ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College wrestling team jumped back into dual meet competition on Sunday, January 23 after finishing 2-1 at the John Wilkes Duals in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. The Bombers went head-to-head against several top-fifteen opponents and finished the day with convincing victories over Penn State Behrend and No. 9 RIT.
 
Ithaca 17 – #13 New York University 26
125 LB: Tyler Crew (NYU) def. #7 Matt Griffin (ITH) | Dec 6-0 (0-3)
133 LB: #13 Nicholas Kruczynski (NYU) def. Luis Hernandez (ITH) | Fall 6:15 (0-9)
141 LB: Travis Jones (ITH) def. Danny Lightfoot (NYU) | Fall 6:51 (6-9)
149 LB: Matthew Beyer (ITH) def. #19 Anthony Chavez (NYU) | MD 18-8 (10-9)
157 LB: Trent Furman (NYU) def. Adam Wagner (ITH) | Dec 6-2 (10-12)
165 LB: #17 Cooper Pontelandolfo (NYU) def. Jackson Gray (ITH) | Dec 8-2 (10-15)
174 LB: Izaake Zuckerman (NYU) def. Adrian Rosario-Beato (ITH) | Fall 3:49 (10-21)
184 LB: #6 Eze Chukwuezi (ITH) def. Declan Skelly (NYU) | MD 22-8 (14-21)
197 LB: Matthew Kelly (NYU) def. Jeremy Mazzella (ITH) | TF 17-0 (14-26)
285 LB: Edwin Rubio (ITH) def. David Aranda (NYU) | Dec 4-0 (17-26)
 
Ithaca faced a stiff test in the opening dual against an NYU team ranked thirteenth in the country (NWCA). The dual meet was neck-and-neck early on, but the Bobcats managed to pull away after picking up vital wins in the middleweights.
 
Seventh-ranked Matt Griffin (d3wrestle) has been on a roll as of late, but he struggled in his lone match of the day against NYU's Tyler Crew. The Bobcat won the takedown battle, notching one in the opening period and a reversal early on in the second. Crew also rode out the entire third period to cruise to a 6-0 upset victory over the Bomber at 125 pounds.
 
Junior Luis Hernandez also had a tough draw in the matchup as he took on one of NYU's big guns in #13 Nicholas Kruczynski at 133 pounds. Hernandez owned the first period, scoring off a poor shot attempt from Kruczynski early on and then hitting a beautiful slide-by for another takedown moments later. Tied 6-6 in the third period, Kruczynski caught Hernandez out of position and hit a double leg, sending him to his back to pick up the fall.
 
Despite the slow start, Ithaca rebounded quickly from the likes of Travis Jones and Matt Beyer. Leading 9-2 in the third period, Jones hit a nasty mousetrap move in a scramble and got the pin at the 6:51 mark to narrow the gap for IC. Beyer followed up with a dominant performance over #19 Anthony Chavez, netting five takedowns off of some double legs and head outside singles to seal an emphatic 18-8 major decision.
 
NYU rallied in stellar fashion, however, as its middleweights won a trio of swing matches that pulled them away for the victory. At 157, Trent Furman racked up two takedowns and two near fall points off of a danger position to knock off Adam Wagner. Jackson Gray had a difficult start to the day, dropping an 8-2 decision to #17 Cooper Pontelandolfo. NYU's Izaake Zuckerman kept the momentum going for his team by pinning Adrian Rosario-Beato in the second period.
 
Sixth-ranked Eze Chukwuezi flipped the switch for the Bombers by putting on an absolute takedown clinic against Declan Skelly at 184. The IC star was loose and aggressive with his offensive attacks, hitting go-behind after go-behind on his feet to reel in eight takedowns in the bout for a 22-8 major decision. Edwin Rubio ended the dual on a high note, scoring a takedown 15 seconds into the match and clawing his way to a 4-0 victory.
 
Ithaca 55 – Penn State Behrend 0
125 LB: #7 Matt Griffin (ITH) received a forfeit (6-0)
133 LB: Matt Haycook (ITH) received a forfeit (12-0)
141 LB: Travis Jones (ITH) received a forfeit (18-0)
149 LB: Colin Murphy (ITH) def. Cole Ruffo (PSB) | Dec 4-0 (21-0)
157 LB: Adam Wagner (ITH) def. Andrew Maser (PSB) | Fall 1:54 (27-0)
165 LB: Matthew Beyer (ITH) received a forfeit (33-0)
174 LB: Adrian Rosario-Beato (ITH) def. Brian Himes (PSB) | Fall 2:01 (39-0)
184 LB: Jackson Gray (ITH) def. Dylan Barber (PSB) | Fall 0:54 (45-0)
197 LB: Jeremy Mazzella (ITH) def. Reno DiCesare (PSB) | MD 16-6 (49-0)
285 LB: Nicolas Galka (ITH) def. Brandon Weiskopf (PSB) | Fall 4:26 (55-0)
 
The second dual of the day was a big confidence booster for IC as they took on Penn State Behrend. In the six bouts that took place, the Bombers won five of them by bonus points to claim their first shutout victory of the season.
 
