Our next conference preview will focus on the Ivy League. This is a conference that finished the 2025-26 season in style, as four of its six teams finished in the top 20 at the NCAA Championships. Columbia led the way at 17th, and they were followed by Cornell (18th), Penn (19th), and Princeton (20th). Columbia’s big point-scorer has moved on, but there’s reason to believe that Cornell, Penn, and Princeton could all replicate or improve-upon their 2026 NCAA finishes.

The Ivy League in 2026-27 will feature three wrestlers who have earned NCAA All-American honors at least once in their respective careers. Each hails from a different school (Cornell, Penn, Princeton). There’s also reason to believe expect that number to grow in 2027 and beyond as those three schools were also mentioned in InterMat’s Class of 2026 recruiting rankings (Cornell #7, Penn #13, Princeton #23).

After our updated preseason rankings were released on Thursday, two Ivy League teams appear in InterMat’s dual rankings (Cornell #11 and Penn #24). Princeton was one of the first teams on the outside looking in.

Here’s our look at the Ivy League for 2026-27

InterMat’s Preseason First-Team All-Ivy League

125 lbs: #2 Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton)

133 lbs: #13 Elijah Cortez (Cornell)

141 lbs: #6 Vince Cornella (Cornell)

149 lbs: #7 Cross Wasilewski (Penn)

157 lbs: #9 Jaxon Joy (Cornell)

165 lbs: #18 Ty Whalen (Princeton)

174 lbs: #7 Simon Ruiz (Cornell)

184 lbs: #18 Mikey Dellagatta (Cornell)

197 lbs: #14 Andrew Reall (Brown)

285 lbs: #19 Vincent Mueller (Columbia)

Mark It on the Calendar

November 1st: Princeton Open (Brown, Penn, Princeton)

November 13th: Columbia at Michigan

November 14th: Journeymen Duals (Penn vs. Iowa State, Wisconsin) - Bradenton, Florida

November 15th: Columbia at Ohio State

November 15th: West Virginia at Brown

November 20th: Princeton at Wisconsin

November 21st: Nebraska vs. Penn

November 22nd: Big Red Invitational (Brown, Cornell)

November 22nd: Black Knight Invite (Columbia)

November 22nd: Keystone Classic (Harvard, Penn)

November 22nd: Princeton at Northwestern, SIU Edwardsville

December 4th: Penn at Virginia Tech

December 4th/5th: Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Brown, Cornell, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton)

December 20th: NC State, Pittsburgh at Cornell

December 22nd: Indiana at Brown

December 29th/30th: Midlands Championships (Harvard)

January 2nd/3rd: Soldier Salute (Cornell)

January 2nd/3rd: Southern Scuffle (Brown, Penn)

January 8th/9th: NWCA National Duals (Harvard)

January 9th: Lehigh at Cornell

January 10th: Pittsburgh at Princeton

January 16th: Bucknell at Cornell

January 24th: Binghamton at Brown/Harvard

January 24th: Princeton at Lehigh

January 30th: Cornell at Army West Point

February 13th: Cornell at Northern Iowa

February 14th: Cornell at Iowa State

February 14th: Lehigh at Penn

February 14th: Rutgers at Princeton

February 18th: Penn at Rider

February 19th: Cornell at Binghamton

February 20th: Columbia at Bucknell

Team Capsules

Brown

Head Coach: Jordan Leen

2025-26 Season Record: 5-9

Preseason Ranked Wrestlers (2)

149 lbs: #30 Austin McBurney, 197 lbs: #14 Andrew Reall

A year ago, in this feature, we noted how the 2025-26 season could be the one where Jordan Leen and the Brown coaching staff’s work on the recruiting trail and building the Brown program starts to bear fruit. That proved to be accurate as Brown sent three wrestlers to the NCAA tournament, their best total since 2019. Two of them return and should help Brown improve even more in the 2026-27 season.

197 lber Andrew Reall became the first Brown wrestler to claim an Ivy League title and is the first conference champion for the team since 2012. He ended up a match shy of All-American status.

In addition to another solid recruiting class, Brown also features returners like Khimari Manns (141) and Ethan Mojena (157) who finished 2025-26 with winning records and look poised to take the next step this season.

Columbia

Head Coach: Donny Pritzlaff

2025-26 Season Record: 11-3

Preseason Ranked Wrestlers (4)

125 lbs: #28 Sulayman Bah, 141 lbs: #21 Lorenzo Frezza, 184 lbs: #28 Joe Curtis, 285 lbs: #19 Vincent Mueller

Year two at Columbia was a memorable one for head coach Donny Pritzlaff. The Lions navigated through their Ivy League schedule without a conference loss and finished 11-3 overall. They also saw Cesar Alvan tie a program high with his third-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

The 2026-27 version of Columbia will feature a strong nucleus returning with four wrestlers in the preseason rankings and another with past NCAA experience (Jack Wehmayer - 197). Along with Wehmayer, they also have Evin Gursoy, who could make a name for himself at a wide-open 133 lb weight class.

You have to like the growth that these wrestlers have shown under Pritzlaff and staff. A year ago, most were probably not familiar with the bulk of Columbia’s national qualifiers. I’d expect for another couple of previously unheralded members of the team to step forward and announce themselves to the wrestling world this season. Should that happen, Columbia could sneak up on the conference once again.

Cornell

Head Coach: Mike Grey

2025-26 Season Record: 9-7

Preseason Ranked Wrestlers (10)

125 lbs: #12 Isaiah Cortez, 133 lbs: #13 Elijah Cortez, 141 lbs: #6 Vince Cornella, 149 lbs: #28 Benny Rogers, 157 lbs: #9 Jaxon Joy, 165 lbs: #25 Alessio Perentin, 174 lbs: #7 Simon Ruiz, 184 lbs: #18 Mikey Dellagatta, 197 lbs: #22 Jude Correa, 285 lbs: #25 Rocco Dellagatta

The 2025-26 season featured more losses than you’re accustomed to seeing from a Cornell team and an NCAA finish that is lower (18th) than usual. I wouldn’t expect that to continue in 2026-27. Despite being relatively young, Cornell is extremely talented. Mike Grey’s staff brought in the #3 overall recruiting class in 2025 and they all took a greyshirt year. Now that group will be unleashed on the Ivy League. The Cornell lineup could end up with half of its starters from that group (I. Cortez, E. Cortez, Perentin, Correa, R. Dellagatta).

We broke the news yesterday in the updated preseason rankings that Ivy League champion Jaxon Joy intends to move up to 157 lbs for his sophomore season. Joy had an excellent regular season, but apparently, the weight cut took a toll on him at nationals and he missed the podium. He was one of two #2 seeds for Cornell that didn’t place, Simon Ruiz being the other.

Should Joy and Ruiz replicate their regular season success and carry it into nationals and a couple of the freshmen emerge as podium threats, this could be an excellent team. They will not be at full strength until the second semester as Vince Cornella will be available then.

Harvard

Head Coach: Jay Weiss

2025-26 Season Record: 6-6

Preseason Ranked Wrestlers (2)

125 lbs: #33 Logan Brzozowski, 149 lbs: #33 Jack Crook

An Ivy League team that might end up sneaking up on some people this season is Harvard. They start the year with a pair of wrestlers ranked in the top 33. 149 lber Jack Crook is the only one with previous NCAA experience. After Crook and 125 lber Logan Brzozowski, there are a handful of veterans that have shown flashes throughout their careers in Cambridge. Some of those include Coleman Nogle (133), Jameson Garcia (141), and Matthew Walsh (184).

Penn

Head Coach: Matt Valenti

2025-26 Season Record: 7-4

Preseason Ranked Wrestlers (6)

125 lbs: #10 Max Gallagher, 133 lbs: #31 Davis Motyka, 141 lbs: #15 Evan Mougalian, 149 lbs: #7 Cross Wasilewski, 157 lbs: #12 Jude Swisher, 165 lbs: #20 Sean Seefeldt

Along with Cornell, Penn might be the team with the most upside potential for the 2026-27 season in the Ivy League. As you can see, they have ranked wrestlers at each of the first six weights and five of them are in the top 15. That puts the Quakers in good position for NCAA Tournament scoring and will put them in control of most duals. In order to become elite, they’ll need to get additional contributions from the big guys.

From the upperweights, we could see Caden Bellis (174) get over the hump as he’s shown flashes in the past. 184 lbs should be manned by freshman CJ Betz, the highest-ranked (#31) wrestler in the Quakers #13 ranked recruiting Class of 2026. The 197/285 wrestlers will swap spots as John Pardo moves down to 197 and Martin Cosgrove bulks up to go heavyweight.

Penn will be led by All-American 149 lber Cross Wasilewski, two-time bloodround finisher Jude Swisher, and Max Gallagher, who returns from a grayshirt season.

Princeton

Head Coach: Joe Dubuque

2025-26 Season Record: 4-11

Preseason Ranked Wrestlers (5)

125 lbs: #2 Marc-Anthony McGowan, 141 lbs: #31 Matthew Martino, 149 lbs: #20 Eligh Rivera, 165 lbs: #18 Ty Whalen, 174 lbs: #31 Holden Garcia

Princeton had a bit of a rough dual season in 2025-26 but they finished up strong with five wrestlers qualifying for nationals and Marc-Anthony McGowan’s finals run after starting as the #10 seed. McGowan starts the year ranked second in a weight class that features potential title threats all over the place. He’s won Ivy League titles in both years in which the tournament was held and is one of only two Ivy champs for Princeton.

The veterans with the best chance to join McGowan on the NCAA podium are middleweights Eligh Rivera and Ty Whalen. Rivera was a Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational finalist last year, while Whalen has been a steady force in the Tiger lineup for the past two seasons. He’s looking to improve upon his 1-2 record at the NCAA tournament, a mark he’s hit both times he’s qualified.

Though he starts the year unranked, don’t forget about 2025 national qualifier Kole Mulhauser, who will move up to 197 lbs. He and true freshman Mark Effendian will hold down the back end of the Princeton lineup.

With just over a month until the college regular season starts, we’ll shift most of our focus to the collegiate wrestling world. We'll share plenty of previews and content to get fans ready for the upcoming 2026-27 season.

Today, we’ll focus on a Penn team that starts the preseason ranked 27th in the nation from a team tournament standpoint and 24th in duals. Looking at this group, those rankings might be a bit conservative. Penn has a potential lineup that features six returning national qualifiers - one of which is an All-American. Over the past few years, the strength of the Penn lineup has been the light and middleweights. That is reflected in the fact that all six national qualifiers come at the first six weights. There is reason to believe that Penn should get additional help from the upperweights in 2026-27.

This will be the second season in which Penn is led by legendary alum Matt Valenti. Valenti is Penn’s most recent national champion and one of only two multi-time national champions in program history. During his first year leading the Penn program, the Quakers put together a 7-4 dual record and finished third at the Ivy League Championships. Penn did put a pair of wrestlers on the NCAA podium for the first time since Valenti’s junior season (2006).

Here’s a look at a projected lineup for Penn along with additional information needed for the 2026-27 season.

125 lbs - #10 Max Gallagher

Fresh off an Ivy-shirt, two-time national qualifier Max Gallagher returns to the Penn lineup in the leadoff spot. Since Gallagher competed at 133 lbs, and even 141 lbs during his year off, there were some questions about whether or not he’d see 125 again. Wrestling at the higher weights, Gallagher still managed an impressive 9-3 record in open tournaments. During his last year of official competition for the Quakers, Gallagher finished as the Ivy League runner-up and earned the #17 seed at nationals. Later that year, he downed Ivy rival Marcello Milani of Cornell to claim his first NCAA win.

Looking at our preseason rankings, there’s a definite drop-off in the returners after the top seven. With Gallagher’s return, he could establish himself as an All-American threat rather quickly. He’s slated to see at least three wrestlers currently ranked above him in dual meet action.

133 lbs - #32 Davis Motyka

With Gallagher coming back to assume the starting spot at 125 lbs, Davis Motyka moves up to 133 lbs. Motyka was an Ivy League runner-up in 2025-26 at 125 lbs and earned his first trip to the NCAA Championships. He was given the #22 seed and ended up going 0-2 in Cleveland. During the regular season, Motyka claimed a title at the F&M Open, beating a returning national qualifier along the way. He was also a runner-up at Penn’s Keystone Classic.

Expect a lot of shuffling in the second half of the 133 lb rankings once action gets underway. That means that Motyka could rise up the ranks quickly if he gets some early quality wins.

141 lbs - #16 Evan Mougalian

The shuffling at the first two weights for Penn impacts Evan Mougalian, as he’ll move up from 133 lbs. Mougalian saw plenty of mat time during his first couple of years in Philly; however, last season was his first as the starter for an extended amount of time. Mougalian responded well and made the Ivy finals, which resulted in the #12 seed at nationals. At the NCAA Tournament, Mougalian posted a pair of wins before he was eliminated. Mougalian started the 2025-26 campaign with wins in 10 of 11 matches. That streak included a title at the Keystone Classic and a win over former national champion Richie Figueroa.

149 lbs - #8 Cross Wasilewski

We’ve said in every preview so far and we’ll say it again, 149 lbs is going to be nuts - especially at the top of the rankings with three returning national champions and four returning finalists holding the top four spots. Those additions and that depth move a returning All-American like Cross Wasilewski down to the #8 spot in the preseason. Through two years of competition at Penn, Wasilewski has amassed a 53-10 career record and has been seeded in the top ten twice at nationals. Last year, Wasilewski advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals and then defeated returning All-American Jacob Frost (Iowa State), to earn a spot on the podium. He wrapped up his season with a win over Casey Swiderski (Oklahoma State) in the NCAA seventh-place match.

Wasilewski was an Ivy League champion as a freshman, but missed out on repeating because of then-freshman Jaxon Joy (Cornell). Expect him and Joy to battle multiple times throughout the 2026-27 campaign.

157 lbs - #11 Jude Swisher

Jude Swisher is headed into his final campaign and seeking to get on the NCAA podium for the first time. In each of the past two seasons, Swisher’s NCAA Tournament ended in the bloodround. Last it he fell to Ohio State’s Brandon Cannon and in 2025, Penn State’s Tyler Kasak eliminated him. Swisher did pick up a win at the 2026 NCAA Championships over returning All-American Vinny Zerban (Iowa State). Before nationals, Swisher had a huge upset over multi-time All-American Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) in the finals of the Ivy League Championships. The win gave Swisher his first conference crown and the number six seed at the NCAA Championships. In regular season action, Swisher captured a title at the Keystone Classic and was third at the Southern Scuffle.

Like 149 lbs, 157 has a ton of returning talent. Swisher has what it takes to get into the top-eight; however, he might need to pull an upset or two.

165 lbs - #19 Sean Seefeldt

The 2025-26 season was a breakout year for Sean Seefeldt, who saw his first action in dual meet competition and surpassed the 20-win mark and qualified for nationals. After a 1-3 start to his 2025-26 season, Seefeldt went on a run that included a title at the Keystone Classic and a third-place finish at the Southern Scuffle. Seefeldt would earn an automatic qualifying bid to his first NCAA Tournament after finishing third at the Ivy League Championships. At Nationals, Seefeldt posted his second win of the season over Virginia Tech’s Mac Church.

174 lbs- Caden Bellis/Elliott Humphries/Max Stein

As of now, 174 lbs might be the only weight without a clear frontrunner for the starting role. Caden Bellis is the returning starter and he’s coming off a freshman year in which he went 15-13. Bellis made the finals of the Southern Scuffle, but ended up stumbling during the second half of the season and lost his final four matches headed into the postseason. He would place fifth at the Ivy League Championships.

Also in the mix is freshman Elliott Humphries. Humphries took a greyshirt year in 2025-26 and put together a 19-8 record in open competition. Early in the season, Humphries notched a win over eventual national qualifier Holden Garcia (Princeton). Before coming to Penn, Humphries was deemed the #164 overall recruit in the Class of 2025.

Another Big Boarder from 2025 is also in the mix - Max Stein. He was Penn’s top-ranked recruit from 2025, coming in at #90. Stein put together a 9-6 record, though he always seemed to be in all of his matches, even against the best competition.

184 lbs - CJ Betz

We’ll go from Penn’s top recruit from 2025 to their top one from 2026, CJ Betz. Betz had an excellent senior season at Delbarton and flew up the rankings - all the way to #31. Betz was a finalist at the Walsh Ironman and a third-place finisher at the Doc Buchanan. He was a New Jersey state fourth-place finisher as a junior and a champion during his senior season.

Betz is kind of a wild card for Penn. Should he be able to make the quick transition to DI wrestling, he could really solidify this lineup.

197 lbs - John Pardo

It looks like the Quakers will have a flip at the final two weights as John Pardo comes down to 197 lbs. Pardo has been Penn’s starter for the past two seasons at 285 lbs. During that time, Pardo has put together a 30-22 record. In 2026, he was fourth at the Ivy League Championships. Pardo was third the previous year.

285 lbs - Martin Cosgrove

With Pardo moving down to 197 lbs, Martin Cosgrove will man the heavyweight class for Valenti’s team. Cosgrove was the #26 overall recruit in the Class of 2022 for Penn, but has been hampered by injuries throughout his collegiate career. The 2025-26 season was the first in which he was Penn’s starter during the postseason. At the Ivy League Championships, Cosgrove finished third, but it was a weight in which the conference was only allocated one NCAA bid.

Since Cosgrove was able to complete the 2025-26 season and knock off some rust, he might be well suited for the move to heavyweight, given his injury history. With Cosgrove’s pedigree, he really might be able to turn some heads at 285 lbs.

New Faces: Penn’s Class of 2026 was ranked #13 overall in the country by InterMat. In addition to Betz, Charlie DeSena (#39) and Gus Cardinal (#62) are both top-100 recruits, who are part of that group. Both are projected to compete at weights with seniors who are returning starters (157/165), so they might not crack the lineup on a regular basis, but they could make for a bright future.

Key Dates: Penn’s first duals of the season will take place in Florida at an event under Journeymen. They’ll face #8 Iowa State and Wisconsin. Iowa State is loaded with good potential matchups, while Wisconsin has some experienced competitors, as well.

After week after Florida, #3-ranked Nebraska comes to the Palestra. The Cornhuskers will remain in town to help form what could be an amazing field at the Keystone Classic. In addition to the Huskers, #4 Virginia Tech, #9 Missouri and, #16 Rutgers will be in attendance.

To kick off December, Penn will make the trip down to Blacksburg, Virginia and take on Virginia Tech in dual competition. After the conference dual schedule, Penn will take on semi-local non-conference opponents Lehigh and Rider.

In addition to the Keystone Classic, Penn will enter the Princeton Open, the Southern Scuffle, and the F&M Open.

Miscellaneous: Valenti will welcome a pair of new faces to the Quaker coaching staff. 2025 NCAA champion Lucas Byrd will undoubtedly be a huge asset to the lightweights. SIU Edwardsville grad Jake McKiernan will help out the big guys.

Cornell head coach Mike Grey joins us to talk about a young and exciting Cornell team for 2026-27. The Big Red were young last season and could have as many as five freshmen starters this year. That is interesting as they were a part of a highly touted recruiting Class of 2025 and delivered in their greyshirt season. Coach Grey also talks about the new additions to the coaching staff and some interesting dates on the Cornell schedule.

Recently, we previewed the Cornell team for the 2026-27 - that can be found here

With just over two months until the college regular season starts, we’ll turn most of our focus to the collegiate wrestling world. There will be lots of previews and content to get fans ready for the upcoming 2026-27 season.

Today, we’re diving into a new-look Cornell team. The Big Red had a massive #3-ranked recruiting Class of 2025 and those recruiting efforts will likely start to show this season, as there could be five freshmen from that group in the starting lineup this year.

In addition to a handful of promising freshmen, Cornell also has a pair of talented returners who were seeded #2 at nationals in 2026, but did not place.

Like last season, the Cornell lineup will not be at its peak until the second semester as they have a couple of seniors who won’t be available until then. As it turns out, the dual portion of the schedule doesn’t begin until that point anyway.

Cornell is entering its sixth year under the leadership of Mike Grey. Under his direction, Cornell has finished with NCAA team trophies on two occasions. They were third in 2023 and second in 2024.

Here’s a look at a projected lineup for Cornell along with additional information needed for the 2026-27 season.

125 lbs - Isaiah Cortez/Marcello Milani

The returner is Marcello Milani, a senior who qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2025 after finishing third in the Ivy League. Milani saw plenty of action in 2025-26 and amassed an 11-9 record, but did not get the call in the postseason. Generally, Milani has been able to keep it close against the upper echelon of opponents, however, he’ll need to start flipping some of those results.

We just saw Isaiah Cortez in action at the U20 World Championships and he should put pressure on Milani as the incumbent at this weight. Cortez captured a silver medal in freestyle in Slovakia, to go with a U20 silver medal in Greco from 2024. While greyshirting, Cortez racked up a 25-5 record at 133 lbs and posted a win over bloodround finisher Markel Baker of Northern Illinois.

133 lbs - Elijah Cortez/Tyler Ferrara

This is another weight with a returning national qualifier and a Cortez twin. Tyler Ferrara has made it to nationals twice and was the #11 seed in 2026 after capturing an Ivy League title. In both of his previous NCAA appearances, Ferrara went 1-2. Perhaps his best regular-season result was a third-place finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

Again, the veteran will get pushed by the Cortez brother. This one is Elijah, who went 27-3 and competed at 141 lbs, while greyshirting. While winning the season-opening Clarion Open, Cortez notched a 9-4 victory over Air Force’s Carter Nogle, who wound up placing fifth in the country.

141 lbs - Gabriel Bouyssou/Foster Cardinale/Vince Cornella

Because of Ivy League restrictions, Vince Cornella only had one semester of eligibility remaining. With that in mind, Cornella won’t be able to compete until the second semester (late December). Cornella did the same last season. Although he got off to a late start, Cornella managed to hold a 19-1 record heading into the NCAA Championships. In Cleveland, Cornella advanced to the quarterfinals, but fell to Brock Hardy (Nebraska) and was eliminated in the bloodround.

Getting the call for Cornell during the first semester will be Gabriel Bouyssou and Foster Cardinale. Bouyssou was 4-2 last season and captured a title at the Big Red Invitational. Cardinale picked up 10 wins and got his first taste of dual action, beating Binghamton’s Ryan Hartung, 7-3. Both Bouyssou and Cardinale should be able to fill in adequately for Cornella; however, the veteran has the highest postseason potential.

149 lbs - Jaxon Joy

There is no doubt who the Cornell staff will turn to at 149 lbs. Sophomore Jaxon Joy had a bit of an underwhelming NCAA Tournament, but was excellent up until mid-March. Even at nationals, Joy earned a win over an opponent that went on to finish sixth in the nation (Ryder Block - Iowa). Throughout the regular season, Joy picked up wins over three other All-Americans (Collin Gaj, Cross Wasilewski, and Casey Swiderski). Joy won the CKLV Invitational with a fall in the finals and only had one official loss heading into Cleveland. He was given the #2 seed and was stopped in the quarters by the eventual national champion (Aden Valencia - Stanford) and eliminated by Gaj.

149 looks like it will be nasty for the upcoming season. We’re expecting to see three national champions and four finalists at the weight. Even though Joy missed the podium in 2026, he should be considered a contender and should be the mix for a high finish.

157 lbs - Ryder Yoshitake/Benny Rogers

This weight will be similar to 141 lbs, as Benny Rogers will have to sit out the first semester. In steps Ryder Yoshitake, who went 5-4 as a freshman in 2025-26. While greyshirting in 2024-25, Yoshitake went unbeaten at the Michigan State Open, the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial, and the Patriot Last Chance Open.

Rogers got the call in the postseason for the first time in 2026, up at 165 lbs. At the Ivy League Championships, Rogers notched a win over eventual qualifier Sean Seefeldt (Penn). Earlier in the season, Seefeldt majored Rogers. Rogers started the 2025-26 campaign at 157 lbs, but moved to 165 late in the game. He should push for NCAA qualification with a full season (or half) at his ideal weight.

165 lbs - Alessio Perentin

Another Cornell wrestler in the U20 World Championships was Alessio Perentin, who took fifth at 74 kg, representing Italy. Perentin was a top 20 recruit in the Class of 2025 and put together a strong greyshirt campaign, even in limited action. Perentin grabbed wins over a pair of national qualifiers (Jared Keslar and Brock Woodcock) and wrestled a one-takedown match with All-American Paddy Gallagher. Expect Perentin to quickly establish himself as a national player and move quickly up the ranks.

174 lbs - Simon Ruiz

Surprisingly, Simon Ruiz is the only past All-American on the Cornell roster. He took fifth in 2025, but came up a match shy of the podium last year. Ruiz’s 2025-26 season started with a win at the NWCA All-Star Classic and then featured a pair of wins over national qualifiers at the National Duals Invitational. After returning home from Tulsa, Ruiz was sidelined for about two months. He came back in January and reeled off 15 straight wins, captured his second Ivy League crown and earned the #2 seed at nationals. Ruiz ended up falling in the NCAA bloodround to Ohio State’s Carson Kharchla. Like Joy, don’t be scared by Ruiz’s NCAA finish. Without Levi Haines in the mix (we think), 174 lbs should be wide open. Ruiz should be on the short list of national title contenders.

