OSWEGO, N.Y. – The 15^th-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team was back on the mats on Sunday when it traveled to Oswego State for the 2019 New York State Collegiate Championships. The Bombers competed quite well finishing in third-place in the team standings with 125.5 team points. IC finished behind RIT (154.5 points) and Brockport (146.5 points), respectively.
 
Ithaca's contingent certainly did not lack for success. Eight of IC's participants earned place-finishes, while six of those were Top-3 marks. Headlining the day for Ithaca were a pair of individual champions, as first-year 133-pounder Travis Jones earned his first career title, while sophomore 184-pounder Eze Chukwuezi took home his second title of the fall semester.
 
Jones has gotten off to an impressive start to his collegiate career and today certainly did not do anything to quell that momentum. The IC rookie dominated from the outset, racking up bonus points in every one of his five victories in his demolition to the 133-pound title. He began the day with back-to-back pins of Oneonta's Greg Brach (3:29) and Alfred State's Brian Hedding (1:28). He followed that up with technical fall victories over RIT's Nate Osborne (18-0) and Oswego State's William Hardin (22-5) to punch his ticket to the 133-pound final. RIT's Chris Horton gave little resistance in that final bout of the day, as Jones rolled to an 18-5 major decision to put an emphatic exclamation mark on his banner day.
 
Chukwuezi was more workmanlike in his path to his second title of the fall. The second-year talent got the day rolling with a third-period fall (6:34) against NYU's Gabriel Rodriguez. He followed that with consecutive decision wins over Oneonta's Steven Bilali (12-5) and Brockport's Joe Yanis (5-2). Chukwuezi faced a member of the JUCO ranks in his title bout, taking on Jordan Bushey of Niagara County Community College in the 184-pound final. Nothing separated the two grapplers through seven minutes of regulation, as each was able to register just one escape in a 1-1 deadlock. Chukwuezi finally prevailed in the first sudden-victory period, connecting on a shot and finishing a takedown to take the 3-1 win.
 
Three other IC grapplers earned runner-up finishes on the day in sophomore 125-pounder Logan Ninos, redshirt-senior 165-pounder Austin Whitney, and redshirt-senior heavyweight Dalton Elias each took second in their respective brackets. Elias had the most dominant day of the trio, racking up three falls and finishing with a 4-1 mark on the day. He came up just short in the heavyweight final, dropping a 4-2 decision to Brockport's Richard Knapp. Ninos and Whitney each marked 3-1 records on the day, recording one fall along the way to their respective final bouts. Ninos dropped a 5-3 decision to Brockport's Matt Caccamise, while Whitney lost to a former All-American in RIT's Dempsey King in a 5-2 decision.
 
Rounding out Ithaca's list of place-finishers were: sophomore 125-pounder Matt Griffin, first-year 141-pounder Brecan Saul, and first-year 149-pounder Matthew Beyer. Griffin posted a 4-1 mark on the day, which included three falls. His lone loss came to the eventual 125-pound champion Caccamise in the Semifinal Round. Saul went 4-2 on the day with two pins in taking seventh, while Beyer also posted two falls in taking eighth place.
 
The following are the full results from today's action.
 
125 LB
Logan Ninos's place is 2nd and has scored 18.5 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Logan Ninos (Ithaca) def. Rick Chastine (SUNY Cortland) | TF: 18-2
Quarterfinal - Logan Ninos (Ithaca) def. Kevin Ciosek (SUNY Oswego) | FALL: 0:21
Semifinal - Logan Ninos (Ithaca) def. Jacob Bell (Niagara County Community College) | DEC: 5-4
1st Place Match - Matt Caccamise (SUNY Brockport) def. Logan Ninos (Ithaca) | DEC: 5-3
 
Matthew Griffin's place is 3rd and has scored 18.5 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Matthew Griffin (Ithaca) def. Michael Savello (SUNY Oneonta) | FALL: 3:39
Quarterfinal - Matthew Griffin (Ithaca) def. John DeConno (SUNY Oswego) | DEC: 7-0
Semifinal - Matt Caccamise (SUNY Brockport) def. Matthew Griffin (Ithaca) | TF: 16-0
Cons. Semi - Matthew Griffin (Ithaca) def. Michael Savello (SUNY Oneonta) | FALL: 1:54
3rd Place Match - Matthew Griffin (Ithaca) won by fall over Jacob Bell (Niagara CC) | FALL: 0:54
 
133 LB
Travis Jones's place is 1st and has scored 28.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Travis Jones (Ithaca) def. Greg Brach (SUNY Oneonta) | FALL: 3:29
Champ. Round 2 - Travis Jones (Ithaca) def. Brian Hedding (Alfred State) | FALL: 1:28
Quarterfinal - Travis Jones (Ithaca) def. Nate Osborne (RIT) | TF: 18-0
Semifinal - Travis Jones (Ithaca) def. William Hardin (SUNY Oswego) | TF: 22-5
1st Place Match - Travis Jones (Ithaca) def. Chris Horton (RIT) | MD: 18-5
 
141 LB
Dan Motta's place is unknown and has scored 4.5 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Dan Motta (Ithaca) def. Taige Jones (Jamestown CC) | FALL: 0:29
Champ. Round 2 - Alex Prunoske (RIT) def. Dan Motta (Ithaca) | DEC: 5-3
Cons. Round 2 - Dan Motta (Ithaca) def. Mike Peck (Alfred State) | MD: 11-3
Cons. Round 3 - Brecan Saul (Ithaca) def. Dan Motta (Ithaca) | FALL: 1:17
 
