ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College Bombers hosted SUNY Cortland for the annual Rumble and Tumble experience. Much like the previous dual against Wilkes, Cortland is much better than their dual record showed coming into Wednesday evenings showdown. With wrestlers creeping just outside of the National Wrestling Coaches Association top-10 and others earning D3wrestle.com rankings, Ithaca's crosstown rival isn't a team to play around with. The Bombers have had quite a few wrestlers gain national notoriety throughout the season, so you knew that this dual was shaping to be a fun one to watch between the two rivals as it certainly turned out to be a potential preview of what is to come at the upcoming NCAA Mideast Regionals.
 
The evenings' matchups got underway at 157 lbs. after a coin toss between the opposing coaching staffs took place in the locker room. It was Wenchard Pierre-Louis who got the nod, and he took care of business in his usual aggressive style. He got off to a fast start, but his opponent Kyle Klein had a few counters during the middle portions of the bout before Pierre-Louis prevailed in a 15-12 decision.
 
It was more of the same at 165 lbs., on Senior Day head coach Marty Nichols called upon Travis Jones to climb an additional weight class as the 2021 NCAA Mideast Regional runner-up (at 141 lbs.) showed out getting a 6-2 decision in his favor. Jackson Gray battled at 174 lbs. and with his decision Ithaca had an early 9-0 lead. Brian Torres got the Red Dragons on the board with a major decision at 184.
 
In typical Eze Chukwuezi fashion, he dominated his opponent hitting upon his moves along the way the pin in 3:38. Jeremy Mazzella kept up his hot streak at heavyweight. It seems that he's starting to settle in and become comfortable with this different style of wrestling and it was an intriguing matchup against Steven Gazzillo who bumped up to heavyweight from his usual 197 lbs. He entered with a 16-12 record on the season, but it was Mazzella who prevailed adding to Ithaca's lead with his 7-5 decision.
 
SUNY Cortland mounted its comeback earning points with a forfeit at 125 lbs., Matt Haycook came out the loser of a major decision and with a Vinnie Santilli major decision over Francisco Muriel the match was tied at 18 points apiece going into the final bout at 149 lbs.
 
149 had the final ranked-match-trifecta with Matthew Beyer squaring up against Angelo Centrone. The match had a big build up with the freshman Centrone able to get to his offense on Beyer who has been very stingy lately. Down four points with time ticking down in the third, Beyer needed a big move. Like he planned out the match for theatrics sake, Beyer was able to clamp down a comeback pin against a ranked opponent to secure the six points for Ithaca, some big seeding points for Regionals, and the excitement of the crowd. The Bombers were deducted one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct following the bout.
 
Next up, Ithaca College will host the NCAA Mideast Regional, which is slated to begin on Friday, February 24. The two-day regional with NCAA berths on the line will take place in Athletics and Events Center.