184 lbs - Mikey Dellagatta/Lou Cerchio

After a promising freshman campaign at 197 lbs, it appeared as if Mikey Dellagatta was ready for a big 2025-26 at 184 lbs. Unfortunately, Dellagatta’s season ended before it began due to an injury. As a freshman, Dellagatta finished second in the Ivy League and went 1-2 at NCAA’s. The returning starter at this weight is Lou Cerchio, who started last season at 165 lbs, but moved up to 184 lbs in February. The move proved to be a good idea for Cerchio, as he went 6-0 in dual competition at the higher weight. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a track record at the weight and wasn’t able to get selected for an at-large berth to nationals.

197 lbs - Jude Correa

Jude Correa could be in for a big freshman year at 197 lbs. Correa rolled to a 19-4 mark while greyshirting in 2025-26 and that only included the first two months of the season, because he was injured at the Midlands. An astounding 15 of those wins came via fall, so Correa has a penchant for pins. Typically, 197 lbs is a senior-laden weight class. 2026 was the exception and there are lots of high-profile 197’s returning. Even so, Correa is talented enough to push some of them aside and establish himself as a force at the weight.

285 lbs - Ashton Davis/Rocco Dellagatta/Cash Henderson/Cy Kruse

So, we’re really unsure of how this one plays out. Ashton Davis is the returning starter and a 2025 NCAA qualifier. Last season, he went 18-14, but came up short of qualifying. Right on Davis’ heels is freshman Rocco Dellagatta. While greyshirting, Dellagatta went 25-7 and picked up plenty of solid wins along the way.

Also in the mix is Cash Henderson, who went 8-10 as a freshman and saw action in three duals. Cy Kruse also was a freshman in 2025-26 and went 12-7. He was used in six late-season duals and ended up with three wins in that format. His 8-1 win over Penn’s John Pardo was instrumental in an 8-1 victory over their Ivy League counterparts.

New Faces: Cornell boasts the #7 overall recruiting class for 2026; however, they typically greyshirt their athletes. That still looks like it will be the case with the bulk of that group. There will be plenty of freshmen expected to make an impact coming off greyshirts (Isaiah Cortez, Elijah Cortez, Alessio Perentin, Jude Correa, Rocco Dellagatta); however, they are not completely “new” faces.

Key Dates: Cornell has non-conference duals against NC State, Pittsburgh, Lehigh, Bucknell, Army West Point, Northern Iowa, Iowa State, and Binghamton.

For tournaments and multi-team events, they’ll be at the Journeymen Classic, the Big Red Invitational (hosts), the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, and the Soldier Salute. This will be Cornell’s first trip to the Salute.

The late-season dual in Ames, against Iowa State, could be the dual highlight. The teams met two years ago at the Journeymen Collegiate Duals in Nashville and Iowa State prevailed 26-15.

Miscellaneous: The Big Red coaching staff had some turnover in the offseason. Scottie Boykin left Cornell for a coaching position with the brand-new IMG Academy program. Kellen Russell went back to his alma mater, Michigan. Filling those vacancies are Cornell legend Yianni Diakomihalis and former Ivy League head coach Zach Tanelli. Diakomihalis has assisted with the program and RTC in different capacities, but never as an actual assistant head coach. Tanelli led the Columbia program to some of the biggest accomplishments in school history before spending two years on the Virginia Tech staff.

Cornell head coach Mike Grey rounded out his coaching staff for the 2026-27 season with the announcement that he hired Zach Tanelli as the team’s Associate Head Coach.

Tanelli has spent the last two years as an assistant at Virginia Tech. While at Virginia Tech, the Hokies finished in 11th place at the NCAA Championships in back-to-back years. In both seasons, Virginia Tech won ACC titles and their 125 and 133-pounders earned conference titles. During that time, Virginia Tech wrestlers at those first two weights earned three All-American honors.

Tanelli is no stranger to the Ivy League, having spent eight years as the head coach at Columbia. During his tenure at Columbia, the Lions posted a 39-62 dual record - which is a bit misleading, as they went 3-12 during each of his first two seasons as he was turning the program around.

In his penultimate season at Columbia, the Lions sent a school-record six wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament and set a program high for points tallied at the EIWA Championships. Columbia finished fourth in the conference in each of his final two years at the helm.

2024 saw 174 lber Lennox Wolak advance to the NCAA semifinals and become Tanelli’s first All-American as a head coach and Columbia’s first since 2013. Earlier that season, Wolak and Aaron Ayzerov claimed EIWA titles and became the first Columbia teammates in nearly 90 years to win titles in the same season.

Before Columbia, Tanelli spent two years on the Purdue coaching staff after starting his coaching career at Hofstra.

Tanelli competed collegiately at the University of Wisconsin. As a senior, he was a Big Ten finalist, the #2 seed at nationals and fourth at the 2009 NCAA Championships.

This is the second coaching hire for Grey this offseason. Earlier in the cycle, he added Big Red legend Yianni Diakomihalis to the staff, joining holdover David McFadden.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Pennsylvania Regional Training Center (PRTC) is proud to announce the hiring of Pat Santoro as the organization's next Head Coach.

One of the most accomplished coaches in collegiate wrestling, Santoro brings more than three decades of coaching experience and a proven track record of developing champions at the collegiate, national, and international levels. Most recently, Santoro served as the Lawrence E. White '64 Head Wrestling Coach at Lehigh University, where he built one of the nation's premier programs and established the Mountain Hawks as a perennial contender on the national stage.

During his tenure at Lehigh, Santoro led the program to multiple EIWA team championships, earned numerous conference and national coaching honors, coached NCAA champions and dozens of All-Americans, and guided the Mountain Hawks to consistent top national finishes. Prior to his success at Lehigh, Santoro served as head coach at the University of Maryland, where he led the Terrapins to their first ACC Championship in 35 years and was named ACC Coach of the Year.

As an athlete, Santoro was one of the most accomplished wrestlers in University of Pittsburgh history. A four-time NCAA All-American and two-time NCAA Champion, he later represented the United States on the international stage as a four-time member of the U.S. National Team and an Olympic Team alternate. He was inducted into the University of Pittsburgh Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to join the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center and begin the next chapter,” said Santoro. “Wrestling has always been about relationships, growth, and helping athletes reach their potential, and I’m excited to continue doing what I love in a new environment. This next step allows me to spend more time in the room, stay closely connected to the development process, and help athletes. I’m excited to help Matt with his vision for the PRTC.”

PRTC President Nick Matteo believes Santoro's leadership and vision make him the ideal person to guide the organization's next chapter.

“We are thrilled to welcome Pat Santoro as the next head coach of the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center,” Matteo said. “Pat’s elite character, integrity, and proven coaching acumen align perfectly with our mission. His leadership will elevate Penn Wrestling, inspire our athletes, and create lasting, meaningful impact across the Philadelphia Wrestling Ecosystem for years to come.”

University of Pennsylvania Head Wrestling Coach Matt Valenti expressed excitement about the impact Santoro will have on both the PRTC, the University of Pennsylvania, and the broader Philadelphia wrestling community.

“Pat’s arrival changes the landscape,” said Valenti. “His standard of excellence is exactly what pushes a room from good to great. At the highest levels of this sport, you win with world-class people. Pat Santoro embodies the integrity, technical mastery, and elite culture that will elevate the PRTC, Penn Wrestling, and the broader Philadelphia Wrestling Ecosystem.”

Santoro will oversee all aspects of the PRTC's high-performance freestyle wrestling program, working with Senior, U23, and U20 level athletes pursuing World and Olympic success while continuing to strengthen the organization's mission of enriching lives locally and globally through the sport of wrestling.

The Pennsylvania Regional Training Center has established itself as one of the nation's leading Olympic style wrestling training centers, developing World Team members, Pan American champions, NCAA All-Americans, and future leaders in the sport. Santoro's arrival marks a significant step forward as the organization continues its pursuit of excellence on the national and international stage.

About the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center

The Pennsylvania Regional Training Center (PRTC) is a USA Wrestling Regional Training Center based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2014, the PRTC develops elite freestyle wrestlers while supporting the growth of wrestling throughout the region and advancing its mission of enriching lives locally and globally through the sport of wrestling.

For a few weeks, four-time NCAA champion and world silver medalist Yianni Diakomihalis has been teasing some sort of announcement. His news became official this morning as his alma mater, Cornell, hired the legend as an assistant coach.

This is Diakomihalis’ first official collegiate coaching position. In the past, he has assisted with Cornell’s grayshirts through the Spartan Combat RTC.

When Diakomihalis won his fourth NCAA title, he was only the fifth wrestler to accomplish the feat and the second from Cornell.

Diakomihalis came straight out of high school and won a national title at 141 lbs in 2018. He followed with another in 2019. Diakomihalis moved up and won two more at 149 lbs.

His 115-2 career record made Diakomihalis Cornell’s all-time leader in winning percentage at .983. Diakomihalis had perfect seasons as a sophomore and junior and owns Cornell’s second-longest winning streak at 75 matches.

As a senior, Diakomihalis helped lead Cornell to an NCAA team trophy with a third-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Championships.

In 2022, Diakomihalis made his second straight Senior World Team and came away with a silver medal at 65 kg. That silver snapped a 15-year medalless streak for the United States at 65/66 kg.

Before coming to Cornell, Diakomihalis won four New York state titles and amassed a 243-3 record in high school. Those, plus a pair of Cadet World titles, helped Diakomihalis earn a #3 overall ranking among the high school Class of 2017. 

There was a vacancy on the Cornell staff as Scottie Boykin is joining the coaching staff at IMG Academy.

The big names continue to hit the transfer portal. Today, three-time All-American Meyer Shapiro is the latest big-name to test the portal waters.

Shapiro was an eighth-place finisher at the 157 lb weight class last month in Cleveland while at Cornell. He was seeded third after a runner-up finish at the Ivy League Championships. Shapiro fell in the quarterfinals to West Virginia’s Ty Watters by a point, but he bounced back with a 4-1 victory over returning All-American Daniel Cardenas (Stanford) in the bloodround. After a loss in the next round, Shapiro medically forfeited to eighth place.

Shapiro was third as a true freshman and fifth in 2025. In each of those first two seasons, he claimed a conference title - one in the EIWA and one in the Ivy League. His current collegiate record is 62-10.

Before coming to Cornell, Shapiro was tabbed the #1 overall recruit in the high school Class of 2023. Shapiro captured world titles in freestyle at both the U17 and U20 age divisions.

Shapiro is one of the biggest names currently in the portal and is easily the top 157 lber available. Even with only one year of eligibility remaining, Shapiro should have no shortage of potential suitors. 

2026 Ivy League Championships Final Results

Final Team Scores

1. Cornell 132.5

2. Columbia 118

3. Penn  116.5

4. Princeton  85

5. Brown  79

6. Harvard  70

125 lbs

Championship: Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton) maj Davis Motyka (Penn)  10-2

Third Place Match: Sulayman Bah (Columbia) maj Greg Diakomihalis (Cornell)  11-2

Fifth Place Match: Logan Brzozowski (Harvard) fall Chase Yasutake (Brown)  1:49

133 lbs

Championship: Tyler Ferrara (Cornell) maj Evan Mougalian (Penn)  12-2

Third Place Match: Evin Gursoy (Columbia) dec Ethan Rivera (Princeton)  2-0

Fifth Place Match: Coleman Nogle (Harvard) fall Douglas Shipers (Brown)  1:14

141 lbs

Championship: Vince Cornella (Cornell) dec CJ Composto (Penn)  5-3

Third Place Match: Lorenzo Frezza (Columbia) dec Matthew Martino (Princeton)  8-5SV

Fifth Place Match: Dante Frinzi (Harvard) fall Khimari Manns (Brown)  :37

149 lbs

Championship: Jaxon Joy (Cornell) dec Cross Wasilewski (Penn)  2-0

Third Place Match: Austin McBurney (Brown) dec Eligh Rivera (Princeton)  8-2

Fifth Place Match: Jack Crook (Harvard) dec Richard Fedalen (Columbia)  12-7

157 lbs

Championship: Jude Swisher (Penn) dec Meyer Shapiro (Cornell)  8-3

Third Place Match: Kai Owen (Columbia) dec Jimmy Harrington (Harvard)  4-0

Fifth Place Match: Ethan Mojena (Brown) dec Rocco Camillaci (Princeton)  3-2

165 lbs

Championship: Cesar Alvan (Columbia) dec Ty Whalen (Princeton)  8-1SV

Third Place Match: Sean Seefeldt (Penn) dec Maximus Norman (Brown)  2-1SV

Fifth Place Match: Benny Rogers (Cornell) dec Joe Cangro (Harvard)  11-4

174 lbs

Championship: Simon Ruiz (Cornell) dec Nick Fine (Columbia)  8-2

Third Place Match: Holden Garcia (Princeton) dec Drew Clearie (Brown)  8-2

Fifth Place Match: Caden Bellis (Penn) dec Haden Bottiglieri (Harvard)  6-3

184 lbs

Championship: Joe Curtis (Columbia) dec Lou Cerchio (Cornell)  7-1

Third Place Match: Liam Carlin (Penn) InjDef Matthew Walsh (Harvard)

Fifth Place Match: Xavier Giles (Princeton) dec Connor O’Donnell (Brown)  10-8

197 lbs

Championship: Andrew Reall (Brown) dec Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia)  4-1SV

Third Place Match: Martin Cosgrove (Penn) dec Aiden Hanning (Cornell)  7-4

Fifth Place Match: Hudson Skove (Harvard) dec Conor McCloskey (Princeton)  4-0

285 lbs

Championship: Vincent Mueller (Columbia) dec Alex Semenenko (Brown)  8-1

Third Place Match: Ashton Davis (Cornell) fall John Pardo (Penn)  :58

Fifth Place Match: Daniel Bittner (Harvard) dec Anderson Olcott (Princeton)  7-1

NCAA Qualifiers

Brown: (3) McBurney (149), Reall (197), Semenenko (285)

Columbia: (6) Frezza (141), Owen (157), Alvan (165), Fine (174), Curtis (184), Mueller (285)

Cornell: (5) Ferrara (133), Cornella (141), Joy (149), Shapiro (157), Ruiz (174)

Harvard: (1) Harrington (157)

Penn: (6) Motyka (125), Mougalian (133), Composto (141), Wasilewski (149), Swisher (157), Seefeldt (165)

Princeton: (2) McGowan (125), Whalen (165)

PRINCETON, N.J. — The Ivy League has announced the pre-seeds and brackets ahead of the 2026 Ivy League Wrestling Tournament, set for Sunday, March 8 at Columbia’s Levien Gymnasium in New York City.
 
Cornell led the league with four No. 1 seeds: Vince Cornella (141), Jaxon Joy (149), Meyer Shapiro (157) and Simon Ruiz (174). Columbia, the 2025-26 Ivy League dual meet champions, had the second most with three: Cesar Alvan (165 pounds), Joe Curtis (184) and Vincent Mueller (285). Penn secured two No. 1 seeds, as Davis Motyka (125) and Evan Mougalian (133) each claimed the top spot in their respective weight classes. Brown’s Andrew Reall (197) rounds out the list of No. 1 seeds for the 2026 championship.

Complete 2026 Ivy League Wrestling brackets can be found here.
  
Tickets are on sale for Sunday’s tournament and can be purchased here. For more information, visit the championship homepage.
 
First-round action kicks off at 10 a.m. followed by the semifinals at 10:45 p.m. The consolation brackets begin at 12:30 p.m. with the consolation semifinals followed by the consolation finals and fifth-place matches at 1:15 p.m. Each of those sessions will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Championship matches, which begin at 4 p.m., will be aired nationally on ESPNews.  
 
Pre-seeds for the 2026 Ivy League Wrestling Tournament are listed below. Brackets and entries are subject to change.
 
125 Pounds 
1. Davis Motyka, Penn
2. Marc-Anthony McGowan, Princeton
3. Sulayman Bah, Columbia
4. Logan Brzozowski, Harvard
5. Greg Diakomihalis, Cornell
6. Chase Yasutake, Brown
 
133 Pounds
1. Evan Mougalian, Penn
2. Tyler Ferrera, Cornell
3. Evin Gursoy, Columbia
4. Coleman Nogle, Harvard
5. Ethan Rivera, Princeton
6. Douglas Shipers, Brown
 
141 Pounds
1. Vince Cornella, Cornell
2. CJ Composto, Penn
3. Khimari Manns, Brown
4. Lorenzo Frezza, Columbia
5. Matthew Martino, Princeton
6. Dante Frinzi, Harvard

149 Pounds
1. Jaxon Joy, Cornell
2. Cross Wasilewski, Penn
3. Eligh Rivera, Princeton
4. Jack Crook, Harvard
5. Richard Fedalen, Columbia
6. Austin McBurney, Brown
 
157 Pounds
1. Meyer Shapiro, Cornell
2. Jude Swisher, Penn
3. Jimmy Harrington, Harvard
4. Kai Owen, Columbia
5. Ethan Mojena, Brown
6. Rocco Camillaci, Princeton
 
165 Pounds
1. Cesar Alvan, Columbia
2. Ty Whalen, Princeton
3. Sean Seefeldt, Penn
4. Maximus Norman, Brown
5. Joseph Cangro, Harvard
6. Benny Rogers, Cornell

174 Pounds
1. Simon Ruiz, Cornell
2. Nick Fine, Columbia
3. Holden Garcia, Princeton
4. Caden Bellis, Penn
5. Haden Bottiglieri, Harvard
6. Drew Clearie, Brown

184 Pounds
1. Joe Curtis, Columbia
2. Louis Cerchio, Cornell
3. Liam Carlin, Penn
4. Matthew Walsh, Harvard
5. Xavier Giles, Princeton
6. Thomas Sandoval, Brown

197 Pounds
1. Andrew Reall, Brown
2. Jack Wehmeyer, Columbia
3. Martin Cosgrove, Penn
4. Hudson Skove, Harvard
5. Aiden Hanning, Cornell
6. Conor McCloskey, Princeton

285 Pounds
1. Vincent Mueller, Columbia
2. Alex Semenenko, Brown
3. John Pardo, Penn
4. Ashton Davis, Cornell
5. Sebastian Garibaldi, Princeton
6. Daniel Bittner, Harvard
 

Our preseason conference previews began out west, but now moves across the country to check out the Ivy League. March of 2025 marked the first time that the Ivy League qualified for the NCAA Championship as its own conference rather than part of the EIWA. It was a big change for those who have been following college wrestling for any length of time, but it was one that the Ivy League teams enjoyed and preferred. Rather than a massive conference tournament that could include 18 entrants, there were only six teams.

Those six teams combined to send 29 wrestlers to the 2025 NCAA Championships. Three wrestlers ended up on the NCAA podium and those three wrestlers came from two teams (Cornell/Penn).

This is a very interesting conference from a coaching standpoint. You have the longest-tenured DI coach in the nation (Jay Weiss/Harvard), along with a lot of new blood. Matt Valenti is heading into his first year at the helm at his alma mater, Penn. Donny Pritzlaff is in his second year leading Columbia. Joe Dubuque was elevated to Princeton’s head coaching position in the fall of 2023, while Jordan Leen was hired by Brown in 2022, and Mike Grey took over the reins at Cornell in 2021. There are lots of new faces in the conference, and many new rivalries are developing.

Here’s our look at the Ivy League Conference for 2025-26

InterMat’s Preseason First-Team All-Ivy League

125 lbs: #17 Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton)

133 lbs: #25 Brett Ungar (Cornell)

141 lbs: #5 CJ Composto (Penn)

149 lbs: #7 Cross Wasilewski (Penn)

157 lbs: #3 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell)

165 lbs: #21 Cesar Alvan (Columbia)

174 lbs: #3 Simon Ruiz (Cornell)

184 lbs: #13 Aaron Ayzerov (Columbia)

197 lbs: #15 Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia)

285 lbs: #26 Ashton Davis (Cornell)

Stars in Motion

Ideally, this category was designed to highlight notable wrestlers in the conference changing weights. That isn’t too prevalent this year in the Ivy League. What we’ll do is point out the fact that Columbia brings back a pair of wrestlers that have to be considered the early-season favorites at their respective weights. Aaron Ayzerov and Jack Wehmeyer both grayshirted last year and are back and start the year in the top 15 nationally. Ayzerov was an EIWA champion in 2024 and Wehmeyer had a breakout year that showed by he was a top 100 recruit in the Class of 2022.

Weight Class to Watch

157 lbs has it all in the Ivy League. It’s the only weight with five of the six teams represented in the preseason rankings. Up top, you have a national title threat in two-time All-American Meyer Shapiro. In the middle, there is NCAA bloodround finisher Jude Swisher (Penn) and Ty Whalen (Princeton), who spent much of last year in the top 10 at 149 lbs. Also coming off their first NCAA tournament berth are Richard Fedalen (Columbia) and Jimmy Harrington (Harvard). Every conference dual should have a quality match at this weight.

Freshmen Phenoms

Cornell leads the way with a pair of wrestlers coming off grayshirts. Jaxon Joy at 149 lbs and Lou Cerchio at 165 lbs. Joy had an incredible 2024-25 campaign, going 29-1 coming in open tournaments. Among those 29 wins were five that came at the expense of NCAA qualifiers. With 149 lbs clearing out a bit, Joy has the potential to come in and threaten for the podium immediately. Cerchio was also very active and picked up 29 wins, though against six losses. Cerchio starts the year near the bottom of the national rankings, but could move up quickly.

At this point, the only other school that might have a significant impact from freshmen is Penn. They’re trying to figure out the upperweights and could have freshmen vying for the slots between 174-197 (Liam Carlin, Brian Heard, Greyson Meak).

Mark it on the Calendar

November 1st: All-Star Classic @ Rutgers - 174 lbs Simon Ruiz (Cornell) vs. Lenny Pinto (Rutgers)

November 9th: Journeymen Collegiate Classic (Columbia, Harvard)

November 14th: Princeton @ Pitt

November 15th: Throwdown on the Yorktown (Penn)

November 15/16th: National Duals Invitational (Cornell)

November 16th: Princeton @ West Virginia

November 21st: Michigan @ Columbia

November 23rd: Keystone Classic (Harvard, Penn) @ Penn

December 5th: Brown vs. Nebraska @ St. Charles, Missouri

December 5/6th: Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton)

December 21st: Collegiate Duals (Cornell)

December 29/30th: Midlands Championships (Harvard)

January 3/4th: Southern Scuffle (Brown, Cornell, Penn)

January 9/10th: NWCA National Duals (Havard)

January 10th: Cornell @ Lehigh

January 18th: Lehigh @ Princeton

January 31st: Arizona State @ Columbia

January 31st: Arizona State @ Cornell

February 16th: Princeton @ Rutgers

February 20th: Cornell @ NC State

February 20th: Princeton @ Penn State

March 8th: Ivy League Championships @ Columbia

Brown

Head Coach: Jordan Leen

2024-25 Season Record: 3-9

Preseason Ranked Wrestlers (0)

This could be the year that we start to see some of the hard work that Jordan Leen and his staff have put in on the recruiting trail start to pay off on the mat. Brown brought in a Class of 2025 that was ranked #24 in the nation and featured four of the top 250 prospects in the nation. That’s on top of some good recruiting effort in the years that preceded 2025.

While none of the Brown wrestlers cracked the top 33 in the preseason, there were some who were close. Very close in the case of heavyweight Alex Semenenko. The senior big man was 26-14 last season and notched plenty of quality wins. He’s shown marked improvement during every year in Providence, so there’s no reason to think 2025-26 should be any different.

We should also keep an eye on 141 lber Joey Joyce. He was 12-3 at 133 lbs before his season ended in January and all three losses came to quality opponents.

The bulk of the Brown starting lineup should consist of veterans who have been in Leen’s system for a few years now. All signs point to 2025-26 as a year that the Bears turn the corner and make an impact in the Ivy.

Columbia

Head Coach: Donny Pritzlaff

2024-25 Season Record: 6-7

Preseason Ranked Wrestlers (6)

141 lbs: #33 Lorenzo Frezza, 157 lbs: #27 Richard Fedalen, 165 lbs: #21 Cesar Alvan, 174 lbs: #23 Nick Fine, 184 lbs: #13 Aaron Ayzerov, 197 lbs: #15 Jack Wehmeyer

Donny Pritzlaff’s first year in New York City was a bit of a chaotic one, as a handful of Columbia wrestlers graduated and were forced to use their final year of eligibility elsewhere, and two of their best returners took greyshirts. Lost in that shuffle was the development of Frezza, Fedalen, and Fine, who all qualified for nationals for the first time. Now with Ayzerov and Wehmeyer back in the lineup, combined with Cesar Alvan, they have a really solid nucleus to build around.

On top of the ranked wrestlers returning, the Lions will also have a wrestler with prior NCAA experience at 149 lbs with Kai Owen and a heavyweight that showed flashes of getting to that level in Vincent Mueller.

The ideal lineup for Pritzlaff will feature only juniors and seniors. Of course, an ideal lineup rarely holds! As it stands now, Columbia will be a very solid dual lineup. With a full offseason working with the new staff, we might see Ayzerov assert himself as a podium threat.

Cornell

Head Coach: Mike Grey

2024-25 Season Record: 11-1

Preseason Ranked Wrestlers (8)

125 lbs: #31 Marcello Milani, 133 lbs: #25 Brett Ungar, 141 lbs: #19 Vince Cornella, 149 lbs: #10 Jaxon Joy, 157 lbs: #3 Meyer Shapiro, 165 lbs: #31 Lou Cerchio, 174 lbs: #3 Simon Ruiz, 285 lbs: #26 Ashton Davis

It will truly be a tale of two seasons for Mike Grey’s Cornell team in 2025-26. Because of injuries and Ivy League eligibility Greg Diakomihalis (125), Ungar, Cornella, Ethan Fernandez (149/157), and Shapiro will all miss the first semester. Unfortunately, that’s when a couple of the marquee events on Cornell’s schedule take place (National Duals Invitational and Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational). The bad news for the rest of the Ivy League is that the lineup should be intact for the conference dual season.

