Active military and veterans, click on the link to claim 2 complimentary tickets to our opening home dual vs @ArmyWP_Wres Tickets must be claimed in advance.https://t.co/YS9g9UXyvr
— Cornell Wrestling (@BigRedWrestling) January 6, 2026
The Jan 16 dual is Military Appreciation Day!!#familynotfactory #yellcornell #GOBIGRED pic.twitter.com/GaOia8kNn1
CLICK HERE for free admission for any Active Duty or Veterans on Friday night at Cornell.
ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell men's wrestling will host it's first home dual of the new year on Friday night. Big Red will face Army West Point at 6:30 p.m. inside Friedman Wrestling Center in a nationally ranked dual that also serves as Cornell's Military Appreciation Night.
Cornell enters the matchup ranked No. 19 in the latest InterMat dual rankings while Army stands at No. 26. The evening will celebrate Cornell's military alumni and service members, highlighted by a matchup against one of the nation's premier service academies.
Tickets are available through BigRedTix, with live coverage on ESPN+ and bout-by-bout results available on TrackWrestling.
Projected Lineups:
Cornell
125: Greg Diakomihalis (InterMat #33, FloWrestling #26)
133: Tyler Ferrara (InterMat #18, FloWrestling #22) or Bret Ungar
141: Vince Cornella (InterMat #8, FloWrestling #6)
149: Jaxon Joy (InterMat #2, FloWrestling #2)
157: Meyer Shapiro (InterMat #7, FloWrestling #7)
165: Louie Cerchio or Benny Rogers
174: Simon Ruiz (InterMat #2, FloWrestling #2)
184: Christian Hansen (InterMat #20, FloWrestling #17)
197: Aiden Hanning
285: Ashton Davis, Cy Kruse, or Cash Henderson
Army West Point
125: Charlie Farmer
133: Ethan Berginc (FloWrestling & InterMat #12)
141: Conor Collins
149: Ryan Franco
157: Joseph Antonio (FloWrestling #32)
165: Gunner Filipowicz (FloWrestling #19, InterMat #17)
174: Cooper Haase or Andrew Christie
184: Dave Barrett
197: Wolfgang Frable (InterMat #30)
285: Brady Colbert (FloWrestling & InterMat #17) or Austin Kohlhofer
Cornell's projected lineup features multiple nationally ranked wrestlers while Army counters with ranked depth of its own, setting up several pivotal bouts across the lineup.
The Military Appreciation Night theme will be highlighted throughout the event, including recognition of Troy Nickerson, a four-time All-American and NCAA champion for Cornell who now serves as the head coach of Army West Point wrestling. Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff will attend with his wife, alongside leadership from the Naval ROTC and an ROTC student recently honored with a prestigious national award. All military members in attendance will be recognized as part of the evening's ceremonies.
Action begins at 6:30 p.m. inside Friedman Wrestling Center.
Cornell's Legacy of Service
Founded at the close of the American Civil War in 1865 and partially supported by President Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Morrill Land Grant Act, Cornell University has played an important role in national military history since its inception. Co-founder and first president Andrew Dickson White welcomed the discipline of student military drill and believed universities had an obligation to provide educated military leaders. From Cornell's opening until 1960, all male students were required to complete military training, and the Reserve Officers' Training Corp (ROTC) remains an important part of the Cornell experience for many undergraduates today. When students first arrived in 1868, many were veterans of the American Civil War. Three decades later, over 150 Cornellians would serve in the Spanish-American War, including one of the first Cornell University graduates to receive a military commission: Frank A. Barton, Class of 1891. Barton returned to campus to lead the Cornell Cadet Corps from 1904 to 1908 and again from 1917 to 1921. Barton Hall, originally known as the Drill Hall, was named after Colonel Barton in 1940. With the outbreak of World War I in Europe, Edward I. Tinkham, Class of 1916, left Ithaca during his senior year to volunteer as an ambulance driver for the French military. He returned to campus to recruit dozens of courageous Cornell volunteers who traveled to Europe as the U.S. entered the war. This Cornell group is considered the first organized American unit at the front in the war. The university partnered with the federal government to host programs like the U.S. Army School of Military Aeronautics and School of Aerial Photography, with the academic calendar accelerated and business as usual suspended to support the war effort.
Over 9,000 Cornellians participated in the war, with more than 5,300 seeing active service and more than 4,500 commissioned officers. Approximately two percent of all officers in the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps were from Cornell University, more than any other institution or academy. Cornellians in World War I received an impressive array of military decorations, with recognition from the U.S., Great Britain, France, Belgium, Italy, Greece, Japan, Montenegro, Portugal, Russia, and Serbia. Five pilots became aces, and Alan L. Eggers, Class of 1919, received the Congressional Medal of Honor. Two Cornell physicians, Caroline Finley, MD 1901, and Anna Von Sholly, MD 1902, were awarded the prestigious Croix de Guerre and commissioned as lieutenants in the French army, becoming two of the first American women to receive a military commission.
During World War II, Cornell hosted programs like the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) and V-12 Navy College Training Program, bringing thousands of young men to Ithaca for technical and officer training. Over 20,000 Cornellians served in the armed forces in a wide range of roles. Lieutenant Colonel Matt Urban, Class of 1941, is considered one of the most decorated American soldiers of the war, awarded the Medal of Honor and seven Purple Hearts.
Cornellians continued to serve in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and campus activism and debates helped shape the national discourse on issues like defense research and foreign policy. Cornell was one of only three Ivy League institutions to continue its ROTC program through the tumultuous Vietnam War era. The War Memorial on West Campus honors 264 Cornellians who died in World War I, and memorials in the Anabel Taylor Hall rotunda recognize over 500 Cornellians who perished in World War II and subsequent conflicts. Plaques and other memorials honoring veterans can be found across campus. Alumni have continued to distinguish themselves through service, like Lieutenant General James Peake, MD '72, who served as U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs (2007-2009) and General John Paxton, Jr., '73, MEng '74, Assistant Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps (2012-2018).
Today, Cornell is the only Ivy League university to host Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine ROTC programs, welcoming students from neighboring colleges and universities to participate. Cornell's Veterans House opened in 2021 as a residential community for veteran students, and the Cornell Veterans Colleague Network Group provides community for staff. In 2023, Cornell was formally recognized as a Purple Heart University by the Military Order of the Purple Heart for its efforts to support veterans.
by Corey Ryan Earle '07