By: Colin Herb '23, Athletics Communications Student Assistant

ITHACA, N.Y. - After the Binghamton Open fell through, the Ithaca College wrestling team pivoted and traveled out west to Case Western Reserve University for the Bob Del Rosa Ohio Open. This tournament runs in a unique fashion. There were technically four separate brackets for every weight class. You have the DI & qualified open entry bracket, the DI freshman/sophomore only bracket, the DII & below open entry bracket, and the DII & below freshman/sophomore bracket.

Looking at the brackets, if you see someone who does not have a school or is wrestling "unattached", it means they are saving a year of eligibility. Effectively, they are able to wrestle this tournament without putting their redshirt in harm's way. Ithaca, recognized as a DIII institution, is entered into the DII & below open brackets. Being a young team, the majority of IC's roster entered into the freshman/sophomore bracket for increased mat time.

The "old head" bracket came in with a seventh place finish. The new kids on the block boasted a fourth-place finish, only three points away from cracking the podium

149 Open Bracket Champion- Matthew Beyer
With this title, Beyer claims back-to-back tournament victories. The grad student went 4-0 on the day with two major decisions. Beyer's closest matches came from elevated competition. He knocked off Ethan Hardy from Glennville State, a team that went from earning their first season as a DII team in 2020 to placing top ten at last year's NCAA tournament with a champ and two finalists. In the finals Beyer won the tournament via a 7-4 victory over Carter Hill. Hill entered the tournament unattached from the University of Buffalo, but Beyer's tenacity and experience proved too much. Beyer remains undefeated in the short season.

157 Freshman/Sophomore Bracket Bronze- Braden Edwards
Edwards is a first year that is always looking to end the match early. As seen in the Bomber Invitational, Edwards is a pinner. On his way to a third-place finish, Edwards picked up three falls and a decision. In the few matches he has wrestled, Edwards has been proven to be extremely dangerous on his feet. One of the weekend's team highlights is a 17 second feet to back fall over Gavin Kaine of Akron. If given the opportunity, Edward's big move capability will constantly put him on upset watch.

184 Freshman/Sophomore Champion- Jake Jones
Jones racked up four wins enroute to a title. Half of those wins came via fall. It's tough being a first year at 184. This is a weight that typically is dominated by upperclassmen with a few extra years in the weight room to fill out the class. Jones being put on an equal playing field this tournament shows how dominant he can be later in his career- if not sooner. Great showing for the first year elevating his team.

184 Freshman/Sophomore 4th place- Eamon Callaghan
Callaghan started off the tournament strong before dropping his last two matches for a fourth-place finish. He looked more comfortable on the mat in his second competition wearing a Bomber singlet. Callaghan picked up his first fall of his career in the first match over Landon Gringo of Mount Union.

This weekend will be another tournament style competition for the Bombers. They will travel to RIT for their first ever SUNYAC Championships. Wrestling is set to begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday and finish the same day.