Four freshmen won titles in their college debuts as No. 11 Cornell wrestling opened its season with seven bracket champions Sunday at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Isaiah Cortez, Elijah Cortez, David Ogunsanya and Jude Correa led the newcomers, joining Mikey Dellagatta, Carson Crace and Cy Kruse atop their brackets. The seven champions combined for a 22-0 record to begin the 2026-27 season.
Cortez twins and Correa lead freshman title winners
The tournament divided wrestlers into small brackets, with pool competition followed by placement matches and at least three bouts guaranteed for each entrant. Cornell also had six runners-up and three third-place finishers.
Isaiah Cortez won the 125-pound black bracket with three bonus-point victories. He pinned Harvard’s Logan Brzozowski in 4:07, beat Illinois’ Ethan Perryman 19-3 by technical fall and closed with a 16-5 major decision over Columbia’s Sulayman Bah.
Twin brother Elijah Cortez took the 133-pound black bracket with three decisions over ranked opponents. He defeated Illinois’ Troy Hohman 6-4 and Columbia’s Evin Gursoy 4-2 before edging Indiana’s Jackson Blum 5-4 in the final.
Ogunsanya won the 165-pound white bracket with two pins and a technical fall. He pinned Sacred Heart’s Jack Rowland in 4:10 and Duke’s Charlie Lussier in 5:34, then defeated Clarion’s Jaden Wehler 20-5 in the championship bout.
Correa finished his sweep of the 197-pound black bracket with a 13-3 major decision over Virginia Tech’s No. 8 Sonny Sasso. He opened with an 8-0 major decision against Maryland’s Devin Downes and a 16-0 technical fall over Harvard’s Hudson Skove.
Dellagatta, Crace and Kruse add unbeaten finishes
Mikey Dellagatta won the 184-pound black bracket in his first event since moving down from 197. The junior pinned Columbia’s Joe Curtis in 1:43 and Appalachian State’s Tomas Brooker in 1:18 before beating Illinois’ No. 13 Chris Moore 4-1 for the title.
Crace, also a junior, went 4-0 in the 184-pound white bracket. He opened with an 11-2 major decision over Navy’s Michael Taheny, then pinned Sacred Heart teammates Aman Khalil in 4:58 and Peter Stathis in 1:21. A 5-4 decision over Harvard’s Michael Spielman completed his championship run.
Kruse, a sophomore, took the heavyweight red bracket. He earned technical falls over Indiana’s Nick Pavlechko, 17-2, and NC State’s Kai Calcutt, 16-1, before beating Binghamton’s Trent Sibble 11-6 in the final.
Six Big Red wrestlers finish second
Junior Simon Ruiz, a 2025 All-American, pinned his first two opponents in 49 seconds and 3:59. Illinois’ Colin Kelly beat him 4-2 in the 174-pound final, leaving Ruiz 2-1 for the day.
Freshman Rocco Dellagatta also finished 2-1 at heavyweight. His run included a ranked win over Appalachian State’s Stephan Monchery before a 4-2 loss to Columbia’s Vincent Mueller in the final.
Sophomore Daniel Aranda won his 141-pound pool with decisions over Bloomsburg’s Aiden Grogg, 3-2, and Columbia’s Brady Kaupp, 8-4. He lost the final 7-1 to Binghamton’s Jacob Hanlon and finished 2-1.
Sophomore Gabe Bouyssou advanced from his 149-pound pool with an 11-6 win over Rutgers’ Rhett Washleski and an injury-default victory over Binghamton’s Gabe Rogers. Lehigh’s Owen Reinsel pinned Bouyssou in 3:30 in the final, giving him a 2-1 record.
Sophomore Ryder Yoshitake went 2-1 in his 149-pound round-robin bracket. He beat Sacred Heart’s Joe Tornambe 17-2 by technical fall and NC State’s George Jones 6-2. His only loss was a 6-5 decision to bracket champion Nick Vafiadis of Navy.
Junior Matt Furman won his 184-pound pool with a 12-2 major decision over Duke’s David Hussey and a pin of Davidson’s Daniel Elyash in 1:55. He lost 11-4 to Virginia Tech’s Sergio Desiante in the final to finish 2-1.
Joy, Perentin and Henderson take third
Jaxon Joy, Alessio Perentin and Cash Henderson each finished second in pool competition before winning a third-place bout. All three went 2-1.
Joy, a sophomore at 157 pounds, beat Davidson’s Tyler-Xavier McKnight 15-0 by technical fall before losing 6-5 to Virginia Tech’s Collin Gaj. He took third by medical forfeit over Illinois’ Kannon Webster.
Perentin lost his college debut at 165 pounds, a 5-2 decision to Binghamton’s Thomas Snipes. The freshman recovered with an injury-default win over Indiana’s Ty Lillard and a 12-3 major decision over Davidson’s Bryce Griffin for third.
Henderson, a sophomore heavyweight, opened with a 13-7 victory over Lehigh’s Rowan Holmes. Clarion’s Andrew Blackburn-Forst pinned him in 5:50 in his second pool match, but Henderson finished with a 23-8 technical fall over Columbia’s Billy McChesney in the third-place bout.
Remaining placements and the next tournament
Luca Stefanelli and Adrian DeJesus at 149 pounds and Zahir McLean-Felix and Aiden Hanning at 197 each finished fourth with 1-2 records.
At 125 pounds, Marcello Milani went 2-1 and Ernie Perry III went 1-2, each placing fifth in his bracket. Mac Calavitta also finished fifth at 149 with a 1-2 record.
Kai Napadow-Baquero at 125, Joe Knackstedt at 141, Carter Tate at 149 and Lou Cerchio at 184 each finished sixth with a 0-3 record.
Cornell next hosts the Big Red Invitational on Sunday, Nov. 22, at Barton Hall on its Ithaca campus.
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