Cornell wrestling receives NCAA bracket seeds

ITHACA, N.Y. (WETM) – The 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championship seeds are in and Cornell is well represented.

After coming off a third consecutive EIWA team title and another IVY League Championship, The Big Red is poised for another podium finish at the NCAA Tournament. Action starts Thursday, March 21 and concludes with the championship finals Saturday, March 23 in Kansas City, Missouri.

For the first time in program history, Cornell has qualified all 10 wrestlers from its starting lineup. The Big Red placed third in the country last year crowning two overall national champions in Vito Arujau and now graduated Yianni Diakomihalis. Cornell head coach Mike Grey also earned national coach of the year honors at the tournament.

Yianni’s win was his fourth consecutive national title making him just the fifth wrestler all-time to win a coveted fourth crown in NCAA D-I. Diakomihalis joined Cornell great and Lansing native Kyle Dake with four national titles making Cornell the first D-I program with two four-time winners.

Arujau is the defending NCAA Champion and most outstanding wrestler of the tournament at 133 pounds. Vito went on to win the US Open and Senior World Freestyle Championship in the offseason at 61KG.

Below, a list of each wrestler and their respective opponents with seeds as revealed by NCAA.com Wednesday night.

18 Sports will have plenty more on The Big Red leading up the tournament. For a complete list at each individual weight bracket, you can find them at the NCAA website here: https://www.ncaa.com/_flysystem/public-s3/images/2024/03/13/2024NCAAd1Wrestlingbrackets.pdf

Cornell First Round Opponents
125 Pounds – Cornell’s #17 Brett Ungar (17-7) vs. #16 Dean Peterson, Rutgers (14-7)
133 Pounds – Cornell’s #6 Vito Arujau (13-2) vs. #27 Gable Strickland, Lock Haven (32-12)
141 Pounds – Cornell’s #24 Vince Cornella (14-9) vs. #9 Brock Hardy, Nebraska (19-8)
149 Pounds – Cornell’s #9 Ethan Fernandez (22-6) vs. #24 Caleb Tyus, SIUE (20-7)
157 Pounds – Cornell’s #3 Meyer Shapiro (23-2) vs. #30 Colton Washleski, Rider (29-8)
165 Pounds – Cornell’s #3 Julian Ramirez (22-2) vs. #30 Nick Hamilton, Virginia (11-7)
174 Pounds – Cornell’s #26 Benny Baker (14-12) vs. #7 Lennox Wolak, Columbia (15-5)
184 Pounds – Cornell’s #14 Chris Foca (20-6) vs. #19 James Conway, F&M (29-9)
197 Pounds – Cornell’s #5 Jake Cardenas (22-6) vs. #28 Jack Wehmeyer, Columbia (22-11)
Heavyweight – Cornell’s #15 Lewis Fernandes (21-10) vs. #18 David Szuba, Rider (23-8)

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