RESULTS

OSWEGO, N.Y. - The Ithaca Bombers traveled to Oswego State to compete in the Empire Conference Wrestling Championships (ECWC). Ithaca wrestled tough from top to bottom which paid off in the end when the Bombers were crowned ECWC Champions. IC scored a total of 147 points, an entire 15 points more than runner-up Brockport. It wasn't just a team title that Ithaca brought home. Eleven individual place winners found their way through the medal rounds.

Here's the individual breakdown of the Bombers' performance:

125: Matt Haycook was on his way to a second consecutive ECWC title. He wrestled smart the entire tournament on his way to the finals. Unfortunately, he had to medical forfeit his finals match. Brockport's Liam Bullock was unseeded coming into this tournament but knocked off the #1 seed. It would have been a great match to watch

133: Isaias Torres has looked like a potential National contender up to this point that continues to get better. His only losses are to veteran and highly ranked opponents. He placed third at ECWC, with his loss coming via #5 Jayden Cardenas from Cortland. His third-place victory makes him a perfect 2 for 2, reaching the podium in both of his college tournaments.

141: Luis Hernandez worked his way into the finals without much of a challenge. His closest match was a 9-3 decision where it seemed like he had the match locked up the moment he stepped on the mat. His second-place finish came via a razor close 5-3 loss. Hernandez is still working with his injury suffered in the Ithaca Invitational. These close losses can flip the other way as the season progresses and he gets more comfortable bouncing back.

149: No wrestler entered

157: Ithaca dominated the 157 lb weight class placing three wrestlers in the top four. Wenchard Pierre-Louis took home the title in his first competition of the season. His journey to a title was a tough pull having to go through the #2 and #3 seeded wrestlers just to make the finals where he met #1 seed and Ithaca teammate Travis Jones. Sadly, Jones had to medical forfeit, so we were unable to witness a Bomber vs Bomber final. Adrian Rosario-Beato took fourth. Rosario-Beato scored bonus points in every single one of his victories up until the blood rounds, racking up the most team points for Ithaca (besides the champions).

165: Jackson Gray pinned his way to the finals, never wrestling out of the first period. In his finals match Gray cruised to a 5-2 decision crowning himself ECWC champ. Gray is the type of wrestler that every coach loves. He's a finisher. Gray ends match with bonus points and always controls space during the match.

174: Konrad Parker is the other big time first year for the Bombers. He took third in his first ever ECWC tournament, racking up a few bonus-point finishes along the way. Parker knocked out fellow teammate Anthony Giovagnoli in the consolation bracket, who was also having a good tournament up to that point. He was on a big bonus streak racking up two falls and a tech before meeting up with Parker in the blood round.

184: Ryan Galka guaranteed himself a 5th/6th place match before having to medical forfeit out. He had a better tournament up until that point, so when his 5th/6th opponent had to also MFF, Galka took the higher place. This is a prime example of situations where you wrestle better than your place shows because Galka already beat the athlete who took third in the championship rounds. His following match was against the champion where he suffered his injury and forfeited the rest of his consolation bouts. Regardless, placing in your first ever ECWC is nothing to be sneezed at even if it's in such a unique circumstance.

197: Eze took home the title at 197 scoring bonus points in every bout. His finals match was the only bout that went the full three periods, but it was a lopsided 15-3 major decision for the grad. He was one match away from facing fellow Bomber Jeremy Mazzella in the finals. Mazzella had a clean tournament until the semis. He ended with a fourth-place finish and a load of experience against tough opponents.

125: 2nd place: Matt Haycook
133: 3rd place: Isaias Torres
141: 2nd place: Luis Hernandez
149: No Wrestler Entered
157: 1st place: Wenchard Pierre-Louis 2nd place: Travis Jones 4th place: Adrian Rosario-Beato
165: 1st place: Jackson Gray
174: 3rd place: Konrad Parker
184: 5th place: Ryan Galka
197: 1st place: Chibueze Chukwuezi 4th place: Jeremy Mazzella
285: DNP