Men's Wrestling | 1/8/2016 6:05:00 PM

FORT WAYNE, IND. —The nationally-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team split a pair of dual matches on day one of the National Wrestling Coaches' Association (NWCA) National Duals competition Friday in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Ithaca (5-2), ranked fifth in the country in the latest NWCA poll, jumped out to an early 18-0 lead in the second-round clash with Alma College. Three student-athletes recorded wins by pin as the Bombers held off Alma 24-18 to advance into the quarterfinals.

Taking on fourth-ranked Roger Williams in the quarterfinals, Ithaca led 15-10 heading into the final two bouts, but suffered a 17-15 loss to a fellow top-five school.

The Bombers are now placed in the consolation bracket of the national duals and will take on the winner of Cornell College and Heidelberg at 7 p.m. Friday night.

With the loss to Roger Williams, Ithaca can place no higher than fifth at the National Duals, which features 18 of the top Division III teams in the country.

Live streaming video and live results from every match will be available here.

After receiving a first-round bye in the annual Mat Mayhem competition, Ithaca started fast against Alma.

Junior co-captain Jimmy Kaishian handed Victor Sosa-Sevilla a 4-0 setback at 125 pounds to open the second-round matchup. Kaishian, ranked seventh at 125, improved to 13-5 on the year and was one of four nationally-ranked Bombers to secure wins against Alma.

Sophomore Bryan Israel, ranked sixth at 133, pinned Anthony Pizzo in 1:09 to improve to 12-5. He was followed by junior Nick Wahba, who held off Romeo Riley 5-4 at 141 to improve to 5-0.

Senior Dan Pak, ranked ninth at 149 pounds, posted Ithaca's most dominant win of the match, pinning Jarrett Sadler in just 34 seconds to improve to 17-1 after his team-leading eighth pin of the year.

Ithaca led 18-0 after Pak's pin, but Alma won the next three matches to pull within 18-12. Junior Carlos Toribio then pinned Trent Hullett in 1:14 at 184 for his 11^th win in 15 matches and a 24-12 Bomber lead as Ithaca held on for the win.

In the quarterfinals, Kaishian, Israel, Wahba and Toribio each recorded victories, as did sophomore Nick Velez.

Kaishian decisioned Nick Barbaria 6-2 at 125, Israel defeated Jean-Luc Lemieux 4-0 at 133, and Wahba defeated Justin Cochran 6-3 as Ithaca stormed out to an early 9-0 lead.

Following a pair of losses, Velez held on for a 2-1 win over Alec Golner as the Bombers extended their lead to 12-7.

Roger Williams recorded a win at 174 to pull within 12-10 before Toribio dominated Joe Albina en route to a 6-0 decision at 184, and a 15-10 Ithaca lead. But Roger Williams closed out the match with back-to-back wins to advance into the semifinals.

The competition boasts nine of the top 10 teams in the country, and 18 of the nation's top 24 Division III schools.

The highest-seeded eight teams, including Ithaca, were awarded byes to the round of 16. All eight seeded teams are ranked in the top-10 of the NWCA team rankings. The other top-10 schools to receive byes into the round of 16 include: Wartburg (No. 1), Augsburg (No. 2), University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (No. 3), Roger Williams (No. 4), Ithaca, Concordia-Moorhead (No. 7), Wabash (No. 8), and Cornell College (No. 9).

Results vs. Alma College
125: Jimmy Kaishian (Ithaca) def. Victor Sosa-Sevilla (Alma) 4-0
133: Bryan Israel (I) pinned Anthony Pizzo (A) 1:09
141: Nick Wahba (I) def. Romeo Riley (A) 5-4
149: Dan Pak (I) pinned Jarrett Sadler (A) 0:34
157: Shawn Brewer (A) major decisioned Nik Hansen (I) 9-1
165: Taylor McPhail )A) major decisioned Nick Velez (I) 16-4
174: Travis Heller (A) major decisioned Jaison White (I) 11-2
184: Carlos Toribio (I) pinned Trent Hullett (A) 1:14
197: Jamie Jakes (A) def. Dan Glinko (I) 5-3
285: Trevor Maresh (A) def. Matt Booth (I) 7-4

Results vs. Roger Williams
125: Kaishian (I) def. Nick Barbaria (R) 6-2
133: Israel (I) def. Jean-Luc Lemieux (R) 4-0
141: Wahba (I) def. Justin Cochran (R) 6-3
149: Daniel Downes (R) def. Pak (I) TB-1 3-2
157: Ty Herzog (R) major decisioned Anthony Fano (I) 20-9
165: Velez (I) def. Alec Golner (R) 2-1
174: Dan Ressler (R) def. White (I) 6-2
184: Toribio (I) def. Joe Albina (R) 6-0
197: David Welch (R) major decisioned Zack Conner (I) 11-3
285: Kyle Foster (R) def. Booth (I) SV-1 3-1