During the first semester, we’ll get to focus on the young guys in the Big Red lineup. Joy and Cerchio will try to establish themselves. Simon Ruiz quietly snuck into the All-American hunt as a freshman. Coming off a podium finish and a good offseason on the freestyle circuit, he won’t sneak up on anyone.

Luckily for Cornell, they have the talent and depth to withstand a semester without the abovementioned wrestlers. Returners like Milani, Tyler Ferrera (133), and Joshua Saunders (141) were national qualifiers in 2025. Each will handle the starting duties quite capably and might make it difficult for the others to retake their spots in the lineup.

Despite trying to figure things out at a couple of the upperweights (184/197), Cornell is still the team to beat in the Ivy League. With Shapiro and Ruiz (and potentially others) they have high-scoring capabilities at NCAA’s too.

Harvard

Head Coach: Jay Weiss

2024-25 Season Record: 0-8

Preseason Ranked Wrestlers (1)

157 lbs: #28 Jimmy Harrington

We should see a step up from Harvard this year as they bring back two of the better wrestlers from grayshirt years. 2024 EIWA runner-up, Jack Crook (149), and veteran Joe Cangro (165 lbs) both sat out the 2024-25 season, but are back. The pair, combined with 2025 national qualifier Jimmy Harrington, should make the middle of the Crimson lineup formidable.

I’m excited about the recruiting class that coach Jay Weiss’ staff has assembled from the Class of 2025. At this point, it’s too early to pencil any of the freshman into the Crimson lineup; however, it’s not unreasonable to think that a few could work their way in as the year progresses. One of them is Robert Kucharczk, who was a top 150 recruit from a power high school program.

Harvard will need to continue to grow to keep up with the rest of the conference. They were only able to amass eight team points in one of their five Ivy duals in 2025-26.

Penn

Head Coach: Matt Valenti

2024-25 Season Record: 10-6

Preseason Ranked Wrestlers (5)

141 lbs: #5 CJ Composto, 149 lbs: #7 Cross Wasilewski, 157 lbs: #13 Jude Swisher, 165 lbs: #22 Sean Seefeldt, 197 lbs: #28 Martin Cosgrove

This is officially the first year of the Matt Valenti era. Valenti was named the successor to Roger Reina prior to the 2024-25 season, with this year in mind for his debut. Valenti inherits a team and program on the rise. Two-time All-American CJ Composto leads the way for the Quakers. Behind him in the lineup, at the next two slots, are wrestlers who advanced to the NCAA bloodround in 2025 - Cross Wasilewski and Jude Swisher.

Solid recruiting has led to a potential lineup that features lots of quality competition, even for Penn’s best wrestlers. Evan Mougalian (141) and Kelly Dunnigan (149) are potential national qualifier-type wrestlers pushing their stars. That competition is present throughout the lineup. We’ll have to “wait and see” at a handful of weights as wrestlers with good pre-collegiate pedigree battle for a starting position. That should be the case at 125 lbs (Brady Pruett/Davis Motyka), 133 lbs (Spencer Barnhart/Deven Casey), and 285 lbs (John Pardo/Zach Delsanter) among others.

One spot I’m interested in monitoring is 197 lbs. Martin Cosgrove was ranked in the preseason last year, but lost in the early going with a season-ending injury. If healthy, he could move up quickly.

Of late, Penn has been a quality dual team. That should continue in 2025-26. They should be a much better tournament team with the high-finish capabilities of their 141/149 lbers and a team effort from the rest of the squad.

Princeton

Head Coach: Joe Dubuque

2024-25 Season Record: 8-9

Preseason Ranked Wrestlers (4)

125 lbs: #17 Marc-Anthony McGowan, 141 lbs: #17 Eligh Rivera, 157 lbs: #16 Ty Whalen, 184 lbs: #17 Kole Mulhauser

Looking at Princeton’s preseason rankings, three wrestlers ranked #17 and one at #16, which tells me they have a handful of wrestlers who could be headed for breakout seasons. With McGowan headed into his sophomore year and Rivera/Whalen going into their junior seasons, it could be the right time.

Two weights that might produce new national qualifiers for the Tigers could be 133 and 285 lbs. Danny Jones had a solid freshman season and might be ready to take the next step in a lightweight room that includes McGowan, Joe Dubuque, and Cody Brewer. Heavyweight Sebastian Garibaldi was a part of an Ivy League heavyweight class that featured a lot of parity last year. As a junior, Garibaldi posted two wins over wrestlers who went on to make the 2025 NCAA Championships.

Princeton should be a solid dual team in 2025-26, but how they’ll fare in tournaments depends on whether some of the notable returners take that next step and develop into podium threats. 

We started the week off with a bang thanks to the Cornell athletic department and head coach Mike Grey. Cornell released their schedule for the 2025-26 campaign earlier today and it’s a good one. Lots of marquee events for a program that typically participates in them. 

Last week, we started our schedule breakdown with a look at the Little Rock slate for the 2025-26 season. Now, we’ll head northeast to the kings of the Ivy League, Cornell. 

We’ll start with the actual schedule itself. Rather than reposting it in order, we’ve broken it into three parts. The non-conference duals, conference duals, and special events.

Non-Conference

January 10th - Lehigh (away)

January 10th - Bucknell (away)

January 16th - Army West Point (home)

January 31st - Arizona State (home)

February 14th - Binghamton (home)

February 20th - NC State (away)

February 22nd - Duke (away)
 

Conference

January 25th - Brown (home)

January 25th - Harvard (home)

January 31st - Columbia (home)

February 7th - Princeton (away)

February 8th - Penn (away)

March 8th - Ivy League Championships (no location given)
 

Special Events

November 2nd - Clarion Open (Clarion, Pennsylvania)

November 15/16th - National Duals Invitational (Tulsa, Oklahoma)

November 23rd - Big Red Invitational (Home)

December 5/6th - Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Las Vegas, Nevada)

December 21st - Journeymen Collegiate Duals: Illinois, Little Rock (Nashville, Tennessee)

January 3/4th - Southern Scuffle: Chattanooga, Tennessee
 

Number of top 20 teams from the 2025 NCAA Championships: (6) #8 NC State, #10 Illinois, #15 Lehigh, #16 Penn, #17 Little Rock, #18(t) Arizona State

Cornell always puts together a challenging schedule and this year is no exception. It’s interesting that they will have no standalone, traditional dual meets until January 10th. Of course, one of their first events will be the National Duals Invitational and they’ll wrestle a handful of duals in Tulsa. About a month later, they’ll travel to Nashville for the Collegiate Duals. 

Another characteristic that stands out in this schedule is that they only have one dual meet against a Big Ten foe (Illinois at the Collegiate Duals). I’m not sure whether this was done intentionally by Cornell or perhaps the Big Ten schools were not necessarily keen on facing a non-conference opponent of Cornell’s caliber. Either way, Cornell should get their share of Big Ten competition at the National Duals Invitational or the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Plenty are slated to be at both events. 

I’m interested to see Cornell’s representation at the Southern Scuffle. In the early years of the event, they were a mainstay. When the tournament started to fade Cornell did not attend. With a front half of the schedule loaded with high-caliber national events, this might be an opportunity for their non-starters to compete. Or it could be a sign that the Scuffle is back!

Looking at the non-conference dual schedule, there’s plenty to like here. Lehigh will likely start the year as a top-ten team. This dual is always fun and intense, but it could have an added element with Lehigh potentially coming in as the favorite. 

The Army West Point dual will pit former teammates against each other as Big Red alum Troy Nickerson will be in his first year leading the Army squad. 

Of late, NC State has been a regular on the Big Red school. They’ll go back down to Raleigh, in a hostile environment, to face a team that boasts a returning national champion and three other All-Americans. 

Turning our attention to the Ivy League, Cornell should come into the year as the favorites - a role they’ve grown accustomed to, however, Penn and Princeton could field dangerous squads. Cornell’s dual against both will come on the same weekend and on the road. 
 

Notable Potential Matches for Cornell stars

Greg Diakomihalis (125) 

December 21st: Spencer Moore (Illinois)

January 10th: Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh)

January 16th: Charlie Farmer (Army West Point)

February 7th: Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton)

February 8th: Max Gallagher (Penn)

February 14th: Carson Wagner (Binghamton)

February 20th: Vince Robinson (NC State)

 

Meyer Shapiro (157)

December 21st: Michael Gioffre/Kannon Webster (Illinois)

December 21st: Matt Bianchi (Little Rock)

January 10th: Logan Rozynski (Lehigh)

January 31st: Kaleb Larkin (Arizona State)

January 31st: Richard Fedalen (Columbia)

February 8th: Jude Swisher (Penn)

February 20th: Jackson Arrington (NC State)
 

Simon Ruiz (174)

December 21st: Chris Moore (Illinois)

January 10th: Rylan Rogers (Lehigh)

January 10th: Myles Takats (Bucknell)

January 31st: Nick Fine (Columbia)

February 20th: Matthew Singleton (NC State)

You could pencil in about five more tough matches per wrestler once you take into account that Cornell is going to the National Duals Invitational and the CKLV; plus, whatever the Clarion Open, Big Red Invitational, and Southern Scuffle brings. Maybe that number could be six-eight more difficult matches. 

Hopefully, Shapiro will be able to wrestle in Vegas this year. His bracket was incredible in 2023 and could be excellent in 2025. Antrell Taylor (Nebraska), Daniel Cardenas (Stanford), Vince Zerban (Iowa State), Ty Watters (West Virginia), Arrington, and Brandon Cannon (Ohio State) are all top ten caliber opponents who might be in the field. 

Each of Cornell’s big guns will get tested during their dual with NC State. In addition to the wrestlers mentioned above, the Wolfpack also feature All-Americans Ryan Jack (141) and Isaac Trumble (285). This could be one of the better duals of the year nationally. 

The University of Pennsylvania announced this afternoon that 2024 NCAA All-American Lennox Wolak has been added to the Quaker coaching staff. Wolak will join Darian Cruz on Matt Valenti’s first coaching staff as the program’s head coach. Roger Reina is the head coach emeritus.

Wolak is a familiar face for followers of the Ivy League as he spent four years wrestling for rival Columbia. While at Columbia, Wolak qualified for the NCAA Tournament twice. In 2024, Wolak captured an EIWA championship, which led to the #7 seed at nationals. Wolak advanced to the NCAA semifinals before settling for sixth place.

After graduating from Columbia, Wolak transferred to Virginia Tech to use his final year of eligibility. In Blacksburg, Wolak battled through injuries to amass a 15-12 record. Despite a fourth-place finish at the ACC Championships, Wolak had a good run at nationals and came up a match shy of getting back on the NCAA podium.

Wolak’s final collegiate record sits at 78-47 with three NCAA berths to his credit at 174 lbs.

Penn will have a bit of a new look in Wolak’s weight range. Longtime starters at 174 and 184 lbs, Nick Incontrera and Max Hale, wrapped up their careers in 2025. Wolak will have to groom their replacements on the fly.

Penn is coming off a 10-6 season that saw the Quakers finish second in the Ivy League Championships. They sent seven wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament. Four will return for the 2025-26 campaign.

Our All-Quarter Century feature has taken us to one of the most impressive teams during the last 25 years - Cornell. At the beginning of this era (2001), it didn’t seem feasible that an Ivy League school could routinely contend for top recruits and NCAA titles in modern collegiate athletics. Cornell and Rob Koll turned that thought process on its head and got some of the best recruits possible and became a regular NCAA team trophy threat. 

Coming into the 2000's, there had only been one four-time NCAA champion (Pat Smith). Since then, six others have achieved the feat, and two wore the Big Red singlet. 

A recent coaching change that saw Koll leave for Stanford has not slowed down the momentum in Ithaca. Mike Grey’s first two teams earned NCAA team trophies (2,3). Grey and his staff have been able to recruit at a very high level, so that tradition looks ready to continue well into the next quarter century. 

In making our first team for Cornell, we had to make some of the most difficult decisions yet. No matter how we chose, there was bound to be a four-time All-American and national champion on the second team at 125 and 133 lbs. Nickerson/Garrett was extremely difficult to choose - instead of a numerical system, the deciding factor was that Nickerson was rarely ever completely healthy, yet never finished lower than fourth at NCAAs. At 133, the strength of Vito Arujau’s NCAA opponents gave him the nod over Travis Lee. 

With Yianni Diakomihalis and Kyle Dake both wrestling multiple weights and winning four titles, it gave some flexibility to make the best possible first time. I think that’s what we did at 141-165. 

Once again, it was tough going through 174 and 184, as you have a pair of NCAA finalists on the second team. At the same time, it’s hard to argue with the guys on the first team. 

Wrestlers considered for the three teams had to compete from 2001 to 2025. For the wrestlers early in this timeframe, their entire collegiate body of work was considered. Only collegiate results were taken into consideration. Even if a wrestler was successful at multiple weights, they were only selected for one weight - typically, it was based on the strongest possible first team.

After the three All-Century teams, there are some fun facts about Cornell’s results over the past 25 years.

Here are the programs we’ve already covered

Lehigh

Minnesota

Missouri

NC State

Cornell

First Team

125 lbs - Troy Nickerson: Chenango Forks, New York - 4x AA (4,1,3,2), 2009 NCAA champion, 3x EIWA champion

133 lbs - Vito Arujau: Syosset, New York - 4x AA (1,1,3,4), 2x NCAA champion, 2x EIWA champion

141 lbs - Yianni Diakomihalis: Rochester, New York - 4xAA (1,1,1,1), 4x NCAA champion, 4x EIWA champion

149 lbs - Dustin Manotti: Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania - 4x AA (3,6,4,8) 2x EIWA runner-up, NCAA #3 seed

157 lbs - Jordan Leen: Soddy Daisy, Tennessee: 3x AA (3,1,8), 2008 NCAA champion, 2x EIWA champion

165 lbs - Kyle Dake: Lansing, New York: 4x AA (1,1,1,1), 4x NCAA champion, 3x EIWA champion

174 lbs - Mack Lewnes: Annapolis, Maryland: 3x AA (4,2,4), 4x EIWA champion, 2x NCAA #1 seed

184 lbs - Gabe Dean: Lowell, Michigan: 4x AA (2,1,1,3), 4x EIWA champion

197 lbs - Cam Simaz: Allegan, Michigan: 4x AA (8,3,3,1), 2012 NCAA champion, 4x EIWA champion

285 lbs - Lewis Fernandes: Tewksbury, New Jersey: 2x NCAA qualifier, EIWA runner-up
 

Second Team

125 lbs - Nahshon Garrett: Chico, California - 4x AA (1,5,2,3), 2016 NCAA champion, 4x EIWA champion

133 lbs - Travis Lee: Honolulu, Hawaii - 4x AA (1,5,1,7), 2x NCAA champion, 4x EIWA champion

141 lbs - Mike Nevinger: Perry,  New York - 2x AA (5,7), 2012 EIWA runner-up

149 lbs - Chris Villalonga: Totowa, New Jersey - 1x AA (6), NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 2x EIWA runner-up

157 lbs - Meyer Shapiro:* Woodbine,  Maryland - 2x AA (5,3), 2x conference champion, NCAA #2 seed

165 lbs - Steve Anceravage: Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania - 2x AA (5,6), 2007 EIWA champion, 4x EIWA finalist

174 lbs - Brian Realbuto: Somers, New York - 3x AA (5,2,6), 3x EIWA champion, 3x NCAA #2 seed

184 lbs - Steve Bosak: State College, Pennsylvania - 3x AA (3,1,4), 2013 EIWA champion, 3x EIWA finalist

197 lbs - Jacob Cardenas: Kearny, New Jersey - 3x AA (4,4,8), 2x conference champion (Big Ten/EIWA), NCAA #1 seed

285 lbs - Jeramy Sweany: Vacaville, California - 2x NCAA Qualifier
 

Third Team

125 lbs - Frank Perrelli: Hackettstown, New Jersey - 1x AA (4), 2x EIWA champion

133 lbs - Mike Grey: Rockaway, New Jersey - 2x AA (6,6), 2x NCAA Round of 12 finisher, 2x EIWA champion

141 lbs - Vince Cornella:* Lafayette, Colorado - 2x National Qualifier, EIWA champion

149 lbs - DJ Meagher: Bow, New Hampshire - 2x National Qualifier

157 lbs - Dylan Palacio: Long Beach, New York - 2x AA (6,4), 2x EIWA champion, 4x EIWA finalist, NCAA Round of 12 finisher

165 lbs - Julian Ramirez: Miami, Florida - 4x NCAA Qualifier, 4x NCAA Round of 12 finisher

174 lbs - Chris Foca: Cliffside Park, New Jersey - 2x AA (5,3), 2x conference champion

184 lbs - Joe Mazzurco: Mahopac, New Jersey - 2x AA (6,5), 2005 EIWA champion, 3x EIWA finalist

197 lbs - Jerry Rinaldi: Lodi, New Jersey - 2x AA (6,4), 3x EIWA runner-up

285 lbs - Zach Hammond: Galloway, New Jersey: 2x NCAA qualifier, 2007 EIWA runner-up
 

Fun Facts

• 11 wrestlers have combined to win 19 NCAA titles during the past 25 years
• Of the seven wrestlers who have won four NCAA DI titles, two (Dake, Diakomihalis) won four championships for Cornell in this quarter century
• Cornell has produced national champions at eight weight classes during this span
• Five Cornell wrestlers have won multiple national titles since 2005 (Lee, Dake, G. Dean, Diakomihalis, Arujau)
• 26 Cornell wrestlers have made the NCAA finals since 2001
• 9 wrestlers have earned All-American honors 4x’s for Cornell in this time period (Lee, Manotti, Nickerson, Simaz, Dake, Garrett, G. Dean, Diakomihalis, Arujau). Max Dean also had two All-American honors for Cornell and two more from Penn State. 
• 82 Cornell wrestlers have earned NCAA All-American honors over the last 25 years. Two others were named NWCA first-team All-Americans in 2020
• Of the times they’ve competed at the NCAA tournament (excluding 2020/2021), Cornell has only missed out at finishing in the top 20 at NCAA’s once in this span (2001)
• Cornell has earned six NCAA team trophies during this quarter century - highlighted by back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2010 and 2011
• Despite four top-three finishes at NCAA’s, their highest NCAA point total (102.5) came in 2012 when they were fourth. 
• That 2012 team had three NCAA individual champions (Dake, Bosak, Simaz) which is the only time that feat has been done in program history
• Cornell has put five wrestlers on the NCAA podium three times since 2011. 2012 and 2025 are the other times
• The school has only had two head coaches during this time. Rob Koll and their current head coach, Big Red alum, Mike Grey.
• Cornell has produced 73 conference champions during this quarter century - 68 in the EIWA and five in the Ivy League
• The team has 15 conference titles in 25 years - 14 in the EIWA and one in the Ivy League
• The top seven wrestlers on Cornell’s all-time wins list (G. Dean, Lewnes, Garrett, Simaz, Lee, Dake, Manotti) all were active during this period
• Once during the last 25 years has Cornell locked down the top overall recruit in their respective class (Shapiro ‘23) - though others were very close (Knox #5 - ‘25, Diakomihalis #3 - ‘17, Arujau #4 - ‘17, Dake #4 - ‘09, Grey #3 - ‘06)
• Cornell has two wrestlers who have earned Senior world medals (Arujau, Diakomihalis) while they were still active in college
• Despite their overall success, Cornell did not have an All-American at heavyweight any time during the last quarter century. 
• Since 2010, 11 of the 14 NCAA titles won by New York natives were captured by a Cornell wrestler. 
• Kyle Dake, the program’s first four-time champion, is Cornell’s only Hodge Trophy winner.

The University of Pennsylvania today launched The Penn Wrestling Lasting Legacy of Excellence Campaign, a fundraising initiative to raise $34 million to lead Penn Wrestling into a new era. Also announced was a landmark $20 million gift from Dave Pottruck, an alumnus of the College and Wharton, a former University Trustee, Emeritus member of the Penn Athletics Board of Advisors, and a former wrestling and football student-athlete. 

“Dave Pottruck’s steadfast support for Penn Athletics has empowered our community of student-athletes and allowed them to thrive both academically and athletically,” said Penn President J. Larry Jameson. “A former varsity wrestler, Dave has launched the fundraising initiative to propel Penn Wrestling into the future with a generous gift that will provide resources to help the team compete at the highest level. We are deeply grateful for his continued leadership and philanthropy.”   

“My time as a student-athlete shaped me in profound ways,” said Pottruck. “As a wrestler and on the football field, I learned stamina, discipline, and leadership. Today’s student-athletes are no different, and I hope that by supporting Penn Wrestling, I’m helping future generations of leaders develop their enormous potential. I'm also honored to share the naming rights with Roger Reina, the man who led and transformed Penn Wrestling for almost 40 years.”  

“For decades, Dave has been committed to providing transformational experiences for Penn students, most notably in campus recreation, the Pottruck Center for Student-Athlete Success, and the Penn Athletics Wharton Leadership Academy,” said Alanna Wren, the T. Gibbs Kane, Jr. W’69 Director of Athletics and Recreation. “I’m grateful for Dave’s leadership in supporting both the capital needs of the wrestling program and its long-term financial foundation. This gift will be transformative for our wrestling student-athletes and will keep us positioned for Ivy League and national success.”  

The centerpiece of the new initiative is a planned renovation to the Weightman Hall Gymnasium, which hosted the first-ever collegiate wrestling tournament. Once complete, the renovated space will become the Pottruck-Reina Wrestling Center, which will serve as the new home for Penn Wrestling, complete with state-of-the-art training facilities and modern locker rooms.  
 
The Weightman Hall renovation will relocate the varsity wrestling team’s practice facility to Weightman Gymnasium on the second floor. The 13,000-square-foot renovation includes two main components: an 8,900-square-foot Wrestling Room that will replace the existing basketball gymnasium and a 2,400-square-foot Team Complex that will replace the adjacent Donaldson Room. The Pottruck-Reina Wrestling Center is slated to open in Spring 2028. 

“This transformational contribution will move Penn Wrestling into an elite circle of the most supported Division 1 wrestling programs in the nation,” said Roger Reina, Head Wrestling Coach Emeritus. “With Dave Pottruck’s latest gift, our foundation is becoming ever stronger, and the sky is the limit.”  

“Thanks to the incredible generosity of Dave Pottruck and the support of Dr. Alanna Wren, this is a stake-in-the-ground moment for Penn Wrestling,” added alumnus Matt Valenti, Head Wrestling Coach. “We are building something special here in Philadelphia, in every way possible.”  

“It’s exciting to imagine how the renovated facility will transform the experience for Penn’s wrestling student-athletes,” said Pottruck. “The fact that it will be in the exact location of the very first collegiate wrestling tournament is profound.”  

In addition to the new facility, which is projected to cost $25 million, Penn Wrestling aims to bolster its endowment by $9 million. Pottruck’s gift includes $1 million to grow the Penn Wrestling endowment, which supports the operating expenses associated with running a nationally competitive program.  

Additionally, $4 million will be used for a matching challenge that will be offered to the entire Penn Wrestling community. Each gift made towards Penn Wrestling’s operational endowment will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $4 million.  

“This facility and overall fundraising mission will move Penn Wrestling into a very small circle of the nation’s most elite programs,” said alumnus Stephen Brody, Co-Chair of the Penn Athletics Wrestling Board. “The renovated facility will drastically improve the wrestling program’s physical footprint while providing the resources needed to develop wrestling student-athletes and compete for Ivy League and national recognition.”  

 “Dave’s generosity, leadership and passion for Penn wrestling is second to none,” added alumnus Brett Matter, Co-Chair of the Penn Athletics Wrestling Board. “While his support of the facility will be critical in helping Penn continue to compete on the nation’s highest platforms, his challenge and focus on the endowment will be instrumental in motivating others to follow his lead and help secure the program’s legacy in perpetuity.”  

