Columbia edges No. 22 Cornell 22-21 on criteria in Ithaca
A Sulayman Bah pin and a late overtime win by Vincent Mueller, plus a decisive medical forfeit, gave Columbia a criteria victory over Cornell.
ITHACA, N.Y. — Columbia defeated No. 22 Cornell 22-21 on criteria Saturday, rallying from an early deficit with a first-period pin and securing the tiebreak via a sudden‑victory heavyweight decision.
Sulayman Bah opened the dual with an upset pin of No. 26 Greg Diakomihalis at 125, rallying from a 6-2 deficit to tie the bout and then record the fall. The pin gave Columbia an early momentum swing and the first set of bonus points.
Cornell countered with a run of bonus results. No. 6 Vince Cornella posted an 8-0 major decision at 141, No. 2 Jaxon Joy finished a 15-0 technical fall at 149, and No. 7 Meyer Shapiro recorded a fall at 157. Those three bonus outcomes pushed Cornell into a substantial lead midway through the lineup.
Columbia chipped away late. Cesar Alvan won 7-3 at 165 to start a rally, and Joe Curtis gained a 5-1 decision at 184 while Cornell’s Christian Hansen was ruled out of further competition, a medical forfeit that awarded Columbia critical team points.
The dual came down to the heavyweight bout, where Vincent Mueller tied the team score 21-21 by topping No. 30 Ashton Davis with a three‑point sudden‑victory takedown for a 5-2 final. With the teams level on match points and Columbia holding the edge in pins and the decisive forfeit, Columbia took the dual on criteria.
The meet featured multiple top-ranked showings on both sides. Cornell’s lineup included No. 2 Jaxon Joy and No. 2 Simon Ruiz, who both recorded decisions in their bouts, while Columbia’s late streak of decisions and the pin at 125 proved decisive in the criteria calculation.
Both programs left the Friedman Wrestling Center with contrasting notes: Columbia snapped a long drought against Cornell and earned a criteria victory, while Cornell collected several bonus wins but fell short when the final tiebreakers were applied.