Results (PDF)
 
ITHACA, N.Y. – The 17^th-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team was back on the mats inside the Athletics and Events Center Glazer Arena on Sunday for the second and final day of the 2020 NCAA Mideast Regional Championships. It was a memorable day for the Bombers, who not only qualified six wrestlers for the NCAA Championships – set to be held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on March 13-14 – but also captured a share of the Mideast Regional Team Title in one of the most thrilling conclusions to a regional meet in recent memory.
 
The Bombers brought home some serious hardware during the final day of action. Entering the day with nine grapplers still in contention for berths to NCAA Nationals, the Bombers had six extend their seasons to mid-March, while all nine earned Top-8 placement and a spot on the podium. Additionally, first-year 133-pounder Travis Jones took home some additional mantle pieces, as he not only brought home an individual title, but also was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the meet after a thrilling victory by fall in his final bout of the day. The IC coaching staff also was recognized, as the assistant coaches brought home the Assistant Coaching Staff of the Year Award, while head coach Marty Nichols '90 was selected the Regional Coach of the Year at the Tournament Award.
     


Headlining the day for Ithaca were two individual regional champions. Travis Jones continued his domination of the 133-pound bracket, securing two-more bonus point wins to capture the crown at 133-pounds. Sophomore 184-pounder Eze Chukwuezi also put together a thrilling finish with a fall in his final bout of the day to earn his first career individual regional title as well. Every extra point was crucial, as the Bombers ended the day deadlocked with No. 9 TCNJ for first-place in team standings.
 
Three Bombers netted Runner-Up finishes on the afternoon. Senior 149-pounder Ben Brisman, redshirt-sophomore 157-pounder Sam Schneider and redshirt-senior 165-pounder Austin Whitney each placed second in their respective divisions. For Brisman, it is the third straight year that he punched a ticket to NCAA Nationals, while Schneider and Whitney are both set for their second career trips to the year's final tournament. Sophomore 125-pounder Logan Ninos was Ithaca's final wrestler to earn a trip to Cedar Rapids, capping the day in style with a dominant shutout win in his third-place bout to capture the region's final bid at the weight.
 
Ithaca's other place-finishers on the day were senior 141-pounder Tito Colom, junior 174-pounder Jordan Wallace, and senior heavyweight Dalton Elias. Colom and Elias entered the day in the wrestle-back competition and finished the tournament in sixth and seventh, respectively. Wallace had a tough outing on Sunday after a dominant start to the NCAA Regionals on Saturday. He suffered late heartbreakers in both of his wrestled-bouts, before taking a medical forfeit in the fifth-place bout to settle for sixth. Colom and Elias both delivered clutch wrestle-back wins during the competition today. Elias' final win in the seventh-place bout ultimately proved the most clutch, nudging IC to a short-lived three-point advantage in the team standings, before TCNJ tied it right at the death with a pin by Lions' heavyweight Tom Marretta with just 12-seconds remaining in the final bout of the tournament. The result brought both teams to level terms.
 
The third-place race was also competitive with just one point separating No. 23 Brockport and No. 18 RIT for the final team trophy presented on the day. Brockport finished three weight-class champions, as 125-pounder Matt Caccamise, 141-pounder Eli Sims and heavyweight Richard Knapp each brought home individual titles. RIT was lead by two individual champions, as 157-pounder Kaidon Winters and 165-pounder Dempsey King emerged from the day with titles for the Tigers.
 
Keep reading for a weight-class breakdown of today's action.
 
125 LB
Semifinal - Daniel Ortega (TCNJ) won by major decision over Logan Ninos (Ithaca) (MD 9-1)
Cons. Semi - Logan Ninos (Ithaca) won by decision over Austin Jones (Elizabethtown) (Dec 4-0)
3rd Place Match - Logan Ninos (Ithaca) won by decision over Matt Murawski (Scranton) (Dec 7-0)
 
Ninos entered the day with a pivotal head-to-head matchup against nationally-ranked TCNJ wrestler Daniel Ortega (8^th NWCA | 4^th d3wrestle.com) in the Semifinal Round of the 125-pound bracket. The Lions' man gained the upper hand in the bout right from the jump, snagging a leg within the first couple of seconds and sending IC's man to the mat for an early takedown. Ortega delivered a long grueling ride and really never allowed Ninos to recover from the shock start in what eventually was a 9-1 major decision.
 
