ITHACA, N.Y. – The sixth-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team concluded its home schedule on Friday evening when the Bombers took on a Wilkes University team that entered the night with an 18-3 record. The Colonel proved to be no match for IC's aggressive attack on this night, as Ithaca pulled away for a 35-11 win to improve to 10-4 in duals on the year.
 
Ithaca scored victories in seven of 10 bouts on the night, which included six wins with bonus points in the commanding victory. Highlighting the night were a trio of falls by junior Ben Brisman, redshirt junior Austin Whitney, and senior captain Jake Ashcraft.
 
The night also featured a bookend of milestones. Senior 125-pounder Ferdinand Mase was honored in a pre-match announcement for recently securing his 100^th career victory. Senior captain Jake O'Brien put the finishing touches on the evening, securing his 100^th career victory with a 27-11 technical fall. They are the 23^rd and 24^th members of Ithaca's 100-career win club.
 
#6 Ithaca 35 – Wilkes 11
125 LB: Ferdinand Mase (ITHACA) def. Kyle Trout (WILKES) | TF: 20-4
133 LB: Tito Colom (ITHACA) def. Dylan O'Connor (WILKES) | MD: 13-4
141 LB: #2/2 Ben Brisman (ITHACA) def. Max Shaffer (WILKES) | FALL: 2:29
149 LB: Kyle Medrow (WILKES) def. Anthony Palmiotto (ITHACA) | TF: 18-2
157 LB: Jawan Jones (ITHACA) vs. John Ritter (WILKES) | DEC: 11-7
165 LB: Austin Whitney (ITHACA) vs. Cole Walters (WILKES) | FALL: 4:06
174 LB: Ashton Gyenizs (WILKES) def. Eze Chukwuezi (ITHACA) | DEC: 5-4
184 LB: #1/1 Jake Ashcraft (ITHACA) vs. Alexis Santana-Quintana (WILKES) | FALL: 4:41
197 LB: Moustafa Almeky (WILKES) def. Dymir Davis-Carruth (ITHACA) | DEC: 4-3
285 LB: #5/6 Jake O'Brien (ITHACA) vs. Roger Horton (WILKES) | TF: 27-11
EX: Logan Ninos (ITHACA) def. Nick Bauer (WILKES) | SV-1: 8-6
 
Senior captain Ferdinand Mase struck quickly in the opening bout of the evening, diving in and snagging the left leg of Wilkes' Kyle Trout. He took a few seconds to finish off the takedown, before rolling Trout to his back for two near-fall points. After a 57-second ride he cut Trout loose, but did not wait long to get back on the offensive. Mase again drove Trout to the mat and this time registered a four-point near fall, before Trout could escape. Two more takedowns before the first-period horn sent Mase into the middle frame with a commanding 16-4 advantage.
 
It did not take Mase long to finish things off in the second period. He earned a quick escape and picked up the clinching takedown shortly thereafter. The bout finished in a 20-4 technical fall with riding time.
 
Junior 133-pounder Tito Colom kept the momentum going with the lone takedown of the opening period. It was nice work by the experienced third-year talent, as he battled through a scramble on the mat to work free for the takedown. He took a 2-1 lead to the second.
 
Colom began on bottom to start the middle frame and earned a quick escape after just a few seconds of riding time by Wilkes' Dylan O'Connor. The second period followed a similar script, as Colom again won a scramble battle to earn a second takedown and a 5-1 lead into the final frame.
 
The third period was textbook by Colom, as he outworked the tired O'Connor for four takedowns in the final frame to earn bonus points. All of the work came after an optional start, as Colom repeatedly attacked the gassed O'Connor for several good shots. The junior took the bout in a 13-4 major decision.
 
Junior 141-pounder Ben Brisman (2^nd NWCA | 2^nd d3wrestle) kept the train rolling for IC out of the gates with a commanding performance in his 141-pound bout against Max Shaffer. An early takedown gave the Bombers man a quick 2-0 advantage; however, his next shot was the highlight. He connected on a blast double, lifting Shaffer into the air before driving him to the mat for the takedown. He notched two-point and four-point near falls in the ensuing scramble, before finishing off his third fall of the season at 2:29.
 
Redshirt sophomore Anthony Palmiotto got the nod for the Bombers at 149-pounds and quickly looked get on the offensive. The strategy worked during the early going, as he picked up the first takedown of the bout. However, the Colonels Kyle Medrow proved too much for Palmiotto as the bout continued. Medrow dominated the third period with several four-point near falls to pull away for an 18-2 technical fall. The result pushed Wilkes back into the match at 15-5.
 
The Bombers 157-pound bout again followed a similar script to its predecessors. Senior Jawan Jones quickly launched onto the offensive, showcasing his speed and strength in an impressive opening period. He connected on a single-leg shots twice to take a 4-1 advantage to the middle period.
 
