WILLIAMSPORT, P.A. – The 16^th-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team opened up the new year with a trip to Williamsport, Pa. for the 2022 Budd Whitehill Duals at Lycoming College on Friday morning, January 7. The Bombers were nothing short of dominant in the first day of dual meet competition, picking up commanding wins over Southern Virginia (50-6) and Lycoming College (38-12). The two triumphs boost IC's dual meet record to a sparkling 3-0 on the season.
 
#16 Ithaca 50 – Southern Virginia 6
125 LB: Matt Haycook (Ithaca) def. Jaden Nelson (SOVA) | Dec. 7-2 (3-0)
133 LB: Luis Hernandez (Ithaca) def. Harper Thompson (SOVA) | FALL 0:18 (9-0)
141 LB: #14 Travis Jones (Ithaca) received a forfeit (15-0)
149 LB: Matthew Beyer (Ithaca) def. Eli Blackwell (SOVA) | FALL 4:10 (21-0)
157 LB: Adam Wagner (Ithaca) def. Weston Hirschi (SOVA) | TF 21-3 (26-0)
165 LB: Jackson Gray (Ithaca) received a forfeit (32-0)
174 LB: Anthony Giovagnoli (Ithaca) received a forfeit (38-0)
184 LB: #6 Eze Chukwuezi (Ithaca) received a forfeit (44-0)
197 LB: Jordan Wallace (Ithaca) def. Cache Holmes (SOVA) | FALL 2:57 (50-0)
285 LB: Nico Ramirez (SOVA) received a forfeit (50-6)
 
The Bombers came out firing on all cylinders in their first dual against Southern Virginia. IC throttled the Knights and picked up bonus point victories in four of the five bouts that took place.
 
First-year Matt Haycook set the tone in the opening 125-pound bout against Jaden Nelson. The young Bomber went to work on his feet, picking up one takedown in each period and accumulating over 4:00 in riding time to secure a decisive 7-2 victory.
 
Luis Hernandez's opening bout ended within the blink of an eye against Harper Thompson, as the junior notched the fastest Bomber pin of the season thus far. After Thompson shot in on a double leg, Hernandez used his heavy hips to sprawl off the shot attempt and countered with a vicious headlock, throwing the Knight to his back to earn the 18-second fall. A subsequent forfeit at 141-pound bumped Ithaca's lead to 15-0.
 
Junior Matthew Beyer has picked up his bonus point production this season with wins of major decisions or better in 10 if his 14 bouts. That trend continued in his 149-pound match against Eli Blackwell. Despite surrendering the opening takedown, Beyer quickly escaped and hit a slick high crotch to finish the period on top with a 3-2 lead. After tacking on another takedown early in the second period, Beyer cranked Blackwell with a tight arm bar to earn his sixth fall of the season.
 
Adam Wagner put together an impressive first half of the season and showed no signs of slowing down in his 157-pound bout against Weston Hirschi. The junior went to work early, racking up three takedowns in the opening period off of some sweep singles and got four more points off of a bow and arrow to take a comfortable 10-2 lead. Jumping to the third period with Wagner in front 15-3, the Bomber hit a single leg and dumped Hirschi to his back for a 21-3 technical fall. IC received forfeits from 165 to 184 to mount a huge 44-0 lead.
 
Grad student Jordan Wallace returned to the mat for one last ride in a Bombers singlet in his season debut at 197-pounds. The former Maryland Terrapin transfer looked as sharp as ever against his opponent in Cache Holmes, playing takedown-let-him-up early on in the match. Wallace got on the board seconds into the bout with a single leg and then transitioning to a turk, turning Holmes to his back to collect four near fall points for a 6-0 lead. After a Holmes escape, Wallace pushed him to the edge of the circle and blast doubled him out of bounds for two additional points to stretch his lead to 8-1. Moments later, the Ithaca upper weight flipped Holmes to his back and locked up a tight reverse headlock to get the pin at the 2:57 mark.
 