The IC sophomore could not have responded any stronger to the early adversity, as he stormed back with two dominant shutout victories in the wrestle-backs to place third. He began his run with a workmanlike 4-0 decision over Elizabethtown's Austin Jones. While the third-place bout was a sharp 7-0 decision against Scranton's Matt Murawski. In both contests he gained the upper hand with first-period takedowns and ride-outs. He nearly was able to gain a major decision at the conclusion of the third-place bout, but either way convincingly punched his first ticket to an NCAA Championships.
 
 
133 LB
Semifinal - Travis Jones (Ithaca) won by tech fall over Chris Horton (RIT) (TF-1.5 6:07 (19-4))
1st Place Match - Travis Jones (Ithaca) won by fall over Jake Giordano (TCNJ) (Fall 2:29)
 
Jones entered Sunday's action coming off a highly impressive opening day in his first-ever NCAA Regional appearance. He steamrolled through his competition on Day One, earning an 18-2 tech fall and an 18-6 major decision to coast into the Semifinal Round on Sunday morning. Although the competition increased, it did nothing to slow down Jones roll, as the rookie cemented his candidacy as a title contender in Iowa with two more bonus-point triumphs on Sunday to capture the title at 133-pounds.
 
Jones began the day against RIT's Chris Horton and continued his high-scoring ways. He tilted Horton several times throughout the bout, wrapping things up just over a minute into the final period in a 19-4 technical fall. Horton would eventually go on to place third in the bracket.
 
The win during the morning session setup a much anticipated rematch against nationally-ranked TCNJ 133-pounder Matt Giordano (3^rd NWCA | 4^th d3wrestle.com). The Lions' grappler accounted for one of Jones' five defeats this season, as the experienced TCNJ man bested the IC rookie 7-5 at the Journeymen Duals during the second week of season. Ithaca's talented rookie flipped the script this afternoon in emphatic fashion with a first-period pin that was a crucial point-swing in favor of the Bombers and was absolutely pivotal in IC's ultimate placement in the team standings. Jones began the winning sequence by scooping up Giordano's leg and taking him to the mat for the early takedown. The IC rookie then locked in a cross-face and got the tilt, before planting Giordano to his back with 31-seconds remaining in the period.
   
 
141 LB
Cons. Round 3 - Tito Colom (Ithaca) won by decision over Cameron Bruffy (Centenary (NJ)) (Dec 7-2)
Cons. Semi - Robert Dinger (TCNJ) won by decision over Tito Colom (Ithaca) (Dec 3-0)
5th Place Match - Anthony Clarizio (Scranton) won by fall over Tito Colom (Ithaca) (Fall 2:27)
 
Colom entered the day looking to continue his run in the wrestle-backs in an effort to extend his collegiate career to one final tournament with a national berth. Unfortunately, his run came to an end in the wrestle-back semifinals in a 3-0 defeat to Robert Dinger. Colom opened the day with an encouraging result, connecting on three quality single-legs in a 7-2 decision over Centenary's Cameron Bruffy. Sadly, the scoring troubles cropped up for Colom against TCNJ's Dinger, as the IC senior struggled to get out from bottom after an early takedown, which proved to be the difference.
 
Colom rematched Scranton's Anthony Clarizio in the fifth-place bout. It was Scranton's man that sent Colom out of the Championship Bracket on Saturday with a 7-0 defeat. Matters were closer during the early going on Sunday afternoon with Colom in a 3-2 battle against Clarizio. Unfortunately, the IC senior tweaked his leg and Clarizio took advantage in locking in a fall at 2:27.
 