2025 Ivy League Championships Final Results

Team Scores

1. Cornell  135.5

2. Penn  129.5

3. Columbia  114.5

4. Princeton  113

5. Brown  84.5

6. Harvard  62

Championship Finals 

125 lbs - Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton) dec Max Gallagher (Penn)  8-6

133 lbs - Ryan Miller (Penn) dec Tyler Ferrara (Cornell)  4-2

141 lbs - CJ Composto (Penn) dec Eligh Rivera (Princeton)  4-0

149 lbs - Cross Wasilewski (Penn) dec Ethan Fernandez (Cornell)  5-1

157 lbs - Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) tech Jude Swisher (Penn)  19-2

165 lbs - Julian Ramirez (Cornell) dec Cesar Alvan (Columbia)  8-6

174 lbs - Simon Ruiz (Cornell) maj Jack McGill (Columbia)  8-0

184 lbs - Chris Foca (Cornell) dec Max Hale (Penn)  8-5SV

197 lbs - Luke Stout (Princeton) tech Mikey Dellagatta (Cornell)  20-5

285 lbs - Ashton Davis (Cornell) dec Vincent Mueller (Columbia)  6-1

Third Place Bouts

125 lbs - Marcello Milani (Cornell) dec Sulayman Bah (Columbia)  5-2

133 lbs - Danny Jones (Princeton) maj Logan Brzozowski (Harvard)  11-3

141 lbs - Josh Saunders (Cornell) dec Lorenzo Frezza (Columbia)  8-4

149 lbs - Ty Whalen (Princeton) tech Kai Owen (Columbia)  16-1

157 lbs - Richard Fedalen (Columbia) maj Blake Saito (Brown)  10-1

165 lbs - Keegan Rothrock (Brown) fall Andy Trocyznski (Penn)  5:48

174 lbs - Nick Incontrera (Penn) maj Haden Bottiglieri (Harvard)  14-1

184 lbs - Nick Fine (Columbia) fall Kole Mulhauser (Princeton)  4:12

197 lbs - Joe Curtis (Columbia) dec Nate Taylor (Penn)  4-0

285 lbs - John Pardo (Penn) InjDef Alex Semenenko (Brown)  
 

Automatic Qualifiers

Columbia: Lorenzo Frezza (141), Richard Fedalen (157), Cesar Alvan (165), Jack McGill (174), Nick Fine (184)

Cornell: Marcello Milani (125), Tyler Ferrara (133), Josh Saunders (141), Ethan Fernandez (149), Meyer Shapiro (157), Julian Ramirez (165), Simon Ruiz (174), Chris Foca (184), Mikey Dellagatta (197), Ashton Davis (285)

Penn: Max Gallagher (125), Ryan Miller (133), CJ Composto (141), Cross Wasilewski (149), Jude Swisher (157), Max Hale (184)

Princeton: Marc-Anthony McGowan (125), Eligh Rivera (141), Ty Whalen (149), Kole Mulhauser (184), Luke Stout (197)

The inaugural Ivy League Wrestling Championships will be held at Princeton on Sunday, March 9th. The six-team conference has earned a hefty 26 allocations. Below is a weight-by-weight breakdown to investigate the allocations a little deeper.  

The actual brackets can be found here: Ivy League Brackets

125 Pounds (3 Allocations)

*1. Marc-Anthony McGowan, Princeton

*2. Max Gallagher, Penn

*3. Diego Sotelo, Harvard

4. Marcello Milani, Cornell

5. Sulayman Bah, Columbia

6. Jared Brunner, Brown

* indicates the wrestler earned an allocation for the conference

McGowan’s win over Gallagher gives him the top seed. Gallagher and Sotelo are set to wrestle for the fifth time in their career – the series is tied up at 2-2. One thing to note is that Sotelo has not competed since January 25th. He’s been banged up all year, and it may play a factor. His last outing was against Milani where he squeaked by with a 6-3 win. If seeds hold, a third-place bout with a trip to NCAAs on the line between Sotelo and Milani may keep things interesting. Milani is in the RPI rankings, which would help his resume if an at-large bid would be needed.

Many expect McGowan to make the finals. Whether he squares off with Gallagher or Sotelo, the score will most likely be close. McGowan is a very slight favorite due to his win over Gallagher. Plus, a little home-field advantage may come into play. 

133 Pounds (2 Allocations)

*1. Tyler Ferrara, Cornell

*2. Ryan Miller, Penn

3. Hunter Adrian, Brown

4. Danny Jones, Princeton

5. Logan Brzozowski, Harvard

6. Connor Smith, Columbia

* indicates the wrestler earned an allocation for the conference

Ferrara had a huge win over Miller in the dual, helping him claim the top seed. Miller has not wrestled Adrian this season but won via major decision a year ago. We will see if Adrian closes the gap and overturns that result. Ferrara and Miller seem to be in a tier by themselves here, so not seeing them wrestle in the final would be shocking. Miller is a gamer, and the higher-ranked wrestler in the coaches panel and RPI. Although he lost the first time around, he may be the slightest of favorites when they match up again. 

141 Pounds (4 Allocations)

*1. CJ Composto, Penn

*2. Joshua Sanders, Cornell

*3. Eligh Rivera, Princeton

4. Lorenzo Frezza, Columbia

*5. Ian Oswalt, Brown

6. Dante Frinzi, Harvard

* indicates the wrestler earned an allocation for the conference

We will have a vital one right off the bat. Frezza and Oswalt will meet in the quarterfinals as the 4th and 5th seeds, respectively. Oswalt earned an allocation for the conference based on his RPI and win percentage. It gets interesting because Frezza is 3-0 on the year, with a win over Oswalt. He has a win over Frinzi and a win over Bucknell’s nationally ranked (#20) Chappell. Frezza is in a great position to “steal” a spot away from Oswalt. A Sanders/Rivera semifinal will be fun to watch – as Sanders won the first bout 11-7 a month ago. We’ll likely see Composto in the finals. He has a 6-4 win over Sanders on the year thus far, giving him a slight advantage. Composto placed eighth at NCAAs in 2022. He will look to repeat this achievement in front of his home crowd this time around. Overall, this is one of the deep weights in the conference where five wrestlers are competing for four automatic bids. 

149 Pounds (3 Allocations)

*1. Cross Wasilewski, Penn

*2. Ethan Fernandez, Cornell

*3. Ty Whalen, Princeton

4. Kai Owen, Columbia

5. Joey Iamunno, Brown

6. Jaden Pepe, Harvard

* indicates the wrestler earned an allocation for the conference

Leading the way is Cross Wasilewski. He has an overtime win over Whalen and a one-point victory over Fernandez. He’s earned the top seed here. Fernandez and Whalen have not wrestled this year but expect a highly-contested bout when they presumably meet in the semis. Kai Owen was an NCAA qualifier last season while competing down at 141lbs. He began the year there and made the decision permanent in the second half. His length caused issues for opponents last season. He’s hoping for more of the same up a weight.  He will need an upset win over the Whalen/Fernandez semi-final loser most likely. 

Fernandez won EIWAs last season as a sophomore. Wasilewski is a freshman while Whalen has sophomore eligibility. This weight class will be fun for years to come. We could see another Whalen/Wasilewski match in the finals. It will be a toss-up that Wasilewski won previously. 

157 Pounds (3 Allocations)

*1. Meyer Shapiro, Cornell

*2. Jude Swisher, Penn

*3. Blake Saito, Brown

4. Jimmy Harrington, Harvard

5. Jacob Mann, Princeton

6. Richard Fedalen, Columbia

* indicates the wrestler earned an allocation for the conference

Shapiro comes in as the second-ranked wrestler in the country. He has nine victories on the year. Only two of them are not by pin or tech fall - both were decision wins over Swisher (6-2) and Saito (7-2). He’s the heavy favorite here. Swisher and Saito met this season. Unfortunately, Saito was forced to injury default out of the match, although Swisher was winning at the time. Rankings would dictate Swisher being a favorite if they were to meet again. Saito’s first-round matchup with Fedalen is a personal favorite of mine in the early rounds. Fedalen began the year at 149 lbs, making the move up in February. This will be their first meeting. Harrington of Harvard is also a threat to “steal” an allocation. He has two losses to Swisher on the year by a 5-1 and 9-3 score. He dropped a 13-8 decision to Saito late in the year. In a rematch against either one of those, Harrington would be the underdog needing to reverse a previous outcome. Jacob Mann began the season at 141. Yes, two weight classes below this one. His best win at this weight is over #30 Luke Nichter of Drexel. Do not count him out either. Overall, this may be the deepest weight where all six in the bracket can potentially be in the mix for a top-three finish. 

165 Pounds (2 Allocations)

*1. Julian Ramirez, Cornell

*2. Cesar Alvan, Columbia

3. Blaine Bergey, Princeton

4. Keegan Rothrock, Brown

5. Andrew Troczynski, Penn

6. Cael Berg, Harvard

* indicates the wrestler earned an allocation for the conference

Julian Ramirez is the odds-on favorite here. He’s undefeated against the field, while his closest win was by a major decision. He will look to add an Ivy League Championship to his resume, which already includes two EIWA titles. Alvan from Columbia will look to make another appearance at NCAAs. Assuming he will meet Bergey in the semi-finals, this would be the first time they meet. Alvan, at least on paper, would be the favorite here. A first-round matchup between Rothrock and Troczynski is a rematch from their dual in which Rothrock won in overtime. In the other first-round match, Bergey defeated Berg via major decision in their dual. Looking at the bracket, it would take a notable upset for Ramirez and Alvan to not end the weekend as the top two. 

174 Pounds (2 Allocations)

*1. Simon Ruiz, Cornell

2. Jack McGill, Columbia

*3. Nick Incontrera, Penn

4. Drew Clearie, Brown

5. Xavier Giles, Princeton

6. Haden Bottiglieri, Harvard

* indicates the wrestler earned an allocation for the conference

Ruiz’s top seed is thanks to a win over both Incontrera and McGill. Incontrera does have a win over Ruiz early in the year, however. McGill’s upset win over Incontrera slides him into the #2 seed. These two will likely meet in the semifinals again. McGill’s loss to Ruiz was by two points. 

A win for McGill in the semifinals would go a lot further than a win for Incontrera, as he did not earn an allocation. This holds more weight for the selection committee when at-large bids are considered after conference weekend. McGill is a senior looking to qualify for NCAAs for the first time. Drew Clearie has an overtime loss to McGill during the year. He will need to create some magic on the top half to knock off Ruiz. Ruiz will be the favorite to win the bracket, based on recent results. 

184 Pounds (4 Allocations)

*1. Chris Foca, Cornell

*2. Maximus Hale, Penn

*3. Kole Mulhauser, Princeton

*4. Nick Fine, Columbia

5. Andrew Reall, Brown

6. Luka Rada, Harvard

* indicates the wrestler earned an allocation for the conference

Foca will be a heavy favorite to win this bracket. He has beaten all other opponents handily. The bottom half of the bracket will have a fun matchup between Mulhauser and Hale. Hale’s win in the dual came via 4-3 score. Expect another close bout for a finals berth. Mulhauser has two wins over Fine this year already. Fine pinned Hale when they met. Seeds 2 through 4 are very evenly matched. Brown’s Andrew Reall lost in tiebreakers to Hale. He’s one to keep an eye on if you are looking for a potential “stolen” allocation at this weight class. Expect some fireworks in this bracket. This is another deep weight for the conference. 

197 Pounds (2 Allocations)

*1. Luke Stout, Princeton

*2. Mikey Dellagatta, Cornell

3. Joe Curtis, Columbia

4. Max Agresti, Harvard

5. Thomas Sandoval, Brown

6. Nathan Taylor, Penn

* indicates the wrestler earned an allocation for the conference

This weight is pretty straightforward. Luke Stout has dominated everyone else in the bracket, including Dellagatta. Dellagatta dominated everyone not named Luke Stout. Expect to see these two square off in the finals, unless there is a crazy upset or an injury. Stout’s win over Dellagatta was by tech fall but expect that gap to tighten at this point in the season. Joe Curtis did not wrestle Agresti nor Sandoval, but has a win over Taylor. As stated, the top two are in a separate tier – which could make for an interesting race for 3rd place. Stout will look to make his fourth appearance at NCAAs in as many tries while Dellagatta would make his first trip as a freshman. 

285 Pounds (1 Allocation)

1. Ashton Davis, Cornell

2. John Pardo, Penn

3. Sebastian Garibaldi, Princeton

4. Vincent Mueller, Columbia

5. Alex Semenenko, Brown

6. Logan Marissal, Harvard

* indicates the wrestler earned an allocation for the conference

First of all, notice there are no asterisks near anyone’s name. This indicates none of the wrestlers met the minimum threshold to obtain an automatic bid. When this occurs, the conference champion earns the automatic bid. Secondly, this is the only weight class without any NCAA experience between the participants across the entire tournament. Davis is 3-0 in conference matches with wins over Pardo, Garibaldi, and Semenenko. It’s simple to see why he’s the one seed. This is where things get spicy. Pardo has losses to Davis and Mueller, but victories over the remainder of the field. Garibaldi has wins over Semenenko and Mueller but lost to Pardo and Davis. Mueller split matches with Semenenko, beat Pardo, and lost to Garibaldi. Semenenko has losses to Garibaldi, Pardo, and Davis while splitting with Mueller. With all this in mind, Davis is the likely favorite to win it on paper. His win over Semenenko was in sudden victory while his wins over Pardo and Garibaldi were by three and five points, respectively. There will be a lot of nervous fans watching this bracket, as postseason matches (especially at heavyweight) are typically closer than usual. With one allocation on the line, there is no room for error – which will only add to the drama. 

Team Race

The Cornell Big Red have won the Ivy League dual meet title 22 times since 2000. Keep in mind, that there was no 2021 Ivy League wrestling season. To say that they dominated is an understatement. We can expect them to be crowned champions at the first conference tournament in the league’s history, barring anything extraordinary occurring. They are coming off back-to-back team trophy seasons at the NCAA Championships. An Ivy League title is just another box for The Big Red to check off, as they have greater aspirations. 

Look for Penn to be right behind Cornell. They have firepower to match Cornell in some weight classes, but not the talent at all ten weights to keep up. This was evident in their dual when Cornell won seven of ten bouts. Obviously, this is a different setting so Penn will be making it interesting if a few matches go their way while Cornell suffers an upset or two. You can expect Princeton to potentially be in this mix as well. Wrestling in their home gym in front of a home crowd may be the advantage they need to help close the gap on Penn and Cornell.

Highlights

• Penn’s Max Gallagher earns WOW honors with win over #8 Peterson of Rutgers
• Brown goes 2-0 on the weekend with dominant performances 

Duals

(2/19) 

#12 Rutgers 18  #25 Penn 13 

125 - Max Gallagher (Penn) decDean Peterson (Rutgers)  5-4

133 - Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) dec Ryan Miller (Penn)  7-4

141 - CJ Composto (Penn) dec Joseph Oliveri (Rutgers) 4-1SV

149 - Cross Wasilewski (Penn) dec Andrew Clark (Rutgers)  4-2

157 - Jude Swisher (Penn) maj Conner Harer (Rutgers) 9-1

165 - Anthony White (Rutgers) dec Andy Troczynski (Penn)  4-1

174 - Jackson Turley (Rutgers) dec Nick Incontrera (Penn)  12-7

184 - Shane Cartagena-Walsh (Rutgers) dec #19 Maximus Hale(Penn)  4-2

197 - PJ Casale (Rutgers) dec Nate Taylor (Penn)  4-0

285 - Yaraslau Slavikouski (Rutgers) dec Matthew Cruise(Penn)  5-0

(2/21) 

Brown 43 Sacred Heart 3

125 - Jared Brunner (Brown) FFT

133 - Braxton Appello (Sacred Heart) dec Hunter Adrian (Brown)  9-8

141 - Ian Oswalt (Brown) dec Andrew Fallon (Sacred Heart)  5-2SV

149 - Joey Iamunno (Brown) fall Dakota Asuncion (Sacred Heart)  6:50

157 - Blake Saito (Brown) dec Felix Lettini (Sacred Heart)  5-1

165 - Keegan Rothrock (Brown) fall Calvin Pineda (Sacred Heart)  2:22

174 - Drew Clearie (Brown) fall Calum Price (Sacred Heart)  1:37

184 - Connor O’Donnell (Brown) tech Nicky Eboli (Sacred Heart)  19-3

197 - Thomas Sandoval (Brown) dec Chris DeLana (Sacred Heart)  5-3TB

285 - Alex Semenenko (Brown) tech Matt Walker (Sacred Heart)  18-3
 

Cornell 27 Bucknell 18

125 - Marcello Milani (Cornell) FFT

133 - Kurt Phipps (Bucknell) tech Joseph Sciarrone (Cornell)  18-3

141 - Josh Saunders (Cornell) maj Dylan Chappell (Bucknell)  11-1

149 - Ethan Fernandez (Cornell) dec Braden Bower (Bucknell)  5-1

157 - Riley Bower (Bucknell) fall Owen Finn (Cornell)  1:109

165 - Julian Ramirez (Cornell) dec Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell)  10-4

174 - Myles Takats (Bucknell) maj Simon Ruiz (Cornell)  11-3

184 - Chris Foca (Cornell) tech Logan Deacetis (Bucknell)  16-1

197 - Mikey Dellagatta (Cornell) fall Michael Bartush (Bucknell)  1:56

285 - Logan Shephard (Bucknell) dec Aiden Compton (Cornell)  11-4

 

Events

(2/23) Patriot Last Chance Open – George Mason, VA

This open included wrestlers from Cornell and Princeton. Below are results from each school

Cornell

141: #30 Josh Saunders – Champion 

Princeton

149: Christopher Martino – 5th 

174: Xavier Giles – 3rd 

184: #27 Kole Mulhauser – 3rd 

184: Mike Squires – 4th 

(2/23) F&M Invitational – Franklin & Marshall, PA 

Penn was the lone participant in this event. Below are the results for the Quakers. 

125: Brady Pruett – Champion 

133: Spencer Barnhart – Champion

141: Evan Mougalian – Champion

165: Paul Ognissanti – Champion

165: Adam Thomson – 2nd 

197: Jackson Zimmerman – 4th

Highlights

• Quakers claim victory in Roger Reina’s final home match
• Columbia wins both conference matches on the weekend
• Cornell finishes strong to defeat Arizona State after slow start
• Whalen of Princeton earns win over All-American Abas of Stanford
• Penn’s Wasilewski earns WOW honors with wins over #12 Whalen and #10 Abas 

Duals

(2/13) Lehigh 22 Penn 12

125 - Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) dec Max Gallagher (Penn)  4-1

133 - Matty Lopes (Lehigh) dec Ryan Miller (Penn)  4-3

141 - CJ Composto (Penn) dec Carter Bailey (Lehigh)  10-9

149 - Cross Wasilewski (Penn) dec Malyke Hines (Lehigh)  10-7SV

157 - Jude Swisher (Penn) dec Logan Royznski (Lehigh)  10-6

165 - Richie Grungo (Lehigh) dec Andy Troczynski (Penn)  10-4

174 - Nick Incontrera (Penn) dec Rylan Rogers (Lehigh)  4-1

184 - Caden Rogers (Lehigh) dec Max Hale (Penn)  2-1

197 - Michael Beard (Lehigh) tech Josh Labarbera (Penn)  22-5

285 - Owen Trephan (Lehigh) tech Matthew Cruise (Penn)  22-6
 

(2/13) 

Stanford 20 Princeton 17

125 - Ethan Rivera (Princeton) FFT

133 - Tyler Knox (Stanford) dec Danny Jones (Princeton)  7-0

141 - Aden Valencia (Stanford) dec Eligh Rivera (Princeton)  5-4

149 - Ty Whalen (Princeton) dec Jaden Abas (Stanford)  5-4

157 - Jacob Mann (Princeton) dec Jack Consiglio (Stanford)  7-4

165 - Hunter Garvin (Stanford) dec Blaine Bergey (Princeton)  7-3

174 - Collin Guffey (Stanford) dec Xavier Giles (Princeton)  8-4

184 - Kole Mulhauser (Princeton) tech Tye Monteiro (Stanford)  17-2

197 - Nick Stemmet (Stanford) maj Luke Stout (Princeton)  11-2

285 - Peter Ming (Stanford) maj Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton)  11-2
 

(2/15)

Columbia 32  Harvard 8

125 - Sulayman Bah (Columbia) maj Isaiah Adams (Harvard)  20-9

133 - Logan Brzozowski (Harvard) tech Connor Smith (Columbia)  21-6

141 - Lorenzo Frezza (Columbia) tech Dante Frinzi (Harvard)  17-2

149 - Kai Owen (Columbia) dec Jaden Pepe (Harvard)  9-3

157 - Jimmy Harrington (Harvard) dec Richard Fedalen (Columbia)  4-1

165 - Cesar Alvan (Columbia) tech Cael Berg (Harvard)  21-5

174 - Jack McGill (Columbia) maj Alex Whitworth (Harvard)  21-10

184 - Nick Fine (Columbia) tech Evan Gleason (Harvard)  19-4

197 - Joe Curtis (Columbia) dec Hudson Skove (Harvard)  8-5

285 - Sungyup Ryu (Columbia) dec Jeffrey Crooks (Harvard)  6-3
 

Cornell 25 Arizona State 12

125 - Richie Figueroa (Arizona State) dec Marcello Milani (Cornell)  10-7

133 - Julian Chlebove (Arizona State) dec Tyler Ferrera (Cornell)  5-2

141 - Emilio Ysaguirre (Arizona State) dec Joshua Saunders (Cornell)  9-2

149 - Ethan Fernandez (Cornell) tech Mykey Ramos (Arizona State)  20-4

157 - Nate Wade (Cornell) dec Michael Kilic (Arizona State)  12-9SV

165 - Julian Ramirez (Cornell) fall Caleb Camp (Arizona State)  :59

174 - Simon Ruiz (Cornell) tech Arturo Anaya (Arizona State)  15-0

184 - Chris Foca (Cornell) dec Cael Valencia (Arizona State)  6-5

197 - Mikey Dellagatta (Cornell) dec Max Acciardi (Arizona State)  6-2

285 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) dec Ashton Davis (Cornell)  6-0

(2/16) 

Columbia 27 Brown 17

125 - Sulayman Bah (Columbia) maj Jared Brunner (Brown)  17-4

133 - Hunter Adrian (Brown) tech Connor Smith (Columbia)  17-2

141 - Lorenzo Frezza (Columbia) dec Ian Oswalt (Brown)  10-5

149 - Kai Owen (Columbia) fall Joey Iammuno (Brown)  4:49

157 - Richard Fedalen (Columbia) maj Ethan Mojena (Brown)  9-0

165 - Cesar Alvan (Columbia) dec Keegan Rothrock (Brown)  6-1

174 - Jack McGill (Columbia) dec Drew Clearie (Brown)  7-4SV

184 - Nick Fine (Columbia) maj Andrew Reall (Brown)  8-0

197 - Thomas Sandoval (Brown) FFT

285 - Alex Semenenko (Brown) fall Sungyup Ryu (Columbia)  2:07
 

Penn 31 Princeton 7

125 - Max Gallagher (Penn) dec Ethan Rivera (Princeton)  8-3

133 - Ryan Miller (Penn) maj Danny Jones (Princeton)  16-3

141 - CJ Composto (Penn) tech Drew Heethuis (Princeton)  16-1

149 - Cross Wasilewski (Penn) dec Ty Whalen (Princeton)  4-1SV

157 - Jude Swisher (Penn) tech Christopher Marino (Princeton)  16-1

165 - Blaine Bergey (Princeton) dec Andy Troczynski (Penn)  4-2

174 - Nick Incontrera (Penn) tech Xavier Giles (Princeton)  19-1

184 - Max Hale (Penn) dec Kole Molhauser (Princeton)  4-3

197 - Luke Stout (Princeton) tech Nathan Taylor (Penn)  19-4

285 - John Pardo (Penn) maj Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton)  12-2

Highlights

• Cornell claims 44th overall Ivy League title after defeating Princeton and Penn
• Penn’s Wasilewski upends last year’s EIWA Champ, Fernandez 
• #11 Ruiz of Cornell reverses early season loss to #10 Incontrera 

Duals

(2/8)

Cornell 32 Princeton 8

125 - Ethan Rivera (Princeton) dec Marcello Milani (Cornell)  8-1

133 - Tyler Ferrera (Cornell) dec Danny Jones (Princeton)  5-1

141 - Josh Saunders (Cornell) dec Eligh Rivera (Princeton)  11-8

149 - Ethan Fernandez (Cornell) maj Christopher Martino (Princeton)  11-2

157 - Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) tech Jacob Mann (Princeton)  18-0

165 - Julian Ramirez (Cornell) tech Zander Silva (Princeton)  15-0

174 - Simon Ruiz (Cornell) tech Xavier Giles (Princeton)  17-2

184 - Chris Foca (Cornell) maj Kole Mulhauser (Princeton)  11-1

197 - Luke Stout (Princeton) tech Mikey Dellagatta (Cornell)  17-2

285 - Ashton Davis (Cornell) dec Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton)  5-0
 

(2/9) 

American 25 Brown 13

125 - Coen Bainey (American) tech Jared Brunner (Brown)  18-2

133 - Raymond Lopez (American) maj Hunter Adrian (Brown)  16-3

141 - Ian Oswalt (Brown) maj Elijah White (American)  8-0

149 - Gage Owen (American) dec Ethan Mojena (Brown)  6-3

157 - Jack Nies (American) maj Nicholas Romero (Brown)  15-2

165 - Kaden Milheim (American) dec Keegan Rothrock (Brown)  9-4

174 - Caleb Campos (American) dec Drew Clearie (Brown)  3-2

184 - Andrew Reall (Brown) tech Breon Phifer (American)  19-4

197 - Thomas Sandoval (Brown) maj Liam Volk-Klos (American)  14-5

285 - Emmanuel Ulrich (American) dec Alex Semenenko (Brown)  4-1

George Mason 24 Brown 18

125 - Ben Monn (George Mason) dec  Jared Brunner (Brown)  6-0

133 - Hunter Adrian (Brown) dec Geoff Whelan (George Mason)  5-0

141 - Joey Iamunno (Brown) fall Dom Hargrove (George Mason)  3:00

149 - Kaden Cassidy (George Mason) tech Ethan Mojena (Brown)  12-0

157 - DJ McGee (George Mason) tech Nicholas Romero (Brown)  17-2

165 - Evan Maag (George Mason) fall Keegan Rothrock (Brown)  2:21

174 - Drew Clearie (Brown) dec Logan Messer (George Mason)  4-1

184 - Malachi DuVall (George Mason) dec Andrew Reall (Brown)  7-3

197 - Tyler Kocak (George Mason) dec Thomas Sandoval (Brown)  2-1TB

285 - Alex Semenenko (Brown) fall James Blackman (George Mason)  3:58

Cornell 26 Penn 10

125 - Max Gallagher (Penn) maj Marcello Milani (Cornell)  12-3

133 - Tyler Ferrera (Cornell) dec Ryan Miller (Penn)  2-1

141 - CJ Composto (Penn) dec Josh Saunders (Cornell)  6-4

149 - Cross Wasilewski (Penn) dec Ethan Fernandez (Cornell)  5-4

157 - Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) dec Jude Swisher (Penn)  6-2

