ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Ithaca College wrestlers traveled to Rochester Institute of Technology to compete in the 21st annual New York State Intercollegiate Championships, but with a twist. This year the tournament saw an increase in athletes due to the tournament being open. Some higher division teams, such as D1 programs Buffalo, Army, and Binghamton, sent some younger and redshirted unattached athletes to compete.

Ithaca stood out amongst the NCAA Division III programs. They put together a solid performance against some of the toughest competition they are going to see all year. The Bombers had eight total place winners- including 197-pound New York State Champ Eze Chukwuezi. On-paper upsets were being handed out all throughout the lineup with the Bombers frequently debunking their Division I competition. Below is a commentary on how the place winners managed to succeed.

Starting out of order at 197 due to the historic day for Eze. The Bomber was your champion at 197 only wrestling Division 1 competition throughout the entire tournament. His first win against Danny Lawrence from Army tied Ithaca College Alum, Ithaca Athletics Hall of Famer, and Head Coach Marty Nichols for the sixth most wins all-time with 115 wins. That record would be broken in the following match. Eze ended the day as fifth place, all-time for Ithaca College wrestling with 117 wins while bringing home his third consecutive New York State Championship.

125 Matt Haycook went 3-1 on the day with a 4-0 victory over Tony Guerra of Buffalo. His other wins both came with bonus points to boost the Bombers team score- fall then a major decision. Unfortunately, his bracket set him up against Army's talent, which is known to be particularly tough in the lower to middleweights. He was undefeated until reaching the finals, giving Haycook an impressive second place finish.

141 Luis Hernandez won all three of his matches against DIII competition in very convincing fashion picking up a fall and a tech along the way. Much like Haycook, he had a tough draw with both of his losses coming via Army. Hernandez battled his way to a fourth-place finish.

149 Joseph Averill took fourth place in this tourney. Each of his wins came by either fall or tech. Averill lost a nail biter 5-4 for third place but had a nice showcase.

157 had its typical Bomber Battle between Wenchard Pierre-Louis and Travis Jones. This time the teammates avoided wrestling each other despite both placing. Hunter Shaut of Buffalo managed to takedown both athletes' championship hopes. Jones met Shaut first but fought his way back through the consolations to earn fourth place. Pierre-Louis squeaked out two razor close wins over Army and their prep school on his way to a second-place finish.

165 had two wrestlers reach the podium. Brian Bienus lost the first match of the day in a close 4-2 bout against Alfred State's Travis Kauffman. Bienus went on to win five consecutive matches en route to a third-place podium finish. He even extracted revenge against Kauffman in the third place winning 8-5. Jackson Gray pinned his way to the finals before running into Army Prep. A second-place finish at New York States is a good look for Gray, but the way he got there is what makes his journey standout.

The Bombers will shift their focus and compete next against The College of New Jersey on Saturday, January 28. The dual will be at TCNJ and will begin at 2 p.m.