Next Chapter of Cornell Wrestling Starts Saturday
November 17, 2021

 


ITHACA, N.Y. - As one chapter in the Cornell wrestling history book ended in May, a new page will be written on Saturday, November 20 when the Big Red welcomes Stanford to the newly renovated Friedman Wrestling Center.

Confucius once claimed that the sign of a good student was the ability to learn everything your master had to teach before adding something and making it your own.

For 10 years, Mike Grey, the David Dunlop '59 Head Coach of Wrestling at Cornell, was the pupil learning from his master. After concluding his collegiate wrestling career in 2011 as a two-time NCAA All-American, Grey sat in the corner with long-time Cornell head coach Rob Koll for 138 dual meets, 45 Ivy League duals, nine EIWA tournaments and eight NCAA tournaments, cornering multiple senior level wrestlers along the way. Through his time as a student-athlete and as an assistant coach, Grey witnessed first-hand the greatest era in Cornell wrestling history.

Now, as Koll returns to East Hill for the first time at the helm of Stanford's program, it's time for Grey to take what he learned and make the Cornell wrestling program his own.

Following his elevation to the role of head coach in May, Grey immediately got to work assembling one of the top coaching staffs in the country. Grey utilized his east coast ties to bring home New York natives Donnie Vinson (Marathon, N.Y.) and Nick Gwiazdowski (Delanson, N.Y.), as well as Kellen Russell from his home state of New Jersey.

Vinson and Russell are known as two of the top recruiters in the country, in addition to their strong wrestling and coaching backgrounds. Named Associate Head Coach, Vinson returns to Cornell after four seasons as an assistant at NC State. While at Cornell from 2014-17, Vinson learned from a staff that included three Division I head coaches (Grey, Koll and Damion Hahn of South Dakota State). A two-time NCAA champion at 141 pounds, Russell comes back to the east coast following a seven-year stint at his alma mater, Michigan. Russell coached 27 All-Americans and helped the Wolverines to five top 10 NCAA finishes while coaching the maize and blue.

This is the first foray into coaching for Gwiazdowski, who has been solely focused on his freestyle wrestling career since graduating from NC State in 2016. A two-time world bronze medalist at 125-kilograms, Gwiazdowski will continue his training while at Cornell, in addition to coaching the Big Red heavyweights. Cornell has never had an All-American at heavyweight, which is something Gwiazdowski hopes to change under his guidance. He has an idea of what it takes to do so as a three-time All-American and a two-time NCAA champion.

"When I was assembling my staff, the big thing for me was to find guys who were the grinder of the staff, and Donnie and Kellen were those guys," Grey said. "Nick's never formally been a coach, but I knew from being around him at USA Wrestling camps that he's intelligent and an extremely diligent worker who pays attention to detail. Those are the types of guys I want to be in a foxhole with. On top of that, they're also great technicians."

In addition to its coaching staff, the Big Red will receive leadership and guidance from its five captains - Dom LaJoie, Ben Darmstadt, Hunter Richard, Yianni Diakomihalis and Vito Arujau. All five have had unique experiences throughout their time at Cornell that will enable them to motivate. Darmstadt, Diakomihalis and Arujau are among the top wrestlers at their weight classes in the country, while LaJoie and Richard are NCAA qualifiers in their own right and guys who have worked hard for everything they've earned. Oddly enough, through injury, Olympic aspirations and the pandemic, this group of captains only has 10 seasons of collegiate wrestling under its belt.

Speaking of Diakomihalis and Arujau, they'll be back in the lineup for the Big Red this season after two years away from folkstyle. In his time away, Diakomihalis made a World Team at 65-kilograms and participated at the 2021 World Wrestling Championships in Oslo, Norway. Diakomihalis also had an opportunity to travel to Tokyo for the Summer Olympics as a training partner of bronze medalist Kyle Dake '13. Arujau was the US Olympic Team Trials runner-up at 57-kilograms, defeating Nathan Tomasello and Daton Fix before losing a hard-fought series against eventual World Champion Thomas Gilman.

As for what weight they'll wrestle during the 2021-22 season, you'll have to wait and see on Saturday.

Now, let's dive into a weight-by-weight breakdown of the 2021-22 Cornell Wrestling roster.

125
Vito Arujau spent his freshman season at 125 pounds and will continue to be an option there for the Big Red this season. Not much else needs to be said for Arujau, who has already established himself as one of the top collegiate wrestlers.

Also at 125 pounds is Greg Diakomihalis. The younger of the two Diakomihalis' on the squad made it to the finals of the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open this past weekend and turned in a strong performance overall. Diakomihalis will continue to knock some rust off and get better as the season progresses. Coach Grey wants to see Diakomihalis get better at closing out matches after losing an early lead in the Bearcat Open finals. Like his older brother, Diakomihalis is advanced and brings high-level techniques to the mat.