165 - Julian Ramirez (Cornell) tech Andy Troczynski (Penn)  17-2

174 - Simon Ruiz (Cornell) dec Nick Incontrera (Penn)  4-3

184 - Chris Foca (Cornell) tech Max Hale (Penn)  17-0

197 - Mikey Dellagatta (Cornell) maj Cole Spencer (Penn)  10-0

285 - Ashton Davis (Cornell) dec John Pardo (Penn)  9-6

Highlights

• Princeton wrestles to a perfect 3-0 weekend 
• Penn dominates two conference opponents at home
• Cornell wins both in-state duals against Binghamton and Columbia
• McGowan of Princeton earns 3 tech falls in 3 bouts

Duals

(2/1)

Cornell 29 Binghamton 9

125 - Marcello Milani (Cornell) maj Carson Wagner (Binghamton)  10-2

133 - Micah Roes (Binghamton) dec Ethan Qureshi (Cornell)  8-5

141 - Joshua Saunders (Cornell) maj Nate Lucier (Binghamton)  13-1

149 - Ivan Garcia (Binghamton) dec Ethan Fernandez (Cornell)  2-1

157 - Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) tech Fin Nadeau (Binghamton)  16-1

165 - Julian Ramirez (Cornell) dec Carter Baer (Binghamton)  4-0

174 - Simon Ruiz (Cornell) tech Roberto Padilla (Binghamton)  16-0

184 - Chris Foca (Cornell) tech Will Ebert (Binghamton)  16-1

197 - Mikey Dellagatta (Cornell) dec Cayden Bevis (Binghamton)  9-4

285 - Cory Day (Binghamton) dec Ashton Davis (Cornell)  3-2

Princeton 24 Drexel 13

125 - Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton) maj Desmond Pleasant (Drexel)  17-2

133 - Kyle Waterman (Drexel) dec Danny Jones (Princeton)  12-6

141 - Eligh Rivera (Princeton) dec Deon Pleasant (Drexel)  13-6

149 - Ty Whalen (Princeton) dec Dom Findora (Drexel)  8-2

157 - Jacob Mann (Princeton) dec Luke Nichter (Drexel)  12-6

165 - Cody Walsh (Drexel) dec Zander Silva (Princeton)  6-3

174 - Jasiah Queen (Drexel) maj Xavier Giles (Princeton)  14-4

184 - Ethan Wilson (Drexel) dec Kole Mulhauser (Princeton)  9-7

197 - Luke Stout (Princeton) maj Ibrahim Ameer (Drexel)  9-1

285 - Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton) fall Dom Petracci (Drexel)  3:37
 

(2/2)

Cornell 40 Columbia 0

125 - Marcello Milani (Cornell) dec Suleyman Bah (Columbia)  4-2

133 - Ethan Qureshi (Cornell) tech Connor Smith (Columbia)  19-3

141 - Joshua Saunders (Cornell) maj Cooper Hornack (Columbia)  15-3

149 - Ethan Fernandez (Cornell) dec Kai Owen (Columbia)  10-3

157 - Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) tech Richard Fedalen (Columbia)  16-0

165 - Julian Ramirez (Cornell) maj Cesar Alvan (Columbia)  14-5

174 - Simon Ruiz (Cornell) dec Jack McGill (Columbia)  10-8

184 - Chris Foca (Cornell) dec Nick Fine (Columbia)  8-2

197 - Mikey Dellagatta (Cornell) fall Joe Curtis (Columbia)  4:22

285 - Ashton Davis (Cornell) maj Billy McChesney (Columbia)  9-1

Princeton 36 Brown 7

125 - Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton) tech Jared Brunner (Brown)  19-4

133 - Danny Jones (Princeton) FFT

141 - Eligh Rivera (Princeton) maj Ian Oswalt (Brown)  12-2

149 - Ty Whalen (Princeton) tech Austin McBurney (Brown)  19-4

157 - Blake Saito (Brown) maj Jacob Mann (Princeton)  12-0

165 - Blaine Bergey (Princeton) tech Harrison Trahan (Brown)  16-1

174 - Drew Clearie (Brown) dec Xavier Giles (Princeton)  3-0

184 - Kole Mulhauser (Princeton) maj Andrew Reall (Brown)  12-1

197 - Luke Stout (Princeton) maj Thomas Sandoval (Brown)  14-4

285 - Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton) dec Alex Semeneko (Brown)  3-2

Penn 43 Harvard 0

125 - Max Gallagher (Penn) fall Isaiah Adams (Harvard)  4:13

133 - Ryan Miller (Penn) tech Logan Brzozowski (Harvard)  19-4

141 - CJ Composto (Penn) maj Jameson Garcia (Harvard)  15-3

149 - Cross Wasilewski (Penn) maj Jaden Pepe (Harvard)  11-2

157 - Jude Swisher (Penn) dec Nolan Leiss (Harvard)  9-3

165 - Andy Troczynski (Penn) dec Cael Berg (Harvard)  7-6

174 - Nick Incontrera (Penn) tech Alex Whitworth (Harvard)  21-4

184 - Max Hale (Penn) maj Matthew Walsh (Harvard)  11-2

197 - Nathan Taylor (Penn) dec Hudson Skove (Harvard)  4-1

285 - John Pardo (Penn) fall Jeffrey Crooks (Harvard)  1:44

Penn 37 Brown 6

125 - Max Gallagher (Penn) tech Jared Brunner (Brown)  19-4

133 - Ryan Miller (Penn) FFT

141 - CJ Composto (Penn) dec Joey Iamunno (Brown)  5-1

149 - Cross Wasilewski (Penn) fall Austin McBurney (Brown)  2:58

157 - Jude Swisher (Penn) InjDef Blake Saito (Brown)

165 - Keegan Rothrock (Brown) dec Andy Troczynski (Penn)  4-1SV

174 - Nick Incontrera (Penn) tech Drew Clearie (Brown)  20-4

184 - Max Hale (Penn) dec Andrew Reall (Brown)  4-3TB

197 - Thomas Sandoval (Brown) dec Nathan Taylor (Penn)  4-3

285 - John Pardo (Penn) dec Alex Semenenko (Brown)  5-2
 

Princeton 44 Harvard 0

125 - Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton) tech Isaiah Adams (Harvard)  24-7

133 - Danny Jones (Princeton) dec Logan Brzozowski (Harvard)  8-1

141 - Eligh Rivera (Princeton) tech Dante Frinzi (Harvard)  21-6

149 - Ty Whalen (Princeton) tech  Jaden Pepe (Harvard)  18-3

157 - Jacob Mann (Princeton) dec Nolan Leiss (Harvard)  9-7

165 - Blaine Bergey (Princeton) maj Cael Berg (Harvard)  11-2

174 - Xavier Giles (Princeton) dec Haden Bottiglieri (Harvard)  6-5

184 - Kole Mulhauser (Princeton) tech Luke Rada (Harvard)  15-0

197 - Luke Stout (Princeton) tech Hudson Skove (Harvard)  19-4

285 - Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton) fall Jeffrey Crooks (Harvard)  1:42

Highlights

• #10 Cornell dominates in two Ivy League road battles
• Columbia’s Jack McGill majors #7 Incontrera of Penn 
• Penn sweeps two duals in The Empire State
• Brown’s Jacob Joyce earns 2-0 record on the weekend 

Duals

(1/24) 

Penn 24 Columbia 20

125 - Max Gallagher (Penn) maj Suleyman Bah (Columbia)  11-3

133 - Ryan Miller (Penn) tech Connor Smith (Columbia)  20-4

141 - CJ Composto (Penn) dec Kai Owen (Columbia)  8-4

149 - Cross Wasilewski (Penn) maj Richard Fedalen (Columbia)  11-2

157 - Jude Swisher (Penn) tech Dominic Rossetti (Columbia)  18-1

165 - Andrew Troczynski (Penn) dec Jaden Le (Columbia)  15-11

174 - Jack McGill (Columbia) maj Nick Incontrera (Penn)  14-3

184 - Nick Fine (Columbia) fall Max Hale (Penn)  2:22

197 - Joe Curtis (Columbia) fall Nathan Taylor (Penn)  5:54

285 - Vincent Mueller (Columbia) maj John Pardo (Penn)  15-3
 

Rider 23 Princeton 19

125 - Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton) tech Noah Michaels (Rider)  19-3

133 - Drew Heethuis (Princeton) dec Will Betancourt (Rider)  5-0

141 - Eligh Rivera (Princeton) dec McKenzie Bell (Rider)  8-5SV

149 - Sammy Alvarez (Rider) dec Ty Whalen (Princeton)  7-3

157 - Colton Washleski (Rider) maj Jacob Mann (Princeton)  14-6

165 - Enrique Munguia (Rider) fall Zander Silva (Princeton)  5:41

174 - Michael Wilson (Rider) fall Xavier Giles (Princeton)  4:52

184 - Isaac Dean (Rider) maj Kole Mulhauser (Princeton)  12-4

197 - Luke Stout (Princeton) tech Brock Zurawski (Rider)  22-5

285 - Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton) dec Collin French (Rider)  8-4
 

(1/25) 

Cornell 39 Harvard 3

125 - Diego Sotelo (Harvard) dec Marcello Milani (Cornell)  6-3

133 - Tyler Ferrera (Cornell) maj Logan Brzozowski (Harvard)  8-0

141 - Joshua Saunders (Cornell) dec Dante Frinzi (Harvard)  7-4

149 - Ethan Fernandez (Cornell) maj Jaden Pepe (Harvard)  10-2

157 - Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) tech Jimmy Harrington (Harvard)  18-3

165 - Julian Ramirez (Cornell) fall Cael Berg (Harvard)  1:47

174 - Simon Ruiz (Cornell) tech Haden Bottiglieri (Harvard)  17-1

184 - Chris Foca (Cornell) tech Matthew Walsh (Harvard)  16-1

197 - Mikey Dellagatta (Cornell) dec Hudson Skove (Harvard)  4-0

285 - Ashton Davis (Cornell) maj Jeffrey Crooks (Harvard)  11-2

Cornell 35 Brown 3

125 - Marcello Milani (Cornell) maj Jared Brunner (Brown)  14-2

133 - Jacob Joyce (Brown) dec Ethan Qureshi (Cornell)  4-1

141 - Joshua Saunders (Cornell) dec Joey Iamunno (Brown)  16-15

149 - Ethan Fernandez (Cornell) dec Ethan Mojena (Brown)  4-1SV

157 - Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) dec Blake Saito (Brown)  7-2

165 - Julian Ramirez (Cornell) maj Keegan Rothrock (Brown)  13-2

174 - Simon Ruiz (Cornell) tech Drew Clearie (Brown)  22-7

184 - Chris Foca (Cornell) maj Andrew Reall (Brown)  8-0

197 - Mikey Dellagatta (Cornell) fall Thomas Sandoval (Brown)  4:40

285 - Ashton Davis (Cornell) dec Alex Semenenko (Brown)  4-1SV
 

Binghamton 26 Harvard 12

125 - Carson Wagner (Binghamton) dec Diego Sotelo (Harvard)  10-3

133 - Logan Brzozowski (Harvard) dec Jack Kazalas (Binghamton)  2-1

141 - Dante Frinzi (Harvard) dec Nathan Lucier (Binghamton)  6-5

149 - Jaden Pepe (Harvard) dec Ivan Garcia (Binghamton)  3-2

157 - Jimmy Harrington (Harvard) dec Fin Nadeau (Binghamton)  4-1

165 - Carter Baer (Binghamton) maj Cael Berg (Harvard)  15-2

174 - Brevin Cassella (Binghamton) fall Haden Bottiglieri (Harvard)  1:18

184 - Will Ebert (Binghamton) maj Matthew Walsh (Harvard)  10-2

197 - Cayden Bevis (Binghamton) dec Hudson Skove (Harvard)  7-3

285 - Cory Day (Binghamton) fall Jeffrey Crooks (Harvard)  1:38
 

Binghamton 18 Brown 17

125 - Carson Wagner (Binghamton) maj Jared Brunner (Brown)  17-3

133 - Jacob Joyce (Brown) dec Micah Roes (Binghamton)  6-5

141 - Nathan Lucier (Binghamton) dec Ian Oswalt (Brown)  7-6

149 - Ivan Garcia (Binghamton) dec Ethan Mojena (Brown)  5-3

157 - Blake Saito (Brown) dec Fin Nadeau (Binghamton)  4-2

165 - Carter Baer (Binghamton) maj Keegan Rothrock (Brown)  9-0

174 - Brevin Cassella (Binghamton) maj Drew Clearie (Brown)  11-1

184 - Andrew Reall (Brown) dec Will Ebert (Binghamton)  4-0

197 - Thomas Sandoval (Brown) dec Cayden Bevis (Binghamton)  4-2

285 - Alex Semenenko (Brown) fall Cory Day (Binghamton)  7:00

(1/26) 

Princeton 34 Columbia 3

125 - Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton) dec Suleyman Bah (Columbia)  4-1

133 - Drew Heethuis (Princeton) fall Connor Smith (Columbia)  4:15

141 - Eligh Rivera (Princeton) maj Kai Owen (Columbia)  16-7

149 - Ty Whalen (Princeton) dec Richard Fedalen (Columbia)  6-0

157 - Jacob Mann (Princeton) dec Rawson Iwanicki (Columbia)  4-3

165 - Blaine Bergey (Princeton) dec Jaden Le (Columbia)  8-5

174 - Jack McGill (Columbia) dec Xavier Giles (Princeton)  2-0

184 - Kade Mulhauser (Princeton) maj Nick Fine (Columbia)  17-9

197 - Luke Stout (Princeton) tech Joe Curtis (Columbia)  20-3

285 - Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton) dec Vincent Mueller (Columbia)  12-7
 

Penn 39 Hofstra 7

125 - Max Gallagher (Penn) fall Dylan Acevedo-Switzer (Hofstra)  6:38

133 - Ryan Miller (Penn) tech Chase Liardi (Hofstra)  17-2

141 - CJ Composto (Penn) tech Justin Hoyle (Hofstra)  18-1

149 - Cross Wasilewski (Penn) fall Noah Tapia (Hofstra)  4:47

157 - Jude Swisher (Penn) maj Jurius Clark (Hofstra)  17-3

165 - Kyle Mosher (Hofstra) maj Andy Troczynski (Penn)  14-3

174 - Nick Incontrera (Penn) maj Matt Waddell (Hofstra)  17-0

184 - Max Hale (Penn) dec Ross McFarland (Hofstra)  4-1

197 - Nik Miller (Hofstra) dec Nathan Taylor (Penn)  8-5SV

285 - John Pardo (Penn) tech Danny Church (Hofstra)  20-4

Highlights

• Cornell’s Dellagatta claims gold at Cyclone Open
• Princeton dominates Clarion on the road
• Brown defeats Davidson at Davidson Duals

(1/19) Cyclone Open – Ames, IA

Cornell traveled to Iowa to wrestle in the open. They only entered four participants – all of whom placed. Below are place winners:  

133: Tyler Ferrera DNP 

*Key win over #20 Land (Northern Iowa)

197: Mikey Dellagatta – Champion 

197: Aiden Hanning – 5th 

285: Ashton Davis – 5th 

Duals

(1/17)

Little Rock 28 Brown 13

125 - Tyson Roach (Little Rock) dec Jared Brunner (Brown)  5-3

133 - Jacob Joyce (Brown) FFT

141 - Brennan Van Hoecke (Little Rock) dec Joey Iamunno (Brown)  15-9

149 - Jordan Williams (Little Rock) maj Austin McBurney (Brown)  14-6

157 - Matt Bianchi (Little Rock) maj Blake Saito (Brown)  9-1

165 - Joey Bianchi (Little Rock) tech  Keegan Rothrock (Brown)  19-2

174 - Tyler Brennan (Little Rock) maj Drew Clearie (Brown)  10-0

184 - Andrew Reall (Brown) dec Brock DelSignore (Little Rock)  8-5SV

197 - Stephen Little (Little Rock) tech Thomas Sandoval (Brown)  19-4

285 - Alex Semenenko (Brown) maj KJ Miley (Little Rock)  11-2
 

Lock Haven 26 Brown 10

125 - Sean Logue (Lock Haven) maj Jared Brunner (Brown)  12-0

133 - Jacob Joyce (Brown) fall Hunter Gould (Lock Haven)  1:48

141 - Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven) dec Joey Iamunno (Brown)  2-0

149 - Lucas Kapusta (Lock Haven) dec Austin McBurney (Brown)  6-1

157 - Blake Saito (Brown) maj Nick Stampoulos (Lock Haven)  14-1

165 - Caden Dobbins (Lock Haven) dec Keegan Rothrock (Brown)  2-0

174 - Avery Bassett (Lock Haven) dec Drew Clearie (Brown)  4-0

184 - Colin Fegley (Lock Haven) dec Andrew Reall (Brown)  7-6

197 - Tucker Hogan (Lock Haven) maj Thomas Sandoval (Brown)  9-0

285 - Gavin Hoffman (Lock Haven) dec Alex Semenenko (Brown)  8-2
 

Brown 41 Davidson 3

125 - Jared Brunner (Brown) dec Luke Passarelli (Davidson)  5-1

133 - Jacob Joyce (Brown) tech Enis Lijkovic (Davidson)   15-0

141 - Joey Iamunno (Brown) dec Tyson Sherlock (Davidson)  5-0

149 - Xavier McKnight (Davidson) dec Austin McBurney (Brown)  5-0

157 - Blake Saito (Brown) tech Logan Sichelstiel (Davidson)  16-1

165 - Keegan Rothrock (Brown) dec  Bryce Griffin (Davidson)  4-1

174 - Drew Clearie (Brown) maj Bodie Morgan (Davidson)  17-6

184 - Andrew Reall (Brown) fall Josh Lange (Davidson)  4:27

197 - Thomas Sandoval (Brown) fall Oliver Tipton (Davidson)  1:51

285 - Alex Semenenko (Brown) FFT
 

American 20 Harvard 19

125 - Diego Sotelo (Harvard) fall Coen Bainey (American)  3:31

133 - Raymond Lopez (American) dec Logan Brzozowski (Harvard)  16-11

141 - Dante Frinzi (Harvard) dec Elijah White (American)  5-3

149 - Jaden Pepe (Harvard) dec Gage Owen (American)  6-4

157 - Jimmy Harrington (Harvard) maj Jack Nies (American)  11-2

165 - Kaden Milheim (American) dec Cael Berg (Harvard)  9-5

174 - Caleb Campos (American) fall Haden Bottiglieri (Harvard)  4:47

184 - Matthew Walsh (Harvard) dec Lucas White (American)  19-12

197 - Carston Rawls (American) dec Max Agresti (Harvard)  19-15

285 - Will Jarrell (American) maj Hudson Skove (Harvard)  15-1
 

American 20 Harvard 19

125 - Diego Sotelo (Harvard) fall Coen Bainey (American)  3:31

133 - Raymond Lopez (American) dec Logan Brzozowski (Harvard)  16-11

141 - Dante Frinzi (Harvard) dec Elijah White (American)  5-3

149 - Jaden Pepe (Harvard) dec Gage Owen (American)  6-4

157 - Jimmy Harrington (Harvard) maj Jack Nies (American)  11-2

165 - Kaden Milheim (American) dec Cael Berg (Harvard)  9-5

174 - Caleb Campos (American) fall Haden Bottiglieri (Harvard)  4:47

184 - Matthew Walsh (Harvard) dec Lucas White (American)  19-12

197 - Carston Rawls (American) dec Max Agresti (Harvard)  19-15

285 - Will Jarrell (American) maj Hudson Skove (Harvard)  15-1
 

Princeton 42 Clarion 3

125 - Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton) fall Travis Clawson (Clarion)  :47

133 - Danny Jones (Princeton) fall Bobby Gardner (Clarion)  2:57

141 - Gianni Silvestri (Clarion) dec Joe Davi (Princeton)  8-4

149 - Ty Whalen (Princeton) tech Kyle Schickel (Clarion)  17-2

157 - Jacob Mann (Princeton) maj John Altieri (Clarion)  8-0

165 - Zander Silva (Princeton) dec Wesley Barnes (Clarion)  11-4

174 - Xavier Giles (Princeton) tech Deegan Ross (Clarion)  16-1

184 - Kole Mulhauser (Princeton) tech Adrian Gacek (Clarion)  16-1

197 - Luke Stout (Princeton) tech Ethan Wiant (Clarion)  17-1

285 - Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton) dec Austin Chapman (Clarion)  2-0

Highlights

• Penn’s Roger Reina earns 250th career victory
• Columbia’s McGill wins F&M Open at 174lbs 
• Max Gallagher of Penn knocks off All-American Jordan of SDSU
• Penn wrestles to 4-1 record to place 5th at NWCA Duals

(1/10) David H. Lehman F&M Open

There was a contingent of Ivy League teams in action, along with many unattached wrestlers. Below are place winners for each weight.

133: Jacob Joyce (Brown) – 4th 

141: Eligh Rivera (Princeton) – 3rd 

149: #30 Richard Fedalen (Columbia) – 2nd 

*Key win over #25 Gioffre (Virginia)

Kai Owen (Columbia) – 3rd 

Chris Martino (Princeton) – 6th 

165: #28 Cesar Alvan (Columbia) – 2nd  

174: Jack McGill (Columbia) – 1st 

184: Kole Mulhauser (Princeton) – 3rd 

197: Joe Curtis (Columbia) – 3rd 

285: Vincent Mueller (Columbia) – 3rd 

Alex Semenenko (Brown) – 4th 

(1/10 – 1/11) NWCA National Duals – Cedar Falls, IA

Penn was the lone Ivy League representative competing. They earned a fifth place finish as a team. 

