ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College wrestling team came out against SUNY Cortland on Wednesday night and snuck away with a 24-21 rout to close out the regular season. It was the fifth annual Rumble & Tumble Meet where the two teams competed in conjunction with both school's varsity women's gymnastics programs. The Bombers conclude the regular season with an 11-4 mark and have now defeated their rival in eight of the last nine dual meets.
 
Ithaca 24 – Cortland 21
141 LB: Ryan Burgbacher (CORT) def. Travis Jones (IC) | MD 10-1 (0-4)
149 LB: #14 Chandler Merwin (CORT) def. #11 Matthew Beyer (IC) | FALL 6:59 (0-10)
157 LB: Adam Wagner (IC) def. Markel Browne (CORT) | Dec 5-2 (3-10)
165 LB: Jackson Gray (IC) def. Steven Gazzillo (CORT) | Dec 8-3 (6-10)
174 LB: #9 Demitreus Henry (CORT) def. Adrian Rosario-Beato (IC) | Dec 5-1 (6-13)
184 LB:  #6 Eze Chukwuezi (IC) def. Brian Torres (CORT) | Inj. Def. 4:56 (12-13)
197 LB: #9 Jordan Wallace (IC) def. Chris Bold (CORT) | FALL 2:29 (18-13)
285 LB: Edwin Rubio (IC) def. Ben Klei (CORT) | FALL 5:18 (24-13)
125 LB: Cody Merwin (CORT) def. #10 Matt Griffin (IC) | MD 12-2 (24-17)
133 LB:  #14 Jayden Cardenas (CORT) def. Luis Hernandez (IC) | MD 17-7 (24-21)
 
The dual meet was closer than anticipated but it was a happy finish for Ithaca, as Marty Nichols' squad pulled off a tight victory by splitting five of the 10 bouts.
 
The Bombers got off to a slow start, dropping two bonus-point matches right off the bat. At 141, Travis Jones fell behind early against Cortland's Ryan Burgbacher, surrendering a six-point move in the opening period off of a peterson roll and being unable to climb back from the deficit.
 
In one of the highlight bouts of the night, #11 Matt Beyer squared off against #14 Chandler Merwin in the lone ranked vs. ranked match of the dual. Trailing 8-2 in the third period, Beyer motored his way back after hitting a tight nearside cradle at the edge to pick up four nearfall points. With 20 seconds to go in the match, Beyer hit a slick go-behind and locked up yet another nearside cradle for a takedown to only trail 9-8. In what was a crazy sequence of events, Beyer secured the lock, drove forward, and attempted to roll through with it by exposing his back. That's where Merwin caught Beyer out of position and stuck him with a defensive pin with half of a second remaining.
 
Middleweights Adam Wagner and Jackson Gray won some big swing matches for Ithaca to shift the momentum around. At 157 pounds, Wagner took on Markel Browne in a rubber match that came down to the final period. After Browne secured the opening takedown off of an inside trip, Wagner stormed back in the final two stanzas by racking up two takedowns of his own to take a 5-2 decision. Gray was poised in his 165-pound bout, collecting three takedowns and administering some tough riding on top to surge to an 8-3 win.
 
A tip of the cap is in order for 174-pounder Adrian Rosario-Beato's performance on the night. Up against the ninth-ranked wrestler in the country in Demitreus Henry, the Bomber fought hard all three periods. A first period takedown off of a high-crotch by Henry proved to be a difference, but Rosario-Beato kept it close and only lost the bout 5-1 to save some crucial team points.
 
Ithaca's 1-2-3 punch up top sealed the deal for the Bombers, as #6 Eze Chukwuezi, #9 Jordan Wallace, and Edwin Rubio all picked up bonus-point victories. In what was a rematch of the NYS Championship finals back in November, Chukwuezi took on Cortland's Brian Torres at 184 pounds. Following a terrific flurry off of a Torres sweep single early on, the first period ended scoreless. Once Chukwuezi got a quick escape in the second, he began to open up his offense and hit a lightning-quick low single to go up 3-0. Moments later, the senior tallied another clean takedown off of a high single to a barzegar finish where Torres appeared to roll up on his right ankle. After going optional start, Chukwuezi cranked up the pace and secured another takedown, then transitioned to a bow-and-arrow before Torres injury defaulted the match. Chukwuezi is now a perfect 29-0 on the season heading into the regional tournament.
 
Wallace continued to flash and dominate, as the grad student improved to 11-0 with a first period fall over Chris Bold. Behind two opening takedowns, Wallace hit a four-point guillotine at the edge to comfortably go up 8-1. Seconds later, it was lights out as the Bomber locked up a nasty nearside cradle and secured the pin at the 2:29 mark.
 
Despite bouncing back from a preseason knee injury, Rubio continues to shine and improve in the 285-pound weight class. After taking a 5-0 lead into the third period off of a go-behind and sweep single takedowns, the heavyweight exploded for a quick escape and hit a standing cement mixer for a huge fall in 5:18 to virtually ice the dual.
 
Following a tough major decision loss for Matt Griffin, Luis Hernandez took on Cortland's Jayden Cardenas at 133 to finish off the dual. These two went toe-to-toe in the NYS Championship finals several months back with Cardenas edging him 8-4. It appeared as if Hernandez had different plans at first, as he led 6-0 early in the opening period off of a beautiful go-behind and a crossface cradle. Cardenas turned on the offense, however, notching two six-point moves from his feet by securing takedowns and sending Hernandez straight to his back to rally for a 17-7 major decision.
 
Ithaca College now turns its head to the final stretch of the season when the team competes in the 2022 Mideast Regional Championships next Saturday and Sunday in Elizabethtown, PA. First whistle on Saturday is slated to take place at 11 a.m.