No. 14 Ithaca Caps Off NYS Championships with Second Place Finish
SOURCE: athletics.ithaca.edu
November 20, 2021

 


CORTLAND, N.Y. - The fourteenth-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team returned to tournament action on Saturday, November 20 when it traveled to SUNY Cortland for the 2021 New York State Championships. The Bombers had an impressive outing, finishing in second place in the team race with 126.5 points. RIT took home the team title after racking up a tournament-high 148.5 points.

The trip to Cortland left IC with a couple handfuls of hardware and gave head coach Marty Nichols and company a good idea of where they stand so far on the young season. When asked how to rate the performance on the afternoon, Nichols, who is currently in his 26th season leading the program, simply stated that the team is "improving."

"We did a lot better on top... and at every position really, but we still have a long way to go," said Nichols. "Overall, I think that they put together a great effort."

The Bombers went three-for-five in the finals and grabbed three more medals while posting some victories against high-caliber Division III competition within the state. Headlining the day for Ithaca were a trio of stars, as junior 141-pounder Travis Jones snagged his second career NYS Championship title, junior Matthew Beyer cruised to a 149-pound title, and senior Eze Chukwuezi earned his second tournament championship of the season at 197 pounds.


Jones was lights out on Saturday and did not even see the third period until his 141-pound title bout. He got things rolling with back-to-back falls over Merchant Marine's Charles Lausten (3:35) and Alfred State's Gavin Richter (2:08). The New Jersey product followed up with a first-period pin over Joey Pilliteri of Jamestown Community College (2:43) in the semifinals to march to the championship match. Jones was put to the test in the finals, as Jamestown Community College freshman Trenton Donahue tied things at 6-6 late in the third period to send things to overtime. In sudden victory, Jones did what he does best and used his scrappy, unorthodox style to his advantage to earn the two-point takedown off of a scramble to seal the victory, 8-6.


Perhaps no other Bomber was as dominant on the day as 149-pounder Matt Beyer. The gritty middleweight continued to establish himself on the D3 level after notching bonus-point victories in every single match in the tournament. Beyer broke things open with a technical fall over New York University's John Garcia (16-1) and a quick pin over Cortland's Markel Browne (2:32). From there, the junior continued to excel after sticking Merchant Marine's Edward Pinc (6:40) in the quarterfinals and mustering another technical fall over Austin Manning of Merchant Marine (18-3) in the semifinals. It was an absolute takedown clinic in the championship bout, as Beyer racked up four of them off of some double legs against his third Merchant Marine opponent in Connor Brown. It was a statement win for the Bomber as he took the 149-pound crown by storm with a commanding 13-2 triumph.


Chukwuezi was more workmanlike on his path to the 197-pound title, yet still outscored his opponents 29-5 in the tournament. The nation's ninth-ranked grappler (d3wrestle) began the day with a swift first period fall over Joseph Wiley of Merchant Marine (1:56) in the preliminary round and a decisive 12-0 major decision over Anthony Cascen of Oswego State in the quarterfinals. Brockport's Joe Benedict pushed the Bomber in the semifinals, but Chukwuezi's quickness and power on his feet did enough to collect himself a 4-1 win. One of the more entertaining bouts of the tournament came in the 197-pound final. After a scoreless opening period, Cortland's Brian Torres earned a quick escape and notched a takedown over Chukwuezi off of a scramble to go up 3-0. Trailing 3-1 with just over a minute remaining in the match, Chukwuezi went to work and picked up a takedown off of a vicious blast double to tie things at three. Comfortable enough to win the match from neutral, the senior handed Torres the escape and answered with a match-winning takedown off of an underhook/throw-by move with six seconds remaining to earn an electrifying 7-4 victory. Chukwuezi is a perfect 9-0 on the season.

Two other Ithaca wrestlers posted runner-up finishes on the afternoon in junior 133-pounder Luis Hernandez and first year 165-pounder Jackson Gray. After last competing in 2019, Hernandez knocked off the dust and turned in a dazzling second-place performance in his season debut. The Miami, F.L. native went 3-1 on the day and dropped a tight 8-4 decision to Cortland's Jayden Cardenas in the 133-pound final after leading in the first period. Gray also went 3-1 at Cortland by notching two pins and a convincing 8-1 win but was forced to medically forfeit his championship match against RIT's Austin Lamb.

Rounding out Ithaca's lengthy list of place-finishers were junior heavyweight Nicolas Galka and a pair of 157-pounders in junior Adam Wagner and freshman Wenchard Pierre-Louis. Upon losing in the first round to eventual 285-pound finalist Calik Kennedy of RIT (8-1), Galka battled back and won three consolation bouts. The heavyweight eventually settled for sixth place after medically forfeiting his final two matches on the afternoon. Tenth-ranked Wagner (d3wrestle) brought some hype with him into the tournament after entering the day undefeated but dropped a heartbreaking 3-1 overtime loss to Cortland's Chandler Merwin in the semifinals. The 157-pounder still fought back to place third. Pierre-Louis had yet another formidable performance on the season while going 3-2 and finishing fourth at 157-pounds. The freshman had some tough sledding in the semifinals as he got pinned by the top-ranked wrestler in the country in Kaidon Winters of RIT (d3wrestle) but responded with a decisive 12-6 win over Dara Heydarpour of RIT in the consolation semis. Pierre-Louis opted to medically forfeit his third-place match against Wagner.

Ithaca College will return to the mats on Friday, December 3 and Saturday, December 4, when the team travels south to the York College of Pennsylvania for the annual New Standard Spartan Invitational tournament.


Continue to athletics.ithaca.edu



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