Complete Results (PDF)
 
ITHACA, N.Y. – The third-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team was back on the mats inside Ithaca College's Athletics & Events Center on Sunday when it had nine grapplers still alive on the final day of 2018 NCAA Mideast Regional Qualifying. When the blood, sweat and cheers finally died down inside Glazer Arena it was the Bombers that came out on top, qualifying seven wrestlers for the NCAA Division III National Championships en route to taking the Mideast Region Team Championship with 145.0 points.
 
Ithaca entered the day with a healthy lead in the team standings over eventual team runner-up Stevens Institute of Technology. With eight grapplers still alive in the Championship Semifinal Round and another wrestler still battling in the Wrestle-back Rounds, IC seemed poised for a big day on Sunday. The Bombers lived up to most of those hopes, as six wrestlers punched their ticket to Nationals in Cleveland, Ohio, with wins in their respective Semifinal Round bouts during the morning session. Junior 125-pounder Ferdinand Mase, sophomore 141-pounder Ben Brisman (5^th NWCA | 4^th d3wrestle.com), senior 165-pounder Nick Velez (4^th NWCA | 3^rd d3wrestle.com), senior 174-pounder Jaison White (8^th NWCA), junior 184-pounder Jake Ashcraft (1^st NWCA | 1^st d3wrestle.com) and junior heavyweight Jake O'Brien (2^nd NWCA | 2^nd d3wrestle.com) each scored wins in the morning to make the title bout of their respective divisions.
 
The afternoon session was headlined by two performances. Sophomore 133-pounder Tito Colom battled through the wrestle-backs after falling to unanimous No. 1-ranked Troy Stanich of Stevens Institute of Technology in his first matchup of the day; Stanich went on to be named Most Outstanding Wrestler in a vote by the 17 head coaches at the meet. Colom won twice in the wrestle-backs, punching his ticket to the finals after defeating TCNJ's James Goldschmidt in a 5-2 decision in the third-place match. Ashcraft put the cap on Ithaca's dominant team victory with a second-period pin of Cortland's Deuly Espinal in the 184-pound title bout, scoring the Bombers lone regional championship of the afternoon session.
 
With Sunday's performance, the Bombers are poised to have the most wrestlers competing at the National Championships since Ithaca sent eight to the year-end tournament in 2011.
 
Here is a rundown of the Bombers performances from Sunday.
 
125LB
Ferdinand Mase (ITHACA) def. Christoper Tan (URSINUS) | DEC: 6-2
#3/3 Jonathan Haas (BROCKPORT) def. Ferdinand Mase (ITHACA) | DEC: 2-1
 
Mase began his day with challenging matchup against Tan. Both wrestlers have been in strong form heading into the weekend and on the cusp of breaking into the Top-10 rankings at the weight class. IC's junior looked much the aggressor in the bout, going on the front-foot to snag the advantage. Mase scored the takedowns in the first and third periods to seal his ticket to the finals.
 
He faced a talented foe in Brockport's nationally-ranked Jonathan Haas in the final. In the first meeting between the two grapplers this season, Haas prevailed in a narrow 2-1 decision to earn the 125-pound title.
 
133LB
#1/1 Troy Stanich (STEVENS) def. Tito Colom (ITHACA) | TF: 17-0 (5:00)
Tito Colom (ITHACA) def. Nicholas DePierro (SCRANTON) | DEC: 11-5
Tito Colom (ITHACA) def. James Goldschmidt (TCNJ) | DEC: 5-2
 
The first bout of the day figured to be Colom's most challenging of the day, as he stood opposite the nation's unanimous 133-pounder in Troy Stanich. The Ducks' reigning All-American was in control from the outset, nearly scoring the pin on Colom, but settling for a 17-0 technical fall at the end of period two.
 
Colom was not dissuaded despite having to earn his National Championship berth the hard way. He bounced back from the loss to Stanich in an impressive 11-5 decision over Scranton's Nick Depierro in the wrestle-back semi's. He showed his mental fortitude yet again in the third-place match. Trailing Goldschmidt 2-1 in the match, Colom was able to score a second period escape as well as a late takedown to seal the victory and pack his bags for Cleveland.
 
141LB
#5/4 Ben Brisman (ITHACA) def. #9/8 Maxwell Nauta (CENTENARY) | DEC: 10-5
#3/3 Brett Kaliner (STEVENS) def. #5/4 Ben Brisman (ITHACA) | DEC: 8-3
 
Brisman was one of two IC grapplers to take on two nationally-ranked wrestlers when he took to the mat in the loaded 141-pound class. He opened the day with a familiar foe in Centenary's Max Nauta. The duo battled in an extremely close 8-7 decision won by Brisman at the NWCA National Duals earlier this year. The rematch certainly lived up to the billing. Although Nauta went up 2-0 with an excellent move in the first period, a second-period near-fall by Brisman gave the sophomore Bomber the upper hand. Brisman scored a late takedown to ice the match in the 10-5 decision.
 
Ithaca's man faced another challenging test in the final when he battled Stevens Brett Kaliner, the only grappler in the region to rank higher than Brisman coming into the weekend. Little separated the pair through two periods; however, a takedown in period three put things out of reach for Brisman as he fell in an 8-3 decision.
 
