The re-additions of Ramirez and Foca give the Big Red their veteran leaders both on and off the mat.“I wanted to put us up against some adversity this time of year. A high-caliber dual right before the holidays that forces you to keep focus before you head home, then a pair of extremely tough teams […]
The re-additions of Ramirez and Foca give the Big Red their veteran leaders both on and off the mat.“I wanted to put us up against some adversity this time of year. A high-caliber dual right before the holidays that forces you to keep focus before you head home, then a pair of extremely tough teams right after a short break from wrestling.”“This stretch of duals is really going to challenge us and force us to grow while we continue to get better,” he said. “All three teams provide different styles and present different challenges. And that is what we were looking for around this holiday stretch. “They are our senior leaders, they bring a bunch of energy to our squad,” Grey said. “It is good for our younger guys to have those guys back that they can lean on.”The Big Red squared off Sunday against NC State and nearly pulled off the upset in the 20-18 home loss. The Wolfpack jumped out to a 17-0 lead only for Cornell to claw back to get the score within 17-15 with two bouts left.“We still have most of our season left, and I’m excited for our guys to build and for us to put a good product on the mat. We are moving in the right direction.”After the NC State dual, Cornell was able to send its guys home for the holiday break. The Big Red will come back to campus on Dec. 28, ahead of duals at #18 Missouri (Jan. 3) and against #20 Lehigh (Jan. 12).Shapiro, ranked #2 at 157 pounds, was dominant in his bout against #16 Ed Scott. He was heading for a technical fall but forced a fifth stall on Scott for the DQ victory and six team points.All three returned against NC State.Grey was quick to point out that being without the services of so many wrestlers the first two months of the season could be a benefit come March when the Big Red go for their third straight team trophy.“From a leadership perspective, it forces others to step up and find their voice and become leaders in their own way. Guys that were not in that leadership role going into the season were forced to step in and help the team in that way.”“Some of this early-season adversity has been good for our staff,” he said. “Just learning to deal with the emotions and learning how to coach through it to see that this team can come out on the other side.“Once we get back, we will train for a week and then head out to Missouri,” Grey said. “I think it is a perfect mix of family time and some time to just relax for a bit to reset those batteries. Then to come back and have a good week of training as we get ready for a tough Missouri team.”Going into the holiday break, Cornell received one heck of an early Christmas present.Ramirez (#5 at 165) collected a 4-1 win over #23 Derek Fields, while Foca (now #13 at 184) avenged his loss in last year’s dual to #13 Dylan Fishback, 6-2.Shapiro was named the Ivy League Wrestler of the Week for that impressive win.Cornell started its stretch against three ranked foes with that home loss to #6 NC State. Grey pointed out how he wanted to challenge his squad with all this action wrapped around the holiday.The two squads split the final two bouts, at 174 and 184 pounds, giving NC State the road victory.But the best news to come out of the dual was the return to action for three top-10 wrestlers that Cornell had been missing for most of the season.
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Not only did they return, but all three scored ranked wins.Cornell did have the services of those three back in the lineup for the NC State dual, but four other ‘presumed’ starters we not in action: #13 Greg Diakomihalis (125 pounds), #30 Brett Ungar (133), #13 Vince Cornella (141), and Ashton Davis (heavyweight).“We are still a few weeks away from some of our guys getting back out there, but we are starting to round into shape,” Grey said. “Our training is looking good, and our guys are starting to get healthy after dealing with some adversity. “It is great to have guys with a lot of experience back in our lineup, they have all wrestled in big duals and big moments before,” Cornell coach Mike Grey said.Seniors Julian Ramirez and Chris Foca were not enrolled during the first semester due to Ivy League eligibility rules, and all of their competitions had to come as unattached. Sophomore Meyer Shapiro had been out of action since early November.
