ITHACA, N.Y. – In a battle of nationally ranked programs on Friday evening, No. 23 Ithaca men's wrestling hosted No. 4 TCNJ inside Ben Light Gymnasium. TCNJ was able to pull away taking the final two bouts to earn the 27-13 win over the Bombers.
 
Bouts officially began at 125 pounds, where TCNJ's No. 6 NWCA nationally ranked Matt Griffin jumped out to an early lead, building a 16–3 advantage with a late takedown to close the first period. Griffin went on to secure an 18–3 technical fall over Cosmo Damiani, giving the Lions an early 5–0 team lead. At the next weight, No. 3 ranked Garrett Totten proved to be a tough matchup for Jay McDonnell, scoring a pair of first period takedowns to get an early advantage. Totten eventually prevailed with a 17–2 technical fall.
 
At 141 pounds, Isaias Torres and Vincent Santaniello battled in a tightly contested bout. Both wrestlers notched an escape in the second and third periods, sending the match to a decisive sudden‑victory overtime. Santaniello scored after a wild flurry to earn the 4–1 victory, pushing the Lions' team lead to 13–0. Momentum continued to swing TCNJ's way, with Jason Giordano using a late third‑period takedown to pull out a 5–4 decision over Will Bentrim.
 
The Bombers trimmed the deficit to 16–6 as Brian Bienus converted a second‑period shot into a fall over Colin Menier at 3:29. At 165 pounds, the matchup came down to the final minute of the third period, with Chris Reddy hanging on for a narrow 2–1 decision to earn three more team points.
 
Hunter Mays pulled off an upset over No. 5 nationally ranked Konrad Parker, holding Parker scoreless on his shot attempts in a 10–3 decision as the Lions boosted their lead to 19-9. Xavier Pommells electrified Ben Light Gymnasium, catching Ethan Darling in a leg sweep after building a 7–1 advantage with a second‑period near fall. Pommells would eventually win in an 11-1 major decision to again trim the lead down to 19-13 heading into the final two weight classes.
 
The Lions secured the dual by claiming the final two bouts, as NWCA No. 7 nationally ranked DJ Henry rolled to a 19–4 technical fall over Ryan Galka and Matthew Coon took the heavyweight bout in a 11-10 decision over Ithaca's Charlie Turner.
 
Ithaca now stand at 4-5 overall in duals but will have a quick turnaround when the team welcomes No. 24 Stevens Institute of Technology and Nassau Community College to the South Hill for a tri-match. The Bombers will take on the Ducks at 12 p.m. followed by hosting Nassau at 3 p.m.