No. 12 Cornell wins last three bouts to defeat No. 3 Arizona State, 19-12, at FloWrestling dual in Austin

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Cornell wrestling team picked up a signature win, handing third-ranked Arizona State its first dual loss of the season and controlled throughout in a 19-12 victory over the Sun Devils on Wednesday evening at the FloWrestling Duals. The Big Red improved to 3-2 with the win, its first over a top five opponent since knocking off then-No. 4 Ohio State 19-18 on Feb. 19, 2017.


Cornell won both feature matches a pair of top five contests over the final three bouts. In all, the Big Red won four of five matches between ranked grapplers on the evening.


Vito Arujau's buzzer-beating takedown of fourth-ranked Michael McGee at 133 pounds completed a comeback to remain unbeaten on the season with a 7-5 triumph. The win was the second of the season over McGee, who he defeated 6-1 a month ago in the finals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. The two-time All-American is 8-0 against ranked wrestlers so far this season.


Three-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis also shook off a challenge at 149 pounds from No. 5 Kyle Parco, a two-time All-American. The senior picked up his 98th career win with an 8-2 victory, picking up the pace after a scoreless first period to cement the team win.


The Big Red won three of four matches from 165 to 197 highlighted by a dominant 13-0 major decision win by Chris Foca at 174 pounds. The junior chased a tech fall in the third, but put the only bonus points on the board for either team. Julian Ramirez controlled his matchup at 165 pounds against No. 28 Tony Negron, pulling out a 6-1 win. Jacob Cardenas also brought home the victory at 197 with a 6-2 victory over Jonathon Fagen. A dominant Vince Cornella victory at 141 pounds put the Big Red in the lead for good heading into Diakomihalis' match with the freshman picking up a 9-3 win over No. 19 Jesse Vasquez.


Even Cornell's narrow defeats were made up of impressive efforts. At 157, Gage McClenahan had the early lead before falling 4-2 and Ethan Hatcher nearly came back from a six-point move against him in the opening seconds to fall 8-5 at 184 pounds to No. 17 Anthony Montalvo. Defending national runner-up Cohlton Schultz held off the Big Red's ranked heavyweight, Lewis Fernandes, by a narrow 4-2 margin, with freshman Brett Ungar giving 2021 NCAA runner-up Brandon Courtney all he could handle at 125 before falling 7-4.

#12 Cornell 19, #3 Arizona State 12

157: Max Wilner (Arizona St.) won by decision over Gage McClenahan (Cornell), 4-2

165: #7 Julian Ramirez (Cornell) won by decision over #28 Tony Negron (Arizona St.), 6-1

174: #5 Chris Foca (Cornell) won by major decision over Josh Nummer (Arizona St.), 13-0

184: #17 Anthony Montalvo (Arizona St.) won by decision over Ethan Hatcher (Cornell), 8-5

197: #17 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) won by decision over Jonathon Fagen (Arizona St.), 6-2

285: #4 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona St.) won by decision over #16 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell), 4-2

125: Brandon Courtney (Arizona St.) won by decision over #20 Brett Ungar (Cornell), 7-4

133: #3 Vito Arujau (Cornell) won decision over #4 Michael McGee (Arizona St.), 7-5

141: #22 Vince Cornella (Cornell) won by decision over #19 Jesse Vasquez (Arizona St.), 9-3

149: #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) won by decision over #5 Kyle Parco (Arizona St.), 8-2


Next Up

• The Big Red will be back in action on Friday, Jan. 6 when it meets eighth-ranked Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. at the Moss Arts Center in Blacksburg, Va.

• The contest will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.

• Cornell has won five of six all-time matchups between the programs, including a 17-16 win over the Hokies in the only previous meeting in Blacksburg, Va. on Feb. 15, 2019.