tournament.
 
125 LB
Ithaca entered the day with three wrestlers alive in the 125-pound division. Senior, Jimmy Kaishian (#7 NWCA/#8 d3wrestle.com) began the day in the winner's bracket, while sophomore, Ferdinand Mase, and freshman, Tito Colom, started in the wrestle-backs.
 
Kaishian opened the day against Matthew Insogna of Greensboro College and made it look easy against his 125-pound counterpart. He shutout the Insogna in a 9-0 major decision to secure a spot in the semifinals, where he met another Greensboro wrestler in Gabe Wilson. Ithaca's senior grappler had it much tougher this time around, but was able to grab an early lead and hang on for the 6-4 decision.
 
Emerging from the other half of the bracket was Bobby Jordon of Johnson & Wales, setting up one of several marquee matchups on the day. Jordon entered the weekend ranked ninth in the country by the NWCA, ensuring the final would be a ranked vs. ranked bout. Kaishian again rose to the occasion, scoring the Bombers first individual champion of the afternoon with a 4-3 decision.
 
Ithaca also picked up some key team points in the wrestle-backs. Both Colom and Mase won their first bouts of the day to set up a matchup against each other in the next round. The older Mase got the better off his freshman counterpart with a 5-4 decision to advance. Like his teammate Kaishian, Mase bested Wilson of Greensboro in a 7-3 decision to move onto the third-place bout. The Ithaca sophomore took home the third-place title with an 8-6 triumph over Rob Murray of Stevens.
 
141 LB
Ithaca had two wrestlers alive in the winner's bracket entering Saturday morning in the 141-pound classification in top-seed Nick Wahba (#7 d3wrestle.com) and sixth-seed Chris Wymer.
 
Wahba's first match of the day was an abbreviated one, as he faced Patrick Ferzoco of Springfield. The IC senior scored an early takedown, which injured the Springfield grappler, who had to bow out with a medical forfeit. Wahba continued to roll in the semifinal round with an 8-0 major decision over DJ Tirelli of Johnson & Wales to stamp his place in the final.
 
Facing another Wildcat wrestler in the final in second-seed Joseph Ferinde, Wahba followed a similar blue print to Kaishian to score Ithaca's second individual weight-class champion of the day. Locked in a tactical battle, he scored just enough to win a 4-3 decision.
 
Wymer had a challenging second day at the tournament after getting off to a hot start on Friday. He dropped his opening match of the day, as RIT's Jake Sepor got the first-period pin. He battled hard in his first wrestle-back bout, but dropped a close match against Derek Bohle of Springfield in an 8-6 decision.
 
149 LB
Nichols had some high praise for freshman, Sammy Schneider, entering the weekend and the IC rookie answered the bell in a big way with an impressive run through the 149-pound weight class to score an individual title in his first collegiate tournament.
 
Schneider faced Brady Robin of Johnson & Wales in the quarterfinal match and made quick work of the Wildcat wrestler in a 12-5 decision. The win over Robin setup a match against the top-seed in the 149-pound bracket in Zach Wilhelm (#4 NWCA) of Stevens.
 
In one of the most exciting 3-1 matches you will ever see, Schneider scored the upset over the talented Ducks' wrestler. Battling to a 1-1 stalemate through three periods, the wrestlers entered into a sudden-victory overtime round. The IC rookie wasted little time, aggressively catching the leg of Wilhelm and driving him to the mat for the takedown just seconds into the period.
 
With possibly his toughest bout in the rearview mirror, Schneider carried that momentum into his finals against Malik Rasheed of Johnson & Wales. Schneider scored six points nearly right off the bat with a takedown and four-point near fall. He continued to widen the lead over the bout, before locking in a the fall with 26 seconds left in the third period.
 
Classmate Ben Brisman, as well as, sophomore, Greg Lee, also competed on day two in the 149-pound wrestle-back bracket. Lee opened the day with a hard-fought clash against Robin of Johnson & Wales, falling in a 3-2 decision. Brisman had a successful run in the same portion of the bracket, scoring a 13-5 major decision over Christop Behen of Johnson & Wales. He followed that by besting Robin in a 3-1 decision, before downing second-seed Thomas Grippi of JWU to gain an appearance in the third-place bout. Unfortunately, the rookies' run came to an end as he had to settle for fourth place after being pinned by Wilhellm of Stevens in the first period.
 
157 LB
Ithaca entered the day in great shape in the 157-pound division with three wrestlers advancing to the quarterfinal round of the winner's bracket.
 
The trend of strong performances by IC freshman continued, as Al Ciccitto was the Bombers top finisher of the group. He opened the day by scoring a huge upset over second-seeded Thomas Poklikuha, scoring a first-period fall of the talented Stevens wrestler. The pins continued in the semifinal round, as he added Desmond Townes to the list with a fall right as time expired in the third period. Ciccitto had his run come to an end in the final, settling for second to Oswego State's Troy Seymour in a 5-2 decision.
 