149LB
Demetri D'Orsaneo (ITHACA) def. Tyler Brazinski (ONEONTA) | MD: 10-1
Demetri D'Orsaneo (ITHACA) def. Ryan Budzek (TCNJ) | DEC: 7-3
Dylan Van Sickell (STEVENS) def. Demetri D'Orsaneo (ITHACA) | DEC: 5-4
 
In one of the more exciting underdog runs of the tournament, D'Orsaneo continued to deliver for the Bombers on Sunday, nearly battling all the way through the wrestle-backs to secure his berth, before ultimately falling just shy in the third-place bout.
 
He scored impressive victories in his first two wrestle-backs of the day, winning in a 10-1 major decision over Tyler Brazinski of SUNY Oneonta and a 7-3 decision over TCNJ's Ryan Budzek. Like many IC wrestlers on the day, he faced a Stevens wrestler in his final match of the day in Dylan Van Sickell.
 
D'Orsaneo trailed 5-3 heading into the third period and started the frame on top. A stalling call brought the margin to one-point in the final minute, while D'Orsaneo nearly brought Van Sickell to his back for a near-fall in the waning moments. Sadly, the Ducks' wrestler was able to just barely roll out of the move and hang on for the 5-4 win as time expired. D'Orsaneo will be an alternate if any of the Top-3 from the region are unable to go to Nationals in two weeks time.
 
157LB
Kaidon Winters (RIT) def. #9 Austin Whitney (ITHACA) | DEC: 8-4
Greg Chery (CORTLAND) def. #9 Austin Whitney (ITHACA) | DEC: 10-8
Kieran Duggan (MERCHANT MARINE) def. #9 Austin Whitney (ITHACA) | MFFT
 
Ithaca's lone grappler not have a shot to wrestle for a berth was Whitney who was jostled a bit in losing twice, before bowing out with a medical forfeit in the fifth-place match. He suffered an injury in his rematch against RIT's Kaidon Winters in the Semifinal Round in a match that was paused briefly for injury time. Although he was able finish out the bout, he did not go into the wrestle-backs near 100-percent.
 
Whitney gave every ounce that he had left, but Cortland's Greg Chery was able to prevail in a 10-8 decision to end Whitney's shot at a National Championship bid.
 
165LB
#4/3 Nick Velez (ITHACA) def. #9 Alex Herringshaw (OSWEGO) | DEC: 8-3
Thomas Poklikuha (STEVENS) def. #4/3 Nick Velez (ITHACA) | SV-1: 6-4
 
Velez opened the day by sealing his third consecutive trip to Nationals. He controlled matters from the outset in his Semifinal Round bout against Oswego's nationally-ranked Alex Herringshaw. The duo battled in a 3-2 decision at ECWC Championships, but Velez won more comfortably in today's rematch, scoring an 8-3 triumph.
 
Unfortunately, he was unable to complete his quest for a Regional Title, falling to Stevens' Thomas Poklikuha in the first sudden-victory period by a 6-4 score.
 
174LB
#8 Jaison White (ITHACA) def. #9 Troy Seymour (OSWEGO) | DEC: 7-3
#7 Daniel Kilroy (TCNJ) def. #8 Jaison White (ITHACA) | FALL: 5:30
 
White set out on Sunday looking to secure his second straight berth to Nationals. He did in style, going 1-1 against two nationally-ranked foes on the day.
 
White opened the day with an impressive 7-3 decision over Troy Seymour. In the first meeting between the two grapplers this season, White controlled the match winning by a close-but-comfortable four-point margin.
 
Like Velez, White came up shy in his title bit, getting pinned by TCNJ's Daniel Kilroy 30-seconds into the final period.
 
184LB
#1/1 Jake Ashcraft (ITHACA) def. Zach D'Apolito (SCRANTON) | FALL: 5:11
#1/1 Jake Ashcraft (ITHACA) def. Deuly Espinal (CORTLAND) | FALL: 4:26
 
The second IC grappler to reach glory during the afternoon session was Ashcraft who continued his dominant run through the 184-pound bracket. He notched two more falls on the day to bring his total to 24 on the year, surely locking up the top overall seed for next month's National Championships.
 
He opened the day by scoring a pin 11-seconds into the final period of his bout against Scranton's Zach D'Apolito, setting up an exciting rematch against Cortland's Deuly Espinal.
 
Just two weeks ago, Ashcraft trailed Espinal 8-3 in the third-period, before coming back to score a fall over the Red Dragons' top 184-pounder at Ithaca's Rumble & Tumble Meet. The rematch was all Ashcraft from the start. After a scoreless first period, Ashcraft scored an early takedown in period two, before flipping Espinal for four near-fall points. He ultimately locked in the pin at 4:26.
 
285LB
#2/2 Jake O'Brien (ITHACA) def. Connor Calkins (RIT) | SV-1: 3-1
#3/3 James Bethel (ONEONTA) def. #2/2 Jake O'Brien (ITHACA) | DEC: 3-2
 
O'Brien had a pair of close battles against ECWC foes on the day, but was able to go 1-1 to earn his second straight trip to Nationals.
 
His first bout of the day came against RIT's Connor Calkins. Deadlocked at 1-1 through three periods and overtime, O'Brien was able to score the victory-sealing takedown in the first sudden-victory round.
 
The much anticipated rematch against Oneonta's nationally-ranked James Bethel loomed in the afternoon session. O'Brien came out on top 2-1 in an early decision against Oneonta's man earlier this year; however, Bethel was able to do just enough in flipping the script for a narrow 3-2 decision to close out the tournament.
 
Ithaca's seven National Championship entrants will begin their quest for glory when they take to the mats in Cleveland, Ohio, on Friday, March 9, and Saturday, March 10. Stay tuned for more information in the week ahead.