Arujau Beats Fix In Marathon Match To Win Second Straight Title, Cornell Finishes Second
SOURCE: cornellbigred.com
March 23, 2024

 


KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- After a 21-minute match that included multiple blood stoppages and challenges, Cornell senior Vito Arujau took a bow in front of a raucous crowd as the fourth two-time NCAA champion in Big Red wrestling history.

Arujau, the #6 seed at 133 pounds, took down #1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) 5-3 by decision in a dramatic bout that had 15,950 fans at the T-Mobile Center on edge from wire-to-wire. Arujau, who took out the top three seeds in the bracket on his way to his second straight title, joined Dave Auble (1959 and 1960), Gabe Dean (2015 and 2016) and Travis Lee (2003 and 2005) on Cornell's list of two-time NCAA champions. He's the sixth overall multi-time champion in program history (four-timers Kyle Dake and Yianni Diakomihalis are the other two).

With Arujau's win and and Virginia Tech's #4 Caleb Henson beating #6 Austin Gomez (Michigan) in the 149-pound final, Cornell secured second place in the team race (72.5 points) for the third time in program history and the first time since 2011. The Big Red entered Saturday in sixth place.

"That was a doozy, partially because I'm still a little dizzy from that," Arujau said in his post-match press conference. "I think I was really sluggish off the start, a little lackadaisical. And I think that maybe partially led to the early injury that I got. We both just bumped heads. I didn't jump out to the one or two-takedown lead that I hoped to. I just stayed resilient. Through call after call and lost takedown after lost takedown, I kept my foot on the gas and said, 'I am not going to let this slip away from me.'"


Arujau needed to take blood time twice in a scoreless first period for a gushing gash on his head. Fix, who hadn't lost all season, went ahead 2-0 in the second after an escape and a locked-hands call against Arujau upon video review.

The madness had only just begun.

Arujau took a shot in the middle of the second period, bringing Fix to the ground near the edge of the mat. However, officials did not award Arujau three points for a takedown, a call that stood after Cornell's challenge.

Arujau, who needed more blood time before the third period began, tied the match at two after an escape and a stall call against Fix. He went in for another shot and earned three points to go ahead 5-3. Until that call, too, was reversed.

Another Oklahoma State challenge kept the match tied at two, but that did not last much longer. Arujau went on the attack again, finally earning that elusive takedown -- no video review needed that time -- to take a 5-2 lead.

Fix earned an escape to cut his deficit to 5-3, and then Arujau earned another takedown that would've sealed the match if it had counted. One last Oklahoma State challenge gave Fix life with 15 seconds to go.

Arujau, as he'd done for each of those bumpy 21 minutes, had to grit out one last stretch. And he did.

When the buzzer sounded -- finally -- he ended his historic Cornell career on top again.

"That is everything that I am bad at -- stops and motion, no momentum, able to be pulled, multiple stoppages for blood, just smack my head," Arujau said. "I don't know if a single call went my way. But just persevering, staying in there, get your head down into the fight and just let it rip."

That's what champions do.

Arujau Notes

Arujau ended his career with 20 wins in the NCAA Championships, tied for the most in school history. Yianni Diakomihals, Kyle Dake and Troy Nickerson also had 20 wins in the tournament.

Arujau ranks sixth in Cornell history in winning percentage in the tournament (20-3, .870).

Arujau won 12 straight matches in the NCAA Championships dating back to the 2022 tournament.

In this tournament, Arujau joined Yainni Diakomihalis, Kyle Dake, Gabe Dean, Nashon Garrett, Travis Lee, Dustin Manotti, Troy Nickerson and Cam Simaz as one of nine four-time All-Americans in Cornell history.

Arujau took out #3 Kai Orine (NC State, quarterfinals), #2 Ryan Crookham (Lehigh, semifinals) and #1 Fix (Oklahoma State, finals) in this tournament. This was the second straight tournament in which he beat Fix (he beat him 11-3 by major decision in the semifinals last year). Additionally, Fix was the only one of the six #1 seeds who made it to Saturday to lose in the finals this year.

Arujau became the first Big Red wrestler seeded outside of the top five in his weight class to win a title since Jordan Leen did so as the No. 8 seed at 157 pounds in 2008.

Arujau went 93-9 during his career at Cornell. He ranks ninth in program history in winning percentage (.912)

Arujau won the 25th national title in program history.


Team Notes

Cornell secured its second straight NCAA team trophy under Mike Grey, the David Dunlop '59 Head Coach of Wrestling. Cornell has finished in the top 10 in all three years under Grey.

Cornell has 23 top-10 finishes in the tournament in program history.

Cornell has two other second-place finishes: 2010 and 2011.

Cornell has 25 national champions all-time, tied for seventh in the country.

Cornell has 19 champions since 2000, the third most in the country in that span.

Cornell and Iowa are the only two schools to finish in the top 10 at NCAAs every year since 2008 except 2021 (the Ivy League did not compete due to COVID-19).

Cornell has had at least one champion in five straight tournaments, the second-longest active streak behind Penn State (13)

The Big Red has amassed at least 50 team points in 18 of its last 20 NCAA tournaments. It hasn't finished lower than 12th in any of those years.

Arujau Match-By-Match

133 ? #6 Vito Arujau (5-0)

First Round: #6 Arujau def. #27 Gable Strickland (Lock Haven) 17-4 by major decision

Second Round: #6 Arujau def. #22 Domenic Zaccone (Campbell) 11-1 by major decision

Quarterfinal Match: #6 Arujau def. #3 Kai Orine (North Carolina State) 13-3 by major decision

Semifinal Match: #6 Arujau def. #2 Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) 13-3 by major decision

Final Match: #6 Arujau def. #1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) 5-3 by decision


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