(1/10) 

Penn 38 Ohio 9

125 - Max Gallagher (Penn) tech Logan Dean (Ohio)  21-2

133 - Ryan Miller (Penn) tech TJ England (Ohio)  18-1

141 - CJ Composto (Penn) tech Kaden Jett (Ohio)  16-1

149 - Cross Wasiewski (Penn) fall Jake Necessary (Ohio)  2:52

157 - Jude Swisher (Penn) fall Logan Cravatas (Ohio)  2:09

165 - Paul Ognisstani (Penn) maj Jack Lledo (Ohio)  14-2

174 - Nick Incontrera (Penn) dec Garrett Thompson (Ohio)  6-0

184 - Max Hale (Penn) maj Jeremy Olszko (Ohio)  11-3

197 - Austin Starr (Ohio) dec Jackson Zimmerman (Penn)  8-2

285 - Jordan Greer (Ohio) fall John Pardo (Penn)  1:14
 

South Dakota State 21 Penn 16

125 - Max Gallagher (Penn) dec Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State)  6-5

133 - Ryan Miller (Penn) maj Derrick Cardinal (South Dakota State)  8-0

141 - Julian Tagg (South Dakota State) dec CJ Composto (Penn)  4-1

149 - Cross Wasilewski (Penn) dec Avery Allen (South Dakota State)  8-2

157 - Jude Swisher (Penn) fallMoses Espinoza-Owens (South Dakota State)  5:28

165 - Marcus Espinoza-Owens (South Dakota State) dec Paul Ognissanti (Penn)  8-1

174 - Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) dec Nick Incontrera (Penn)  4-1SV

184 - Bennett Berge (South Dakota State) dec Max Hale (Penn)  2-1

197 - Tommy Dineen (South Dakota State) maj Nathan Taylor (Penn)  12-0

285 - Luke Rasmussen (South Dakota State) tech John Pardo (Penn)  15-0
 

Penn 41 Sacred Heart 3

125 - Max Gallagher (Penn) FFT

133 - Braxton Fries-Apello (Sacred Heart) dec Brady Pruett (Penn)  7-3

141 - Evan Mougalian (Penn) dec Andrew Fallon (Sacred Heart)  5-1

149 - Kelly Dunnigan (Penn) tech Dakota Asuncion (Sacred Heart)  23-6

157 - Jude Swisher (Penn) maj  Felix Lettini (Sacred Heart)  12-0

165 - Vince Mannella (Penn) tech Nolan Hook (Sacred Heart)  15-0

174 - Nick Incontrera (Penn) tech Aidan Zarrella (Sacred Heart)  19-2

184 - Nathan Taylor (Penn) dec  Hunter Perez (Sacred Heart)  16-9

197 - Jackson Zimmerman (Penn) maj Chris DeLena (Sacred Heart)  11-0

285 - John Pardo (Penn) fall Marc Berisha (Sacred Heart)  1:51
 

(1/11) 

Penn 30 Drexel 12

125 - Brady Pruett (Penn) fall Desmond Pleasant (Drexel)  1:34

133 - Ryan Miller (Penn) dec Kyle Waterman (Drexel)  4-0

141 - CJ Composto (Penn) dec Jordan Soriano (Drexel)  6-1

149 - Cross Wasilewski (Penn) maj Jon Fuller (Drexel)  11-2

157 - Luke Nichter (Drexel) fall Jude Swisher (Penn)  1:57

165 - Cody Walsh (Drexel) dec Vince Mannella (Penn)  8-3

174 - Nick Incontrera (Penn) dec Jasiah Queen (Drexel)  5-3

184 - Max Hale (Penn) fall Guiseppe Hoose (Drexel)  :46

197 - Ibrahim Ameer (Drexel) dec Nathan Taylor (Penn)  2-1

285 - John Pardo (Penn) tech Dom Petracci (Drexel)  20-4
 

Penn 26 Wyoming 14

125 - Max Gallagher (Penn) dec Garrett Ricks (Wyoming)  11-6

133 - Ryan Miller (Penn) maj Stockton O’Brien (Wyoming)  9-0

141 - CJ Composto (Penn) fall Cole Brooks (Wyoming) 6:47

149 - Cross Wasilewski (Penn) maj Gabe Willochell (Wyoming)  15-4

157 - Jared Hill (Wyoming) dec Jude Swisher (Penn)  7-4

165 - Cooper Voorhees (Wyoming) dec Paul Ognissanti (Penn)  7-3

174 - Nick Incontrera (Penn) tech Ethan Ducca (Wyoming)  22-5

184 - Max Hale (Penn) maj Quayin Short (Wyoming)  8-0

197 - Joey Novak (Wyoming) tech Jackson Zimmerman (Penn)  17-0

285 - Sam Mitchell (Wyoming) dec John Pardo (Penn)  5-1

 

Duals

(1/10) Princeton (46) vs Morgan State (0) 

125: Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton) tech Julian Dawson (Morgan State) 19-4

133: Drew Heethuis (Princeton) fall Shawn Ryncarz (Morgan State) 3:00

141: Joe Davi (Princeton) maj Myrin Nixon (Morgan State) 10-2

149: Ty Whalen (Princeton) FFT

157: Jacob Mann (Princeton) dec Joshua Greenwood (Morgan State) 11-5

165: Blaine Bergey (Princeton) tech Cooper Lockhart (Morgan State) 16-1

174: Xavier Giles (Princeton) dec Cort Vann (Morgan State) 1-0

184: Mikey Squires (Princeton) fall Calvin Savage (Morgan State) 1:53

197: Diego Costa (Princeton) dec Eric Washington (Morgan State) 7-1

285: Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton) tech RJ Duncan (Morgan State) 19-2

(1/12) #11 Cornell (23) vs #23 Lehigh (19) 

125: Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) dec. Marcello Milani (Cornell) 3-2

133: Tyler Ferrara (Cornell) tech fall Logan Wadle (Lehigh) 17-2, 3:34

141: Carter Bailey (Lehigh) dec. Josh Saunders (Cornell) 1-0

149: Malyke Hines (Lehigh) dec. Ethan Fernandez (Cornell) 5-4

157: Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) Fall Griffin Gonzalez (Lehigh) 1:29

165: Julian Ramirez (Cornell) tech fall Zeke Dubler (Lehigh) 18-1, 2:22

174: Simon Ruiz (Cornell) major dec. Rylan Rogers (Lehigh) 11-1

184: Chris Foca (Cornell) dec. Caden Rogers (Lehigh) 2-0

197: Michael Beard (Lehigh) tech fall Aiden Hanning (Cornell) 22-5, 3:51

285: Owen Trephan (Lehigh) tech fall Ashton Davis (Cornell) 18-3, 4:39

Highlights

• #11 Cornell takes down #18 Missouri on the road
• Columbia defeats #30 Maryland in Sunday’s dual
• Blake Saito of Brown claims the first Southern Scuffle title in school history 

Duals

(1/4) #11 Cornell 26 #18  Missouri 12

125 - Gage Walker (Missouri) fall Marcello Milani (Cornell)  6:14

133 - Tyler Ferrera (Cornell) dec Kade Moore (Missouri)  3-2

141 - Joshua Saunders (Cornell) maj Josh Edmond (Missouri)  12-4

149 - Zeke Seltzer (Missouri) dec Mark Botello (Cornell)  4-1

157 - Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) tech J Conway (Missouri)  17-2

165 - Julian Ramirez (Cornell) dec Joel Mylin (Missouri)  8-2

174 - Simon Ruiz (Cornell) maj Jake Stoffel (Missouri)  17-3

184 - Chris Foca (Cornell) maj Colton Hawks (Missouri)  9-1

197 - Aiden Hanning (Cornell) dec Jesse Cassat (Missouri)  2-0

285 - Jarrett Stoner (Missouri) dec Aiden Compton (Cornell)  5-0

(1/4) #21 West Virginia 27 Princeton 12

125 - Jace Schafer (West Virginia) FFT

133 - Danny Jones (Princeton) dec Mason Kernan (West Virginia)  6-5

141 - Eligh Rivera (Princeton) dec Jordan Titus (West Virginia)  7-2

149 - Ty Whalen (Princeton) dec Sam Hillegas (West Virginia)  17-13

157 - Sasha Gavronsky (West Virginia) dec Cody Tavoso (Princeton)  5-1

165 - Peyton Hall (West Virginia) tech Zander Silva (Princeton)  18-0

174 - Brody Conley (West Virginia) maj Xander Giles (Princeton)  9-1

184 - Dennis Robin (West Virginia) dec Kole Mulhauser (Princeton)  11-8

197 - Mikey Squires (Princeton) dec Ian Bush (West Virginia)  7-4

285 - Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia) fall Will Sather (Princeton)  2:30

(1/5) Lock Haven 25 Columbia 15

125 - Sulayman Bah (Columbia) tech Branden Wentzel (Lock Haven)  28-10

133 - Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) maj Zack Witmer (Columbia)  11-0

141 - Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven) fall Kai Owen (Columbia)  5:50

149 - Richard Fedalen (Columbia) maj Lucas Kapusta (Lock Haven)  9-1

157 - Nick Stampoulos (Lock Haven) maj Dominic Rossetti (Columbia)  12-4

165 - Cesar Alvan (Columbia) dec Caden Dobbins (Lock Haven)  6-4

174 - Avery Bassett (Lock Haven) dec Jack McGill (Columbia)  9-4

184 - Nick Fine (Columbia) dec Colin Fegley (Lock Haven)  4-1TB

197 - Tucker Hogan (Lock Haven) tech Joe Curtis (Columbia)  15-0

285 - Gavin Hoffman (Lock Haven) dec Vincent Mueller (Columbia)  8-3
 

Columbia 19 #30 Maryland 18

125 - Sulayman Bah (Columbia) maj Tyler Garvin (Maryland)  12-4

133 - Braxton Brown (Maryland) dec Zack Witmer (Columbia)  11-7

141 - Kai Owen (Columbia) dec Dario Lemus (Maryland)  5-3

149 - Kal Miller (Maryland) dec Richard Fedalen (Columbia)  9-6

157 - Ethen Miller (Maryland) maj Jaden Le (Columbia)  14-3

165 - Cesar Alvan (Columbia) dec Sammy Gautreau (Maryland)  5-1

174 - Jack McGill (Columbia) dec Branson John (Maryland)  5-2

184 - Jaxon Smith (Maryland) dec Nick Fine (Columbia)  7-4

197 - Joe Curtis (Columbia) fall Chase Mielnik (Maryland)  4:10

285 - Seth Nevills (Maryland) tech Vincent Mueller (Columbia)  16-1

Binghamton 25 Columbia 16

125 - Carson Wagner (Binghamton) dec Sulayman Bah (Columbia)  4-3

133 - Micah Roes (Binghamton) InjDef Zack Witmer (Columbia)

141 - Ryan Hartung (Binghamton) dec Kai Owen (Columbia)  11-9

149 - Ivan Garcia (Binghamton) maj Richard Fedalen (Columbia)  13-5

157 - Fin Nadeau (Binghamton) dec Rawson Iwannicki (Columbia)  4-2

165 - Cesar Alvan (Columbia) maj Carter Baer (Binghamton)  9-0

174 - Brevin Cassella (Binghamton) dec Jack McGill (Columbia)  6-0

184 - Nick Fine (Columbia) fall Robert Padilla (Binghamton)  6:04

197 - Joe Curtis (Columbia) fall Andrew Bailey (Binghamton)  1:22

285 - Charlie Tibbitts (Binghamton) dec Vincent Mueller (Columbia)  11-9

(1/4-1/5) Southern Scuffle, Chattanooga, TN 

Brown participated in the challenging second semester event. The Bears walked away with one champion.

157: Blake Saito – Champion

*No key wins – but outplaced #29 Castillo of Chattanooga 

133: Michael Joyce – DNP

*Key win over #29 Zaccone (Campbell)

133: Hunter Adrian – DNP

*Key win over #23 Berginc (Army West Point) via MDFFT

Highlights

• Penn’s Composto earns gold at Midlands 
• McGowan of Princeton takes 5th at Midlands in season debut 
• Penn’s 10 placers at Midlands good enough for a 3rd place finish
• Harvard and Princeton each place 2 wrestlers at Midlands

(12/29 – 12/30) Midlands – Hoffman Estates, IL

Harvard, Penn, and Princeton were all participants in this year’s event. Penn finished the team race in 3rd place while Princeton was 10th. Below are the placewinners from each squad.

Harvard Placewinners;

125: #24 Diego Sotelo – 3rd 

*Key wins over #25 Moran (Indiana), #27 Gallagher (Penn) 

165: Cael Berg – 8th

*Key win over #27 White (Rutgers) 

Penn Placewinners: 

125: #27 Max Gallagher – 6th 

*Key win over #29 Holeman (Cal Poly)

125: Brady Pruett – 8th 

133: #31 Ryan Miller – 4th 

*Key win over #33 Spidle (CMU) 

141: #10 CJ Composto – 1st 

*Key win over #18 Olivieri (Rutgers)

141: Evan Mougalian – 7th 

*Key win over #29 Santaniello (Pitt)

149: #19 Cross Wasilewski – 2nd 

*Key win over #25 Clark (Rutgers)

157: #20 Jude Swisher – 3rd 

*Key wins over #22 Evans (Pitt) and #30 Rozynski (Lehigh) 

174: #7 Nick Incontrera 

*Key win over #18 Augustine (Pitt)

184: #23 Max Hale – 3rd 

*Key win over #27 Squires (Princeton) and #31 Haas (Cal Baptist) 

Princeton Placewinners:

125: #26 Marc-Anthony McGowan – 5th 

*Key wins over #27 Gallagher (Penn) and #29 Holeman (Cal Poly) 

285: Sebastian Garibaldi – 6th 

Highlights

• Columbia wins dual over Hofstra
• Brown earns 3 placewinners at Sheridan
   

(12/20) Sheridan Tournament – Bethlehem, PA

Brown was the lone Ivy League participant in this event. Below were placewinners

149: Ethan Mojena – 3rd 

174: Conner O’Donnell – 2nd 

184: Andrew Reall – 4th 

Duals

(12/21) 

Columbia 32 Hofstra 10

125 - Suleyman Bah (Columbia) dec Teague Strobel (Hofstra)  8-2

133 - Chase Liardi (Hofstra) maj Zack Witmer (Columbia)  12-3

141 - Kai Owen (Columbia) fall Gauge Shipp (Hofstra)  2:06

149 - Richard Fedalen (Columbia) dec Noah Tapia (Hofstra)  8-6

157 - Jurius Clark (Hofstra) dec Dominic Rossetti (Columbia)  5-4

165 - Kyle Mosher (Hofstra) dec Cesar Alvan (Columbia)  4-1

174 - Jack McGill (Columbia) tech Matt Waddell (Hofstra)  18-3

184 - Nick Fine (Columbia) dec Ross McFarland (Hofstra)  3-2

197 - Joe Curtis (Columbia) fall Nik Miller (Hofstra)  1:49

285 - Vincent Mueller (Columbia) fall Danny Church (Hofstra)  :47
 

NC State 20 Cornell 18

125 - Louie Gill (NC State) dec Marcello Milani (Cornell)  5-2SV

133 - Kai Orine (NC State) fall Tyler Ferrera (Cornell)  6:00

141 - Joshua Saunders (Cornell) dec Tyler Tracy (NC State)  4-3

149 - Ethan Fernandez (Cornell) dec Koy Buesgens (NC State)  5-3

157 - Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) disq Ed Scott (NC State)

165 - Julian Ramirez (Cornell) dec Derek Fields (NC State)  4-1

174 - Matthew Singleton (NC State) dec Simon Ruiz (Cornell)  6-5

184 - Chris Foca (Cornell) dec Dylan Fishback (NC State)  6-2

197 - Christian Knop (NC State) dec Mikey Dellagatta (Cornell)  5-2

285 - Isaac Trumble (NC State) tech Aiden Compton (Cornell)  19-4

Highlights

• Cornell places 3 at CKLV Invite with Simon Ruiz leading the way in 4th 
• Milani and Fernandez both earn 8th for Cornell at CKLV
• Penn splits duals on the road

Duals

Virginia 25 Penn 11

125 - Max Gallagher (Penn) tech Keyveon Roller (Virginia)  23-8

133 - Gable Porter (Virginia) dec Alex Almeyda (Penn)  5-0

141 - Evan Mougalian (Penn) dec Kyren Butler (Virginia)  9-6

149 - Jack Gioffre (Virginia) dec Cross Wasilewski (Penn)  4-3

157 - Michael Gioffre (Virginia) maj Paul Ognissanti (Penn)  11-2

165 - Nick Hamilton (Virginia) dec Andy Troczynski (Penn)  7-3

174 - Nick Incontrera (Penn) dec Rocco Contino (Virginia)  6-4

184 - Justin Phillips (Virginia) dec Nate Taylor (Penn)  7-0

197 - Max Shulaw (Virginia) maj Jackson Zimmerman (Penn)  9-0

285 - Gabe Christenson (Virginia) tech John Pardo (Penn)  19-2

#2 Iowa 39 Princeton 3

125 - Joey Cruz (Iowa) dec Ethan Rivera (Princeton)  6-2

133 - Drake Ayala (Iowa) maj Danny Jones (Princeton)  13-2

141 - Eligh Rivera (Princeton) dec Cullan Schriever (Iowa)  4-2

149 - Kyle Parco (Iowa) tech Christopher Martino (Princeton)  17-2

157 - Miguel Estrada (Iowa) tech Cody Tavoso (Princeton)  21-6

165 - Michael Caliendo (Iowa) tech Hudson Hightower (Princeton)  19-3

174 - Nelson Brands (Iowa) tech Xavier Giles (Princeton)  20-4

184 - Gabe Arnold (Iowa) maj Mikey Squires (Princeton)  19-6

197 - Stephen Buchanan (Iowa) tech Luke Stout (Princeton)  19-3

285 - Ben Kueter (Iowa) dec Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton)  8-2
 

Penn 34 Morgan State 6

125 - Brady Pruett (Penn) tech Julian Dawson (Morgan State)  19-1

133 - Ryan Miller (Penn) tech Shawn Ryncarz (Morgan State)  17-2

141 - Evan Mougalian (Penn) tech Myrin Nixon (Morgan State)  16-1

149 - Cross Wasilewski (Penn) maj Yannis Charles (Morgan State)  15-3

157 - Jackson Dean (Penn) dec Eric Tecson (Morgan State)  6-3

165 - Reed Fullmer (Penn) FFT

174 - Nick Incontrera (Penn) dec Darrien Roberts (Morgan State)  5-0

184 - Kingsley Menifee (Morgan State) dec Nathan Taylor (Penn)  5-4

197 - Josh Labarbera (Penn) dec Cam Johnson (Morgan State)  8-1

285 - Xavier Doolin (Morgan State) dec John Pardo (Penn)  8-5 

#18 Rutgers 32 Princeton 7

125 - Dean Peterson (Rutgers) dec Ethan Rivera (Princeton)  5-3

133 - Danny Jones (Princeton) maj Brandan Chletsos (Rutgers)  9-1

141 - Joey Olivieri (Rutgers) dec Drew Heethuis (Princeton)  5-2

149 - Andrew Clark (Rutgers) dec Christopher Martino (Princeton)  5-0

157 - Conner Harer (Rutgers) maj Cody Tavoso (Princeton)  13-4

165 - Tony White (Rutgers) dec Hudson Hightower (Princeton)  8-4

174 - Jackson Turley (Rutgers) fall Xavier Giles (Princeton)  6:17

184 - Mikey Squires (Princeton) dec Shane Cartagena-Walsh (Rutgers)  3-0

197 - Brian Soldano (Rutgers) fall Diego Costa (Princeton)  1:36

285 - Yaraslau Slavikouski (Rutgers) maj Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton)  16-3

(12/6 – 12/7) Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational – Las Vegas, NV 

Columbia, Cornell, and Harvard were participants. 

Columbia finished 26th in the team race. There were no placewinners for the Lions. Below is a list of notable wins for some wrestlers. 

165: #28 Cesar Alvan - #22 Buell (Purdue)

Cornell ended the weekend with an 18th team finish. Below is a list of place winners with along with notable wins

125: Marcello Milani – 8th 

Notable wins - #12 Robinson (NC State), #6 Jordan (South Dakota State)

149: #14 Ethan Fernandez – 8th 

Notable wins - #15 Vasquez (Arizona State), #17 Realbuto (Northern Iowa)

174: #13 Simon Ruiz – 4th 

Notable wins - #19 Singleton (NC State), #10 Pinto (Nebraska), #18 Wask (Navy)

141: Saunders – DNP

Notable wins - #15 Drury (Utah Valley)

157: Wade – DNP

Notable wins - #19 Siebrecht (South Dakota South)

Harvard finished the weekend in 27th place as a team. Below is a list of notable wins

157: #31 Jimmy Harrington - #24 Stiles (Oregon State) 

(12/8) - Patriot Open – George Mason University

Brown placewinners

141: Ian Oswalt (unattached) – 1st 

157: Blake Saito (unattached) – 1st 

149: Ethan Mojena – 3rd 

165: Dominic Frontino (unattached) – 4th 

285: Alex Semenenko – 5th 

174: Drew Clearie – 6th 

Cornell placewinners

165: #5 Julian Ramirez – 1st 

184: #9 Chris Foca – 2nd

Penn placewinners

125: #18 Max Gallagher – 1st 

149: Kelly Dunnigan – 4th 

Highlights

• Penn claims 3 titles at Keystone Classic with Gallagher, Composto, and Swisher
• #26 Alvan of Columbia wins via fall over #13 Lillard of Indiana

Duals

Indiana 23 Columbia 21

125 - Jacob Moran (Indiana) dec Suleyman Bah (Columbia)  19-16SV

133 - Angelo Rini (Indiana) tech Zack Witmer (Columbia)  15-0

141 - Kai Owen (Columbia) fall Henry Porter (Indiana)  :50

149 - Richard Fedalen (Columbia) dec Aiden Torres (Indiana)  9-5

157 - Dominic Rossetti (Columbia) dec Ryan Garvick (Indiana)  5-4

165 - Cesar Alvan (Columbia) fall Tyler Lillard (Indiana)  4:03

174 - Jack McGill (Columbia) dec Nick South (Indiana)  3-2SV

184 - DJ Washington (Indiana) tech Spencer Fine (Columbia)  19-3

197 - Gabe Sollars (Indiana) fall Ike Schmidt (Columbia)  2:09

285 - Jacob Bullock (Indiana) maj Billy McChesney (Columbia)  11-0

Cornell  37 Buffalo 0

125 - Greg Diakomihalis (Cornell) maj Max Elton (Buffalo)  14-2

133 - Brett Ungar (Cornell) tech Troy Guerra (Buffalo)  15-0

141 - Joshua Saunders (Cornell) maj Aaron Lanster (Buffalo)  11-2

149 - Ethan Fernandez (Cornell) dec Sam Ewing (Buffalo)  12-5

157 - Nate Wade (Cornell) dec Kaleb Burgess (Buffalo)  7-5

165 - Evan Canoyer (Cornell) dec Hunter Shaut (Buffalo)  9-2

174 - Simon Ruiz (Cornell) tech Dylan Schell (Buffalo)  20-4

184 - Colt Barley (Cornell) dec Marcus Pettie (Buffalo)  7-2

197 - Mikey Dellagatta (Cornell) maj Lonnell Owens-Pabon (Buffalo)  11-1

Purdue 26 Princeton 15

125 - Matt Ramos (Purdue) maj Ethan Rivera (Princeton)  16-3

133 - Danny Jones (Princeton) dec Dustin Norris (Purdue)  3-2

141 - Greyson Clark (Purdue) dec Eligh Rivera (Princeton)  7-3

149 - Ty Whalen (Princeton) dec Isaac Ruble (Purdue)  8-1

157 - Joey Blaze (Purdue) fall Christopher Martino (Princeton)  5:49

165 - Stoney Buell (Purdue) tech Cody Tavoso (Princeton)  17-1

174 - Brody Baumann (Purdue) tech Xavier Giles (Princeton)  20-3

184 - James Rowley (Purdue) dec Mikey Squires (Princeton)  9-3

197 - Luke Stout (Princeton) tech Ben Vanadia (Purdue)  17-2

285 - Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton) maj Hayden Filipovich (Purdue)  8-0

Princeton 29 Chattanooga 13

125 - Ethan Rivera (Princeton) maj Ty Tice (Chattanooga)  10-1

133 - Danny Jones (Princeton) maj Bryce Luna (Chattanooga)  12-3

141 - Eligh Rivera (Princeton) dec Isaiah Powe (Chattanooga)  12-5

149 - Ty Whalen (Princeton) tech Dayne Dalrymple (Chattanooga)  20-4

157 - Noah Castillo (Chattanooga) tech Christopher Martino (Princeton)  20-2

165 - Jackson Hurst (Chattanooga) maj Cody Tavoso (Princeton)  10-2

174 - Sergio DeSiante (Chattanooga) maj Xavier Giles (Princeton)  8-0

184 - Mikey Squires (Princeton) tech Logan Webster (Chattanooga)  18-1

197 - Luke Stout (Princeton) tech David Harper (Chattanooga)  17-1

285 - Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton) dec Ethan Vergara (Chattanooga)  8-5

(11/24) Keystone Classic – Philadelphia, PA

Harvard and Penn were participants.

Harvard finished in 6th place as a team. Below are the place finishers

157: #32 Jimmy Harrington – 3rd 

165: Michael Bobola – 4th 

184: Matthew Walsh – 5th 

197: Max Agresti – 5th 

141: Jameson Garcia – 6th 

174: Haden Bottiglieri – 7th 

125: Logan Brzozowski – 7th 

184: Luke Rada – 7th 

174: Alex Whitworth – 8th 

Penn was 4th in the team standings. Below is a list of place finishers

125: #18 Max Gallagher – 1st 

141: #13 Cj Composto – 1st 

157: #19 Jude Swisher – 1st 

125: Brady Pruett – 2nd 

133: Alex Almeyda – 2nd 

141: Evan Mougalian – 2nd 

149: Kelly Dunnigan – 2nd 

133: #29 Ryan Miller – 3rd 

285: John Pardo – 3rd 

157: Paul Ognissanti – 5th 

285 : Zachary Delsanter – 5th 

197 : Jackson Zimmerman – 6th 

165 : Vincent Mannella – 8th 

(11/24) Big Red Invite – Ithaca, NY

Cornell and Brown were participants. This was a round robin style event with two pools

125 Pool A

#9 Greg Diakomihalis, Cornell – 2nd

Marcello Milani, Cornell – 3rd 

Jared Brunner, Brown – 6th 

125 Pool B

Joseph Sciarrone, Cornell – 2nd 

133 Pool A

Tyler Ferrara, Cornell – 1st 

Hunter Adrian, Brown – 2nd 

133 Pool B

Ethan Qureshi, Cornell – 1st 

141 Pool A

Joshua Saunders, Cornell – 1st 

Austin McBurney, Brown – 4th 

141 Pool B

Giuseppe Iamunno, Brown – 1st 

Carter Tate, Cornell – 2nd 

George Oroudjov, Cornell – 3rd 

149 Pool A

#14 Ethan Fernandez, Cornell – 1st 

Samuel McMonagle, Brown – 4th 

149 Pool B

Macario Calavitta, Cornell – 4th 

157 Pool A

Nathan Wade, Cornell – 2nd 

Nicholas Romero, Brown – 4th 

165 Pool A

Evan Canoyer, Cornell – 1st 

Harrison Trahan, Brown – 2nd 

165 Pool B

Kaleb Williams, Cornell – 2nd 

174 Pool A

#14 Simon Ruiz, Cornell – 1st 

Christian Hansen, Cornell – 3rd 

Drew Clearie, Brown – 4th 

184 Pool A

Colt Barley, Cornell – 2nd 

Andrew Reall, Brown – 3rd 

184 Pool B

Matt Furman, Cornell – 1st 

Justin Mayes, Cornell – 2nd 

Zahir McLean-Felix, Cornell – 3rd 

Nick Olivieri, Brown – 7th 

Liam Finn, Cornell – 10th 

197 Pool A

Aiden Hanning, Cornell – 1st 

Thomas Sandoval, Brown – 3rd 

197 Pool B

Eric Carlson, Cornell – 1st 

Alex Hamrick, Brown – 3rd 

285 Pool A

Alex Semenenko, Brown – 2nd 

Aiden Compton, Cornell – 4th 

285 Pool B

Braden Ewing, Brown – 5th 

(11/24) Black Knight Invite – West Point, NY 

Columbia was the lone Ivy League participant. They finished the team race in 4th place. Below is the list of place finishers.