149 LB
Semifinal - Ben Brisman (Ithaca) won by decision over Cahal Donavan (SUNY Cortland) (Dec 5-3)
1st Place Match - Ryan Anderson (Centenary (NJ)) won by decision over Ben Brisman (Ithaca) (Dec 1-0)
 
Brisman entered Sunday's action looking to earn a third career berth to the NCAA Championships with a victory in his Semifinal Round bout. Standing in his way was a familiar foe in SUNY Cortland rookie Cahal Donavan, who battled Brisman to a 3-2 nail-biter just nine days ago at the Rumble & Tumble Meet. The rematch also was close; however, Brisman put together just enough offense to outlast the Red Dragon in a 5-3 decision.
 
The win during the morning session setup a headliner bout in the 149-pound final, as the former 141-pound National Champ took on the nation's top-ranked 149-pounder and odds-on favorite heading into Iowa in Centenary's Ryan Anderson (1^st NWCA | 1^st d3wrestle.com). The bout itself was much more entertaining than the score line would suggest, as both grapplers were quite active, but neither could get through the other's strong defense in a tactical battle. The difference was a second-period ride-out by Anderson from the top position, which accounted for the only scoring in the bout.
 
 
157 LB
Semifinal - Sam Schneider (Ithaca) won by decision over Christian Gramuglia (Oswego St.) (Dec 7-4)
1st Place Match - Kaidon Winters (RIT) won by decision over Sam Schneider (Ithaca) (Dec 8-3)
 
Schneider continued his comeback tour on Sunday afternoon after a highly impressive opening-day performance in his first NCAA Regional appearance since 2017. Ultimately, the talented 157-pounder finished with the win necessary to earn his second career berth to the NCAA Championships.
 
Schneider scored the win during his crucial morning session Semifinal Round bout against Oswego State's Christian Gramuglia. IC's 157-pounder really controlled the match despite the close 7-4 score; however, Gramuglia's flexible defense was able to stymie a couple additional opportunities to score for the Bomber. However, Schneider emerged victorious and got set for an anticipated battle against the region's top-seed in nationally-ranked Kaidon Winters (5^th NWCA | 6^th d3wrestle.com).
 
The title bout was very competitive between the two ECWC grapplers; however, Winters was able to win out on a couple 50-50 positions in which it appeared either grappler could have scored.
 
 
165 LB
Semifinal - Austin Whitney (Ithaca) won by fall over Dylan Schwartz (Muhlenberg) (Fall 5:21)
1st Place Match - Dempsey King (RIT) won by forfeit over Austin Whitney (Ithaca) (For.)
 
Whitney also joined Schneider and Chukwuezi in earning a second career NCAA Championships berth. He went 1-0 in his wrestled bouts of the day, securing a thrilling second-period fall in his Semifinal Round bout against Muhlenberg's nationally-ranked Dylan Schwartz (10^th d3wrestle.com). The bout featured back-and-forth scoring for much of the duration. Whitney made a fantastic move to shake free of a single-leg hold from Schwartz during the early moments to earn a takedown. He would later tilt Schwartz to build a margin threatening on a major, before Schwartz would answer with a couple takedowns to close the deficit. However, the Muhlenberg 165-pounder went to the well one too many times in his comeback quest and Whitney out-leveraged him to put him to his back at 5:21.
 
With Whitney's body of work well established for a quality seed in Iowa and little to be gained in the championship bout, Ithaca elected to hold Whitney out from the possible risk of injury, conceding the 165-pound crown to the 2019 National Runner-Up at the weight in RIT's Dempsey King (3^rd NWCA | 3^rd d3wrestle.com).
 
 
174 LB
Semifinal - Dominick Esposito (Merchant Marine) won by decision over Jordan Wallace (Ithaca) (Dec 9-7)
Cons. Semi - Joe Lupisella (RIT) won by decision over Jordan Wallace (Ithaca) (Dec 3-2)
5th Place Match - Christopher Eames (Brockport) won by medical forfeit over Jordan Wallace (Ithaca) (M. For.)
 
