SOURCE: cornellbigred.com

November 24, 2013

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell crowned five individual champions and claimed its second straight New York State Intercollegiate championship with 207 team points on Sunday afternoon at Newman Arena, outpacing second-place Hofstra (157 points).

Mark Grey (133), Chris Villalonga (149), Brian Realbuto (157), Gabe Dean (184) and Jace Bennett (197) each fought their way to the finals and claimed championships, with Craig Eifert advancing to the finals at 165 pounds to finish second and Bricker Dixon placing third at 125 pounds.

Grey remained unbeaten in his young career with a pair of first period falls and a couple technical falls, including a 20-3 victory in the final over Hofstra's Jamel Hudson. He ended the day a perfect 5-0.

Villalonga won by tech fall and major decision in his first two matches before winning a pair of one-point decisions over Robert Diema of Cortland in the semifinals (4-3) and Cody Ruggirello of Hofstra in the finals (2-1).

Realbuto cruised through the 157 bracket with pins in his first two matches in just 1:43, then taking a 16-1 technical fall over Buffalo's John Northrup in the semifinal before winning a comfortable 15-8 decision in the finals over Nick Terdick of Hofstra.

Like fellow freshmen Grey and Realbuto, Dean dominated on his way to a New York State title. He earned pins in three of his four matches, including the final, and won his semifinal by tech fall with a 30-12 score. He won by fall in the final over Buffalo's Tony Lock less than a minute into the second period.

At 197 pounds, Bennett also won his first two bouts by fall before a 13-6 decision over Binghamton's Cody Reed put him into the finals. He was able to hold off Army's Bryce Barnes in the final, 5-2.

Eifert dropped a tight 6-3 decision to 12th-ranked Joseph Booth of Hostra in the final at 165 pounds after winning three tight decisions and another bout by fall to earn a runner-up finish. On the other side of the bracket, Dylan Palacio advanced to the semifinals and dropped a 6-5 decision to Booth before picking up a fall over Josh Houldsworth of Columbia to claim third.

At 141 pounds, Corey Dake took seventh and Owen Scott won his first three matches at 174 before dropping a contest and medical forfeiting out to sixth place.

Bricker Dixon placed third in the 125 pound bracket after falling into the consolation side after a overtime tiebreaker loss to Binghamton's David White, 6-5. He won by a pair of tech falls and a 10-0 majord decision in the back draw before earning third after White medical forfeited the third-place match.

Cornell did not have a heavyweight contender in the A bracket.

The Big Red's five champions are the second-most in program history, and its 207 team points are the second-highest by any team in the 45 New York State meets. The 2002 Big Red squad scored 207.5 points and had six individual champions.

Cornell will next be at the Grapple at The Garden on Sunday, Dec. 1 at Madison Square Garden where it will face Maryland and Illinois in dual meets.

FINAL TEAM SCORES
1. Cornell 207
2. Hofstra 157
3. Binghamton 139
4. Army 136.5
5. Columbia 134
6. Cortland 105.5
7. Buffalo 100
8. Ithaca 41.5
9. Brockport 40.5
10. RIT 36.5
11. Oneonta 30.5
12. Nassau CC 25.5
13. Oswego 22
14. Hunter 20.5
15. NYU 14
16. U.S. Merchant Marines 6
17. Alfred State 4
18. Jamestown CC 4
19. SUNY Sullivan 3