WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Ithaca College men's wrestling team returned to action on Friday as one of 16 programs competing in the two-day 37th Annual Budd Whitehill National Duals hosted by Lycoming College. The tournament features four groups of four teams in a round-robin format on Friday, with group winners advancing to a reseeded championship bracket on Saturday, January 10.
 
In the opening matchup of the day, the Bombers clinched the dual against Wilkes University with a decisive win at 184 lbs., ultimately defeating the Colonels by a 33-8 score. Ithaca followed up with another strong performance in the afternoon, handing The College of New Jersey its first loss of the season with a 32-12 victory. The Bombers would then go head-to-head with No. 11 Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the dual came down to the final bout at 285 lbs., where the Blugolds won it to take the dual by a 22-17 score.
 
ITHACA COLLEGE 33, WILKES UNIVERSITY 8
125 LBS: Cosmo Damiani (Ithaca) over Gus Smith (Wilkes) Dec 13-6
133 LBS: Jay McDonnell (Ithaca) over Samuel Kimmel (Wilkes) TF 20-4
141 LBS: Isaias Torres (Ithaca) over Ashton Romberger (Wilkes) Maj 17-4
149 LBS: Will Bentrim (Ithaca) over James Sloan (Wilkes) Dec 6-4
157 LBS: Jaryn Hartranft (Wilkes) over Akio Sanders (Ithaca) TF 19-0
165 LBS: Colton Thorpe (Wilkes) over Brian Bienus (Ithaca) Dec 2-0
174 LBS: Konrad Parker (Ithaca) over Omari Watson (Wilkes) Fall 3:23
184 LBS: Eamon Callaghan (Ithaca) over Lucas Miller (Wilkes) Dec 13-9
197 LBS: Ryan Galka (Ithaca) over Patrick Gordon (Wilkes) Fall 0:38
285 LBS: Charlie Turner (Ithaca) over Trevor Gitski (Wilkes) Dec 2-0
 
Eamon Callaghan clinched the matchup against Wilkes with a 13-9 decision over Lucas Miller. After trailing 6-4, Callaghan delivered an explosive second period, scoring a takedown and a near fall that swung the momentum in his favor. Ryan Galka and Charlie Turner also handled their opponents, with Galka pinning Patrick Gordon in just 38 seconds and Turner earning a 2-0 decision over Trevor Gitski.
 
The Bombers jumped out to a fast start, building a 15-0 lead after the first four bouts. Cosmo Damiani opened with a 13-6 decision, followed by Jay McDonnell adding bonus points with a dominant 20-4 tech fall over Samuel Kimmel. Isaias Torres controlled his match against Ashton Romberger, scoring a takedown in all three periods en route to a 17-4 major decision.
 
After James Sloan secured an early takedown, Will Bentrim answered with a reversal just before the first-period buzzer and later added a takedown and riding time to earn a 6-4 victory. Konrad Parker, ranked third in the most recent NWCA Individual National Rankings and he took care of his opponent to earn another IC victory as he pinned Omari Watson at 3:23.
 
ITHACA COLLEGE 32, THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY 12
125 LBS: Aiden Carmody (TCNJ) over Cosmo Damiani (Ithaca) TF 15-0
133 LBS: Jay McDonnell (Ithaca) over Luke Reitter (TCNJ) TF 19-4
141 LBS: Ethan Kerlin (TCNJ) over Ben White (Ithaca) Dec 11-7
149 LBS: Colin Menier (TCNJ) over William Bentrim (Ithaca) Maj 16-2
157 LBS: Akio Sanders (Ithaca) over Vincent Genna (TCNJ) Fall 1:07
165 LBS: Christopher Reddy (Ithaca) over Nick Acque (TCNJ) TF 17-2
174 LBS: Konrad Parker (Ithaca) over Jack Miller (TCNJ) TF 20-5
184 LBS: Eamon Callaghan (Ithaca) over Ethan Dalling (TCNJ) Dec 9-6
197 LBS: Ryan Galka (Ithaca) over Henry Saxon (TCNJ) TF 20-3
285 LBS: Kamdyn Dorchester (Ithaca) over Jeffrey Gessner (TCNJ) Dec 2-0
 
The Lions struck first with a win in the opening bout, but Ithaca quickly answered at 133 lbs. as Jay McDonnell earned his second tech fall of the day—a dominant 19-4 victory over Luke Reitter that featured two takedowns in the third period.
 
TCNJ claimed the next two bouts at 141 and 149 lbs., but the Bombers regained momentum when Akio Sanders pinned Vincent Genna in just 1:07. From there, Ithaca swept the remaining matches to secure a convincing 32-12 win over the Lions. Chris Reddy, Konrad Parker, and Ryan Galka each dominated their opponents with tech falls. Eamon Callaghan added his 13th win of the season with a hard-fought 9-6 decision over Ethan Dalling, and the dual concluded with Kamdyn Dorchester earning a 2-0 victory against Jeffrey Gassner.
 
NO. 11 WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE 22, ITHACA COLLEGE 17
125 LBS: Travis Moelter (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) over Cosmo Damiani (Ithaca) Maj 10-2
133 LBS: Wyatt Unser (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) over Jay McDonnell (Ithaca) TB-1 11-10
141 LBS: Isaias Torres (Ithaca) over Calvin Singewald (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) TF 18-3
149 LBS: Landon Church (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) over William Bentrim (Ithaca) Maj 12-0
157 LBS: Akio Sanders (Ithaca) over Clayton Solberg (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) Dec 7-3
165 LBS: Jonathon Harvey (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) over Brian Bienus (Ithaca) Maj 8-0
174 LBS: Konrad Parker (Ithaca) over Ben Peterson (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) Dec 8-2
184 LBS: Zak McPhee (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) over Eamon Callaghan (Ithaca) Maj 10-0
197 LBS: Ryan Galka (Ithaca) over Ian Pepple (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) Fall 3:58
285 LBS: Cole Matulenko (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) over Kamdyn Dorchester (Ithaca) Dec 5-0
 
The bouts resumed at 125 lbs., where the Blugolds earned four team points as Travis Moelter secured a 10-2 major decision over Cosmo Damiani. The next match was a back-and-forth battle between No. 14-ranked Jay McDonnell and Wyatt Unser, which went into overtime before Unser scored an escape point to claim an 11-10 victory. The Bombers closed the gap to 7-5 when Isaias Torres delivered a dominant 18-3 technical fall over Calvin Singewald. No. 15-ranked Landon Church took his matchup at 149 lbs., but again momentum swung in Ithaca's favor with Akio Sanders taking down Clayton Solberg of the Bluegolds via a 7-3 decision.
 
Wisconsin-Eau Claire extended its lead to 15-8 after Jonathon Harvey earned an 8-0 major decision over Brian Bienus. Konrad Parker then improved to 3-0 on the day with an 8-2 victory against Ben Peterson. The Bombers kept the match close, trailing just 19-17 heading into the final bout, where Ryan Galka secured a fall in 3:58 over Ian Pepple. Kamdyn Dorchester and Cole Matulenko were matched up at heavyweight where Matulenko would score a 5-0 decision over the IC first year.
 
Next up, the Bombers will take on No. 22 Messiah University in day two of the Budd Whitehill National Duals at 10:30 a.m. for a chance to wrestle in the fifth-place match.