Wrestling Posts Top-Five Finish at Ithaca Invitational Behind Two Titles https://t.co/UpDrEGCDGd
— Ithaca Bombers (@BomberSports) November 6, 2021
ITHACA, N.Y. - The 14th-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team wrapped up its season-opener at the Athletics & Events Center's Glazer Arena on Saturday for the final day of the annual Ithaca Invitational tournament. The Bombers had seven grapplers battling for individual titles in the top-half of the brackets entering the second day of competition on Saturday, while eight others were still alive in the consolation rounds. Head coach Marty Nichols' squad fought hard throughout the day while finishing in fifth place in the 11-team field behind a total of 89.5 team points.
Johnson & Wales took home the team title with 154.0 points to barely edge sixth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology who finished in second place with 152.0 points. Castleton followed behind to claim third place in the team race with 135.0 points. Thirteenth-ranked Baldwin Wallace and Ithaca rounded out the Top-Five with 130.0 and 89.5 points, respectively.
Highlighting the final day of action were a trio of finalists. Junior 157-pounder Adam Wagner dazzled in his season debut and grinded out two solid victories to capture an individual title. On the opposite side of the bracket, freshman standout Wenchard Pierre-Louis made his collegiate debut one to remember as he secured two hard-fought wins to put himself in the finals. Ultimately, there was no contest at 157-pounds between the two Bombers and Pierre-Louis opted to medically forfeit the bout. Nationally-ranked senior star Eze Chukwuezi (7th d3wrestle.com) looked every bit like an All-American caliber wrestler on Saturday as he followed with an 197-pound title to put an exclamation point on a rather impressive opening weekend for IC.
Three additional Bombers earned medals on the day. Senior Matt Griffin punched a ticket to the semifinals to guarantee himself a place-finish. Unfortunately, the 125-pounder suffered a lower-leg injury midway through the match and was forced to medically forfeit the remainder of the tournament to place sixth. Nationally-ranked Travis Jones (9th d3wrestle.com) had a tough outing in the semifinals after getting upset by eventual 141-pound champ Kyle Slendorn of Stevens, 7-5. In what was a loaded bracket that featured three other nationally ranked wrestlers, Jones settled for a sixth-place finish to conclude his season debut. First-year Jackson Gray turned the heads of many in his collegiate debut after advancing to the semifinals and ending up with a sixth-place finish at 165-pounds.
Wagner had a superb opening tournament at 157-pounds. The Lodi, N.Y. native kicked things off with a commanding 13-5 major decision win over Baldwin Wallace's Tyler Wittreich in the quarterfinals. His semifinal bout against Sean Monteiro of Western New England was a thriller from start to finish, as a late takedown and ride out helped secure a 6-5 win. Wagner was set to face teammate Pierre-Louis in the championship final, but no contest resulted.
Pierre-Louis made a name for himself in the Division III wrestling world after marching to a 157-pound final in what was his first taste of collegiate action. In his quarterfinal bout against third-seeded Logan Dubuque of Castleton, the Brentwood High School product secured a late single leg takedown to tie things at 4-4 and send the match to overtime. In sudden victory, Pierre-Louis sprawled off of Dubuque's double leg attempt and countered with a nifty far ankle pick and go-behind move to seal an exciting 6-4 come-from-behind victory.
In his semifinals match, Pierre-Louis was in a back-and-forth affair against Hunter Gutierrez of Stevens. Tied 6-6 with just over a minute remaining in the third period, the Bomber set the pace on his feet and racked up two takedowns to secure a 10-7 win.
Chukwuezi had an emphatic start to his 2021 campaign in the 197-pound bracket. The upper weight showcased his dominance in the quarterfinal bout by paving his way to a 9-3 win over Vincent Ceglie of Johnson & Wales behind a three-takedown performance. In the semifinals, Chukwuezi survived a scare, but managed to grind out an electrifying 12-11 win over Baldwin Wallace's Doug Byrne to advance to the championship match.
The Fredericksburg, V.A. native looked like a different animal in his title bout against Castleton's Chance LaPier. Within the first thirty seconds, Chukwuezi swiftly dropped down to a single leg and reached around to the far ankle to give himself an early takedown. It was all fundamental technique from that point on. Leading 3-2 with ten seconds to go in the bout, LaPier went for a lateral drop, but Chukwuezi maintained leverage and good position to counter with a final takedown. The senior picked up the 197-pound crown with a commanding 5-2 victory.
"We have a lot of work to do but the effort was pretty good," said Nichols. "I saw a lot of good things and I saw a lot of things that I thought we could improve on in a week. We're pretty young and it's been a while since we've been in any competition, so there's some really good things to work with."
Ithaca College will flip the script and open up dual meet action next weekend when the team hits the road and travels to Oswego, N.Y. on Sunday, November 14 for a tri-meet against Oswego State and Penn College. First whistle is slated to begin at 1 p.m.