Men's Wrestling | 1/9/2016 4:55:00 PM

FORT WAYNE, IND. —The nationally-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team finished in eighth place on day two of the National Wrestling Coaches' Association (NWCA) National Duals competition Saturday in Fort Wayne, Ind.

After falling into the consolation bracket, Ithaca (6-4), ranked fifth in the country in the latest NWCA poll, defeated Cornell College 34-9 to advance into the semifinals of the consolation bracket.

But the Bombers fell to SUNY Cortland and Augsburg College by identical 22-21 scores on Saturday to earn the eighth-place finish.

Junior co-captain Jimmy Kaishian and senior Dan Pak won all three of their matches in the consolation bracket, while senior Zack Conner and sophomore Nick Velez each went 2-1 for the Bombers.

Taking on No. 9 Cornell College, Conner, sophomore Bryan Israel, and junior Carlos Toribio each recorded pins in the victory.

Israel pinned Brody Lamb in 3:39 at 133 pounds, Toribio pinned Joseph Keller in 1:10 at 184, and Conner pinned Benjamin Bergen in 1:56 to power Ithaca to the win.

Kaishian earned a 4-2 decision over Scott Smith at 125, Pak held off Anthony Curtis 5-3 at 149, Velez major decisioned Ben Hewson 13-5 at 165, and sophomore Jaison White won via a forfeit to conclude the Ithaca scoring.

The match with No. 10 Cortland was a back-and-forth affair. Ithaca raced out to 12-3 lead as Kaishian defeated Alex D'Angelo 4-1 at 125, junior Nick Wahba defeated Mat Bradice 8-1 at 141, and Pak pinned Austin Whitney in :58 at 149 for his team-leading ninth pin of the year.

Velez dominated Brian Vutianitis and emerged with a 15-0 technical fall win at 165 to give the Bombers a 17-6 lead, but the Red Dragons won the next three bouts to seize a 21-17 lead heading into the final match.

Junior Matt Booth dominated at 285 and earned a 15-2 major decision victory against Tyler Lilly to even the match, but Cortland emerged with the win on the strength of having more pins than Ithaca (2-1).

In the seventh-place bout vs. No. 2 Augsburg, the Bombers once again started strong and held a 12-3 lead early on. Kaishian major decisioned James Goman 12-4 at 125, Wahba major decisioned Dylan Lesar 10-1 at 141, and Pak major decisioned Rashad Kennedy 10-2 to spark the Bombers.

Augsburg rattled off three straight wins and held a 16-12 lead before freshman Jake Ashcraft pinned Sebastian Larson in 1:20 at 184 to put Ithaca back on top 18-16.

Conner earned a 6-3 win at 197 over Logan Hortop for a 21-16 lead, but a pin at 285 clinched the win for Augsburg.

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

Ithaca returns to action in the annual ECWC Championships, held Saturday, Jan. 16 at RIT.

Results vs. Cornell College (Ithaca won 34-9)
125: Jimmy Kaishian (Ithaca) over Scott Smith (Cornell College) Dec 4-2
133: Bryan Israel (Ithaca) over Brody Lamb (Cornell College) Fall 3:39
141: Nathan Shank (Cornell College) over Nick Wahba (Ithaca) Dec 12-6
149: Daniel Pak (Ithaca) over Anthony Curtis (Cornell College) Dec 5-3
157: Aaron Engle (Cornell College) over Nik Hansen (Ithaca) Dec 6-4
165:  Nick Velez (Ithaca) over Ben Hewson (Cornell College) Maj 13-5
174: Jaison White (Ithaca) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf 
184: Carlos Toribio (Ithaca) over Joseph Keller (Cornell College) Fall 1:10
197: Zack Conner (Ithaca) over Benjamin Bergen (Cornell College) Fall 1:56
285: Eric Tucker (Cornell College) over Matt Booth (Ithaca) Dec 3-2

Results vs. Cortland (Cortland won 22-21)
125: Jimmy Kaishian (Ithaca) over Alex D`Angelo (SUNY-Cortland) Dec 4-1
133: Andrew Roden (SUNY-Cortland) over Ferdinand Mase (Ithaca) Dec 1-0
141: Nick Wahba (Ithaca) over Mat Bradice (SUNY-Cortland) Dec 8-1
149: Dan Pak (Ithaca) over Austin Whitney (SUNY-Cortland) Fall 0:58
157: Adrian Berry (SUNY-Cortland) over Anthony Fano (Ithaca) Dec 9-7
165: Nick Velez (Ithaca) over Brian Vutianitis (SUNY-Cortland) TF 15-0
174: Lou Puca (SUNY-Cortland) over Jaison White (Ithaca) Fall 6:33
184: Mike Beckwith (SUNY-Cortland) over Carlos Toribio (Ithaca) Fall 1:51
197: Joe Giaramita (SUNY-Cortland) over Dan Glinko (Ithaca) Dec 8-4
285: Matt Booth (Ithaca) over Tyler Lilly (SUNY-Cortland) Maj 15-2
SUNY-Cortland's team score was adjusted by 1.000 for Falls

Results vs. Augsburg (Augsburg won 22-21)
125: Jimmy Kaishian (I) major decisioned James Goman (A) 12-4
133: Sam Bennyhoff (A) def. Ferdinand Mase (I) 6-3
141: Nick Wahba (I) major decisioned Dylan Lesar (A) 10-1
149: Dan Pak (I) major decisioned Rashad Kennedy (A) 10-2
157: Grant Parker (A) major decisioned Anthony Fano (I) 10-0
165: Eric Hensel (A) def. Nick Velez (I) 7-4
174: Austin Boniface (A) pinned Jaison White (I) in 5:59
184: Jake Ashcraft (I) pinned Sebastian Larson (A) in 1:20
197: Zack Conner (I) def. Logan Hortop (A) 6-3
285: Donald Longendyke (A) pinned Matt Booth (I) in 2:32