Winning an Ivy League title is an accomplishment. But winning 44 of them? That’s a dynasty.
The atmosphere at the Friedman Wrestling Center was electric on Sunday as wrestling added yet another Ivy League title to its collection. With familiar faces Yianni Diakomihalis ’23 and Vito Arujau ’24 in the stands, the Red (9-1, 5-0 Ivy) proved once again why Cornell wrestling is synonymous with dominance, showcasing the grit and determination that has propelled them to the top year after year.
“A conference championship is always important,” said head coach Mike Grey ’11. “We wrestled well, and it's part of the process for us. Obviously, March is really important, but holding serve and taking care of your conference is also really important for us.”
In the last 24 years, Cornell has secured 22 Ivy League titles in their domination of the division.
Against Princeton (8-7, 3-1 Ivy) the Red looked strong, dropping only two matches. Senior No. 20 Josh Saunders picked up an impressive ranked win against Princeton’s No. 29 Eligh Rivera at 141 pounds. Additionally, in an almost unheard-of feat, sophomore No. 2 Meyer Shapiro and senior No. 5 Julian Ramirez were both able to secure technical falls in the first period.
“I thought Saunders did a nice job,” Grey said. “He was on it. I think he's really progressing and doing some really good stuff as well.”
Against Penn (9-4, 3-1 Ivy), the Red got off to a rough start, winning only one of its first four matches. Freshman No. 29 Tyler Ferrara was able to pull off a gritty upset against Penn’s No. 19 Ryan Miller at 133 pounds, but outside of that, the Red struggled to gain momentum.
“Looking at the dual, we knew we needed to get some wins down low,” Grey said. We were close at some weight classes, so it was good we got that from Ferrara.”
From the 157-pound matchup onward, though, they stormed back with impressive performances, dominating in each successive weight class. Freshman No. 11 Simon Ruiz pulled off an impressive ranked win against Penn’s No. 6 Nick Incontrera at 174 pounds, and senior Chris Foca picked up a dominant ranked win via technical fall. The Red beat Penn decisively with a 26-10 final score.
On Saturday, the Red will head to Tempe, Arizona to take on the Arizona State University Sun Devils at 4 p.m. in a highly anticipated matchup. This game can be streamed on ESPN+.
