Road trip starts off with a victory!
— Cornell Wrestling (@BigRedWrestling) February 8, 2026
The Big Red wins 8 matches: Ferrara, Cornella, Joy, Shapiro, Ruiz, Cerchio, Crace, Kruse
See you tomorrow in Philadelphia!#familynotfactory#yellcornell #gobigred pic.twitter.com/NoE1hF0wXn
PRINCETON, N.J. — The Cornell men's wrestling team won eight of 10 bouts and pulled away for a 31-5 victory over Princeton on Saturday night in an Ivy League dual at Jadwin Gymnasium.
After dropping the opening bout at 125 pounds, the Big Red responded with four straight wins to seize control of the match and never looked back.
At 125, Princeton's Marc-Anthony McGowan broke open a tight contest in the third period to defeat Greg Diakomihalis, 5-1, giving the Tigers an early 3-0 lead.
Cornell answered at 133 pounds. Princeton's Ethan Rivera took a 4-2 lead into the third period and built nearly two minutes of riding time, but Tyler Ferrara surged late with a stall point and a takedown to secure a 6-5 decision. The win improved Ferrara's season record to 20-6 and evened the team score at 3-3.
Vince Cornella put the Big Red in front for good at 141, scoring two first-period takedowns and adding another in the third to earn a 12-3 major decision over Matthew Martino. Cornella accumulated more than two minutes of riding time as Cornell moved ahead 7-3.
At 149, Jaxon Joy turned in a dominant performance. Joy built a 7-0 lead after the first period behind a takedown and four near-fall points and never slowed, adding another takedown and riding time to secure a 13-0 major decision. Cornell extended its lead to 11-3.
Meyer Shapiro followed with another bonus-point victory at 157. Shapiro totaled four takedowns through two periods and amassed significant riding time before finishing off a 17-4 major decision to push the team score to 15-3.
Princeton picked up its second win of the night at 165, where Ty Whalen defeated Benny Rogers, 8-3, trimming the Cornell lead to 15-6.
Simon Ruiz halted the momentum at 174, controlling the bout from the outset with an early takedown and steady ride en route to a 5-1 decision. Cornell led 18-6 with three weights remaining.
Louie Cerchio added another major decision at 184. Cerchio scored an early takedown, benefited from two stalling calls and sealed the bout with two third-period takedowns to defeat Xavier Giles, 12-4. The Big Red advantage grew to 22-6.
At 197, Carson Crace delivered a key takedown at the second-period buzzer to take control and went on to earn the decision over Connor McCloskey, stretching the lead to 25-6. This earned Crace his first dual win of the season.
Heavyweight Cy Kruse closed the dual with a forfeit victory, cementing Cornell's 31-5 win.
With the victory, the Big Red strengthened its position in Ivy League competition and continued its late-season push toward the conference championships.
Cornell travels to Penn on Sunday for a 1 p.m. match. The dual will be streamed on ESPN+.
Match Results:
125 — Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton) dec. Greg Diakomihalis (Cornell), 5-1
133 — Tyler Ferrara (Cornell) dec. Ethan Rivera (Princeton), 6-5
141 — Vince Cornella (Cornell) major dec. Matthew Martino (Princeton), 12-3
149 — Jaxon Joy (Cornell) major dec. Eligh Rivera (Princeton), 13-0
157 — Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) major dec. Gavin Hawk (Princeton), 17-4
165 — Ty Whalen (Princeton) dec. Benny Rogers (Cornell), 8-3
174 — Simon Ruiz (Cornell) dec. Holden Garcia (Princeton), 5-1
184 — Louie Cerchio (Cornell) major dec. Xavier Giles (Princeton), 12-4
197 — Carson Crace (Cornell) dec. Connor McCloskey (Princeton), 3-1
285 — Cy Kruse IV (Cornell) won by forfeit
Final: Cornell 31, Princeton 5