ITHACA, N.Y. - Friday morning at 9 a.m. sharp the Ithaca College wrestling program kicked off the Budd Whitehill National Duals. This historic tournament brings in some of the top ranked NCAA Division III colleges from around the country to Lycoming College in Pennsylvania for a dual-meet style battle. There are four nationally ranked teams in this tournament: No. 6 Stevens Institute of Technology, No. 8 Wisconsin- Eau Claire, No. 13 Ohio Northern, and your very own Ithaca Bombers at No. 21.

The format for Friday has four separate groups of round robins to determine the matchups for Saturday. The top teams in each group will make it to the championship round where they will compete for a major title. Ithaca's No. 21 national ranking places them at the top seed in Group B, which includes Ferrum College from Massachusetts, York College of Pennsylvania, and Williams College from Virginia. It is worth noting that each school in Group B has nationally ranked wrestlers in their lineup.

Did the Bombers conquer the commonwealths to earn them a top seed Saturday? Results and a short recap of each dual are below.

Ithaca over Ferrum, 30-12

After Ferrum took the first match at 125, it was all Ithaca. Half of the Bombers lineup scored bonus point victories against the Panthers. 133 Isaias Torres led the way with IC's first victory of the day coming via second period fall. It was a back-and-forth match until Torres hit a picture-perfect Peterson to end it. The energy and momentum from the pin bled into the rest of the lineup as the guys went on a streak scoring 25 team points straight. Both Luis Hernandez at 141 and Travis Jones at 157 collected major decisions.

165 Jackson Gray put on a dominant performance shutting out his opponent in a 16-0 tilt fest for a tech. Eze Chukwuezi also joined the bonus point party, picking up his own tech fall at 197. Ithaca chose to forfeit 285 going up against #4 Rayshawn Dixon. With the dual already secured and this early in the tournament, it just made sense to keep the guys as fresh as possible for the weekend.

Ithaca over York College of Pennsylvania, 30-3

York is very front loaded with No. 15 Jared Kuhns at 125 and No. 7 Dalton Rohrbaugh at 133. Oddly enough Rohrbaugh didn't check in at the desk. After Matt Haycook kept it to a close decision at 125 and Torres came out on top at 133, Ithaca looked to be in the driver's seat for the rest of the dual. The middleweights pressed on the gas with every single middleweight scoring bonus points. 149 lb. Matthew Beyer made his first appearance of 2023 and didn't miss a beat. He racked up double digit points on his way to a major decision. 157 Wenchard Pierre-Louis wrestled his first match of the weekend. As always with his style, the match was full of action ending in a fun major victory.

165 Gray looked flawless once again after stacking his opponent in the first period for a lightning-fast match. Konrad Parker rounded out the middleweights at 174 with a major decision beating his opponent by an onslaught of offense. 184 Ryan Galka and HWT Jeremy Mazzella also picked up decisions. The most anticipated matchup of the day came at 197 with the rematch of #6 Eze Chukwuezi taking on No. 7 Camden Farrow. Eze looked to break him early with constant pressure and single leg attempts. He eventually broke through in the second period and ended on top to give a 3-1 lead. From there on the Bomber never looked back, cementing himself as one of the nation's top 197 pounders with a convincing 9-2 victory.

Ithaca over Williams College 35-10

This was the highest scoring affair for IC in the round robin. Bonus points were as plentiful as ever for the Bombers. 149 Beyer started the match in an intense battle that looked like it was going to go the distance. Technically it did go three periods, but only because Beyer had his opponent on his back after securing enough points for a tech fall.

A big ranked matchup occurred when No. 8 Peter Kane took the mat at 157 to battle No. 13 Pierre-Louis. Pierre-Louis wrestled well the entire seven minutes but lost a close 3-2 match on riding time after being unable to secure the last second takedown on the edge of the mat. It was a fantastic match by both wrestlers. Although it didn't go Ithaca's way this time, I doubt it will affect the rankings. Jackson Gray didn't wrestle the equivalent to a full match all day. He ended this one early when legally slammed his opponent hard on the edge which resulted in a medical forfeit due to concussion protocol. Parker hit a huge lift in a double underhook body lock for a pin. That move got the biggest crowd reaction out of all Ithaca matches today.

Eze Chukwuezi made it look easy with constant misdirection and motion continuing to just cut until he racked up enough points to secure a tech. Mazzella ended the day on a high note with a first period fall on a scramble after running a bar arm. Big capstone on a great day for the Bombers.

Undefeated Wrestlers of Friday: By Weight *** Minimum of two matches wrestled
133 Isaias Torres: 3 wins & 12 total team points
141 Luis Hernandez: 3 wins & 11 total team points
149 Matthew Beyer: 2 wins & 9 total team points
165 Jackson Gray: 3 wins & 17 total team points
174 Konrad Parker: 3 wins & 13 total team points
197 Eze Chukwuezi: 3 wins & 13 total team points
HWT Jeremy Mazzella: 2 wins & 9 total team points