Sophomores, Jawan Jones and Anthony Fano, competed on the top half of the bracket and each enjoyed successful days. Jones got a tough start, as he met the eventual champion, Seymour, in the quarterfinal. The Lakers grappler got the only point of the match with a second-period escape to end Jones run in the winner's bracket. However, Jones had a strong run in the wrestle-backs with a 9-4 decision over Dylan Dupre of JWU, a 10-3 triumph over Norwich's Brandon Defosses, and a 7-2 decision over Desmond Townes. He settled for fourth place in the bracket.
 
Fano also had a solid day, besting Defosses in a 17-7 major decision to begin the day. Like his teammates Jones and Ciccitto, Fano's run came to an end against Seymour in a 3-1 decision. He had to settle for sixth place in the bracket.
 
165 LB
Ithaca's fourth weight-class champion came in the 165-pound division, as second-seed Nick Velez (#4 NWCA/#5 d3wrestle.com) captured the crown. He opened the day with an 11-0 major decision over Adrian Gonzalez of Johnson & Wales. The junior earned a 17-0 technical fall over Aarin Feliz of Springfield just 16 seconds into the second period of his semifinal-round bout.
 
Another much anticipated ranked vs. ranked match occurred in the final, as Velez squared off against third-ranked Colin Navickas of Stevens in the final. Once again, it was the Bombers' wrestler that prevailed; as Velez took home the 10-5 decision.
 
Junior, Nik Hansen, also competed on day two making a nice run through the wrestle-backs after falling in a 7-3 decision to Ryan Ward of Springfield in the opening match of the day. He scored a first period fall over Zach Deaguero of Johnson & Wales, but eventually had to settle for sixth place in the weight class.
 
174 LB
The Bombers had two competitors still alive in the 174-pound classification on Saturday, as juniors, Nick Vogel and Jaison White, both advanced to the quarters.
 
White got off to a great start to the day with a 5-3 victory over Elias Kokalis of Springfield in his quarterfinal bout. He doubled up with another 5-3 decision over Michael Gargano of Johnson & Wales to stamp his place in the final, but unfortunately he had to settle for second place with top-seed Stephen Jarrell scoring the first period fall.
 
Vogel had nice run in the wrestle-back after dropping a 7-3 decision to Geovanni Medina in his quarterfinal-round bout. He bested Marquez Keyes of Greensboro in a 16-5 major decision and Mark Millsci of Oswego State to earn a place in the third-place bout. The IC junior took home fourth place after falling in a 9-3 decision to Springfield's Medina.
 
184 LB
Ithaca had only one competitor alive in the 184-pound classification in sophomore mauler Jake Ashcraft. He started his day impressively with another first-period pin (1:29), this one coming against John Boyle of Western New England. However, the top-seed had his run come to an end against talented Oswego State freshman, Jordan Bushey, who went on to win the individual title. Ashcraft fell to Bushey in a 16-6 major decision.
 
Ashcraft bounced back in his first consolation bout, as he scored a 14-7 decision over Pete Haller of Johnson & Wales, but was edged by Danny Moore of Stevens in the third-place matchup. Ashcraft settled for fourth.
 
197 LB
Perhaps the most anticipated matchup of the day took place in the 197-pound division, as senior, Carlos Toribio (#3 NWCA/#3 d3wrestle.com) continued to steamroll through the bottom half of the winner's bracket.
 
Toribio opened the day with a 10-2 major decision over Brian Donovan of Western New England. He scored a hard-fought 4-0 triumph against Oswego State's Daniel Smith to earn his place in the final and the anticipated ranked vs. ranked matchup against top-seed AJ Kowal (#2 NWCA) of Stevens.
 
Toribio jumped out to an early lead with a takedown just 20 seconds into the bout, which was not originally given, but was award on a successful coaches challenge. Although Kowal got a point back on the escape, Toribio clung to a 2-1 advantage. Kowal rode out the entire second period to build up potentially tying ride time advantage, but in a heroic effort, Toribio returned the favor with a two-minute ride of Kowal to hold onto the 2-1 lead and an individual crown at 197. The effort helped him earn Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.
 
The Bombers had two wrestlers in Tanner Nielsen and Liam Korbul competed in the wrestle-back portion of the bracket. Nielsen opened the day with a 15-5 major decision over Norwich's Hussein Kanaan, but had his tournament ended in the next round. Korbul scored a pair of victories with a with a first-period fall against Chris St. Denny off RIT and a 6-4 overtime win against Michael Gallagher of Rhode Island. Like Nielsen, Western New England's Donovan bested Korbul in the next round.
 
285 LB
Ithaca's lone competitor in the second day of the tournament at 285-pounds was senior, Matt Booth, but he saved the best for last in capturing the Bombers' sixth individual title.
 
He opened the day with a dominant 208 major decision over Nick Goff of New England College. He followed that with a hard-fought 4-0 decision against Norwich's bruiser Frank Girolamo. Booth continued his dominant run into the finals, where he downed John Geeorges of Rhode Island in an 8-1 decision.
 
Looking Ahead
Ithaca returns to action on Sunday, November 13, when the team heads to the Capital District to take part in the Journeyman Collegiate Classic in Troy, N.Y. Bouts are set to begin at 9:00 a.m.