Results
 
TROY, N.Y. – The second-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team hit the road for the first time this year during the second weekend of the season as the Bombers traveled to the Northeast Duals to face cross-divisional competition on Saturday. Ithaca went 1-2 in three total duals on the day sandwiching a victory over Division III foe Castleton with defeats to two NCAA Division I programs in University of Virginia and Appalachian State.
 
Ithaca began the day during the morning session with a tilt against Virginia. The Bombers had a tough go of it in the match against the talented foe from the Atlantic Coast Conference, scoring wins in just two of 10 bouts in the dual. Scoring the victories for IC were senior captains Jake Ashcraft and Jake O'Brien. Ashcraft scored his victory in an 8-3 decision over redshirt sophomore Jack Walsh, while O'Brien won in a second-period technical fall against another redshirt sophomore in Robert Scherer.
 
The second dual of the day was IC's lone match-up against its own division of competition and the results were right in tune with their ranking as one of the top programs in the country. Although the Spartans held a narrow 6-3 lead through three bouts, the Bombers surged down the stretch with four straight victories at 149-pounds through 174-pounds, picking up bonus points in three of those victories.
 
Senior Demetri D'Orsaneo got the ball rolling at 149-pounds, dispatching freshman Cooper Fleming in a 15-5 major decision to put IC back on top 7-6. Sophomore 157-pounder Alec Corrao edged another rookie in Daniel Haverty in a narrow 4-3 decision to extend the lead to 10-6. The Bombers gained separation in the final two bouts of the run, as Austin Whitney notched another 15-5 major over rookie Andrew Fountain and junior Steven Rice made his season debut with a first-period pin of Chance LaPier.
 
Although the Spartans kept things alive in the 184-pound bout with junior Mitchell LaFlam besting IC's rookie 184-pounder Eze Chukwuezi in a third-period pin, IC rookie Elijah Rodriguez clinched the dual with a victory at 197-pounds. He answered LaFlam's fall with one of his own, putting Castleton's Alexander Green to the mat just 1:13 into the bout. With things already decided, Castleton conceded the 285-pound bout to Jake O'Brien to finish off the 32-12 result.
 
It was back to Division I in the 4:00 p.m. time slot, as the Bombers faced Appalachian State. Once again the sailing was not nearly as smooth for the Bombers against extremely talented opposition, as IC picked up victories in just the final two bouts of the day. Rodriguez capped off his impressive performance on Saturday with his second pin of the afternoon, putting Appalachian's Diabe to the mat 1:38 into the bout. O'Brien also sent IC into tomorrow on a high-note with a 2-1 decision over Miller. IC would lose the dual overall 32-9.
 
The full results from today's duals can be found HERE: CLICK HERE.
 
Ithaca returns to action tomorrow when individuals take part in the Journeymen Collegiate Classic, hosted by Hudson Valley Community College.