In front of a sold-out crowd at home, Cornell wrestling triumphed in a 23-14 statement win over Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) rival No. 7 Lehigh. Six victories — three against ranked opponents and three earning bonus points — helped the Red move to 5-2 on the season.
Juniors Will Koll (149) and Jon Jay Chavez (165) showed their chops by unseating ranked wrestlers. Koll edged out No. 19 Cortlandt Schuyler in a 4-1 decision while Chavez executed a comfortable 12-6 win over No. 18 Gordon Wolf.
The pair of performances against a tough Lehigh (8-2) squad stood out for head coach Rob Koll.
“I felt like all our guys performed well,” he said. “In particular I was … pleased with [Will] Koll, and Chavez. Both guys knocked off nationally ranked wrestlers.”
Cornell’s No. 4 Yianni Diakomihalis also joined in on the action with an 8-0 handling of Lehigh’s No. 13 Luke Karam. The major decision was the freshman’s 14th bonus point win of the season and his 19th overall.
Freshmen No. 11 Max Dean (184) and No. 6 Ben Darmstadt (197) were also no strangers to bonus point wins. Dean collected a major decision win over Andrew Price while Darmstadt pinned Jake Jakobson at 2:35 for his 11th fall of the season, clinching the match for the Red.
Following Friday’s match, the freshman trio of Diakomihalis, Dean and Darmstadt has now combined for 40 bonus point victories. The success of Cornell’s youth has shown that this team, which has seen many of its top wrestlers recently graduate, can still compete with the nations top opponents like the Mountain Hawks.
“Our youngsters are very good and we have much more depth than expected,” Koll said. “However, I had a pretty good feeling about the team beforehand.”
Lehigh’s defending national champion No. 3 Daniel Cruz (125) started the dual meet off with a 17-8 major decision over freshman Noah Baughman.
After that, Chaz Tucker got the Red moving in the right direction with a win at 133. The junior pulled off a 3-1 win by decision in sudden victory for Cornell’s first points of the evening. The overtime win jump-started the home team, as two wins over ranked wrestlers followed to give the Red a comfortable lead.
The sellout crowd, as usual, proved to be a valuable asset for Cornell, according to Koll.
“The Friedman Center is almost always packed and it [is] just as much a disadvantage to the opponent as it is an advantage to our team,” he said.
Cornell and Lehigh perennially fight for the top spot in the EIWA. However, the Red has reigned supreme the past 11 years and Friday’s victory shows that winning 12-straight EIWA championships is very much a possibility.
“[I’m] pleased with the victory but it is only a dual meet,” Koll said. “However it does show that this team will once again compete for a Eastern title.”
Until then, Cornell will begin its campaign for a 16th-straight Ivy League title as it plays host to Brown and Harvard this Saturday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively
In front of a sold-out crowd at home, Cornell wrestling triumphed in a 23-14 statement win over Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) rival No. 7 Lehigh. Six victories — three against ranked opponents and three earning bonus points — helped the Red move to 5-2 on the season.
Juniors Will Koll (149) and Jon Jay Chavez (165) showed their chops by unseating ranked wrestlers. Koll edged out No. 19 Cortlandt Schuyler in a 4-1 decision while Chavez executed a comfortable 12-6 win over No. 18 Gordon Wolf.
The pair of performances against a tough Lehigh (8-2) squad stood out for head coach Rob Koll.
“I felt like all our guys performed well,” he said. “In particular I was … pleased with [Will] Koll, and Chavez. Both guys knocked off nationally ranked wrestlers.”
Cornell’s No. 4 Yianni Diakomihalis also joined in on the action with an 8-0 handling of Lehigh’s No. 13 Luke Karam. The major decision was the freshman’s 14th bonus point win of the season and his 19th overall.
Freshmen No. 11 Max Dean (184) and No. 6 Ben Darmstadt (197) were also no strangers to bonus point wins. Dean collected a major decision win over Andrew Price while Darmstadt pinned Jake Jakobson at 2:35 for his 11th fall of the season, clinching the match for the Red.
Following Friday’s match, the freshman trio of Diakomihalis, Dean and Darmstadt has now combined for 40 bonus point victories. The success of Cornell’s youth has shown that this team, which has seen many of its top wrestlers recently graduate, can still compete with the nations top opponents like the Mountain Hawks.
“Our youngsters are very good and we have much more depth than expected,” Koll said. “However, I had a pretty good feeling about the team beforehand.”
Lehigh’s defending national champion No. 3 Daniel Cruz (125) started the dual meet off with a 17-8 major decision over freshman Noah Baughman.
After that, Chaz Tucker got the Red moving in the right direction with a win at 133. The junior pulled off a 3-1 win by decision in sudden victory for Cornell’s first points of the evening. The overtime win jump-started the home team, as two wins over ranked wrestlers followed to give the Red a comfortable lead.
The sellout crowd, as usual, proved to be a valuable asset for Cornell, according to Koll.
“The Friedman Center is almost always packed and it [is] just as much a disadvantage to the opponent as it is an advantage to our team,” he said.
Cornell and Lehigh perennially fight for the top spot in the EIWA. However, the Red has reigned supreme the past 11 years and Friday’s victory shows that winning 12-straight EIWA championships is very much a possibility.
“[I’m] pleased with the victory but it is only a dual meet,” Koll said. “However it does show that this team will once again compete for a Eastern title.”
Until then, Cornell will begin its campaign for a 16th-straight Ivy League title as it plays host to Brown and Harvard this Saturday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively