D3wrestle.com Ranking #1
 
ITHACA, N.Y. - The Ithaca College wrestling program had an objectively successful 2022-23 season winning the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Team Championship, taking second in Mideast Regionals as a team, and finished ranked with two top-15 dual meet wins over No. 8 TCNJ and No. 13 Ohio Northern.
 
While the schedule looks familiar, the Bombers will no longer compete in the Empire conference. Instead, many of those rivalries have shifted under the banner of the SUNYAC (State University of New York Athletic Conference). The conference just recently accepted wrestling as their 22nd sponsored sport. Teams from the Empire and a few other usual suspects that fall under the SUNYAC umbrella, include those such as SUNY Morrisville and SUNY Canton.
 
The Bombers didn't slack in individual tournament competition. Four student-athletes represented Ithaca College at the NCAA DIII National Championship in Roanoke, Virginia. All four of those athletes are returning to help the Bombers chase another title this year; albeit 2022-23 NCAA DIII bronze medalist Eze Chukwuezi who comes back wearing a polo instead of a singlet assisting head coach Marty Nichols, who enters his 28^th season at the helm of the program.
 
Weight Predictions and Preview for the Ithaca Invitational:
 
125: Cosmo Damiani & Matt Haycook- ECWC Champ, NYS Runner Up
The junior duo of Damiani & Haycook controlled the 125 lb. spot the entire season. Each cycled on and off the mat with injuries, but both are healthy and looking to rumble this season. Haycook is coming off a successful season when fully healthy. He had nine bonus point victories, won his second Empire Conference title at 125, and was runner up in the NYS Championships. That being said, Damiani most likely will also be entered this weekend at 125 pounds.
 
133: Isaias Torres- NCAA National Qualifier, Mideast Region 2nd, New Standard Champ, Bomber Invite & ECWC 3rd
 
The Queens native "tore" up the mat throughout his freshman season at 133. Torres ended with a 34-11 record and a national championship bid. A strong showing that proves he deserves his NWCA ranking. Torres was sitting comfortable at 133 last year, so there's not much of a question of what weight he will enter the 2023-24 season at.
 
141: Unknown
This is the only weight where there is not a returning wrestler with experience. However, there are five new recruits and a few returners that can potentially fill the weight class. No true predictions can be made until the brackets are posted Friday.
 
149: Matthew Beyer- NCAA National Qualifier, Mideast Region 2nd, New Standard Invite Champ
The graduate student is back for one last ride as an Ithaca Bomber. Using his COVID-19 year, Beyer returns with the most mat time on the team. He's wrestled 97 matches- more than the previous three weights combined- and boasts an impressive 77 wins over the course of three seasons. The captain has high aspirations for this upcoming season and is on pace to top that coveted 100 win mark.
 
157: Wenchard Pierre-Louis- NCAA National Qualifier, Mideast Region Champ, ECWC Champ, New York State Championship Runner-Up, New Standard Invite Bronze
In his free time from being a YouTube star, Wenchard Pierre-Louis wrestles for the Ithaca Bombers- and he's quite good at it. The returning Mideast Region champion is looking to improve on his NCAA qualifying bid. Pierre-Louis was unable to wrestle in the Ithaca Invitational last year, but placed second in his freshman season. He looks to start this season strong and take home his first Ithaca Invitational championship this weekend.
 
165: Jackson Gray- Mideast Regional Placer, ECWC & New Standard Invite Champ, NYS Championships Runner-Up, Ithaca Invitational Bronze
It feels like Jackson Gray is just on the brink of exploding onto the scene in a big way. His sophomore campaign was led by five separate top three tournament finishes and a place winning effort despite bumping a weight. While no trophy was given for the feat, one of the most impressive runs of Ithaca's '22-23 season was Gray's 16-match win streak. He's looking to string a few of those together this year to earn his first NCAA National Championship bid.
 
174: Konrad Parker- ECWC Bronze & Xavier Pommells- 2x NCJAA National Qualifier
Parker earned a starting lineup spot last year and held it down throughout the entire season. He continued to get better after the New Years break and has potential for a big season. Being a first year in a loaded 174 weight class isn't an easy task. Pommells is most likely going to be entered in the field as well. Pommells is a Two-time JUCO National Championships Qualifier who transferred to Ithaca prior to the season. He comes over from an Ithaca opponent- Nassau Community College.
 
184: Jake Jones
Jones naturally fits in the 184 slot for the Bombers. He is a three time placewinner at states in the gauntlet of Pennsylvania, his highest place being a runner up spot. Outside of his high school scholastic accomplishments, Jones wrestles Greco-Roman. For those unfamiliar, Greco-Roman is an Olympic style of wrestling that outlaws any leg attacks. He's a multi-time state champ and placed at nationals three times. Jones took second, third, and fourth respectively since his time as a sophomore in high school. He's an exciting spark plug that is bound to have the crowd on their feet a few times throughout the season.
 
197: Ryan Galka & Darron Shafe
Galka was a very big, muscular 184 pounder. The bump to 197 might allow for a less strict weight cut and a more natural flow on the mat. That being said, it's not a guarantee that Ryan Galka moves up. Expect first year Darron Shafe to also enter at 197. Shafe placed first in the Bronx, third in the city, and seventh in the city respectively in his last two years of high school while bouncing between the heavy weight classes.
 
HWT: Jeremy Mazzella- NCAA Mideast Placewinner
Mazzella found his groove after bumping up to heavyweight midway through the year. He went 9-4 prior to the postseason after making the jump. During that stretch he knocked off Caleb Burkhart, who at the time was a D3Wrestle honorable mention and tied for second in the country in pins. After placing in the region last season, he has found a home as the anchor of this Ithaca Bombers wrestling team.
 
Ithaca College will host the first competition of the year Friday. The Bomber Invitational will begin at 2 p.m. in the A&E Center as the teams competing include American International, Baldwin Wallace, Castleton, Elmira College, Greensboro College, Muskingum, New England College, Norwich, Oswego State, Penn College of Technology and Springfield College. The second day wrestling will resume at 9 a.m. on Saturday.