133
Cornell wrestling fans could also see Arujau wrestling at 133 pounds this season. Arujau actually wrestled at 133 pounds for a bit during his freshman campaign before being beaten for the spot by Chas Tucker.

Dom LaJoie was the starter for Cornell at 125 pounds two years ago and will bump up to 133 pounds for 2021-22. Although his run at the Bearcat Open ended early, LaJoie picked up a 7-3 decision over Binghamton's Anthony Sobotker (7-3) earlier in the day. Sobotker pinned Rutgers' Sammy Alvarez on Nov. 7. LaJoie is the type of wrestler who will out-work anyone. Coach Grey views him as one of the backbones of the program.

JJ Wilson is another quality guy in the room who is great on top. Wilson needs to get better on his feet, but adds another quality competitor to the wrestling room.

Phillip Moomey is wrestling at the PanAm Championships in December so won't be available for the Big Red until after Christmas. Moomey has a Greco-Roman background while also being a hard wrestling folkstyle competitor.

141
Yianni Diakomihalis needs no introduction as a two-time NCAA champion and a World Team member at 65kg, this is one of two weights Big Red fans could see him at this season.

Josh Saunders went 5-1 at the Bearcat Open before hitting his match limit, dropping a 4-3 decision to McKenzie Bell, an NCAA Qualifier from Rider who defeated Allan Hart of Missouri in the MAC Championships a year ago. Saunders has all of the talent, but needs to expand his comfort zone a bit more and get to legs. When he's able to get to his opponents legs he's hard to beat.

Cole Handlovic is another guy that impressed at the Bearcat Open, going 4-1 and losing in the finals. Handlovic beat high school teammate Ryan Anderson of Binghamton earlier in the day, who he had never beaten before previously. Coach Grey is impressed by Handlovic's top game and his ability to stay in the fight through different positions.

Sal Jones has been around the Cornell program for a while as a kid that grew up going to Cornell wrestling camps. Jones provides a variety of looks for guys in the room being scrappy and a great leg rider.

Wyatt Yapoujian is a work ethic guy that brings his lunch pail to the Friedman Wrestling Center every day. The younger Yapoujian is long and lanky with a skillset that is unique to himself.

149
Yianni Diakomihalis could also see time in the lineup at 149 pounds this season.

Hunter Richard is the incumbent starter at 149 pounds from two years ago. Richard is the epitome of a Cornell wrestler and is a true testament to the development system at Cornell. An NCAA qualifier in 2020, Richard has continued to get better throughout his career and is a guy that does everything right in the room.

Owen Finn went 2-2 in his first collegiate tournament this past weekend and had Coach Grey encouraged by the results. Finn is a guy that will continue to get better the longer he's in the Cornell program and could be an option for the Big Red down the road.

Daniel Koll gives maximum effort at all times. He works hard to maximize his potential and leads by example for the younger guys in the room.

Mike Venosa is a senior who challenges his teammates to get better and brings a lightheartedness to the room.

157
Colton Yapoujian was the Big Red starter at 157 pounds before an injury prematurely ended his season in 2019. Yapoujian is great on top and has the talent to ride out his opponents. There is still more potential on top to be unlocked there. Coach Grey would like to see Yapoujian continue to work towards becoming a more well-rounded wrestler.

Richard could see time at 157 pounds as well. Coach Grey sees Richard as a guy that can take opponents into deep water through his tenacity and his ability to challenge guys whistle to whistle.

Adam Santoro is a Cornell wrestling man through and through. Santoro has been a starter for the Big Red in the past and can be again. He's the first graduate student in Cornell wrestling history and has a high-level skill set. Santoro was looking at other programs before it was announced that Cornell would allow him as a grad student, but chose to stay at Cornell due to his commitment to the program.

Simply put, Gage McClenahan is Pennsylvania tough. McClenahan is a talented freshman that expects to win and competes for everything. At the Bearcat Open, he took third place after defeating teammate Benny Baker.

Baker is a local kid that does everything he's asked in the room. Coach Grey feels like 157 pounds is the right weight for him and is excited for his future as a tough competitor.

Ryan Sokol has a high ceiling with tons of potential to be an explosive wrestler. Coach Grey is excited to see him get on the mat.

Luke Gorg gives everything he has and is invested in his own development. Gorg is a committed teammate and wants to help others get better as well.

165
Jake Brindley split time with Malik Dawkins for the 165-pound spot two seasons ago and brings dual meet experience to the team. Brindley is working to knock some of the rust off after the two-year layoff, winning three matches at the Bearcat Open.