The second period featured just one additional takedown, which again came from the hard work of Jones. After being staved off on a double attempt early in the period, he went back to the single-leg well and was able to snag Ritter's right leg for a finish to widen his advantage.
 
The opening moments of the third period proved to be the difference, as Jones picked up a pair of takedowns to widen his advantage to 10-4. Although Ritter pushed back down the stretch with an escape and takedown of his own, Jones had more than enough advantage to hold onto in an 11-7 decision. The win widened the Bombers lead to 18-5 heading into the second half of the match.
 
Redshirt junior Austin Whitney kept things rolling for the Bombers to begin the second half of tonight's dual. The first period was total control for Ithaca's man, as he picked up a takedown a little more than one-minute into the bout and tilted Wilkes' Cole Walters for four near-fall points. Whitney rode out the period for the 6-0 advantage through three-minutes.
 
Whitney blew things open in the second period. Taking advantage of a neutral start, IC's man got on the offensive again with a single-leg takedown to widen the edge to 8-0. Whitney was able to finish off the job this time, driving Walters' shoulders to the mat for a pin at 4:06. The victory was Ithaca's second fall of the night and extended the Bombers lead to 24-5.
 
Wilkes earned its second victory of the night at 174-pounds in one of the more entertaining bouts of the evening. The Colonels Ashton Gyenizs carried a 3-0 advantage into the final period, but IC's rookie Eze Chukwuezi came flying back. The first-year showed excellent fight to tie things up at 4-4 with a pair of takedowns. Choosing a neutral restart that made the score 5-4 in favor of Gyenizs, Chukwuezi continued to push the pace for the go-ahead takedown down the stretch. Unfortuantely, Gyenizs was able to hold off the Bombers' grappler in a 5-4 decision.
 
Senior captain Jake Ashcraft wasted no time in getting the Bombers back on track at 184-pounds. He dominated the opening period of his bout against Alexis Santana-Quintana, racing out to a commanding 10-2 lead with three takedowns and a four-point near fall.
 
The senior put the finishing touches on things in the middle frame, proving to be too much for the Wilkes grappler. He posted another quick takedown in the second, before wrapping Quintana into the cradle and locking in Ithaca's third pin of the night at 4:41. For Ashcraft, it was his team-leading 10^th fall of the campaign, while it also pushed Ithaca to an insurmountable team lead at 30-8 with just two bouts remaining.
 
Wilkes picked up one final victory on the night at 197-pounds, as Moustafa Almeky was able to edge past sophomore Dymir Davis-Carruth for a 4-3 decision. It was Ithaca's man that started strong, connecting on a double to score an early 2-1 lead. A second period escape widened the edge to 3-1, but Almeky would score a takedown of his own just before the second-period horn to level the score at 3-3. With Almeky choosing down to begin the third period, Davis-Carruth conceded the escape to trail for the first time at 4-3. He gave everything he could to score a go-ahead takedown down the stretch, but Almeky used strong defense to hold off several shots to maintain the 4-3 decision win.
 
Senior captain Jake O'Brien put the finishing touches on Ithaca's dominant evening with a milestone victory in his 285-pound bout against Roger Horton. Wilkes' man provided little resistance to O'Brien's relentless shots, as he amassed takedown-after-takedown to quickly build a commanding advantage. He would finish with seven takedowns in the first period and went on to add several more scoring finishes to lead 24-11 through two periods.
 
Sensing the technical fall, O'Brien continued to push the pace in the final period. Racking up an escape and a takedown in the first 41-seconds to complete the 28-11 technical fall victory. It was a milestone for the Bombers celebrated heavyweight grappler, as he notched his 100^th career victory.
 
First-year Logan Ninos took on Nicholas Bauer in an exhibition bout prior to the official match. Scoreless through an opening period that featured some serious battling on the mat, Ninos drew first score from the down position in the middle period. He reversed his position 37-seconds into the period to take the 2-0 lead. However, a late takedown by Bauer sent the Wilkes grappler to a 3-2 lead into the final period.
 
An early escape by Bauer in the third was matched with a takedown by Ninos to even the score at 4-4. Unfortunately, Ninos was docked for his second stall call to push Wilkes man back ahead. Choosing to restart neutral to give up another point, Ninos connected on another shot to again knot things up at 6-6 with under 30-seconds left. The match would head to sudden-victory.
 
Ninos nearly connected with a quick finish early in the first extra-minute, but Bauer was able to fight off the move. However, Ninos made good on his second opportunity, notching the winning takedown in an 8-6 final.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Wednesday, February 13, when the Bombers face SUNY Cortland in the Rumble and Tumble Meet in conjunction with both program's varsity women's gymnastics programs. Start time is 7:00 p.m.