Dake '13, Arujau '23 to Compete at FloWrestling Event on Saturday
SOURCE: cornellbigred.com
July 23, 2020

 



ITHACA, N.Y. - Kyle Dake '13 and sophomore Vito Arujau will each wrestle at a FloWrestling event on Saturday, July 25 at 8 p.m. ET in Austin, Texas. A FloWrestling subscription is required to watch the matches. Dake will face-off against Olympic bronze medalist, Frank Chamizo (Italy), in a 79kg bout, while Arujau will take on Rutgers' Sammy Alvarez at 57kg.


Dake and Chamizo will be the main event of the evening, as the two titans of the sport will square off for the first time. Each wrestler is a two-time world champion, with Dake winning back-to-back 79kg championships in 2018 and 2019. Chamizo, who will bump up from 74kg to 79kg for Saturday's bout, won world titles at 65kg in 2015 and 70kg in 2017.

Named the NCAA's "Wrestler of the Decade" on July 15, 2020, Dake became the first NCAA wrestler to win national titles in four different weight classes, the first to win four national titles without taking a redshirt season and just the third athlete to claim four national titles overall during his time at Cornell. The 2013 Hodge Award winner, as the national Wrestler of the Year, was a three-time EIWA Wrestler of the Year. The Outstanding Wrestler of the NCAA tournament in 2013, Dake became the third Cornell wrestler to capture the award and the first since Dave Auble in 1960. He wrapped up his amazing collegiate career with a 137-4 record, including winning his final 79 collegiate matches. Dake was named the Charles H. Moore Senior co-Athlete of the Year at Cornell, the Sports Illustrated Male College Athlete of the Year and was an ESPY finalist for Best Male College Athlete in 2013. The four-time NCAA All-American was elected to the EIWA Hall of Fame in 2014.


Both sophomores, Arujau and Alvarez will compete in a freestyle wrestling exhibition to get the night started. Arujau enters the match with significant freestyle wrestling credentials, earning silver medals at the 2016 UWW Cadet World Championships and the 2019 UWW Junior World Championships. Folkstyle wrestling also favors Arujau, who earned All-American status as a true freshman at the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championships with a fifth-place finish, finishing his first year at Cornell with a record of 31-4. Alvarez turned in a solid rookie campaign at Rutgers (26-10), qualifying for the NCAA tournament at 133 pounds and placing sixth at the Big Ten Championships.


Dake and Arujau are joined on the card by matches between David Taylor and Myles Martin, Darrion Caldwell and Luke Pletcher, and Jack Mueller and Roman-Bravo Young.


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