HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. – The sixth-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team finally got back into official competition action for the first time in three weeks when the Bombers hit the road to kick off a busy weekend on Friday night. First stop on Ithaca's three-stop tour was in the Garden State, as the squad faced Centenary University (N.J.) in a dual at 7:00 p.m. IC proved to be too much for the Cyclones on Friday, pulling away for a 29-14 win in the dual meet to improve to 5-4 on the year.
 
#6 Ithaca 29 – Centenary (N.J.) 14
125 LB: Ferdinand Mase (ITHACA) def. Jacy Jones (Centenary) | TF: 17-1
133 LB: Tito Colom (ITHACA) def. Bobby Demeter (Centenary) | TF: 17-1
141 LB: #2/2 Ben Brisman (ITHACA) def. Cameron Bruffy (Centenary) | DEC: 8-3
149 LB: Demetri D'Orsaneo (ITHACA) def. Perry Maio (Centenary) | MD: 11-3
157 LB: Christopher Muce (Centenary) def. Jawan Jones (ITHACA) | DEC: 6-1
165 LB: Alec Donovan (Centenary) def. #9 Austin Whitney (ITHACA) | DEC: 8-6
174 LB: Jordan Juliano (Centenary) def. Steven Rice (ITHACA) | MD: 16-8
184 LB: #1/1 Jake Ashcraft (ITHACA) def. JT Valley (Centenary) | FALL: 4:38
197 LB: #1/1 Etiini Udott (Centenary) def. Dalton Elias (ITHACA) | MD: 12-4
285 LB: #5/6 Jake O'Brien (ITHACA) def. David Oppis (Centenary) | FALL: 2:48
 
It has been an uncharacteristically long layoff between competitions for the Bombers, who were back on the mats in an official event for the first time since the opening weekend of January at the 2019 NWCA National Duals in Louisville, Ky. Ithaca was scheduled to be in action last weekend; however, Winter Storm Harper derailed the plans, cancelling the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference Championships set to be held at Brockport. Although the ECWC Championships were cancelled, IC was able to work in an impromptu exhibition against cross-town Division I wrestling power Cornell. The workout against their D1 neighbors certainly helped keep Ithaca sharp heading into a busy road weekend that began in New Jersey on Friday.
 
Slow starts were a theme that plagued Ithaca during its time in Louisville. However, the Bombers certainly came out flying on Friday night, racing out to a huge lead in the team score with four consecutive victories to begin the match.
 
Senior captain Ferdinand Mase set the tone in his 125-pound bout against Centenary's Jacy Jones. Coming off a pair of closely contested defeats at the NWCA National Duals that saw the reigning All-American slip off the national rankings, Mase bounced back in a big way against the Cyclones. He controlled things from start-to-finish in a 17-1 technical fall to stake IC to an early 5-0 lead.
 
It did not take long for Ithaca to double its advantage, as junior 133-pounder Tito Colom followed a similar script in his bout against Bobby Demeter. Colom matched Mase takedown-for-takedown, equaling the scoreline with a 17-1 technical fall to push Ithaca's advantage to double-digits at 10-0.
 
The Bombers continued to build on their advantage over the next two bouts. Junior Ben Brisman (2^nd NWCA | 2^nd d3wrestle) kept on trucking at 141-pounds, improving to 15-1 on the year with a workmanlike 8-3 decision against Centenary's upstart Cameron Bruffy. Senior Demetri D'Orsaneo kept the winning ways going at 149-pounds, snapping a four-bout losing stretch with a momentum-building bonus point victory. He worked hard on his shots and was able to connect on several throughout his bout in an 11-3 major decision over Perry Maio.
 
The fast start built a 17-0 advantage that certainly proved to come in handy. Ithaca hit a bit of a hiccup during the middle portion of the match, as Centenary rattled off three straight victories to claw back within striking distance. Senior Jawan Jones battled hard against Centenary national-qualifier Christopher Muce, but was unable to connect on any shots in a 6-1 losing decision at 157-pounds. Junior Austin Whitney (9^th d3wrestle) hoped to keep building momentum following an inspired victory over nationally-ranked Anthony Arroyo at National Duals, but was unfortunately tripped up in an 8-6 decision at 165-pounds. The Cyclones added bonus points at 174-pounds when Jordan Juliano bested junior Steven Rice in a 16-8 major decision. The run by the home side whittled the Bombers advantage to 17-10 with three bouts left.
 
Ithaca turned to their stopper at 184-pounds in nationally-ranked Jake Ashcraft (1^st NWCA | 1^st d3wrestle) and the senior captain delivered in a big way to clinch the match for the Bombers. He looked his usual self in a second-period pin of JT Valley 4:38 into the bout. It was the senior's sixth fall of the 2018-19 campaign, improving to 10-2 overall on the year. The win also upped Ithaca's lead to an insurmountable 23-10 advantage.
 
The Cyclones were able to get some bonus points back at 197-pounds with unanimous top-ranked Etiini Udott defeating junior Dalton Elias in a 12-4 major decision. However, senior captain Jake O'Brien (5^th NWCA | 6^th d3wrestle) sent IC off on a high note with a first-period pin of David Oppis at 2:48 of the first period. It was O'Brien's fifth fall of the season and improved his record to 21-4 on the year.
 
Ithaca returns to action tomorrow morning when the Bombers face Delaware Valley in an 11:00 a.m. dual in Doylestown, Pa.