ELIZABETHTOWN, P.A. – The Ithaca College wrestling team's march to a regional championship got off to a strong start on Saturday afternoon, as seven wrestlers reached the quarterfinals. Marty Nichols' squad is currently in second place, trailing TCNJ by four-and-a-half points, to conclude the opening day of competition.
 
125 LB: Matt Griffin
Sitting as the third seed in the tournament, the Bomber lightweight made quick work in his opening bout against Oneonta's Tyler Skala by securing a second period fall to advance to the quarters.
 
Griffin's next bout was a different story. Taking on Muhlenberg's Joey Lamparelli, the Bomber surrendered the opening takedown and got ridden out for the remainder of the first period. Starting on top in the second, Griffin attempted to slip a boot in but Lamparelli hit a slick hip heist and scored a reversal to make it 4-0. With a chance to make something happen on his feet in the third period, the lightweight trailed 5-1 and went for a single leg, yet Lamparelli's quickness was too much as he hit a go-behind to ice the match for an 8-1 win.
 
Unfortunately, Griffin's career came to an end in the wrestlebacks. Facing McDaniel College's Alex DuFour, Griffin trailed 2-1 halfway through the first period before securing a takedown off of a low single to go up 3-2. From there, the senior locked up a crossface cradle to jump ahead 7-2. In what was a crazy chain of events, Griffin hit a guillotine, but got overextended and allowed DuFour to roll through and put him on his back. DuFour picked up the fall with one second remaining in the first period.
 
133 LB: Luis Hernandez
In one of the most enticing bouts of the day, Hernandez had a tough draw and took on top-seeded Jake Giordano in the pigtail round. No points were scored in the opening period as both wrestlers were feeling each other out and not opening up their offense quite yet. Giordano owned the second period, scoring a takedown off of a single leg after earning an escape 30 seconds into the stanza. Trailing 3-2 in the third, Hernandez continued to work his offense and wrestle at the edge. His high pace eventually paid off with 23 seconds to go as Giordano was hit with his second stall call to tie the match a 3-3 and send things to sudden victory. Moments later, the Bomber went for an ankle pick, then adjusted to a deep underhook, and whipped Giordano over to secure an electrifying 5-3 win.
 
The junior kept things rolling in his preliminary bout, putting on a takedown clinic and besting Patrick Snoke of Penn Tech 13-3. Hernandez was more methodical in his quarterfinal match, but two takedowns and a solid ride on top was enough to cruise to a 6-1 victory over Muhlenberg's Frank DiEsso.
 
141 LB: Travis Jones
Jones has had one of the hottest starts in the tournament. Following a quick first period pin over Zach Rupp of Elizabethtown, the 141-pounder dominated in his quarterfinal bout against Sean Peterson of Alfred State. Just 20 seconds into the match, Jones hit a nice dump and collected two nearfall points off of it. From there, he went to work on top, hitting a suck back and a few cross-wrist tilts to coast to an impressive 16-0 tech fall in the opening period. Jones faces off against Centenary's Xavier Pena in the semifinals tomorrow morning.
 
149 LB: Matt Beyer
The junior picked up from where he left off in his impressive regular season and dominated in his opening bout with an 11-3 major decision victory over Oswego's Logan McGloine.
 
Beyer's quarterfinal bout came down to the wire against Brandon Bowles of Muhlenberg. Despite earning the opening takedown off of a high single at the edge of the mat, Bowles responded with a reversal off of a standing switch to tie it at 2-2 before the first period buzzer sounded. The 149-pounder answered in the second period with a takedown off of a high crotch, but Bowles hit another switch yet again to snag a reversal and make it 5-5. Following a Beyer escape, Bowles scored off of a high single to a trip at the edge of the mat with 40 seconds remaining to go up 7-6. Beyer's gas tank was not empty, however, as the Bomber hit a granby roll and transitioned to a high single to secure a takedown at the edge to seal an emphatic 9-8 win.
 
157 LB: Adam Wagner
The middleweight punched his ticket to the quarterfinals following a commanding fall over McDaniel College's Xavier Howard. In his quarterfinal match, Wagner was in a dogfight against third-seeded Jeff Johnson of New Jersey City. Johnson took control in the opening period, hitting a blast double within the first 15 seconds to go up 2-0. Tied 2-2 halfway through the second period, Johnson hit a whip over at the edge of the mat to tack on another takedown, but Wagner did a good job not surrendering any back points. The Bomber could not answer on his feet, however, as Johnson secured another takedown late in the third to take a commanding 7-4 decision.
 
Wagner bounced back with a tight 4-3 decision over Johns Hopkins' Chris Roybal to stay alive in the consolation side of the bracket.
 
165 LB: Jackson Gray
The IC rookie wrestled like a seasoned veteran in Day 1 of the tournament, as he clawed his way to the semifinals. Gray got busy fast, notching a fall at the 3:10 mark over Elijah Morder of Keystone College.
 
Taking on Matt Armamento of New Jersey City in the quarters, Gray jumped to an early 2-0 lead and put on some brutal top work to garner 2:03 in riding time. Following a scoreless second, the Pittsburgh, Pa. native continued to dazzle from the neutral position, tallying a second takedown in the ensuing period off of a scramble to go up 4-2 and cruise to the semis.
 
174 LB: Adrian Rosario-Beato
In what has been a wild season for the Bomber junior, Rosario-Beato's season came to an end after Day 1. After dropping a 10-3 decision to Elizabethtown's Traisach Roland, the 174-pounder got pinned by Haakon Mathewson of Centenary in 46 seconds to eliminate him from the tournament.
 
184 LB: Eze Chukwuezi
The unanimous top seed in the tournament competed like one in the opening day of regionals. Chukwuezi got started with a quick 18-2 technical fall over Christian Micikas of Keystone College. In the quarterfinals, the veteran did not waste any time as he hit a tight crossface cradle and secured a big first period fall over Steve Bilali of Oneonta at the 2:32 mark to advance to the semifinals.
 
 197 LB: Jordan Wallace
The grad student got off to a hot start in postseason action, registering two bonus-point wins to roll to the semifinals. Wallace busted things open with a dominant 19-4 technical fall over Keevon Berry of Centenary. The 197-pounder took that same energy into his quarterfinal bout against Ursinus' Jason Carter. Wallace struck quickly, scoring a takedown off of a high single to a trip to go up 2-0 at the end of the opening period. Ahead 3-0 in the second, the Bomber hit a beautiful slide by for a takedown at the edge of the mat to make it 5-0. Wallace took a 5-1 lead into the third period and wrestled patiently over the next two minutes, earning a penalty point and tacking on a go-behind takedown at the buzzer to win it 9-1.
 
285 LB: Edwin Rubio
Rubio's last ride wearing the Ithaca singlet is so far so good. In the preliminary round, the heavyweight edged Jake Pine of Oneonta 7-3 to advance to the quarters. Up against Johns Hopkins' Hank Behaeghel, Rubio wrestled a complete match and did just enough to pick up a fundamental win. Following a scoreless first period, Rubio earned an escape and went to work offensively by snagging a single leg and circling around for a takedown at the edge of the circle to go up 3-0. Behaeghel began to creep back by getting two escape points to make it 3-2 but Rubio's second period takedown proved to be the difference as he is now a regional semifinalist.
 
Ithaca College returns to the mat tomorrow morning for Day 2 of the Mideast Regional Championships. First whistle is slated to begin at 10 a.m.