A quick analysis of the Cornell Big Red I see anywhere from 5 to 9 NCAA qualifiers with 3 All Americans, all 3 of which should place high/contend for NCAA finals. With the strength of individual performances, should contend for the EIWA conference title.
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| 125 Vitali Arujau Sophomore Record: 31-4 NCAA: 19'4th EIWA: 19'2nd |
Looks to be a very good year for the 2021 Pan-American Gold Medalist as he makes his return to collegiate wrestling. He'll contend with Princeton's Patrick Glory for the EIWA title, whom he is 1-1 against having pinned the Tiger and having dropped a10-8 decision to him. Arujau hasn't faced any of the other top competition at 125 lbs, but should prove himself a contender to face Iowa's Spencer Lee in the NCAA finals.
Another extraordinarily rare occurrence when you'll see me mention a true freshman in one of my writeups without a collegiate resume to speak of. Again, being related to someone doesn't always mean anything, but nepotism does often give you the nod of expectation. Anxious to see if he ends up as dominate as his brother. Have to say that I was a little disappointed to learn that Greg wasn't a middle name and that his real first name wasn't Kenneth. Props to anyone that gets my Cornelly (corny I mean) sense of humor.
Even though he is moving up a weight class, I believe Yianni Diakomihalis will continue to dominate the field. I think he'll have some close matches this year, and I can even see him losing a few. Come years end though, I look for a third EIWA title and to strongly contend for a third NCAA title. With that said, Hunter Richard deserves mention as a top notch backup. He was an EIWA runner-up in his own right and with victories such as his 7-5 decision over Jimmy Hoffman Lehigh, he himself is NCAA qualifier material.
Yapoujian has yet to qualify for the NCAA championships, but I'm almost positive that he does this season. Victories to validate include a 2-0 decision over Midlands runner-up Markus Hartman of Army and defeating NCAA qualifiers Zach Hartman of Bucknell 6-3 and Elijah Cleary of Ohio State 3-1. I can't see him defeating Quincy Monday of Princeton, but among the rest of the EIWA field, I see no reason why he can't contend for a spot in the conference finals.
Santoro's entire career he has fought for a varsity position and it is rewarding to see that at least on paper, this should be his year. NCAA qualification? He certainly has the tools. Alex Klucker of Old Dominion, Mike Van Brill of Rutgers, Josh McClure of North Carolina, he has wins worth noting. I think defeating Bucknell's Zach Hartman or Harvard's Philip Conigliaro is probably out of the question. Five years ago he dropped a 10-4 decision to Ricky Stamm of Hofstra. He'll need to prove himself with victories over wrestlers =/< #33 and I think he should do that. See him as good as 3rd in the EIWA.
Meant to also include Julian Ramirez who went 23-6 in 2020. Owns impressive major decision victories over Hunter Ladnier of Harvard and Robert Patrick of Virginia.
Another senior on the Big Red team that has yet to make the NCAA tournament. I think he proposes even more of a doubt than Santoro but he has two things going for him. Wins such as a major decision over two time R12 Devin Kane of North Carolina indicate what he's capable of. Secondly, the EIWA isn't overly loaded at 174 lbs, which gives way for a higher placing at the conference championships. On the flip side that also means less automatic allocations. I can go either way on Berreyesa. I can see him heading to the NCAA tournament and I can see him staying home.
Meant to also include Chris Foca who went 21-3 in 2020. Owns victories over Appalachian State's Thomas Flitz & Joe Grello of Rutgers as well as falls over Sage Heller of Hofstra and Dean Sherry of Rider.
A tough top 15, maybe even top 12 wrestler. Might even surprise me and end up being a top 8 wrestler by years end. As of now I see him finishing in the R16 at the NCAA tournament. As to the EIWA, he already owns a 4-3 victory over Travis Stefanik of Princeton, who he'll battle with for a spot in the conference finals. I don't see him defeating Binghamton's Louie DePrez, but a 2nd place finish is very doable.
The Sam Huntington doppelganger and two time EIWA champion should absolutely steamroll the conference this season. I can't see anyone within the EIWA even remotely challenging Darmstadt. As you've been reading these team by team analyses, you already know how big I am on A.J. Ferrari of Oklahoma State, but I tell you Ferrari Vs Darmstadt is a match that I look forward to. Darmstadt has a great reach and tremendous leverage. Dangerous tools that can be very effective in NCAA wrestling's second biggest weight class. He's untested against the top of the crop at 184 lbs, but I would think goes into the NCAA tournament with the #2 or #3 seed. Very anxious to see him against former teammate Max Dean of Penn State.
A 3-1 victory over Army's Ben Sullivan and a 7-2 victory over Hofstra's Zachary Knighton-Ward I believe that Brendan Furman should finish within the top 3-5 at the EIWA championships and I would tend to believe that through either automatic allocation or an at large bid that should get him into the NCAA tournament. A 1-2 or 2-2 performance is how I see his season coming to an end.
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125 - NCAA finalist
133 - Up in the air about this for now
141 - Believe this will be Cornell's weak link this season
149 - National Champion
157 - NQ, possible R12
165 - Should be NQ
174 - Should be NQ
184 - Top 16, maybe R12, give it enough of a chance to say top 8
197 - NCAA finalist
HWT - NQ
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| 133 Greg Diakomihalis Freshman |
Another extraordinarily rare occurrence when you'll see me mention a true freshman in one of my writeups without a collegiate resume to speak of. Again, being related to someone doesn't always mean anything, but nepotism does often give you the nod of expectation. Anxious to see if he ends up as dominate as his brother. Have to say that I was a little disappointed to learn that Greg wasn't a middle name and that his real first name wasn't Kenneth. Props to anyone that gets my Cornelly (corny I mean) sense of humor.
