Nick Gesualdi has about as impressive a résumé as they come in Cornell football history.
The senior captain and safety finished his career with 14 interceptions, placing him second in program history; 60 tackles in 2017, helping make him the 13th player in Cornell history to notch 250 or more tackles in a career; and at least one FCS All-American selection, depending on if he is among the honorees again this year.
Now, Gesualdi can add two consecutive unanimous first-team All-Ivy selections to his already impressive résumé, as the Ivy League announced him and six other Cornellians to its yearly all-league selections Tuesday afternoon. Gesualdi is one of nine unanimous first-team selections this year.
Joining Gesualdi on the 2017 Ancient Eight honor roll are second-team picks in sophomore kicker Nickolas Null, senior linebacker and captain Kurt Frimel and junior offensive lineman J. Edward Keating. Defensive backs junior DJ Woullard and sophomore David Jones earned honorable mention nods, along with Null at the punter spot.
Null, who took over the kicking duties midway through the season after an injury to junior Zach Mays, kicked 17 touchbacks and missed only one field goal in five attempts, including his game-winner in the final minute over Princeton. In addition to being named a second-team placekicker, Null earned honorable mention as a punter, making him the first Cornellian to earn two all-Ivy spots in a single year since Rashad Campbell ’12 did so in 2011 as a return specialist and defensive back.
Frimel, Gesualdi’s co-captain on defense, recorded 55 tackles and led the league with 9.5 tackles for loss. He finishes his career with 148 tackles — 16.5 for a loss and 4.5 as sacks — to go along with four forced fumbles — two recoveries — and four pass breakups.
Keating, Cornell’s lone offensive player named to an all-league squad, started all 10 games at center, anchoring a vastly improved offensive line that propelled the Red to 14 rushing touchdowns on the season — the most for the program in a single season since 2007. After a rocky start to the season, Keating and his linemates allowed just 10 sacks in the final seven games while helping produce 163.7 rushing yards per game over the course of the year.
Along with Gesualdi, Woullard and Jones were anchors of a Cornell secondary that improved from No. 7 in 2016 to No. 1 in 2017. Opponents averaged 189 yards per game in the air against Cornell — 13 less than Columbia at the No. 2 spot. Jones’ four interceptions in 2017 tied him for first in the Ancient Eight and 23rd nationally, and Woullard also grabbed a pick while starting all 10 games and matching up against opponents’ top receivers.
Five of the seven Cornellians earning All-Ivy spots will return to head coach David Archer’s ’05 squad next year, as the Red looks to improve upon its 3-4 fifth place league mark.
***
Outside of East Hill, Yale freshman running back Zane Dudek earned Rookie of the Year honors. The newcomer ran for 1133 yards with 7.1 yards per carry and 15 touchdowns on the ground — all league-highs. Dudek rushed for 173 yards and a touchdown in the Bulldogs’ Ivy-opening thrashing of the Red on Sept. 23., one of many wins that propelled Yale to its first outright title since 1980.
Columbia’s Al Bagnoli took home Coach of the Year honors after leading the preseason No. 7 Lions to a surprise 8-2 overall record, 5-2 in the Ivy League, good enough for a second-place tie with Dartmouth. Just three years ago, Columbia finished its season 0-10.
The Ivy League’s Bushnell Cup awards, which are given to the league’s top offensive and defensive players, will be announced Dec. 4 in New York City.
Below are the full award winners:
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
*Zane Dudek, Yale (Fr., RB – Kittanning, Pa.)
COACH OF THE YEAR
Al Bagnoli, Columbia
FIRST-TEAM ALL-IVY
Offense
Jon Bezney, Yale (Sr., OL – Cincinnati)
Matt Kaskey, Dartmouth (Jr., OL – Winnetka, Ill.)
Nathan Kirchmier, Penn (Sr., OL – Pembroke Pines, Fla.)
Karl Marback, Yale (Sr., OL – Birmingham, Mich.)
Mitchell Sweigart, Princeton (Sr., OL – Washington Boro, Pa.)
*Chad Kanoff, Princeton (Sr., QB – Pacific Palisades, Calif.)
*Zane Dudek, Yale (Fr., RB – Kittanning, Pa.)
Charlie Booker III, Harvard (Jr., RB – Houston)
*Jesper Horsted, Princeton (Jr., WR – Shoreview, Minn.)
Josh Wainwright, Columbia (So., WR – Austin, Texas)
*Justin Watson, Penn (Sr., WR – Bridgeville, Pa.)
Jaeden Graham, Yale (Sr., TE – Aurora, Colo.)
Defense
John Herubin, Yale (Sr., DL – Coppell, Texas)
Lord Hyeamang, Columbia (Sr., DL – Lakeville, Minn.)
*Richard Jarvis, Brown (Sr., DE – Watertown, Mass.)
Louis Vecchio, Penn (Sr., DE – Orange, Calif.)
Tom Johnson, Princeton (Jr., LB – Moorestown, N.J.)
Nick Miller, Penn (Jr., LB – New Market, Md.)
*Matthew Oplinger, Yale (Sr., LB – Summit, N.J.)
*Jack Traynor, Dartmouth (Jr., LB – Lake Forest, Ill.)
Hayden Carlson, Yale (Sr., DB – Glen Ellyn, Ill.)
*Nick Gesualdi, Cornell (Sr., S – Sykesville, Md.)
Cameron Roane, Columbia (Sr., DB – Durham, N.C.)
Spencer Rymiszewski, Yale (Sr., DB – West Chester, Pa.)
Special Teams
Jack Soslow, Penn (Jr., K – Bryn Mawr, Pa.)