149: Richard Fedalen – 3rd 

133: Boris Witmer – 4th

125: Sulayman Bah – 5th 

165: Cesar Alvan – 5th 

157: Jaden Le – 6th 

174: Jack McGill – 6th

285: Vincent Mueller – 6th 

Highlights

• Columbia defeats Cleveland State to give Donny Pritzlaff first win as Head Coach 
• Penn’s Wasilewski and Pardo earn first career dual wins
• Nick Fine of Columbia upsets #15 Bullock of Michigan to earn Ivy Wrestler of the Week

Duals

Columbia 27 Cleveland State 15

125 - Ben Aranda (Cleveland State) dec Suleyman Bah (Columbia)  6-4

133 - Jacob Manley (Cleveland State) dec Zack Witmer (Columbia)  9-3

141 - Kai Owen (Columbia) fall Landen Duncan (Cleveland State)  2:30

149 - Richard Fedalen (Columbia) fall Connor Saylor (Cleveland State)  5:36

157 - Douglas Terry (Cleveland State) dec Rawson Iwanicki (Columbia)  4-2

165 - Cesar Alvan (Columbia) fall Tate Geiser (Cleveland State)  1:01

174 - Jack McGill (Columbia) tech Gavin Ricketts (Cleveland State)  18-3

184 - Nick Fine (Columbia) maj JR Reed (Cleveland State)  10-1

197 - Joey Lyons (Cleveland State) dec Ike Schmidt (Columbia)  6-1

285 - Daniel Bucknavich (Cleveland State) dec Vincent Mueller (Columbia)  3-0
 

Northern Colorado 22 Penn 13

125 - Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado) dec Max Gallagher (Penn)  7-2

133 - Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado) dec Alex Almeyda (Penn)  15-9

141 - Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) dec CJ Composto (Penn)  8-2

149 - Cross Wasilewski (Penn) tech Benji Alanis (Northern Colorado)  18-2

157 - Vince Zerban (Northern Colorado) dec Jude Swisher (Penn)  7-2

165 - Clayton Ulrey (Northern Colorado) maj Andrew Troczynski (Penn)  15-6

174 - Nick Incontrera (Penn) tech Ayden Rix-McElhinney (Northern Colorado)  15-0

184 - AJ Heeg (Northern Colorado) dec Nathan Taylor (Penn)  4-1SV

197 - Andrew Donahue (Northern Colorado) dec Josh Labarera (Penn)  4-1

285 - John Pardo (Penn) dec Remington Peterson (Northern Colorado)  11-7
 

#15 Michigan 28 Columbia 9

125 - Christian Tanefeu (Michigan) maj Suleyman Bah (Columbia)  18-9

133 - Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) maj Zack Witmer (Columbia)  16-8

141 - Sergio Lemley (Michigan) maj Kai Owen (Columbia)  12-4

149 - Richard Fedalen (Columbia) dec Zar Walker (Michigan)  6-1

157 - Dominic Rossetti (Columbia) dec Zack Mattin (Michigan)  8-3SV

165 - Brock Mantanona (Michigan) tech Cesar Alvan (Columbia)  18-3

174 - Joseph Walker (Michigan) dec Jack McGill (Columbia)  7-1

184 - Nick Fine (Columbia) dec Jaden Bullock (Michigan)  3-2SV

197 - Jacob Cardenas (Michigan) tech Ike Schmidt (Columbia)  18-0

285 - Dzhabrail Khurshidov (Michigan) dec Vincent Mueller (Columbia)  5-3
 

#7 NC State 34 Princeton 6

125 - Vincent Robinson (NC State) maj Ethan Rivera (Princeton)  9-0

133- Troy Hohman (NC State) dec Drew Heethuis (Princeton)  3-2

141 - Kai Orine (NC State) maj Jacob Mann (Princeton)  18-5

149 - Ty Whalen (Princeton) dec Koy Buesgens (NC State)  8-3

157 - Ed Scott (NC State) maj Zander Silva (Princeton)  14-4

165 - Derek Fields (NC State) tech Hudson Hightower (Princeton)  21-5

174 - Matthew Singleton (NC State) tech Xavier Giles (Princeton)  21-5

184 - Dylan Fishback (NC State) dec Mikey Squires (Princeton)  6-3

197 - Luke Stout (Princeton) dec Andrew Macchiavello (NC State)  4-1SV

285 - Isaac Trumble (NC State) fall Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton)  2:04

Princeton 28 Long Island 14

125 - Ethan Rivera (Princeton) dec Robbie Sagaris (Long Island)  6-0

133 - Danny Jones (Princeton) tech Kaelen Francois (Long Island)  15-0

141 - Devin Matthews (Long Island) tech Joe Davi (Long Island)  16-1

149 - Ty Whalen (Princeton) dec Drew Witham (Long Island)  7-1

157 - Brayden Roberts (Long Island) fall Zander Silva (Princeton)  4:25

165 - James Johnston (Long Island) dec Cody Tavoso (Princeton)  4-1

174 - Xavier Giles (Princeton) maj Donovan Smith (Long Island)  11-3

184 - Mikey Squires (Princeton) dec Anthony D’Alesio (Long Island)  5-2

197 - Luke Stout (Princeton) InjDef Gavin Claro (Long Island)

285 - Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton) maj Chris Powell (Long Island)  11-3

Highlights

• Penn’s Jude Swisher defeats All-American #6 Ed Scott of NC State
• Harvard’s Jimmy Harrington knocks off #6 Scott of NC State hours later
• Nick Incontrera of Penn wins Journeyman Collegiate Classic

Journeymen Collegiate Classic (11/10) 

Cornell, Harvard, Penn all participated. This event is unique with wrestlers placed in pools based on comparable competition. The top ranked wrestlers are placed in pool A, the next handful are pool B, etc. Unattached wrestlers were allowed to compete. 

*Brown, Columbia, and Princeton were all off this weekend 

125:

(Pool A) Max Gallagher, Penn – 4th 

(Pool A) Diego Sotelo, Harvard – 5th 

(Pool B) Greg Diakomihalis, Cornell – 1st 

(Pool B) Brady Pruett, Penn – 3rd 

(Pool B) Logan Brzozowski, Harvard – 4th 

(Pool C) Marcello Milani, Cornell – 2nd 

(Pool D) Joe Sciarrone, Cornell – 3rd 

(Pool E) Ernest Perry, Cornell – 4th 

133:

(Pool A) Brett Ungar, Cornell – 2nd 

(Pool A) Tyler Ferrara, Cornell – 3rd 

(Pool A) Alex Almeyda, Penn – 5th 

(Pool B) Ryan Miller, Penn – 1st 

(Pool B) Nico Nardone, Penn – 3rd 

(Pool C) Foster Cardinale, Cornell – 2nd 

(Pool D) Ethan Qureshi, Cornell – 1st 

(Pool D) Spencer Barnhart, Penn – 2nd 

141:

(Pool A) CJ Composto, Penn – 2nd 

(Pool B) Evan Mougalian, Penn – 2nd 

(Pool C) Jameson Garcia, Harvard – 1st 

(Pool C) Dante Frinzi, Harvard – 4th 

(Pool C) Myles Griffin, Cornell – 6th 

(Pool F) Carter Tate, Cornell – 2nd 
 

149:

(Pool A) Cross Wasilewski, Penn – 2nd 

(Pool A) Jaden Pepe, Harvard – 6th 

(Pool B) Ethan Fernandez, Cornell – 2nd 

(Pool B) Donny Pigoni, Harvard – 6th 

(Pool D) Nate Wade, Cornell – 1st 

(Pool E) Macario Calavitta, Cornell – 2nd 

(Pool G) Rich Delsanter, Penn – 6th 
 

157:

(Pool A) Jude Swisher, Penn – 2nd 

(Pool A) Jimmy Harrington, Harvard – 3rd 

(Pool A) Meyer Shapiro, Cornell – 6th 

(Pool B) Paul Ognissanti, Penn – 3rd 

(Pool B) Nolan Liess, Harvard – 6th 

165:

(Pool B) Evan Canoyer, Cornell – 4th 

(Pool B) Gage McClenahan, Cornell – 5th 

(Pool B) Brody Oleksak, Cornell – 6th 

(Pool C) Andy Troczynski, Penn – 2nd 

(Pool C) Vince Mannella, Penn – 4th 

(Pool D) Kaleb Williams, Cornell – 4th 

(Pool D) Michael Bobola, Harvard – 6th 

(Pool E) Reed Fullmer, Penn – 1st 

(Pool E) Buzzy Bomberger, Cornell – 5th 

174:

(Pool A) Nick Incontrera, Penn – 1st  

(Pool A) Simon Ruiz, Cornell – 2nd 

(Pool B) Christian Hansen, Cornell – 1st 

(Pool B) Haden Bottiglieri, Harvard – 4th 

(Pool C) Alex Whitworth, Harvard – 2nd 

(Pool D) Xander Koukkanen, Penn – 6th 

184:

(Pool A) Matt Walsh, Harvard – 6th 

(Pool B) Colt Barley, Cornell – 1st 

(Pool B) Justin Mayes, Cornell – 3rd 

(Pool B) Luke Rada, Harvard – 6th 

(Pool C) Nate Taylor, Penn – 2nd 

(Pool C) Matt Furman, Cornell – 2nd 

(Pool D) Doak Dean, Harvard – 5th 

(Pool E) Zahir Mclean-Felix, Cornell – 3rd 
 

197:

(Pool A) Max Agresti, Harvard – 6th 

(Pool B) Michael Dellagatta, Cornell – 1st 

(Pool B) Hudson Skove, Harvard – 3rd 

(Pool C) Eric Carlson, Cornell – 4th 

(Pool C) Andrew Connolly, Penn – 6th 

(Pool E) Denzel Perez. Penn – 5th 

(Pool F) Josh LaBarbara, Penn – 3rd 

285:

(Pool A) Matthew Cruise, Penn – 4th 

(Pool A) Logan Marissal, Harvard – 5th 

(Pool B) John Pardo, Penn – 3rd 

(Pool C) Ashton Davis, Cornell – 1st 

(Pool C) Zach Delsanter, Penn – 2nd 

(Pool E) Aiden Compton, Cornell – 2nd 

Highlights

Princeton claims 3 Champs at Princeton Open

Princeton Open (11/3) 

Brown, Columbia, and Princeton were all competing 

Brown Placers

133: Jacob Joyce – 3rd

285: Alex Semenenko – 5th 

Columbia Placers

125: Sulayman Bah – 6th 

133: Zach (Boris) Witmer – 5th 

141: Kai Owen – 2nd 

165: Cesar Alvan – 2nd 

174: Jack Mcgill – 4th 

285: Richard Ryu – 4th 

285: Billy McChesney – 6th 

Princeton Placers

125: Ethan Rivera – 5th

133: Drew Heethuis – 6th 

149: Ty Whalen – 1st 

174: Xavier Giles – 6th 

184: Mikey Squires – 1st 

285: Sebastian Garibaldi – 1st 

Clarion Open (11/3) 

Brown (unattached), Harvard (unattached)

Brown Placers

165: Keegan Rothrock (unattached) – 4th 

Harvard Placers

149: Jack Crook (unattached) – 5th 

This year’s preview will not include the typical, boring “here’s the lineup for each team.” Half the time, these lineups change by the 2nd semester anyway. Let’s ask some questions about the conference, as a whole, including one directed at each team. 

1. What will the first-ever Ivy League Wrestling Conference Championship look like? 

With the championships being held at Princeton this year, what will the atmosphere be like? What sort of attendance can we expect? With only six teams participating, one would imagine the numbers being less than the 17-team EIWA conference championships. Not that any of this matters, just questions I am thinking about. With a single-day tournament, in lieu of the EIWA multi-day event, maybe more fans will make the trip when things like a hotel may not be required. For some diehard wrestling fans like me, we will attend EIWAs on Friday March 7th, and Saturday, March 8th at Lehigh University and then attend the Ivy Championships on Sunday, March 9th. Unfortunately, the Pennsylvania high school state championships run from Thursday through Saturday of the same weekend. Coaching staffs have already complained about this timing – as it puts a damper on a fantastic recruiting weekend. Once more details emerge, we can revisit this one.

2) Will BROWN improve on last season’s lone NCAA qualifier? 

Last season, Michael Joyce took many by surprise by qualifying for NCAAs. He went on a run at the conference tournament to place fourth in a loaded bracket. He was the first qualifier for the Bears since 2019 – where zero wrestlers on the team last season were on the 2019 roster to witness it. Coach Jordan Leen explained to me how Joyce has lit a fire for many of these guys to follow in his footsteps. Brown has been hard at work in many aspects to improve the program’s results while building a winning culture. NCAA qualifiers are just the first step in the process. 

To answer the question, Brown had a handful of EIWA place finishers who missed out on an allocation by a placement or two. Expect Hunter Adrian to be in the mix to qualify at 133 lbs. He was eighth at EIWAs while wrestling as the starter for multiple years. At 157 lbs, Blake Saito placed fifth at EIWAs, which is typically good enough to qualify for NCAAs in most years. Last year was an exception, unfortunately. Alex Semenenko placed tenth in a bracket that qualified the top eight and saw the ninth-place finisher earn the first alternate bid. Even if multiple qualifiers do not happen this season, it will only be a matter of a few years until Brown catches up with the rest of the conference. Coach Leen and his staff are building something special. 

3) Will the new staff at COLUMBIA continue its upward trajectory?

Columbia has been improving every year under former Head Coach Zach Tanelli. Tanelli’s departure for Virginia Tech left a vacant position at the helm. Rutgers’ longtime assistant, Donny Pritzlaff, accepted the job along with a brand new staff. He took on Jeff Buxton, Sebastian Rivera, and Greg Bulsak to take control of the Lions. With a brand-new staff and many wrestlers forced to find new homes due to Ivy League eligibility rules, the Lions will have many new faces.  

Kai Owen and Cesar Alvan look to be the only returning starters with previous NCAA tournament experience - (as Aaron Ayzerov and Jack Wehmayer will take Ivy shirts). Alvan took an Olympic redshirt last season and will be slated to be up one weight at 165 lbs this season. Much like Brown, we may need to give this team a few years to develop young talent and get some recruiting classes under their belt. If there’s one thing that Columbia has always done well, it’s a tough schedule. This year is no different. Expect a young lineup to take a few lumps this season. The Lions will be fun to follow this year, but keep your eye on them in the upcoming years. 

4) Does CORNELL have the firepower to earn a team trophy again?

With only one All-American returning from last season, it’s hard to imagine they have the points to do so. Meyer Shapiro is the lone All-American with a third-place finish after racking up a ton of bonus point wins. Chris Foca has seen the podium in the past – he will be back again. Two-time NCAA Champ, Vito Arujau, graduated while two-time All-American Jacob Cardenas has run out of eligibility in the Ivy League and will compete at Michigan this season. Obviously, these are some big shoes to fill. However, the line-up is full of so many wrestlers who have been so close. Brett Ungar has been a top-12 finisher in the past. This year, he will be up a weight class at 133lbs. Vince Cornella has seen a top-16 finish before missing NCAAs last season with an injury. Julian Ramirez has won two EIWA titles, finishing in the top 12 three times in his career. He’s been ranked as high as #3 in the nation. 

Some new faces will include Greg Diakomihalis slated to be the full-time starter at 125lbs. Although he has experience, being an everyday wrestler is something that will be new to him. Freshmen like Simon Ruiz (174 lbs) and Mike Dellagatta (197 lbs) will be first-time starters looking to contribute to team points at both conferences and nationals. Expect to see Ethan Fernandez (149 lbs) return to NCAAs after winning EIWAs a season ago. Ashton Davis will be the heavyweight this season looking to score points at NCAAs as well. 

5) Is this the year HARVARD earns its first All-American since 2012?

The Crimson had high hopes for Phil Conigliaro the past few seasons. Finishing in the round of 12, he was one match away from a podium finish. They had a talented heavyweight in Yara Slavikouski, who barely missed the podium also. Although he earned NWCA All-American honors in 2020 during the canceled tournament, it just is not the same as wrestling the gruesome three-day event and earning it the old-fashioned way. The drought is the longest since Jay Weiss took over the program over 30 years ago. At one time, Harvard had at least one podium finisher from 2002 – 2012 except in the 2005 season. The last All-Americans from Harvard were Walter Peppelman and Steven Keith in 2012, both finishing in 8th place.

The best opportunity to end this streak is probably Diego Sotelo at 125lbs. Last season, he had wins over All-Americans, Anthony Noto of Lock Haven and Jore Volk of Wyoming. At the NCAA Championships, he came in as the 28th seed and knocked off #5 Volk in the first round. Volk wrestled all the way back to earn seventh while Sotelo ended the season in the top 16. He’s been to NCAAs twice now and is looking to finish on the podium in his senior year. With the way the 125 lbs weight class was last year (and looks to be this year), you cannot count anybody out. He can scramble with the best, and his skills on the mat are exceptional. If he can stay healthy, expect to see him on the podium. 

6) Will PENN produce an All-American as they co-host NCAAs?

Penn, along with Drexel, will co-host the 2025 NCAA Championships in Philadelphia. You know they will want to be well-represented, as is the case for any host school. As if this isn’t enough motivation, this will be the last time we see Roger Reina as the Head Coach. He will be stepping down after the season. The Quakers will want him to go out with a bang, Although, they had eight qualifiers last season – they only accumulated six wins at the championships. CJ Composto claimed AA honors in 2022 and will look to repeat that achievement. We’ll see a proven winner in Nick Incontrera, back for another season at 174 lbs. He’s been ranked in the top 10 for much of the past two seasons. 

They have the capacity to put at least one person on the podium in front of the home crowd. Plus, with many returning NCAA qualifiers, it’s very possible to have someone catch fire at the right time and earn All-American honors. We see it every year. With new coaches, Matt Valenti (slated to become the head coach next season) and Darian Cruz, expect a bump from the lightweights. Doug Zapf was a fan favorite as a competitor – he’s now on staff showing the young guns the ropes on how to push the pace and press the action. This team will be primed and ready come March. 

7) Who will be the new face(s) of PRINCETON wrestling? 

The Tigers of Princeton University have been an impressive story to follow over the last decade plus. The program is undergoing a bit of a revamp. Long-time coach Chris Ayres moved out west to take the job at Stanford. He took his assistant Sean Gray with him. That opened the door for Joe Dubuque to become the Head Coach after serving as the head assistant under Ayres for a while. He brings in a whole new staff in Anthony Ashnault, Cody Brewer, and Nate Jackson. Jackson has been an assistant in the past while training at the RTC as well. The wrestling team has seen a bit of change also. The Tigers have gained so much attention thanks to guys like Pat Glory. Pat was a multiple-time All-American, and NCAA Champion. He’s since graduated and moved into post-wrestling life. We can’t forget about Quincy Monday, who graduated in 2023 after being a multiple-time All-American. These two really led the way for Princeton, helping propel the program into the national spotlight. This year’s lineup does not have the notoriety of years past, at least on paper. Yet. 

With so much young talent waiting to showcase, how many guys will make an immediate impact on the national stage? Luke Stout has been to NCAAs multiple times – will he break through and earn a spot on the podium? Kole Mulhauser and Ty Whalen have made names for themselves – will it be their turn? Princeton has multiple options to be a new “face” or “faces.” 

Many are excited to see what Marc-Anthony McGowan will bring to the table at 125lbs after missing last year due to injury. The excitement for the program has always been there, and maybe now more than ever with a new staff on board. Plus, with so many potential breakout stars – it adds to the excitement. 

8. How many NCAA allocations will we expect?

When the Ivy League was still part of the EIWA last season, they accounted for 29 of the 62 qualifiers for the conference. Now that they are a six-team conference, will these allocations hold? On paper, they seem to have lost a lot of firepower. Your gut reaction is to expect less this year. Simple math would show that’s an incredible feat – as nearly half of the overall participants (29 of 60) would qualify for NCAAs. On the face of it, that seems awfully high. 

It’s a personal opinion that last year’s luxury of a large conference tournament may have helped them achieve more qualifiers – simply due to a higher probability of a bracket-buster causing havoc. With a small conference tournament this season, many of the wrestlers may need to lean more on a better body of work throughout the season in lieu of qualifying via automatic placement at conferences. Position battles, injury bugs, or any reason for missing mat time will be more critical at the end of the year. 

Lastly, when at-large bids are discussed after conference weekend, adding an additional conference into the mix is another aspect. Remember, placement at your conference tournament is a factor, albeit a small factor. This gives more “wild card” options for the algorithm to choose from.

9) Which weight class will be the deepest?

Looking at potential lineups, 125 lbs jumps out to me. It’s entirely possible we see five qualifiers from this weight in Philadelphia. Three potential starters have already qualified, plus Cornell’s Diakomihalis and Princeton’s McGowan make five studs in this weight. Bah of Columbia was at 133lbs last year and had some good battles. Moving down to his natural weight makes him a complete wild card. Joyce of Brown, Sotelo of Harvard, and Gallagher of Penn will look to return to NCAAs once again. This will be a fun class to watch and see how it plays out. 

10) What do the lineups look like?

That’s a great question! See potential line-ups below. These are super early projections, and we will know more once they see mat time.

The longest tenured DI head coach in the nation is now Harvard's Jay Weiss. Coach Weiss sits down with Austin Sommer to discuss all of the changes he's seen since taking over in 1995. He also gets into what to look for from the Crimson during the 2024-25 season. The two wrap-up the conversation by going through the reasoning behind the Ivy League split from the EIWA and what it means for the upcoming season. 

2024 Olympian Darian Cruz is on the move as he was announced as a new assistant coach for the University of Pennsylvania today. Cruz recently represented Puerto Rico at the Olympic Games and advanced to the 57 kg bronze medal match before losing to India’s Aman Sehrawat, 13-5. 

𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲!

We are excited to announce the addition of Olympian Darian Cruz to our coaching staff

https://t.co/Q71TrXGXAS#TheMovement x #FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/1VPd8UvB9k

— Penn Wrestling (@PennWrestling) September 5, 2024

Cruz qualified for the Olympic Games after getting to the finals of the Pan-American Olympic Qualifier. In the semifinals, Cruz downed the American representative Zane Richards. Richards had defeated Cruz 8-2 in late-2023 at the Pan-American Games. 

The move isn’t too far away from Cruz’s current home - which also happens to be his hometown. A high school star at Bethlehem Catholic, Cruz wrestled collegiately at Lehigh and has previously trained out of the Lehigh Valley Wrestling Club. 

At Lehigh, Cruz earned All-American honors on three occasions, highlighted by a national championship in 2017 at 125 lbs. At that tournament, Cruz shocked top-seeded Thomas Gilman (Iowa) in the semifinals, before defeating fellow Pennsylvania District XI native Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) for the title. Cruz also won an EIWA championship in each of his final three years with the Mountain Hawks. 

The Penn was looking for new staff members after Mark Hall retired from competition and moved to Oklahoma to work as the Sooners Director of Operations. Former associate head coach Bryan Pearsall also left for Oklahoma, but to take a job as the recruiting coordinator for David Taylor at Oklahoma State. Penn also added Matt Valenti and Doug Zapf of their staff this offseason. 

Cruz’s addition should bolster the University of Pennsylvania’s lightweights. The Quakers have a pair of returning national qualifiers slated to handle the two lightest weights with Max Gallagher at 125 and Ryan Miller at 133 lbs.

Cornell’s Head Coach, Mike Grey, took over the program in 2021. Before this, he was the associate head coach since 2019. It seemed to be a gradual transition during this time. Many of the familiar faces have been a constant in the program. For example, Yianni Diakomihalis won his fourth NCAA title in 2023. He won titles with Grey as an assistant and the head coach. Vito Arujau won his second NCAA title in 2024, after repeating from the previous season. Grey was an assistant when Vito earned All-American honors for the first time in 2019. Also departing from the program after the 2024 season was two-time All-American, Jacob Cardenas. He first stepped onto campus while Grey was an assistant. Cardenas will use his last year of eligibility at Michigan. Next season, the Cornell lineup may not look as good on paper – some may say a rebuild. According to Head Coach, Mike Grey – he believes in his team. 

Who will step up and fill in for all of these accolades? Coach Grey has faith in the entire team. He mentioned a few guys many would suspect like Greg Diakomihalis, Brett Ungar, Vince Cornella, and Ethan Fernandez – the first four in the lineup. (Yes, you read that right – expect to see Ungar up to 133lbs). All of the mentioned wrestlers are capable of earning an All-American finish at NCAAs. When you add current U23 world freestyle team member, Josh Saunders, into the mix at 141 and 149 lbs – the lineup will be very tough. Look for him to compete much more this year as Cornella slowly makes his return from an ACL injury suffered at the end of last season. 

Coach Grey went on, “Foca and Ramirez will be the leaders, but I expect many others to step up as well.” Foca was an All-American in 2023, while Ramirez has seen the bloodround a few times in his career. Chris Foca has committed to stay at 184 lbs this season, so expect to see a much larger version of him this year after moving up from 174 lbs after the season began. His “Foca-Style” of wrestling is dangerous for opponents, but fun for fans! 

The only returning All-American from last year is Meyer Shapiro. He placed 3rd at 157 lbs, racking up a plethora of bonus points along the way. “We’ve seen a lot of growth from him this off-season and is still developing” Grey stated about his sophomore stud. The sky is the limit for someone like Meyer, who came into the program as the top pound-for-pound recruit in the nation. He is exciting to watch and is not afraid to let it fly! Meyer will look to add an NCAA title to his two world championship gold medals. 

