No. 4 Wrestling Downs Oswego State, Jamestown CC in Dual Doubleheader

thaca kicked off the afternoon of competition with an Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference (ECWC) showdown against Oswego State. The Bombers utilized a fast start to pull away from the Lakers in a matchup that proved to be pretty close despite the more lopsided final team score. The Bombers posted victories in seven of the 10 wrestled bouts in today's opening match. It was a run of five straight victories to begin the dual gave Ithaca the separation it needed to secure the win. IC got the ball rolling with wins at the 125-through-157 weight classes to solidify a healthy early lead. Senior captain Ferdinand Mase (#5 NWCA | #5 d3wrestle) staked Ithaca to the early 6-0 advantage when he ran unopposed at 125-pounds. Sophomore William Escobar kept things moving in a solid direction when he completely dominated from the outset in a 16-5 major decision win over Wyatt Gorman. The triumph boosted IC's lead to 10-0. The Bombers shuffled the lineup a bit in the next two bouts, as sophomore Ray Wetzel took junior Ben Brisman's spot at 141, with the Brisman bumping up to 149-pounds on Saturday. Wetzel posted a 4-3 decision over William Hardin to improve IC's lead to 13-0. Brisman (#2 NWCA | #2 d3wrestle) faced a challenging matchup in his first career 149-pound bout when he took on the red-hot Rocco Russo. Oswego's talented grappler was the reigning ECWC Wrestler of the Week after posting a perfect 5-0 record to capture the 149-pound title at the 53rd Annual RIT Invitational. Brisman grinded hard to secure a hard-fought 10-8 decision. Senior Jawan Jones capped the winning run for IC when he continued his run of success at 157-pounds. Coming off a perfect weekend to win the 157-pound title at the New Standard Spartan Invitational, Jones also was triumphant by a razor-thin margin when he faced Christian Gramuglia. Jones scored a late takedown to complete a comeback to tie the bout at 9-9 through the end of three periods. The Bombers' grappler prevailed in the first sudden-victory period, showcasing his agility and savvy veteran knowledge to sweep around Gramuglia for a takedown near the edge of the mat to pull out the 11-9 decision. The win upped Ithaca's lead to 19-0. Oswego State enjoyed the better of the performance over the ensuing two bouts, carving into IC's wide lead with victories at both 165-pounds and 174-pounds. First, Trevor Hoffmier controlled matters throughout in a 15-0 technical fall over Ithaca rookie Graden Alpert. Oswego's Troy Seymour also came up with a victory, pulling away from IC sophomore Isaiah Mayes late to secure a 7-2 decision. The two victories closed the Lakers within 11 points at 19-8 with three bouts to play. Headlining the opening match for Ithaca was the long-awaited return of top-ranked wrestler Jake Ashcraft (#1 NWCA | #1 d3wrestle) who was back in action for the first time since the Northeast Duals competition in early November. It did not take long for the senior captain to make an impact, as Ashcraft showed no rust following the long hiatus from competition, pinning Jeff Lombardi in 53-seconds. The win upped Ithaca's lead to 25-8, clinching the match for the Bombers. Ithaca split the final two bouts of the day with Ricardo Dawkins besting junior Dalton Elias in a tight 5-3 decision at 197-pounds, while IC rookie Bailey Paster scored a first-period fall (1:43) over Nicholas Schmitt. No. 4 Ithaca 35 – Jamestown Community College 15 125: Ferdinand Mase (ITHACA) def. Paul Manning IV (Jamestown CC) | FALL: 2:00 133: William Escobar (ITHACA) def. Nick Kozlowski (Jamestown CC) | DEC: 6-5 141: Ray Wetzel (ITHACA) receives forfeit 149: Ben Brisman (ITHACA) receives forfeit 157: Jawan Jones (ITHACA) receives forfeit 165: Graden Alpert (ITHACA) receives forfeit 174: Daniel Torres (Jamestown CC) def. Isaiah Mayes (ITHACA) | DEC: 7-3 184: Jake Ashcraft (ITHACA) def. Cameron Page (Jamestown CC) | DEC: 9-8 197: Wyatt Holley (Jamestown CC) def. Dane Harter (ITHACA) | FALL: 2:11 HWT: Nick Jones (Jamestown CC) def. Bailey Paster (ITHACA) | FALL: 4:52 EX: Graden Alpert (ITHACA) def. Michael Zito (Jamestown CC) | FALL: 3:43 The second dual of the day featured the Bombers against talented JUCO outfit Jamestown, who once again fielded a competitive group of grapplers despite conceding several weight classes. The two sides only wrestled six of the 10 bouts on the lineup card with Ithaca receiving forfeits at 141-pounds, 149-pounds, 157-pounds, and 165-pounds. The bouts that were wrestled were quite competitive with the two teams splitting the six total bouts. Ithaca was more successful at the lower weights as once again Mase and Escobar turned in impressive performances. Mase kicked things off with a first-period pin (2:00) over Paul Manning IV, while Escobar defeated Nick Kozlowski in a tight 6-5 decision. Factoring in the forfeits in the middle weights, IC carried a 33-0 lead into the 174-pound bout. Jamestown scored its first victory of the day when Daniel Torres outlasted Mayes in a 7-3 decision; however, Ashcraft was the stopper again for IC. Things did not come as easily for IC's senior in the second match of the day, as he had to dig deep for a 9-8 decision victory over Cameron Page. The Jayhawks won the final two bouts of the day by fall, as Wyatt Holley bested Dane Harter in the first period (2:11), while Nick Jones pinned Paster in the second stanza 4:52. Although Alpert received a forfeit during the match, he did wrestle an exhibition bout against Michael Zito, scoring a second-period fall (3:43) over the Jayhawks grappler. Looking Ahead Ithaca will return to action during the first weekend of 2019, as the team travels to Louisville, Kentucky, for the NWCA National Duals event. Final schedule for the event will be released in the coming weeks with action taking place on Friday, January 4, and Saturday, January 5.