As the final whistle blew in their matches, three Cornell wrestlers made their way to the center of the mat, heads held high and arms raised in victory.
The road was far from easy, but senior Chris Foca, sophomore Meyer Shapiro and freshman Simon Ruiz had all earned their places among the nation’s best, each placing fifth in the country in their respective weight classes — and securing All-American honors at the National Collegiate Athletics Association Championships. Additionally, for the first time in Cornell wrestling history, all ten starting wrestlers won a match in the tournament.
“It was history for Cornell,” said head coach Mike Grey ’11. “We had all 10 wrestlers win a match and score points, which is really, really exciting. We had six brand new starters in the lineup, so our team is really young. We lose one All-American, but we have two All-Americans coming back. We have a ton of youth, and we’re going to be dangerous in the future.”
Shapiro, who entered the tournament seeded second, wrestled with the intensity and precision that has made him so dangerous all year. However, in the semifinals, he faced his toughest challenge yet against Nebraska’s No. 3 Antrell Taylor, the eventual champion, who defeated Shapiro 7-2.
In the consolation match that could have sent him to the third place match, Shapiro was matched up against Pennsylvania State University’s No. 1 Tyler Kasak. The match came down to a takedown, with Shapiro ultimately losing 5-2. In the fifth place match, Shapiro handled University of Northern Colorado’s No. 7 Vincent Zerban, winning 11-0.
What made Shapiro's performance extraordinary was the fact that, following his win, he revealed he had suffered multiple seizures and even had fallen into a coma just a month before the tournament. The fact that he was able to compete at such a high level after such a traumatic experience was nothing short of remarkable.
“It’s a testament to him as a person, his resiliency, his competitiveness, his ability to deal with adversity,” Grey said. “That's the meaning of sport. He learned so much about himself this year that’s going to translate to later on in life: the ability to deal with some really serious setbacks, move forward and not make excuses. Making excuses is how you fail. So not making excuses and just pushing forward — [Shapiro] did a great job of that this year.”
Foca, a seasoned veteran, showed his trademark moxie throughout the tournament. After a strong start, Foca found himself in a tightly contested match against University of Minnesota’s No. 3 Max McEnnelly that ended with a narrow 10-7 loss for Foca. Undeterred, Foca powered through the consolation rounds, securing his spot in the fifth-place match.
Foca’s experience and mental toughness were on full display as he sealed a 7-4 victory over Maryland’s No. 8 Jaxon Smith. The match marked Foca’s last time representing the Red, and while Foca said he had hoped to go further in the tournament, he certainly went out on a high note.
“[Foca] will go down as somebody who’s super entertaining,” Grey said. “His matches are always wild and fun, and he’s definitely a crowd pleaser here at Cornell. Being a two time All-American, is something to be very proud of, and he had a great career. He made Cornell wrestling very proud.”
As a freshman, Ruiz surpassed expectations by fighting through a tough bracket. After being eliminated from the championship bracket by South Dakota State’s No. 13 Cade DeVos, he battled his way through the consolation rounds and into the fifth-place match, where he faced DeVos again and came out on top, securing his All-American status.
“[Ruiz] was poised to move towards this accomplishment all year,” Grey said. “He got better as the year went on and gained a lot of experience. The belief that I had in him from his season led me to believe that he would perform at a high level at the national tournament, and he did exactly that.”
Notably, senior No. 5 Julian Ramirez, came up just short of the podium in his final tournament appearance. Seniors No. 20 Josh Saunders and No. 18 Ethan Fernandez also would don the Cornell singlet for the last time, competing valiantly in their final collegiate tournament.
With Shapiro returning for his junior season and Ruiz coming back after a stellar freshman campaign, the Red will continue building next year. But the excitement doesn’t stop there. Coach Grey is also adding a new wave of talent, including FloWrestling’s No. 4 ranked high school recruit in the country, Anthony Knox, and seven other wrestlers in the top 100.
“The class is really good, and we're excited to have their impact right away,” Grey said. “The future of the program looks great. We have some really good recruits coming in, and moving forward, we will be thrilled with our results.”
With a team this talented and young, the next chapter of Cornell wrestling is bound to be one for the history books. The Red will be coming for it all next season.
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