Ithaca Wrestling to Send Four to Nationals as the Bombers Finish in Second at the NCAA DIII Mideast Regional
SOURCE: athletics.ithaca.edu
March 02, 2024

 


ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Similar to how it has been for the last three seasons running, the Ithaca College wrestling team entered the final day of the Mideast Regional in a neck-and-neck battle for the team title. Wrestlers were once again competing on the campus of RIT in George H. Clark Gymnasium as the Bombers ended up finishing second as a team with 138.5 total points as TCNJ claimed the title racking up 151 team points.

The Bombers had an excellent semifinal showing, sending three wrestlers to the championship finals heading into the medal rounds. Ultimately, Jackson Gray was able claim hardware earning his first-ever Mideast Regional championship, he along with Isaias Torres who earned his first-ever regional championship at 133 lbs. led the scoring charge with the team also seeing a finalist, two third-place finishers, a fourth-place finisher and two fifth-place finishers.

133 lbs.: Isaias Torres, NCAA Championship Qualifier via 1st Place Finish

Torres has really solidified himself in the national scene as he ended up claiming first-pace in the 133 lb. weight class. He began his day with a pretty straight forward 4-1 decision over Kaden Ware (Pennsylvania College of Technology) to enter the championship match. He squared off against Zach Levey who upset Centenary's Danny Haws in his previous bout, but once again it was all Isaias Torres as he claimed the 5-2 decision over Levey.

149 lbs.: Matthew Beyer, NCAA Championship Qualifier via 3rd place Finish

Whoa what a rollercoaster of emotions for graduate student Matthew Beyer. He was able to claim his second-straight national berth fighting all the way back for a third-place finish and along the way was able to revenge his regular season loss to McDaniel's Thomas Monn. In his semifinal bout, he was stunned and fell via a sudden victory (11-10) decision that RIT's Mike Glynn was able to claim. Beyer began his fight back as he was matched up with Elizabethtown's Shane Strausser, who was only able to manage an escape point with Beyer winning 5-1.

This set the stage for a highly anticipated third-place match between No. 9 Thomas Monn and No. 11 Beyer. In their previous match, Beyer was leading but was pinned and this time he got off to another great start and showed off his defensive prowess to win by a 4-2 decision.

157 lbs.: Wenchard Pierre-Louis, NCAA Qualifier via 2nd place Finish

Wenchard Pierre-Louis was on the other side of an overtime sudden victory as he was victorious in his semifinal bout defeating Ryan Datz from TCNJ (8-5). This setup a first-place matchup between himself and Xavier Howard (McDaniel) and Howard was able to claim a second period fall at 4:48. Nonetheless, Pierre-Louis will be making his second-straight National Championship appearance as he will look to potentially earn All-American status here in his junior year.

165 lbs.: Konrad Parker, Fourth Place Finisher

Parker lost a back-and-forth bout to Ganon Smith to begin his Saturday as it turned out to be one point that made the difference in the favor of the Elizabethtown grappler who won 8-7. Battling next in the consolation semis, Parker scored his second major decision victory of the Mideast Regional, this time defeating Chris Roybal (Johns Hopkins), 16-4. He ended up finishing fourth after falling 8-5 to Shawn Marchesano (Ursinus). Overall, it was a strong sophomore season from Parker as he will look to breakthrough next year.

174 lbs.: Jackson Gray, NCAA Qualifier via 1st Place Finish

Jackson Gray tied Torres as the top overall scorer for the Bombers totaling 25 team points and going 4-0 overall this weekend. He was all over Ganon Smith (Elizabethtown) as he scored the 13-5 major decision to book his place in the finals. Unfortunately, a bout that could potentially be seen now at nationals didn't happen on Saturday as SUNY Oswego's No. 5 ranked Charlie Grygas ended up forfeiting the first-place match.

184 lbs.: Jake Jones, Fifth Place Finisher

Jake Jones ended up having three matches on Saturday as it was somewhat of a topsy turvy day that resulted in a fifth-place finish in his debut at the Mideast Regional. Jones won his fifth round consolation defeating Cortland's Robert Cunnigham (3-1), but fell via a 16-1 technical fall to Max Borton in the consolation semis. He ended his regional on a high note defeating Will Davis (Elizabethtown) to earn fifth with Jones winning 10-4.

197 lbs.: Ryan Galka, NCAA Qualifier via a Third Place Finish

What became a theme on the day for the Bombers, Ryan Galka was also able to fight back through the consolation bracket and earn an NCAA bid no nationals with his third-place result. It was a thrilling result for Galka who initially dropped his semifinal bout but in his third-place matchup against Blake Ilges (Alfred State) he was able a score a sudden victory in his favor doing so 8-5. Along the way, Galka also picked up an 11-5 decision over Carson Licastri as he was 4-1 overall on the weekend.

285 lbs.: Jeremy Mazzella, Fifth Place Finisher

Mazzella will likely conclude his collegiate career on a high note as he scored a fifth-place finish for Ithaca as he ended up winning his final match over a St. John Fisher opponent by medical forfeit. He also picked up a 4-3 decision win along the way, he defeated Elmira College's Darius Green.

The Bombers will enter the final chapter of their season two weeks from now when they will send Isaias Torres, Matthew Beyer, Wenchard Pierre-Louis and Jackson Gray to La Crosse, Wisc. for the 2024 NCAA Division III Championships beginning on Friday, March 15-16. Starting times are slated for 11 a.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. on Saturday.


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