Parker Thome, Columbia (Sr., P – Hortonville, Wis.)
*Justice Shelton-Mosley, Harvard (Jr., WR/RS – Sacramento, Calif.)
SECOND-TEAM ALL-IVY^
Offense
Eric Ramirez, Princeton (Sr., OL – York, Pa.)
Patrick Kilcommons, Dartmouth (Jr., OL – Berwyn, Ill.)
J. Edward Keating, Cornell (Jr., OL – Birmingham, Mich.)
Anders Huizenga, Yale (Sr., OL – Trophy Club, Texas)
Christian Montano, Brown (Sr., OL – Orange, Conn.)
Clay Eubank, Brown (Sr., OL – Coto De Caza, Calif.)
Bewley Wales, Columbia (Sr., OL – Tulsa, Okla.)
Tommy Dennis, Penn (Jr., OT – East Setauket, N.Y.)
Reily Radosevich, Princeton (So., OL – Manalapan, N.J.)
Sterling Strother, Yale (So., OL – Moraga, Calif.)
Anders Hill, Columbia (Sr., QB – Boulder, Colo.)
Tre Solomon, Penn (Sr., RB – Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Charlie Volker, Princeton (Jr., RB – Fair Haven, N.J.)
Stephen Carlson, Princeton (Jr., WR – Jamestown, N.Y.)
Hunter Hagdorn, Dartmouth (So., WR – Manvel, Texas)
Chris Williams-Lopez, Yale (Sr., WR – Duluth, Ga.)
Nicholas Bokun, Penn (Sr., TE – Hobart, Ind.)
Defense
Charles Callender, Yale (So., DE – Cutler Bay, Fla.)
Stone Hart, Harvard (Sr., DT – Olympia, Wash.)
Kyle Mullen, Yale (Jr., DE – Manalapan, N.J.)
Nick Tomkins, Dartmouth (Sr., DL – Matawan, N.J.)
Kurt Frimel, Cornell (Sr., LB – Cream Ridge, N.J.)
Luke Hutton, Harvard (Sr., LB – Austin, Texas)
Eric Meile, Dartmouth (Sr., LB – Ramsey, N.J.)
Foyesade Oluokun, Yale (Sr., LB – St. Louis)
Landon Baty, Columbia (Sr., DB – Mountain View, Calif.)
Tanner Lee, Harvard (Sr., S – Spanish Fort, Ala.)
Danny McManus, Dartmouth (Sr., DB – Mendota Heights, Minn.)
Sam Philippi, Penn (Jr., DB – Trabuco Canyon, Calif.)
Isiah Swann, Dartmouth (So., DB – Queen Creek, Ariz.)
Special Teams
Nickolas Null, Cornell (So., K – Bradenton, Fla.)
Alex Galland, Yale (Jr., P – Bakersfield, Calif.)
Tiger Bech, Princeton (So., WR/RS – Lafayette, La.)
HONORABLE MENTION
Offense
Jack Anderson, Dartmouth (Sr., OL – Palo Alto, Calif.)
Greg Begnoche, Penn (So., OT – Delray Beach, Fla.)
Dieter Eiselen, Yale (So., OL – Stellenbosch, South Africa)
Markham Paukune, Columbia (Sr., OL – Fort Worth, Texas)
Jack Heneghan, Dartmouth (Sr., QB – Atherton, Calif.)
Kurt Rawlings, Yale (So., QB – Bel Air, Md.)
Karekin Brooks, Penn (So., RB – Marietta, Ga.)
Deshawn Salter, Yale (Sr., RB – Syracuse, N.Y.)
Ryder Stone, Dartmouth (Sr., RB – Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
Jakob Prall, Brown (So., WR – Tipp City, Ohio)
Justice Shelton-Mosley, Harvard (Jr., WR/RS – Sacramento, Calif.)
Ronald Smith II, Columbia (So., WR – St. Louis)
Graham Adomitis, Princeton (Jr., TE – Ross Township, Pa.)
Stephen Johnston, Dartmouth (Sr., TE – Potomac, Md.)
Defense
Rocco Di Leo, Dartmouth (Sr., DL – Elmhurst, Ill.)
Kurt Holuba, Princeton (Sr., DL – Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J.)
Dominic Perkovic, Columbia (Sr., DL – Bloomfield Hills, Mich.)
Charlie Pontarelli, Dartmouth (Sr., DL – Glenview, Ill.)
Richie Ryan, Harvard (Jr., DT – Pittsburgh)
Jay Cammon, Jr., Penn (Jr., LB – Landover, Md.)
Colton Moskal, Penn (Sr., LB – Lake Zurich, Ill.)
Michael Murphy, Columbia (So., LB – Tampa, Fla.)
Colin Boit, Dartmouth (Sr., DB – Sammamish, Wash.)
Connor Coughlin, Brown (Sr., FS – Medford, N.Y.)
Malcolm Dixon, Yale (So., DB – Gardena, Calif.)
Jason Alessi, Yale (Sr., DB – Bloomfield Hills, Mich.)
David Jones, Cornell (So., DB – Sugar Land, Texas)
C.J. Wall, Princeton (Fr., DB – Plano, Texas)
DJ Woullard, Cornell (JR., DB – Fullerton, Calif.)
Special Teams
David Smith, Dartmouth (Sr., K – Montreal)
Hunter Kelley, Penn (Sr., P – Huntington Beach, Calif.)
Nickolas Null, Cornell (So., P – Bradenton, Fla.)
Will Allen, Columbia (Fr., DB/RS – Pembroke Pines, Fla.)
* – denotes unanimous decision
^ – denotes second team expanded due to ties in the voting