Arujau, Ramirez Claim Titles, Big Red Grabs Seventh as a Team In Vegas
SOURCE: cornellbigred.com
December 03, 2022

 

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Vito Arujau (133) and Julian Ramirez (165) each claimed individual titles, two others reached the podium and the Cornell wrestling team finished an impressive seventh at the 2022 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational that concluded on Saturday. The Big Red's 83.5 points was a point better than Ohio State and Oregon State in the battle for seventh.

Without three starters and despite losing two others on the first day of competition due to injury, Cornell held its own in one of the nation's most competitive tournaments. In addition to Arujau and Ramirez, Chris Foca took third at 174 pounds, suffering his only loss of the tournament in a 3-2 nailbiter against No. 2 Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech, while unranked Brett Umgar grabbed seventh with four wins seeded grapplers on the weekend.


Arujau knocked off three top 25 wrestlers, including controlling his finals match over Michael McGee of Arizona State in a 6-1 triumph to earn the title. He also topped Virginia Tech's top-10 ranked Sam Latona in the semifinals by the identical score. The junior is now 6-0 on the season.


Ramirez had a statement weekend, dropping three ranked grapplers, including an 8-2 victory over Ivy rival Josh Ogunsanya in the semis before a dominant 17-1 triumph over Tanner Cook of South Dakota State, picking up the tech fall with more than 30 seconds remaining in the first period. He outscored opponents 42-5 with a three bonus wins, including a second round fall in just 40 seconds.

Arujau and Ramirez stood out, but several other wrestlers impressed, including Foca.

The fifth-seeded Foca (174) topped four seeded wrestlers, including a pair of close victories in the back draw. His 8-4 win over seventh-ranked Ethan Smith in the quarterfinals was one of four matches he wrestled against top 25 opponents.

Umgar (125) proved he belongs in the national rankings if only just for his two efforts against No. 11 Malik Heinselman of Ohio State. The freshman earned a 4-0 win with a tilt in the decisive third period, then faced off again in the back draw and lost a narrow 3-1 contest. His 5-3 win over NC State's Jarrett Trombley was his third win over a seeded wrestler on day one and allowed him to podium.

Cornell will take a finals break before returning to action Dec. 19 against both Oregon State and Iowa State at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in New Orleans, La.


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