On Tuesday afternoon, a highly-ranked matchup is set up between #12 Cornell and #6 Iowa State. This will be Cornell’s second dual of the season, right after competing against Oregon State on the same day. Oregon State traveled to Happy Valley to face off against #1 Penn State last weekend, and dropped that dual 31-3.
The dual is set for 3 p.m. inside of the New Orleans Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.
125 – #21 Brett Ungar vs. #14 Kysen Turekina
Cornell’s true freshman #21 Brett Ungar (7-5) has shown the potential Big Red fans have been waiting for. Just a couple weeks ago at the Cliff Keen Invitational, Ungar placed seventh at a competitive 125-pound bracket. In Las Vegas, Ungar had notable wins over Ohio State’s #11 Malik Heinselman, Air Force’s Tucker Owens, and NC State’s Jarrett Trombley. For Iowa State, #14 Kysen Turekina (3-1) hopes to get back in the lineup for the cyclones. Turekina has been out of the lineup since Nov. 20th when Iowa State pummeled Grand View 40-0, and will make for a very exciting matchup at 125-pounds if he returns. If Turekina is absent, look for the Cyclones to send out Corey Cabanan as they did against Iowa’s Spencer Lee.
133 – #3 Vito Arujau vs. #19 Ramazan Attasauov
#3 Vito Arujau (6-0) has been a hammer for the Big Red his entire career, and comes into his junior season the exact same. Arujau won the Cliff Keen Invitational at an unbelievably stacked 133-pound bracket, and did so by only allowing seven total points throughout the entirety of the tournament. Arujau knocked off Virginia Tech’s #11 Sam Latona, and Arizona State’s #5 Michael McGee, both by a score of 6-1. For the Cyclones, Ramazan Attasauov looks to keep his season undefeated, coming into the duals with a 5-0 record. Just recently, Attasauov took out Cullan Schriever at the Cy-Hawk dual in a close and exciting match.
141 – #16 Vince Cornella vs. #8 Casey Swiderski
True Freshman Casey Swiderski just lost his first match of the season, however that was to Iowa’s #2 Real Woods in a very competitive match at the Cy-Hawk dual. Swiderski proved his potential, showing he can hang with anyone in the country at 141-pounds, and has a bright future ahead. Cornell freshman #16 Vince Cornella is ranked well within the top-20 in his first season starting for the Big Red, and comes into the dual with an 8-2 record. Cornella was perfect on the season until entering day two of the Cliff Keen Invitational, when he dropped consecutive matches to South Dakota State’s #15 Clay Carson, and Purdue’s #19 Parker Filius.
149 – #1 Yianni Diakomihalis vs. #5 Paniro Johnson
Just last weekend, Cornell’s #1 Yianni Diakomihalis represented Team USA at the World Cup, helping the U.S. win gold. Even though he dropped two matches, it’s obvious he belongs competing with the best wrestlers around the world, and will be the future of 65 kilos for Team USA. This weekend, he should return to the Big Red lineup, and it seems he’ll square off against Iowa State’s #5 Paniro Johnson in another big test for Yianni. Cyclone’s #5 Paniro Johnson (5-0) has continued the momentum he gained after taking out #2 Austin Gomez over a month ago. Since then, Johnson added another top-10 win to his resume when taking out #8 Max Murin at the Cy-Hawk Series dual and has found himself within the top-5 wrestlers at 149-pounds.
157 – Colton Yapoujian/Gage McClenahan vs. Jason Kraisser
Colton Yapoujian (3-0) is back in the lineup for the Big Red after his 2021-2022 season was cut short due to injury. Yapoujian proved he hasn’t lost a step after bringing home gold at Lock Haven’s Mat Town Open, yet did not compete for Cornell at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Gage McClenahan (4-2) stepped in for Cornell in Las Vegas, and finished with a 1-2 record. For the Cyclone’s Jason Kraisser, he is coming off back-to-back falls, and could continue that into early next week.
165 – #8 Julian Ramirez vs. #3 David Carr
In a very anticipated matchup at the Cy-Hawk Series Dual, Cyclone’s #3 David Carr (6-0) easily handled Iowa’s #16 Patrick Kennedy 9-4. Although Keenedy is only a true freshman, his potential made for a great matchup, and Carr did his thing. 165-pounds seems to be a very comfortable weight class for Carr, and has another big test in Cornell’s #8 Julian Ramirez (9-2). Ramirez was a win short of All-American honors last season, and was an honorable mention for All-Ivy League team with a 22-10 record.
174 – #6 Chris Foca vs. Julien Broderson
Cornell’s #6 Chris Foca (10-1) is a returning NCAA Qualifier and has first team All-Ivy League honors after an impressive 2021-2022 season, and is set to square off against Iowa State’s Julien Broderson (6-0). Broderson is unbeaten to start the year, and seems to have won the starting job for Iowa State at 174-pounds, after beating teammate Joel Devine in the Cyclone Open Finals.
184 – #9 Jonathon Loew/Nathan Thracker vs. #5 Marcus Coleman
For the Cyclone’s, returning All-American #5 Marcus Coleman (6-0) stays hot after a big win over Iowa’s #7 Abe Assad at the Cy-Hawk Series Dual last weekend. He looks to keep that going in another potential top-10 matchup against Cornell’s #9 Jonathon Loew. There is a chance Loew doesn’t wrestle due to injury, where Nathan Thracker would most likely wrestle in his place.
197 – Jacob Cardenas/Ethan Hatcher vs. #2 Yonger Bastida
Iowa State’s #2 Yonger Bastida (6-0) comes into the duals as the Cyclone’s highest ranked wrestler, which came after a huge win over Iowa’s #7 Jacob Warner at the Cy-Hawk Series Dual. Bastida had a really impressive NCAA Championship tournament last year, and carried that over into the 2022-2023 season and looks like he has improved his wrestling since last March. It’s not totally sure who Cornell will send out at 197-pounds, as returning NCAA Qualifier Jacob Cardenas (0-1) wrestled his only match against the Wisconsin Badgers, yet it was Ethan Hatcher (1-2) who competed in Las Vegas for the Big Red.
285 – #15 Lewis Fernandes vs. #9 Sam Schuyler
Schuyler started the season ranked #13, and has now found himself within the top-10 wrestlers at 285-pounds. Schuyler’s first loss of the season came to Iowa’s #3 Tony Cassioppi by a score of 9-2. Returning NCAA Qualifier #15 Lewis Fernandes (4-2) returns to Cornell’s lineup, and will take on Schuyler to wrap up the dual. Fernandes picked up two wins at the Cliff Keen Invitational, and will be an interesting match to watch, with possible team points in jeopardy.