The one disappoint from Sunday came in the 174-pound bracket, as Wallace's promising Saturday was stalemated in a pair of heartbreaking decisions on the day. Wallace seemed to have matters relatively in control in his Semifinal Round bout against Merchant Marine's Dominick Esposito; however, a furious stretch run comeback made things interesting. Esposito won out on a scramble to deadlock the contest at 7-7 with just under 40-seconds remaining. Although his ride quickly erased the ride-time point that was in Wallace's grasp, it appeared that the IC junior had at minimum an escape if not a reversal within reach during the waning seconds. However, he Esposito outmaneuvered him and tilted Wallace for two back points with just a handful of seconds remaining to deal a shocking defeat to the bracket's top seed.
 
His wrestle-back bout also had a heartbreaking conclusion. Deadlocked at 1-1 late in the period against RIT's Joe Lupisella, it appeared that Wallace was going to score a go-ahead takedown a couple of times during the third period. Unfortunately, the only shot landed was from Lupisella, who somehow out-leveraged Wallace in a scramble to earn the go-ahead two points in an eventual 3-2 defeat.
 
184 LB
Semifinal - Eze Chukwuezi (Ithaca) won by decision over Kenny Long (Centenary (NJ)) (Dec 8-2)
1st Place Match - Eze Chukwuezi (Ithaca) won by fall over Joshua Glantzman (Merchant Marine) (Fall 6:05)
 
Chukwuezi entered Sunday's action looking to further establish himself as an emerging contender in the 184-pound bracket. He certainly did that and more in two convincing victories to earn a trip to NCAA Nationals for a second straight season. Chukwuezi began the day with a workmanlike 8-2 decision over Centenary's Kenny Long to achieve the cherished bid; however, he saved his true fireworks for the title bout to bring home Ithaca's second championship of the day.
 
Facing Merchant Marine's Joshua Glantzman, who former IC 184-pounder Jake Ashcraft had to get through in his quest to All-America honors a season ago in Roanoke, Chukwuezi picked up a thrilling fall that proved absolutely critical in the team standings. TCNJ's 184-pounder had been his man in a fifth-place bout just seconds earlier, but Chukwuezi matched the effort to maintain IC's narrow lead, cradling Glantzman and taking him to his back with 55-seconds remaining in the third period.
 
 
285 LB
Cons. Round 3 - Tom Marretta (TCNJ) won by decision over Dalton Elias (Ithaca) (Dec 3-1)
7th Place Match - Dalton Elias (Ithaca) won by decision over Mitch Dowd (Pitt.-Bradford) (Dec 4-2)
 
The day in a lot of ways came full circle in the heavyweight division, as Ithaca senior Dalton Elias and TCNJ's Tom Marretta had the final say in what would shape up to be a tie in the team standings. The two grapplers squared off in a consolation bout to begin the day. It was quite competitive, but Marretta was able to land the only shot in a 3-1 decision.
 
They would end up being on adjacent mats in the final two bouts of the day with Elias facing Pitt-Bradford's Mitch Down in the seventh-place bout and Marretta facing Muhlenberg's heavyweight in the fifth-place bout. IC's narrow two-point advantage grew to three after Elias' 4-2 decision victory, which put the spotlight on the final bout of the day with Marretta. With both teams raucously cheering – TCNJ needing a victory by fall by Marretta and Ithaca pulling vigorously for Muhlenberg's Scott Schaeffer – it was Marretta that was able to come through in the most clutch of moments, turning Schaeffer to his back with just 12-seconds remaining to pull the Lions to level terms in the final team standings.
 
Looking Ahead
Ithaca will find out its seeding for its six qualifying grapplers in the coming weeks with the Bombers expected to head out to Cedar Rapids during the Spring Break week.