Following three straight forfeits, Colin Murphy got the nod at 149 pounds and won a methodical 4-0 match over Cole Ruffo behind two near fall points off of a nearside cradle at the buzzer to end the second period. The Bombers continued to gain separation in the dual, as Wagner notched a pin off of a nearside cradle and Rosario-Beato got a first period pin off of a cross face cradle.
 
Gray kept the ball rolling with a swift 54-second pin off of a half-nelson after bumping up to 184 and sophomore Jeremy Mazzella put on a show on his feet to seal a 16-6 major decision. Heavyweight Nicolas Galka stepped in at 285 pounds and put an exclamation point on the dual meet with a third period pin.
 
Ithaca 28 – #9 RIT 12
125 LB: Lee Rubin (RIT) def. Matt Haycook (ITH) | Dec 3-2 (0-3)
133 LB: Luis Hernandez (ITH) def. Josh Post (RIT) | Dec 7-3 (3-3)
141 LB: Travis Jones (ITH) def. Chris Horton (RIT) | Dec 9-6 (6-3)
149 LB: Matthew Beyer (ITH) def. #12 Mike Glynn (RIT) | MD 10-2 (10-3)
157 LB: Adam Wagner (ITH) def. Liam Strouse (RIT) | Dec 9-2 (13-3)
165 LB: Jackson Gray (ITH) def. Dara Heydarpour (RIT) | MD 12-2 (17-3)
174 LB: Jakob Warner (RIT) def. Adrian Rosario-Beato (ITH) | Fall 4:49 (17-9)
184 LB: #6 Eze Chukwuezi def. Nathan Parker (RIT) | TF 16-1 (22-9)
197 LB: Trevor Snow (RIT) def. Jeremy Mazzella (ITH) | Dec 2-0 (22-12)
285 LB: Edwin Rubio (ITH) received a forfeit (28-12)
 
Despite suffering a loss to NYU, Ithaca continued to reinsert themselves into the national conversation with a dominant victory over ninth-ranked RIT. The Bombers won seven of ten bouts with two individual losses coming by two points or fewer.
 
The dual meet kicked off with a rematch of the 125-pound ECWC finals from a week ago between Matt Haycook and RIT's Lee Rubin. As expected, this lightweight battle came down to the wire and an early takedown was all it took for Rubin to snag a tight 3-2 decision.
 
After tripping up against NYU's Kruczynski, Hernandez really opened up and picked up a decisive 7-3 victory over Josh Post. Trailing 3-1 early in the second period, Hernandez hit a quick low single for a takedown and then immediately turned Post to his back with a turk for a big four-point move.
 
In a tight match from start to finish, Jones battled RIT's Chris Horton in an exciting 141-pound battle. Tied 6-6 with just under a minute remaining in the bout, Jones used a well-timed and slick peterson move in a scramble to secure a 9-6 victory.
 
Beyer has been a staple of consistency this season and he showed why he is a legitimate national contender at 149 pounds following his match against #12 Mike Glynn. The Rivervale, NJ native used his mat savviness and clean offensive attacks to secure four takedowns off of some go-behinds and a single leg for a commanding 10-2 major decision over his nationally ranked opponent. Beyer is currently riding a 13-match winning streak.
 
Wagner and Gray also impressed in their bouts and helped fuel the Bombers to victory. Wagner took out Liam Strouse with a three-takedown performance for a 9-2 win while Gray racked up three takedowns as well to go along with a big four-point hip toss in the opening period to take a 12-2 major decision over Dara Heydarpour.
 
At 184, Chukwuezi sliced up the competition on Sunday and capped off the afternoon with a 16-1 technical fall over Nathan Parker. Behind the Bomber's four takedowns off of simple snap down go-behinds and a vicious blast double, Chukwuezi punished on top and collected eight near fall points in the opening period off of a bow-and-arrow to put the match away.
 
Ithaca College's hefty dual meet schedule continues next Saturday, January 29 when the team hosts the 2022 Ithaca Duals while taking on #20 Stevens, TCNJ, and Division I Cornell University. Wrestling is slated to begin at 1 p.m.