Cornell's Young Lineup with the Same Old Goals

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.