Julian Ramirez is a super talented wrestler with high level technique. Ramirez is a tough competitor that needs to keep his foot on the gas in future matches. At the Bearcat Open, Ramirez took third place and won four of his matches by major decision.

Andrew Merola is a dependable wrestler who has competed in big matches previously, appearing in a number of duals for the Big Red in 2019-20. Merola has great pedigree coming out of Blair Academy and Cornell is looking for him to take the next step in his development.

Colt Barley is from a Cornell wrestling family, following in the footsteps of his older brother Jonah. Barley is a fiery competitor that won't let you push him around on the mat.

174
Chris Foca was the 174-pound winner at the Bearcat Open over the weekend, winning two matches by fall, one by major and two by decision. Foca shows good aggression on the mat and has a wide-open style that the Cornell coaching staff loves. Coach Grey looks for Foca to be more methodical in certain positions. Foca needs to continue to widen the gap and push for bonus points in every match.

John Stawinski is a role model off the mat for guys in the program and has had bad luck with injuries throughout his wrestling career. Cornell leans on Stawinski for leadership as a senior.

Justin Mayes is hyper competitive and fights for every point. Mayes never wrestled for a club prior to reaching Cornell, so it will be interesting to watch his development as he trains with high level coaching, training partners and resources for the first time.

Peyton Craft is a wrestler with tons of potential after placing high at UWW Juniors. Craft is another Blair Academy product and entered Cornell as one of the top recruits in his class. Cornell looks for Craft to continually develop throughout his career.

Jacob Yawn's goal for the season is to gain experience coming out of Louisiana where he will admit he's a bit behind the rest of his counterparts. Yawn is continually picking the brains of his coaches and wants to get better.

184
Jonathan Loew was an NCAA qualifier for the Big Red at 184 pounds in 2020. Loew was Cornell's most impressive wrestler at the Bearcat Open on Sunday and wrestled all three positions well. He was in on legs, ferocious on top and got off bottom right away. Also had a couple of nice mat returns throughout the day. Loew is another guy that needs to keep his foot on the gas and close out matches strong. In the quarterfinals at Binghamton he beat nationally ranked David Key of Navy, 3-2.

Andrew Berreyesa is up two weights from where he competed as a freshman and feels strong at 184 pounds. Berreyesa is excited to compete, asking about additional opens he can scrap at, and will be the first to say he wasn't happy about his performance at Binghamton. An experienced Greco-Roman wrestler, Berreyesa has a good relationship with Coach Gwiz and looks to keep fighting throughout the season.

Ethan Hatcher is an exciting young talent that wrestles in the same vein as Hunter Richard. He's a compete-until-the-final-whistle type of wrestler who has to continue to learn how to wrestle to maximize his potential.

Nathan Thacker isn't cutting much weight to make 184 and is a competitive presence in the wrestling room. Thacker has rekindled his love for wrestling again this year and wants to get better every day.

197
Ben Darmstadt has made a name for himself as an artist of the fall throughout his career, pinning 32 opponents in two seasons. Darmstadt is a game-changer on the mat and has some funk to his wrestling that opponents can't simulate in the room due to his overwhelming length.

Jacob Cardenas is fresh off a strong Bearcat Open that saw him fall in the finals, 3-2, to #13 Lou DePrez of Binghamton. Coach Grey sees Cardenas' sprint in short time as one of the best in the country when he brings aggression. Cardenas defeated #22 Jake Koser of Navy at Binghamton, 8-2. He's the type of wrestler that works relentlessly through every position.

Seth Janney has completely transformed his body into what you could call Seth Janney 2.0. After wrestling at 285 for the first three seasons of his Cornell career, Janney is now a lanky guy that's excited to be on the mat after dealing with a number of injuries. Janney picked up a pair of wins at Binghamton this past weekend.

285
Lewis Fernandes brings a strong pedigree to heavyweight in what is likely Cornell's deepest room of heavyweights in quite some time. Fernandes went 3-0 at the Bearcat Open before Cornell opted to avoid the potential wear and tear of additional matches after facing a 'game' opponent from Columbia. Fernandes hadn't wrestled folkstyle in two years prior to Sunday and looked great in his return with a fall, a tech and a major.

Brendan Furman was the starter at 285 two years ago and qualified for the NCAA Championships after a 4-1 performance at EIWA's. Two years ago, Furman was a guy that got better with every match and that showed when he went on a five-match winning streak prior to EIWA's.

Similar to Janney, it was exciting to see Drew Flynn on the mat this past weekend as another guy that has dealt with multiple injuries throughout the course of his Cornell wrestling career. Flynn gives it his all every match.





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