Expect to see some freshmen in the lineup also. Names like Mikey Dellagatta and Simon Ruiz could make an immediate splash, not only in the conference, but across the nation. The heavyweight sophomore Ashton Davis received some praise from Coach Grey as well. “With a young team, new starters, and a different staff the energy around the team is different. It’s not better or worse than before. It’s different.” He reminds his team every year, “Have something that identifies you. Don’t try to be last year’s team because you’ll always be the second-best version of that team.” 

Last year’s team was a special one, earning an NCAA team trophy after finishing team runners-up. This came after a 3rd place finish the year prior. The Big Red last achieved this with a three-peat of team trophies in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Coach Grey was a wrestler in both the 2010 and 2011 seasons. There is no doubt this year’s team can achieve this again. The main focus this off-season is to work on preparation and process while looking at slightly different approaches to the sport. Everyone involved with the program is excited to compete. 

It’s also worth mentioning the coaching staff had a shakeup. Cornell welcomed Scottie Boykin and David McFadden as the assistant and volunteer assistant, respectively. They replace Nick Gwiazdowski and Donnie Vinson. Vinson has moved on to the University at Buffalo as the head coach – which is not unusual for a Cornell wrestling coach. 

“David and Scottie bring a new energy to the team. They will contribute in many aspects.” Grey said about the two new coaches. He continued, “All great coaches started somewhere. And Cornell is a great place to start.” It’s been discussed at length the number of coaches under the Rob Koll coaching tree, who was at the helm of Cornell for 28 seasons. Grey is one of the coaches under this Koll tree. Current Associate Head Coach. Kellen Russell would make a great head coach at a program if he were to decide to leave. Mike Grey may start his own coaching tree if his trajectory is anything like his predecessor’s. 

Mike Grey (left) with Kellen Russell; Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com

Grey was ecstatic about his schedule this year – which will be fully released in the coming months. The dual meets that were recently released on social media include home duals against Buffalo (Nov. 23), NC State (Dec. 22) and Lehigh (Jan. 12). Buffalo’s dual will be the day before the Cornell Body Bar Invitational – which returns after it discontinued over ten years ago. Also included in the first semester are the Journeymen Classic in mid-November and CKLV in Las Vegas in early December – as these have been staples in the schedule every year. They will travel to Missouri for a dual to return the favor of Missouri traveling to Cornell last season. 

Coach Grey’s thoughts on the schedule were as follows: “I feel there are better peaks and valleys in the schedule to better align with our training schedule. We built some adversity into the schedule to help prepare for the end of the year. As an example, we will be on the road to wrestle Arizona State in mid-February.” A February trip to Tempe will be a nice change of pace from the cold, Ithaca winter. As usual, Cornell will challenge themselves with top-notch out-of-conference duals to expose his team to the best competition.   

With a young team ready to prove themselves, Cornell has been “Big Red Hot” on the recruiting trail. Eight commitments for the Class of 2025, are ranked in top-53 in Matscouts’ pound-for-pound rankings. It’s shaping into one of the top recruiting classes in the entire NCAA, and potentially the best Cornell has ever had. At this year’s Junior Men’s Freestyle championships in Fargo, ND, Cornell commits accounted for three champs and three additional placers. Coach Grey has noticed a change in the recruiting atmosphere where wrestlers are beginning to realize how important the academic angle is. Cornell is a great fit for someone looking to excel in academics and athletics. The Class of 2025 could be the standard for every class to follow.  

Not that this season, is a “rebuild.” That’s not the right word. It’s a refresh, maybe even a rebrand. Losing firepower like Arujau and Cardenas (who both own gold medals on the world stage) is significant. However, we’ve established that the Big Red have faith in one another to match the previous year’s accomplishments. Keep in mind they cannot use the transfer portal to replace such talent like much of their competition – due to Ivy League rules. “We truly believe in developing our athletes as wrestlers and people. We believe in recruits.” Grey mentioned. 

The mantra of the program is “family not factory” for a reason. It’s a literal concept as well. Coach Grey’s home is a second home to his team. His wife, Kaille, is the biggest fan of the program (and rumored to make incredible food). Mike and Kaille’s three young children have unlimited babysitters, and terrific role models at their fingertips. The way that the Grey’s open their home shows the wrestling world they really are one big family. When committing to Cornell, you are not just committing to an Ivy League school with a great wrestling tradition, but you are committing to a lifelong family also. To most, that’s more important than any trophy displayed in a case. 

Fargo aka 16U and Junior Nationals is upon us. The largest wrestling tournament in the world is set to kick off on Saturday with the women’s freestyle portion of the tournament. Last year’s version of Fargo included over 7,000 participants! 

To get ready for Fargo, we’re looking at the tournament from a collegiate perspective. A recruiting perspective. Over the next few days, we’ll go conference-by-conference to look at recruits from each school who have signed up for the tournament. 

Next up is the Ivy League. For the first time, in 2025, the Ivy League will qualify for national directly through an Ivy League tournament rather than the EIWA. While Cornell has generally led the way for the Ivies within the last 20 years, we have seen the other schools rise up during that time period and confirm that you can get a great education, while competing for a spot on the NCAA podium along with individual titles. In 2024, Cornell was the only Ivy school to be tabbed in InterMat's recruiting rankings; however, Penn was also noted in the honorable mentions and others had quality classes that will benefit them. 

Recruits have been grouped by team. They are listed alphabetically alongside the weight listed in USA Wrestling’s registration, the state they represent, and their graduating class. The # next to a wrestler’s name denotes their MatScouts Big Board ranking in their respective class. 

We’ve sorted through six or seven thousand entries to bring you these previews, so there could be a recruit or two that slipped through the cracks. If that’s the case, please let me know. Earl@matscouts.com 

Additionally, no preview or historical analysis for anything Fargo-related could be done without some assistance from Jason Bryant’s massive Fargo Guide. There’s still time to get yours!

Brown

132 lbs: #188 Nico Fanella (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025

165 lbs: #90 Devon Magro (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025

215 lbs: Riley McPherson (Ohio) - Class of 2025

165 lbs: #156 Maximus Norman (Tennessee) - Class of 2025

Since Jordan Leen was named head coach at Brown, just over two years ago, recruiting has really taken off. The Bear staff already has a large recruiting class assembled for 2025 and four of them will be in action in Fargo. 

While the entire class has some sort of national-level credential, only Maximus Norman has AA’ed in Fargo before. Norman is coming off a 2023 performance that saw him make the 16U freestyle finals and take third Greco-Roman. The previous year he was seventh in 16U freestyle. 

Devon Magro was a Pennsylvania Junior freestyle state champion this year, which is no small feat. He was third in the AA division during the high school season. Fanella was also third in AA and has placed top-six at the NHSCA grade-level tournament in each of his first three years of high school.

Riley McPherson was third at a loaded Ohio DI state weight class in 2024, but then moved up to 215 and won a Junior freestyle state title. 

Columbia

175 lbs: Oliver Howard (Alabama) - Class of 2024

Columbia’s incoming freshman, Oliver Howard, is the only future Lion (for now) slated to compete in Fargo. Howard hasn’t placed in Fargo before but has won three Alabama state freestyle titles at the Junior level. Howard also got onto the NHSCA podium twice - most recently taking fourth at Senior Nationals. 
 

Cornell

132 lbs: Danny Aranda (Florida) - Class of 2024

144 lbs: #129 Gabriel Bouyssou (Rhode Island) - Class of 2024

215 lbs: Jake Conroy (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025

132 lbs: #18 Adrian DeJesus (New Jersey) - Class of 2025

285 lbs: #53 Rocco Dellagatta (New Jersey) - Class of 2025

190 lbs: #50 Elijah Diakomihalis (New York) - Class of 2025

285 lbs: #70 Cash Henderson (Utah) - Class of 2025

165 lbs: #21 Alessio Perentin (New Jersey) - Class of 2025

138 lbs: #17 Sergio Vega (Arizona) - Class of 2025

It appears as if Cornell could have the inside track on the top spot in the 2025 recruiting rankings. A staggering seven Cornell recruits come into 2024’s tournament with at least one Fargo All-American honor to their name. Not only have these recruits become All-Americans, but they’ve finished high on the podium. 

Gabriel Bouyssou leads the way with five prior All-American honors. Bouyssou’s best finish was with a stop sign in 16U Greco-Roman in 2022. He was fifth in Junior Greco last year. In addition, Bouyssou has placed three times at the U17 Trials. 

Despite not currently sporting a national ranking, Jake Conroy has four prior Fargo placements. Conroy has placed in both styles at the 16U age group in each of the last two years - highlighted by a finals appearance last year in freestyle. 

Elijah Diakomihalis and Cash Henderson both have won 16U freestyle titles, while Alessio Perentin was a finalist. 

Additionally, Rocco Dellagatta and Sergio Vega both finished fourth in the Junior freestyle tournament last year. 

Don’t be surprised if Cornell’s recruits turn in one of the best performances of any school in the country next week. 
 

Penn

144 lbs: Donny Almeyda (New Jersey) - Class of 2025

175 lbs: #187 Brian Heard (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025

157 lbs: Isaias Jimenez (Arizona) - Class of 2024

175 lbs: Xander Kuokkanen (Wisconsin) - Class of 2024

120 lbs: #60 Davis Motyka (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2024

285 lbs: John Pardo (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2024

138 lbs: #94 Eren Sement (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025

157 lbs: #72 Max Stein (Pennsylvania) - Class of 2025

Without a doubt, lightweight prospect Davis Motyka has the best Fargo track record of any Penn prospect in Fargo. Motyka was a double Junior All-American last year and was fifth in 16U Greco-Roman in 2021. Additionally, Motyka has placed top-six in both styles at the UWW U17 Trials - including a 2022 berth on the Greco world team. 

Of Penn’s large group, Isaias Jimenez is the only other recruit who has gotten onto a Fargo podium. Jimenez was seventh in 16U freestyle in 2021. 

The remainder of Penn’s class largely consists of Pennsylvania state placewinners so you can bet they’ll be able to make waves at their respective weights. 
 

Princeton

175 lbs: #160 Xavier Giles (Connecticut) - Class of 2024

157 lbs: #143 Gavin Hawk (New Jersey) - Class of 2025

190 lbs: #141 Vincenzo Lavalle (New Jersey) - Class of 2025

150 lbs: Matthew Martino (Idaho) - Class of 2025

190 lbs: #194 Conor McCloskey (Georgia) - Class of 2025

144 lbs: Blaise Mele (New Jersey) - Class of 2025

A pair of past 16U finalists lead the way for a Princeton group that largely consists of recruits from the Class of 2025. Vincenzo Lavalle made the 16U freestyle finals in 2022 and followed that up with a seventh-place showing at the UWW U17 Trials. Matthew Martino is the other recruit with finals experience. He was in the 16U Greco title match in 2021 down at 106 lbs. In 2023, Martino made the finals of the U17 Trials, also in Greco. 

Though not in Fargo, Xavier Giles and Conor McCloskey both have national-level credentials to their names. Giles was sixth at the Super 32 and NHSCA Juniors. McCloskey has placed top four at the NHSCA grade-level tournament in each of his first three years of high school. 

Gavin Hawk is looking to break through and medal for the first time in Fargo; however, he is a New Jersey state freestyle champion in the Junior age group.

On Tuesday, the long-time well-respected assistant/associate head coach Donny Pritzlaff was named head coach at Columbia University. It marked the first time that Pritzlaff had been given the opportunity to assume a head coaching role - a chance that many had hoped he’d get for over a decade. Pritzlaff’s name typically got mentioned in conversations revolving around top assistant coaches who could/should get a chance at a head coaching vacancy. 

Now that Pritizlaff has accepted the Columbia job, the question is what is he walking into? What can he expect in the immediate future from Columbia? 

Alumni/Boosters

Something working to his benefit is that the Columbia alumni and those with a vested interest in the program were very instrumental and supportive of Pritzlaff’s candidacy. That should help come fundraising time and doing everything Columbia needs to do to keep pace with the rest of the Ivy League schools. College athletics have turned into an arms race with most programs vying to compete with each other on the field of play and outside it, as well. Though the Ivy League is supposed to and does stress academics first, rivals Cornell, Penn, and Princeton have made sizable investments in the wrestling programs and it has paid off results-wise. Having someone on your staff who can generate support for their respective programs is just as important as a coach who can demonstrate the finer points of finishing a single leg. With Pritzlaff’s connections in North Jersey and his reputation throughout the state from his high school days to his time at Rutgers, he should bring in even more interest from stakeholders who previously may not have had an interest in Columbia wrestling. 
 

Coaching Staff

Obviously, most coaches would rather assemble their own staff and Pritzlaff will likely do this at some point. To what extent? We’re not quite sure. But, for now, the staff that former head coach Zach Tanelli has assembled is high-quality and very experienced. 

Joe Nord is currently the associate head coach and has been on Tanelli’s staff for the past nine years. Nord likely knows everything associated with the program and athletic department and could be an integral piece to retain. 

Chad Walsh comes with two years of experience on Columbia’s staff and four with the Davidson program. Looking at the production from Columbia’s best wrestlers, most are around Walsh’s weight range (157-184).  

Jamie Franco joined the staff prior to the 2023-24 campaign. Franco had previously spent seven years as an assistant at his alma mater, Hofstra. In our interview with Tanelli last year, he mentioned how when he coached Franco at Hofstra the team referred to him as “coach” at the time based on his work ethic, knowledge, and maturity. 

There’s also been a ton of movement on the assistant coaching front nationally. A potential candidate for Pritzlaff’s staff may have already changed jobs this offseason. 

We’ll have to monitor how this situation evolves. 

Roster

Because of Ivy League restrictions, athletes across all sports are not permitted to redshirt and can only use four years of eligibility. The latter never seemed like an issue, that was until the NCAA doled out an extra year for student-athletes active in the 2020-21 school year. With a very veteran team in 2023-24, Columbia had a handful of wrestlers who graduated and still had a year of eligibility that they were unable to use for the Lions (or any Ivy institute). Therefore, the transfer portal was filled with Columbia wrestlers, even before Tanelli stepped down. 

Angelo Rini, Kyle Mosher, Joshua Ogunsanya, and Lennox Wolak are all notables who transferred under the aforementioned circumstances. Heavyweight Nolan Neves hit the portal, as well, and joined Ogunsanya headed south to North Carolina. 

Those five veterans could have formed an excellent core for year one under Pritzlaff, but they wouldn’t be able to compete. With wrestlers like those leaving, it makes it seem like the cupboard is bare for year one of the Pritzlaff administration. Columbia will probably be hard-pressed to replicate the kind of lineup that Tanelli unveiled during back-to-back fourth-place EIWA finishes; however, there’s still talent in the fold. 

Columbia could send out a lineup that features four past national qualifiers, which isn’t bad. Kai Owen (141), Aaron Ayzerov (184), and Jack Wehmeyer (197) made it to Kansas City in 2024. Cesar Alvan (157/165) was a national qualifier in 2023 at 157 lbs and sat out the 2023-24 season in hopes of making the Olympic team for Brazil. 

Ayzerov had a breakthrough campaign in 2023-24 and won the EIWA’s as the fifth seed. With 184 lbs clearing out significantly, he could be on the cusp of a top-ten national ranking. Ayzerov and Ivy-rival Chris Foca met four times in 2023-24, with Ayzerov winning the first three; however, Foca prevailed at nationals. Being able to consistently beat a wrestler of Foca’s caliber and the experience of his first national tournament should make Ayzerov a podium contender in 2024-25. 

Similarly, 197 clears out a lot, too. That bodes well for Wehmeyer who spent the year near the bottom of the top-33. Wehmeyer could make the leap this year and challenge for an Ivy crown. 

Others on the roster who could challenge for a nationals berth this year are Richard Fedalen (149), Nick Fine (174), and Vincent Mueller (285). 

Additionally, Columbia does have a decent incoming crop of freshmen, though it could have been more if not for two Big Boarders flipping. 

Nick Campagna and Jake Wacha are New Jersey state placewinners (both 8th in 2024). 

Cooper Hornack and Connor Smith both made the podium in Pennsylvania. 

Oliver Howard is an Alabama state champion. 

Nick Fine’s younger brother, Spencer, was third in New England. 

I’m not sure if any of the incoming recruits nudge someone out of the current starting lineup and make a significant impact in 2024-25; however, there is promise for the future. 

It remains to be seen if they stick, but Columbia also has verbals from Class of 2025 recruits Mark Grey and Evin Gursoy. 
 

Miscellaneous

Columbia has worked closely with the NYC RTC in the past, which is a plus. Having a strong RTC used to be a luxury; however, in today’s world, it’s necessary for a team that strives to be a contender. Pritzalff’s good relationship with the alumni could result in more gains for the collegiate program based on quality partners coming through the RTC. 

The school itself made national headlines this spring over protests and how they were handled. However, you viewed these, it generally didn’t paint the school in the greatest of lights. We’ll see if this has a trickle-down impact on wrestling recruiting. 

2024-25 marks the first year of NCAA qualification directly through the Ivy League. That means the six Ivy schools will conduct their own conference tournament (held at Princeton). Wrestlers will not have to grind through a massive tournament like the EIWA (with 17 teams); however, one slip-up might put NCAA qualification hopes on thin ice. There is also probably some more scheduling flexibility as Columbia always dualed Ivy rivals, but could structure their schedule differently without the need to wrestle EIWA opponents. 

The location and distance between Pritzlaff's new employer and former employer (Rutgers) is quite unique in the world of college athletics. There are only about 45 miles between the two universities (as the crow flies, not counting traffic). As mentioned earlier, since Rutgers and Columbia aren’t necessarily rivals, you could have a handful of Rutgers fans invested in the Columbia program because they’re “Donny fans.” Typically, when a coach gets a new gig, he’s moving into a whole new region and needs to make new connections. Pritzlaff will be able to use the existing ones he has and maybe get more familiar with those in the Manhattan area surrounding the campus. 

Columbia concluded its long coaching search by naming Rutgers associate head coach Donny Pritzlaff their new head coach. At the time, the school has not publicly announced the hiring; however, multiple sources have confirmed the move. Pritzlaff comes to Columbia after spending the last ten years on Scott Goodale’s staff at Rutgers. 

While at Rutgers, Pritzlaff has seen 66 wrestlers qualify for the national tournament, 16 earn All-American honors and five Big Ten champions. In 2019, the Scarlet Knights finished ninth in the country after crowning a pair of national champions. During his tenure, Rutgers went 102-58 in dual competition. 

Prior to his time at Rutgers, Pritzlaff was on staff at Michigan, and had two stints at his alma mater Wisconsin, and Hofstra. 

At Michigan, Pritzlaff assisted as Kellen Russell captured his second national title and became the Wolverines first four-time Big Ten champion. 

During his most recent spell on the Wisconsin staff, Pritzlaff worked closely with NCAA champion Andrew Howe. In 2010, when Howe captured his national title, the Badgers claimed an NCAA team trophy with a fourth-place finish. Pritzlaff was instrumental in signing Howe and four-time All-American Tyler Graff - two standouts in the 2008 recruiting class that was ranked second in the nation. 

As a student-athlete at Wisconsin, Pritzlaff was a four-time NCAA All-American and two-time national champion. He took fifth as a sophomore and sixth as a freshman. In both NCAA finals matches, Pritzlaff defeated eventual champion Joe Heskett of Iowa State. Pritzlaff went 135-15 at Wisconsin with three Big Ten titles. He was only the fourth Wisconsin wrestler to claim multiple championships and the third four-time All-American. 

Internationally, Pritzlaff grabbed a bronze medal at the 2006 World Championships. 

Pritzlaff is a native of Lyndhurst, New Jersey, which should work out well when on the recruiting trail at Columbia. 

Pritzlaff has been one of the names thrown around as a strong candidate during head coaching searches over the last decade-plus. 

Cornell rounded out their coaching staff today with the announcement that David McFadden has come aboard as the team’s volunteer assistant. McFadden comes to Cornell after spending the last three years on the Drexel coaching staff. 

During his time at Drexel, the Dragons sent five wrestlers to the NCAA Championships and saw two of them (Mickey O’Malley and Brian Bonino) advance to the bloodround. O’Malley also captured an EIWA championship in 2022. 

While coaching, McFadden also was a member of the Penn RTC and was a fixture on the freestyle circuit. In 2022, McFadden captured a title at the US Open over Vincenzo Joseph at 79 kg. He earned a spot in the 2024 Olympic Team Trials after posting a 12-2 tech over former Penn State national runner-up Morgan McIntosh at the Last Chance Qualifier at 86 kg. 

In his excellent post-match interview, McFadden described returning from an injury at Senior Nationals and his desire to continue competing for another Olympic quad. 

At the Trials, McFadden went 0-2 after getting knocked off in the opening round by Penn State signee Connor Mirasola and a consolation loss to Evan Wick. 

McFadden competed collegiately at Virginia Tech where he earned All-American honors on three occasions (6,5,5) and captured a pair of ACC titles. He was named an NWCA first-team All-American in 2020 after the NCAA Tournament was canceled at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic. McFadden was slated to be the seventh seed at his final national tournament. 

McFadden is the second coach added to Mike Grey’s coaching staff during this offseason. In May, Grey brought aboard Scottie Boykin as an assistant coach. 

Cornell finished second in the nation in 2024 and has claimed NCAA team trophies in each of the past two seasons under Grey’s leadership. The Big Red lost Vito Arujau and Jacob Cardenas in the offseason, but return All-Americans Meyer Shapiro and Chris Foca, along with two-time EIWA champion Julian Ramirez.

Last week, Princeton head coach Joe Dubuque announced that Anthony Ashnault would join Cody Brewer on the Tiger coaching staff for the 2024-25 season. Today, Dubuque has rounded out his coaching staff by hiring Nate Jackson. 

Jackson is a familiar face for followers of the Princeton team, as he had spent six years previously on the Tiger coaching staff. Like Dubuque, Jackson is an Indiana alum and wrestled for the Hoosiers while Dubuque was on staff. In Bloomington, Jackson captured a pair of All-American honors - placing fifth as a junior and eighth as a senior. Since his graduation, Jackson has been a fixture on the freestyle scene. In 2022, he was a match away from making the Senior World Team at 92 kg. Jackson advanced to Final X and took a match from two-time world champion, J’den Cox, but ultimately fell in the deciding contest. 

In Austin Sommer’s interview with Dubuque, he stressed the importance of having a specific coach to work with the lightweights, middleweights, and heavyweights. With Brewer already aboard and presumably working with the smaller guys, it leaves Ashnault in the middleweights and Jackson assuming control of the big men. 

The Princeton staff has to be one of the most decorated in all of college wrestling. Each coach AA’ed at the DI level multiple times, with Ashnault and Brewer doing so four times. Those two along with Dubuque each have national titles to their name. Jackson is the most accomplished from a freestyle standpoint.

A few weeks ago, we posted an interview with Princeton’s second year head coach Joe Dubuque. Coach Dubuque was excited to talk about his new coaching staff, but unable to specifically mention two new members because the hires weren’t official through the Princeton athletic department. 

That changed today as the team announced they’ve hired Anthony Ashnault as an assistant coach. He'll join Cody Brewer on the Tigers staff for the 2024-25 season. 

Ashnault needs no introduction to fans of New Jersey wrestling. The undefeated, four-time state champion stayed in-state for college and went to Rutgers, where he captured three Big Ten titles and earned All-American honors in all four seasons competing with the Scarlet Knights. As a senior, Ashnault went a perfect 32-0 to claim a national title at 149 lbs and led Rutgers to a ninth-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships. 

Ashnault spent the 2021-22 season on the Rutgers staff but stepped down after a year to focus on his freestyle career. 

In Austin Sommer’s interview with Dubuque, he stressed the importance of having a specific coach to work with the lightweights, middleweights, and heavyweights. With Brewer already aboard and presumably working with the smaller guys, it works out well as Ashnault can handle the middleweights. 

We’ll be ready when Dubuque and the Princeton athletic department announce their final hire.

Second year Princeton head coach Joe Dubuque talks with Austin Sommer about the whirlwind first year at the helm leading the Princeton Tigers. Dubuque took over in the fall and didn't have the usual time to assemble a coaching staff. This year he's very excited about his new staff. Cody Brewer is already aboard. Dubuque talks about why he's a good fit for him and the program and gives some hints about the forthcoming hires. The two also discuss the transfer portal and why it's a non-issue for Dubuque at Princeton. They close by talking 2025 Ivy League Championships. Princeton will host the first Ivy League tournament and Dubuque adds why he believes the conference and its fans will really embrace the event. 

New Princeton head assistant coach Cody Brewer stops by to talk about his new position. He and second-year head coach Joe Dubuque developed a mutual respect when their lightweights (Pat Glory/Sebastian Rivera) clashed in 2019. That led to a friendship and Dubuque claiming Brewer would be his "first call" if Dubuque ever got a head coaching position. A few years later, they are teaming up to lead a young Princeton squad that is looking to bring the program up to new heights. 

Brewer also talks about his experiences on the coaching bench and his own career - how it has helped him relate to wrestlers he's coached and how he's at peace with his career ending, from a freestyle standpoint. 

On a lighter note, we also discuss his hometown, Kansas City, as an NCAA host city, his love for New Jersey dining options, a fantasy bracket between him and other Oklahoma lightweight greats, and the possibility of ending up in a Reece Humphrey dance video. 

All that and more: