ITHACA, N.Y. – The fourth-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team faced its fifth ranked opponent of the season on Friday evening, when it closed out its home schedule against No. 24 Wilkes University. The Bombers put the bookend of the contest with early and late excitement to down the Colonels 34-12 in front of a huge Senior Night audience.
 
The Bombers sent the nine members of its graduating Class of 2017 out on a high note with victories in seven of 10 bouts, which included three wins by fall to close out the match. IC also celebrated CFCU Day, while team members donned pink t-shirts and ankle wraps in support of the Ithaca College chapter of Unite for HER, an organization to promote cancer awareness and prevention.
 
125 LB | Jimmy Kaishian (ITHACA) def. Guessepe Rea (WILKES) (DEC 9-7)
133 LB | Chander Pankil (WILKES) def. Tito Colom (ITHACA) (DEC 5-2)
141 LB | Jessie Lopez (WILKES) def. Chris Wymer (ITHACA)  (FALL: 6:43)
149 LB | Sammy Schneider (ITHACA) def. Kyle Medrow (WILKES) (TF 19-4)
157 LB | Nick Racanelli (WILKES) def. Jawan Jones (ITHACA) (SV 5-3)
165 LB | Nick Velez (ITHACA) def. Michael Paskas (WILKES) (MD 12-2)
174 LB | Jaison White (ITHACA) def. Justin Morel (WILKES) (MD 15-6)
184 LB | Jake Ashcraft (ITHACA) def. Jacob Brook (WILKES) (FALL: 1:37)
197 LB | Carlos Toribio (ITHACA) def. Tanner Kelly (WILKES) (FALL: 0:23)
285 LB | Jake O'Brien (ITHACA) def. Jordan Nochimson (WILKES) (FALL: 2:31)
EX. | Ben Brisman (ITHACA) def. Cory Fleming (WILKES) (MD 19-7)
EX. | Demitri D'Orsaneo (ITHACA) def. John Ritter (WILKES) (DEC 9-5)
 
The feature bout of the evening got going right off the hop, as Ithaca's Jimmy Kaishian (8^th d3wrestle.com) took on the nation's second-ranked wrestler in Wilkes Guessepe Rea. The Colonels' man gained the early edge with two first-period takedowns, but Kaishian answered with two escapes to make the score 4-2 to begin the second period.
 
Things got heated early in the middle frame, as it appeared Kaishian scored a pair of takedowns near the edge of the mat; however, the mat official deemed that he was unable to keep a foot within the boundary.
 
Trailing 6-5 entering the third period, Kaishian allowed Rea to escape to up the visitor's lead to 7-5 with 1:25 remaining in the bout. With 45-seconds left in the bout the two wrestlers engaged in a fierce battle with each looking like they might come out with a two-point takedown. It was Kaishian who won out to equalize the score at 7-7; however, he needed to nearly ride out the period to whittle down Rea's substantial riding time advantage.
 
Kaishian did one better! He kept Rea on the mat to take the riding time under one minute, before turning Rea to his back for a two-point near-fall right as time expired. In one of the Bombers' most thrilling bouts of the season, Ithaca took an early 3-0 lead thanks to its senior captain.
 
It looked as though the Bombers were going to double-up their early success, as freshman Tito Colom scored a takedown within the opening moments of his 133-pound bout against Wilkes' Chander Pankil. However, the Colonels' man brought the IC rookie down for a takedown and provided a strong ride to limit the Bombers' man from further points in a 5-2 decision. The result equalized the match at 3-3.
 
Wilkes continued the momentum in a tightly contested 141-pound match between Ithaca's Chris Wymer and Jessie Lopez. Wymer held a 3-2 lead deep into the third period, but an excellent move by Lopez turned Wymer to his back for a pin. The result gave Wilkes its first lead of the match at 9-3.
 
It did not take long for Ithaca to chip away at the early deficit, as Sammy Schneider (3^rd NWCA, 4^th d3wrestle.com) controlled things from the outset in his 149-pound bout against Kyle Medrow. The IC freshman raced out to a 10-2 advantage after the opening three minutes, scoring three takedowns and four-point near-fall as time expired.
 
Schneider continued to build on his substantial lead, before locking in the technical fall with less than 15-seconds remaining in the tilt. With Medrow trying to hold off the late charge, Schneider pulled an excellent move to take Medrow to the mat to score the 19-4 technical fall. The big result brought IC within a point at 9-8 heading into the 157-pound bout.
 
Wilkes took a 12-8 lead into the final five bouts, as Nick Racanelli was able to hold off Ithaca's Jawan Jones in a low-scoring thriller. The bout was 2-2 at the end of regulation with Racanelli repeatedly fending off advantageous positions for Jones.
 
The Colonels' grappler was able to ride out Jones in the second sudden-victory period, forcing Jones to score in the next transition, after he decided to begin neutral. The Bombers' man took a shot during the overtime period, but Racanelli turned the tables for the takedown in an eventual 5-3 win.
 
The Bombers' turned to their nationally-ranked 165-pounder Nick Velez (4^th NWCA, 6^th d3wrestle.com) to get back in the match. The accomplished junior did not disappoint in scoring a result to level the score at 12-all with four bouts to go.
 
Velez jumped out to an early lead with a takedown and four-point near-fall; however, Wilkes' grappler, Michael Paskas, proved to be a scrappy foe. He conceded little to Velez throughout the middle period, taking the match the distance. Velez finally scored the bonus point he was searching for with a big takedown with a minute remaining, adding another takedown before time expired in a 12-2 major decision.
 
Ithaca jumped back into the lead during the 174-pound bout, as junior Jaison White looked impressive in dominating the second and third periods to score the go-ahead major decision. He notched two takedowns in the final minute to roll up the 15-6 advantage and score the bonus point to make the match 16-12.
 
In the blink of an eye the Bombers sealed the match in the following two weight-classes. Sophomore Jake Ashcraft overcame an early takedown to score the fall over Wilkes' Jacob Brook just 1:37 into the first period. The pin was his team-leading 13^th of the season.
 
Carlos Toribio (4^th NWCA, 2^nd d3wrestle.com) imposed his will in the 197-pound matchup, bulldozing Tanner Kelly in a 23-second fall. Jake O'Brien (9^th d3wrestle.com) put the exclamation point on the match with the Bombers' third consecutive first-period pin (2:31) to close out the 34-12 victory.
 
Ithaca wraps its dual-meet schedule on Wednesday, February 15, when it travels to SUNY Cortland to take part in the Beauty and the Beast Meet, to be held in conjunction with both institutions varsity gymnastics programs. Action is slated to begin at 6:00 p.m.