Takedown Report

Cornell Controls #3 Arizona State In 19-12 Win At FloWrestling Duals

AUSTIN, Texas — The Cornell wrestling team picked up a signature win, handing third-ranked Arizona State its first dual loss of the season and controlled throughout in a 19-12 victory over the Sun Devils on Wednesday evening at the FloWrestling Duals. The Big Red improved to 3-2 with the win, its first over a top five opponent since knocking off then-No. 4 Ohio State 19-18 on Feb. 19, 2017.

Cornell won both feature matches a pair of top five contests over the final three bouts. In all, the Big Red won four of five matches between ranked grapplers on the evening.

Vito Arujau’s buzzer-beating takedown of fourth-ranked Michael McGee at 133 pounds completed a comeback to remain unbeaten on the season with a 7-5 triumph. The win was the second of the season over McGee, who he defeated 6-1 a month ago in the finals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. The two-time All-American is 8-0 against ranked wrestlers so far this season.

Three-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis also shook off a challenge at 149 pounds from No. 5 Kyle Parco, a two-time All-American. The senior picked up his 98th career win with an 8-2 victory, picking up the pace after a scoreless first period to cement the team win. 

The Big Red won three of four matches from 165 to 197 highlighted by a dominant 13-0 major decision win by Chris Foca at 174 pounds. The junior chased a tech fall int he third, but put the only bonus points on the board for either team. … rest of story at Observertoday.com/news/top-stories/2023/01/girls-wrestling-is-on-the-rise-in-new-york

WIN’s Jan. 4 Rankings preview big duals to start 2023 this weekend

The holidays are over and NCAA Division I college wrestling teams will now focus on their dual-meet schedules. That includes four schools, ranked among the Top 10 in WIN’s Jan. 4 dual rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic, that will meet this weekend. No. 3 Iowa State, which moved up two spots, will entertain No. 4 Arizona State on Sunday, Jan. 8, the same day No. 6 Missouri plays host to No. 9 Northern Iowa.

Penn State, which travels to No. 14 Wisconsin on Friday, remained No. 1 in both WIN’s dual rankings and Tournament Power Index (97.5 points), which projects where schools will finish in the 2023 NCAA Championships, held this March in Tulsa, Okla. The Nittany Lions (7-0) feature eight ranked wrestlers, including four who are ranked No. 1 nationally: Roman Bravo-Young (133), Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (184) and Greg Kerkvliet (Hwt).

The following is a breakdown of the points from the TPI, based on a wrestler’s ranking: 20 for 1^st, 16 for 2^nd, 13.5 for 3^rd, 12.5 for 4^th, 10 for 5^th, 9 for 6^th, 6.5 for 7^th and 5.5 for 8^th. Wrestlers ranked 9-12 earn two points each, followed by 1.5 points for wrestlers ranked 13-16 and 1 point for those ranked 17-20.

There is a strong three-way battle between the next three schools in WIN’s TPI as five points separate No. 2 Iowa (66), No. 3 Missouri (64.5) and No. 4 Iowa State (61.5), while Cornell (57.5) rounds out the Top-5 schools in the TPI.

Individually, there is a new No. 1 at 157 pounds in Nebraska’s Peyton Robb, who moved up one spot after Princeton’s Quincy Monday, ranked No. 1 at 157 before the holidays, moved up to 165 pounds. The Tiger was the 2022 NCAA runner-up and is ranked No. 4 at the heavier weight class after he recently won a Midlands championship at that weight. … rest of story at WIN-magazine.com/2023/01/04/wins-jan-4-rankings-preview-big-duals-to-start-2023-this-weekend

January 7, 2023 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized