Ithaca Wrestling Upsets No. 13 Ohio Northern University to Finish in Third Place at the Budd Whitehill Duals
SOURCE: athletics.ithaca.edu
January 14, 2023

 


LYCOMING, N.Y. - The Budd Whitehill Duals are a two-day dual meet tournament meaning Saturday starts championship action. Four nationally ranked teams entered the semifinals looking to make the podium: No. 21 Ithaca, No. 13 Ohio Northern, No. 8 Wisconsin Eau-Claire, and familiar foe No. 6 Stevens. Ithaca was the lowest nationally ranked winner of their pool yesterday and Stevens was the highest. In typical bracket format that means the Bombers took on the Ducks in the opening championship round that also functions as the semifinals. These teams were each other's first dual of the season back in early November. The Ducks came out on top with a 30-9 victory, but each team has grown and changed since then. Following that dual, Ithaca wrestled Ohio Northern, and their multiple wrestlers ranked within the top-10. The Bombers didn't back down and bounced back with some huge victories to take home third place in this nationally recognized tournament. The results and recaps below tell a bigger story than just the podium run.

No. 6 Stevens over Ithaca 24-12

Stevens is loaded throughout the entire lineup. The lowest ranked lightweight is No. 15 Nico Diaz at 133, while the rest - 125 Luke Heorle, 141 Kyle Slendhorn, and 149 Hunter Gutierrez - are all No. 3 in the country. The rest of their lineup is also either currently ranked or has been at some point this season. The Bombers wrestled this loaded lineup and improved so greatly over their last dual against Stevens is a great sign in the development of this team and its young talent. 149 Matthew Beyer didn't wrestle No. 3 Gutierrez due to a previous injury. Instead, he battled and won 10-3 against a tough opponent who was winning all weekend, Pasquale Vizzoni. Wenchard Pierre-Louis picked up the Bombers second consecutive decision win over Jason Smith; not to be confused with the prior ranked Ryan Smith who wrestled at 157 against Ithaca in November. Eze Chukwuezi continued his undefeated weekend with a fall. His win also extends his bonus point streak.

Ithaca over Ohio Northern 27-14

The Ithaca College Bombers knocked off No. 13 Ohio Northern Polar Bears for third place. Ithaca started out with a big lead as 125 Matt Haycook got six and 133 Isaias Torres smoothly coasted his way to a 9-2 victory. 141 Luis Hernandez had a beast of an opponent in #2 Jacob Reed. Hernandez looked competitive in neutral, but Reed's ground game is where he shines brightest. Still, the Bomber never quit and continued to fight hard off his back to prevent a fall, only giving up a major to No. 2 in the country. 149 Matthew Beyer also had a top-10 opponent. No. 10 Chase Sumner got out to an early lead, but Beyer hit a late second period takedown to make it a 1-point match. Sumner unfortunately had to medically forfeit as his knee got injured on the takedown. Beyer was looking to win this match outright and started to hit his groove, but nonetheless the result gave six points to the Bombers. 157 Pierre-Louis controlled the whole match on his way to a 8-2 decision. By the time Ithaca's top ranked wrestler stepped on the mat, the Polar Bears crept closer to Ithaca's lead. Any bonus point win from #6 Eze would secure the dual victory based on criteria. 16-14 on the scoreboard must have been a little too close for comfort because the graduate student wasted no time racking up points. Just before reaching the points for a major decision, Eze committed to a massive throw and secured the fall. That victory locked in the upset over No. 13 Ohio Northern and put Ithaca on the podium. Jeremy Mazzella wanted to make a statement to the ranking committee with a win at heavyweight. He comes out with a 4-1 decision, making the injury forfeit points at 149 insignificant to the outcome of the dual. Eze Chukwuezi was named the 197 lb representative for the All-Tournament Team. This weekend alone he tallied 25 team points in the form of two pins, two tech-falls, and a ranked win over No. 7 in the country.

The No. 21 ranked Bombers added a massive ranked upset win to their record of 4-1 on the weekend and 7-3 overall. All losses to ranked dual teams: No. 6 Stevens twice and No. 4 Johnson & Wales. Look for the Bombers to move up the rankings after a great weekend on the mat at a very well-respected tournament.


Continue to athletics.ithaca.edu



Comments