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| 149 Yianni Diakomihalis OR Hunter Richard Junior OR Senior Record: 66-1 OR 50-22 NCAA: 181'st, 19'1st OR 20'NQ EIWA: 18'1st, 19'1st OR 20'2nd CKLV: 18'1st |
Even though he is moving up a weight class, I believe Yianni Diakomihalis will continue to dominate the field. I think he'll have some close matches this year, and I can even see him losing a few. Come years end though, I look for a third EIWA title and to strongly contend for a third NCAA title. With that said, Hunter Richard deserves mention as a top notch backup. He was an EIWA runner-up in his own right and with victories such as his 7-5 decision over Jimmy Hoffman Lehigh, he himself is NCAA qualifier material.
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| 157 Colton Yapoujian Sophomore Record: 21-5 |
Yapoujian has yet to qualify for the NCAA championships, but I'm almost positive that he does this season. Victories to validate include a 2-0 decision over Midlands runner-up Markus Hartman of Army and defeating NCAA qualifiers Zach Hartman of Bucknell 6-3 and Elijah Cleary of Ohio State 3-1. I can't see him defeating Quincy Monday of Princeton, but among the rest of the EIWA field, I see no reason why he can't contend for a spot in the conference finals.
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| 165 Adam Santoro Senior Record: 58-55 EIWA: 20'6th |
Santoro's entire career he has fought for a varsity position and it is rewarding to see that at least on paper, this should be his year. NCAA qualification? He certainly has the tools. Alex Klucker of Old Dominion, Mike Van Brill of Rutgers, Josh McClure of North Carolina, he has wins worth noting. I think defeating Bucknell's Zach Hartman or Harvard's Philip Conigliaro is probably out of the question. Five years ago he dropped a 10-4 decision to Ricky Stamm of Hofstra. He'll need to prove himself with victories over wrestlers =/< #33 and I think he should do that. See him as good as 3rd in the EIWA.
Meant to also include Julian Ramirez who went 23-6 in 2020. Owns impressive major decision victories over Hunter Ladnier of Harvard and Robert Patrick of Virginia.
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| 174 Andrew Berreyesa Senior Record: 42-21 EIWA: 19'8th |
Another senior on the Big Red team that has yet to make the NCAA tournament. I think he proposes even more of a doubt than Santoro but he has two things going for him. Wins such as a major decision over two time R12 Devin Kane of North Carolina indicate what he's capable of. Secondly, the EIWA isn't overly loaded at 174 lbs, which gives way for a higher placing at the conference championships. On the flip side that also means less automatic allocations. I can go either way on Berreyesa. I can see him heading to the NCAA tournament and I can see him staying home.
Meant to also include Chris Foca who went 21-3 in 2020. Owns victories over Appalachian State's Thomas Flitz & Joe Grello of Rutgers as well as falls over Sage Heller of Hofstra and Dean Sherry of Rider.
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| 184 Jonathan Loew Sophomore Record: 43-24 NCAA: 20'NQ EIWA: 20'5th CKLV: 20'7th |
A tough top 15, maybe even top 12 wrestler. Might even surprise me and end up being a top 8 wrestler by years end. As of now I see him finishing in the R16 at the NCAA tournament. As to the EIWA, he already owns a 4-3 victory over Travis Stefanik of Princeton, who he'll battle with for a spot in the conference finals. I don't see him defeating Binghamton's Louie DePrez, but a 2nd place finish is very doable.
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| 197 Ben Darmstadt Record: 80-14 NCAA: 18'6th, 20'NQ* EIWA: 18'1st, 20'1st CKLV: 20'R12 |
The Sam Huntington doppelganger and two time EIWA champion should absolutely steamroll the conference this season. I can't see anyone within the EIWA even remotely challenging Darmstadt. As you've been reading these team by team analyses, you already know how big I am on A.J. Ferrari of Oklahoma State, but I tell you Ferrari Vs Darmstadt is a match that I look forward to. Darmstadt has a great reach and tremendous leverage. Dangerous tools that can be very effective in NCAA wrestling's second biggest weight class. He's untested against the top of the crop at 184 lbs, but I would think goes into the NCAA tournament with the #2 or #3 seed. Very anxious to see him against former teammate Max Dean of Penn State.
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| HWT Brendan Furman Junior Record: 46-25 NCAA: 20'NQ EIWA: 20'3rd |
A 3-1 victory over Army's Ben Sullivan and a 7-2 victory over Hofstra's Zachary Knighton-Ward I believe that Brendan Furman should finish within the top 3-5 at the EIWA championships and I would tend to believe that through either automatic allocation or an at large bid that should get him into the NCAA tournament. A 1-2 or 2-2 performance is how I see his season coming to an end.
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125 - NCAA finalist
133 - Up in the air about this for now
141 - Believe this will be Cornell's weak link this season
149 - National Champion
157 - NQ, possible R12
165 - Should be NQ
174 - Should be NQ
184 - Top 16, maybe R12, give it enough of a chance to say top 8
197 - NCAA finalist
HWT - NQ
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