Ithaca Wrestling Finishes Second at SUNYAC Championships
SOURCE: athletics.ithaca.edu
November 18, 2023

 


ROCHESTER, N.Y. - On a day full of NCAA fall postseason tournament matchups, the Ithaca College wrestling team traveled to Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) for a NCAA championship tournament of their own. This is the first season the Bombers are wrestling in the SUNYAC.

The Liberty League does not sponsor wrestling despite many of the schools having a competitive team. The Bombers, along with a few of the other teams affected by the dissipation of the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference, sought shelter under the SUNYAC umbrella. The current wrestling programs in the SUNYAC are Brockport, Cortland, Ithaca College, Oneonta, Oswego, RIT, St. John Fisher and Utica University.

The Bombers had two individual champs and nine other place winners. They were the runners-up behind Cortland. Below are the individual results by weight:

125: 5th Place Kendricks Pellicci
Both of Pellicci's losses came from the same opponent from Cortland. Besides getting caught early on in that second match, Pellicci wrestled solid all day. The first year 125 pounder is looking more comfortable as he enters more competition.

133: Runner Up Isaias Torres
Torres dominated every match up until the finals racking up a tech fall and two major decisions. The finals brought on a familiar foe in #7 Jayden Cardenas out of Cortland. Cardenas seems to be Torres' Achilles heel in terms of regional and conference championships, besting Torres 13-8 this time. Don't expect the sophomore's #8 ranking to drop too far though. The only other D3 loss on the season come from #2 Jaden Hinton. Torres is wrestling well.

141: DNP

149: Matthew Beyer was not entered to compete

157: CHAMPION Wenchard Pierre-Louis & Bronze Braden Edwards
The Bombers saw each other in the semis. It is unfortunate they were placed in the same side of the bracket because they very well could have wrestled for first and second. It's safe to assume head coach Marty Nichols can't be too upset about champion Wenchard Pierre-Louis having to wrestle a full match in the finals. Not including Edward's loss to Pierre-Louis, the duo went undefeated racking up 42.5 team points. They combined for five falls, two techs, and a major decision.

165: CHAMPION Konrad Parker & Bronze Pedro Cruz
A similar situation to the weight class below, Parker and Cruz met each other in the semis only to take first and third. If these weights were separated in the bracket, there's a good chance that Ithaca would be coming home with a SUNYAC title. Regardless, Parker and Cruz made the most of the situation. Their closest match was each other in a 4-1 bout.

174: Runner Up Jackson Gray
Gray looked out of sorts bumping up to 174 last postseason, but he's wrestling like he belongs there. Gray ran through his half of the bracket before meeting #4 Charlie Grygas from Oswego State. A tight 8-5 loss shows Gray can compete with the best of the best despite giving up a little bit of size.

184: Runner Up Xavier Pommells & Bronze Jake Jones
Pommells didn't wrestle a full match on his way to the finals. He rattled off four consecutive falls all prior to the third period. Unfortunately, Pommells suffered an injury in the finals that prevented him from finishing the match. Jones's only loss was to the champion and rattled off three pins of his own. His only non-pin victory was a shutout third place win. A quality showing from the 184-pound weight class.

197: Fourth Place Ryan Galka
Galka recorded three bonus point wins including two falls and a tech. Galka is one of the most exciting wrestlers to watch. He's extremely unpredictable which earns him a few of his falls.

HWT: Runner Up Jeremy Mazzella
Mazzella is figuring out how heavyweights move and taking advantage. Despite losing in the finals, Mazzella put up the most points of any heavyweight entered in the tournament. He scored 34 points earning two major decisions.

The Bombers will kick off December traveling to York, Pa for the New Standard Invite. It will be the last tournament before the dual meet season begins. Wrestling will begin Friday, December 1 at 2 p.m. and will continue Saturday, December 2 at 9 a.m.


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