Brecan Saul's place is 7th and has scored 9.5 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Brecan Saul (Ithaca) received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Isaiah Ocasio (RIT) def. Brecan Saul (Ithaca) | DEC: 10-9
Cons. Round 2 - Brecan Saul (Ithaca) def. Zach Rosenthal (SUNY Sullivan) | FALL: 2:22
Cons. Round 3 - Brecan Saul (Ithaca) def. Dan Motta (Ithaca) | FALL: 1:17
Cons. Round 4 - Brecan Saul (Ithaca) def. Jacob Bernstein (New York University) | DEC: 12-6
Cons. Round 5 - Alex Prunoske (RIT) def. Brecan Saul (Ithaca) | DEC: 5-3
7th Place Match - Brecan Saul (Ithaca) def. Joey Brillo (RIT) | NO CONTEST
 
Deandre Prum-Miles's place is unknown and has scored 3.5 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Deandre Prum-Miles (Ithaca) def. Kian Pacheco (SUNY Oswego) | DEC: 7-3
Champ. Round 2 - Jacob Bernstein (New York University) def. Deandre Prum-Miles (Ithaca) | DEC: 11-6
Cons. Round 2 - Deandre Prum-Miles (Ithaca) def. Paul Knapp (Alfred State) | FALL: 1:02
Cons. Round 3 - Austin Bourgeois (RIT) def. Deandre Prum-Miles (Ithaca) | FALL: 1:25
 
149 LB
Tristen Schiafo's place is unknown and has scored 7.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Tristen Schiafo (Ithaca) def. Kole Taylor (SUNY Brockport) | FALL: 0:55
Champ. Round 2 - Tyler Brazinski (SUNY Oneonta) def. Tristen Schiafo (Ithaca) | MD: 10-1
Cons. Round 2 - Tristen Schiafo (Ithaca) def. Joey Perry (Jamestown CC) | MFFT
Cons. Round 3 - Tristen Schiafo (Ithaca) def. Jacob Boyd (Merchant Marine) | MD: 12-3
Cons. Round 4 - Mason Gray (Niagara CC) def. Tristen Schiafo (Ithaca) | MD: 18-4
 
Adrian Rosario-Beato's place is unknown and has scored 2.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Michael Fronczak (SUNY Brockport) def. Adrian Rosario-Beato (Ithaca) | FALL: 1:27
Cons. Round 1 - Adrian Rosario-Beato (Ithaca) def. Cullen Shade (RIT) | TF: 18-3
Cons. Round 2 - Jacob Boyd (Merchant Marine) def. Adrian Rosario-Beato (Ithaca) | DEC: 6-4
 
Matthew Beyer's place is 8th and has scored 9.5 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Matthew Beyer (Ithaca) received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Matthew Beyer (Ithaca) def. Eric Brach (SUNY Oneonta) | FALL: 1:58
Quarterfinal - Lucas Pincus (SUNY Cortland) def. Matthew Beyer (Ithaca) | DEC: 13-7
Cons. Round 4 - Matthew Beyer (Ithaca) def. Logan McGloine (SUNY Oswego) | FALL: 1:11
Cons. Round 5 - Ryan Burgbacher (SUNY Cortland) def. Matthew Beyer (Ithaca) | FALL: 0:46
7th Place Match - Mason Gray (Niagara CC) def. Matthew Beyer (Ithaca) | FALL: 3:24
 
165 LB
Austin Whitney's place is 2nd and has scored 17.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Austin Whitney (Ithaca) def. Nathan Johnson (Merchant Marine) | FALL: 5:50
Quarterfinal - Austin Whitney (Ithaca) def. Christain Robinson (Niagara CC) | DEC: 7-1
Semifinal - Austin Whitney (Ithaca) def. Ben Dougherty (RIT) | DEC: 4-2
1st Place Match - #2 Dempsey King (RIT) def. Austin Whitney (Ithaca) | DEC: 5-2
 
184 LB
Eze Chukwuezi's place is 1st and has scored 21.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Eze Chukwuezi (Ithaca) def. Gabriel Rodriguez (New York University) | FALL: 6:34
Quarterfinal - Eze Chukwuezi (Ithaca) def. Steven Bilali (SUNY Oneonta) | DEC: 12-5
Semifinal - Eze Chukwuezi (Ithaca) def. Joe Yanis (SUNY Brockport) | DEC: 5-2
1st Place Match - Eze Chukwuezi (Ithaca) def. Jordan Bushey (Niagara CC) | SV-1: 3-1
 
HWT
Dalton Elias's place is 2nd and has scored 22.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Dalton Elias (Ithaca) def. Chris St. Denny (RIT) | DEC: 8-2
Champ. Round 2 - Dalton Elias (Ithaca) def. Jacob Smith (Jamestown CC) | FALL: 2:12
Quarterfinal - Dalton Elias (Ithaca) def. Bryce Moore (SUNY Sullivan) | FALL: 1:23
Semifinal - Dalton Elias (Ithaca) def. Collin Keil (Merchant Marine) | FALL: 2:46
1st Place Match - RIchard Knapp (SUNY Brockport) def. Dalton Elias (Ithaca) | DEC: 4-2
 
Ithaca will return to the mats on Friday, December 6, and Saturday, December 7, when the Bombers head to York College for the New Standard Spartan Invitational.