#16 Ithaca 38 – Lycoming College 12
125 LB: #12 Matt Griffin (Ithaca) def. Garrett Lee (Lycoming) | FALL 0:47 (6-0)
133 LB: Luis Hernandez (Ithaca) def. Thomas Conselyea (Lycoming) | Dec. 8-4 (9-0)
141 LB: Chase Chapman (Lycoming) def. #14 Travis Jones (Ithaca) | FALL 5:32 (9-6)
149 LB: Matthew Beyer (Ithaca) def. Wiley Kahler (Lycoming) | FALL 2:49 (15-6)
157 LB: Adam Wagner (Ithaca) def. Hunter O'Connor (Lycoming) | Dec. 4-1 (18-6)
165 LB: Jackson Gray (Ithaca) def. Preston Rogers (Lycoming) | MD 9-1 (22-6)
174 LB: Colin Murphy received a forfeit (28-6)
184 LB: #6 Eze Chukwuezi received a forfeit (34-6)
197 LB: Jordan Wallace def. Gable Crebs (Lycoming) | MD 11-3 (38-6)
285 LB: John Fulmer (Lycoming) received a forfeit (38-12)
 
Ithaca concluded Day 1 of the dual meet tournament on a high note after besting the hosting team in Lycoming College, 38-12. Four Bombers had bonus point wins and the unit captured eight of ten bouts en route to victory.
 
Twelfth-ranked Matt Griffin (d3wrestle) got back on track after coming off a knee injury from the Spartan Invitational tournament in early December. Although he's been banged up for a fraction of the season, the 125-pounder got busy fast by securing a takedown off of a single leg just 11 seconds into the match against Garrett Lee. From there, Griffin slipped in a boot from the top position and cranked a guillotine move for a quick first period pin.
 
Hernandez had a workmanlike performance against the Warriors' Thomas Conselyea at 133 pounds and did enough to win the match handily. The Miami, FL product was dynamic on his feet, racking up four takedowns off of some sweep singles and snap down-go behinds to coast to a 9-4 triumph.
 
The most entertaining bout of the day came at 141 pounds between Jones and Lycoming's Chase Chapman. After surrendering the first takedown, Jones countered from the bottom position with a nifty peterson roll to get the reversal in spite of not getting any back points. Later in the stanza, Jones administered some brutal top work and earned two near fall points off of a swing gate move in the closing seconds of the first period to put himself in front 4-2. Chapman owned the second period, however, as the Warrior rode Jones out for an entire two minutes. In the final period of action, Chapman opted to take bottom, but Jones locked up a near side cradle and was looking for some swipes once he turned him over. In what seemed to be a rather controversial series of events, Jones appeared to have put himself in danger position, exposing both of his shoulder blades to the mat, and the head official gave Chapman the pin at the 5:32 mark.
 
Despite the Jones loss, Beyer revived the Bomber momentum and posted a stellar performance against Wiley Kahler. The gritty middle weight earned three takedowns in the opening period off of a duck under and a pair of low singles before locking up a near side cradle and sticking Kahler with 11 seconds to go in the first.
 
Up at 157 pounds, Wagner was tested in his showdown against Lycoming's Hunter O'Conner. After a scoreless first period, both wrestlers traded one-point escapes to knot things at 1-1 in the third. That is before Wagner hit a beautiful inside trip for two points with under a minute remaining and rode out the rest of the period to seal a methodical 4-1 win.
 
Gray got his first taste of Bud Whitehill Duals action this afternoon when the first year squared off against Lycoming's Preston Rogers. Gray thrived off of counter-attacks throughout the first two periods and culminated two takedowns to take a 4-1 advantage heading into the third. While riding out Rogers for the entire final period, the Pittsburgh native added four near fall points off of a cross-wrist tilt to push the lead into major decision territory. Gray also finished the match with up to 4:53 of riding time in the bank to secure a 9-1 win. The ensuing bouts resulted in Colin Murphy and sixth-ranked Eze Chukwuezi (d3wrestle) both receiving forfeits at 174 and 184, respectively.
 
Wallace is beginning to show signs of why he will be a threat come postseason in March, as he cruised to an impressive major decision win over Gable Crebs. Moments into the opening period, Wallace hit a lightning-quick throw by to give himself a 2-0 edge early on. While back on their feet, Crebs shot in on a low single, but Wallace parried off of his attack and countered with a go-behind right at the edge of the circle, managing to barely keep one foot in bounds to secure the takedown. After earning a quick escape in the second period, the New York native fired off a single leg shot, lifted it to the air, and inside tripped Crebs right to the mat for an additional two points to take a comfortable 7-1 lead. The final period was essentially a mirror image of the second, as Wallace crafted another takedown and tacked on a riding time point for an 11-3 triumph.
 
Ithaca will return to dual meet action tomorrow morning where Marty Nichols' squad will vie for a Budd Whitehill Duals title while competing in the championship pool. First match against No. 22 Washington & Lee is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.