Wrestling posts impressive third-place finish

With two Columbia wrestlers winning their weight classes and one finishing second, the Lions posted an impressive third-place finish in the 15-team field at the New York State Intercollegiate Championships this weekend. The Lions finished with 135 points, only 9.5 behind second-place Cornell and 27.5 behind tournament winner Army.

Eight Columbia wrestlers placed in the varsity bracket. Junior Jake O’Hara was the last man standing in the 157-pound bracket, while senior Kevin Lester defeated Cornell junior Stryker Lane to claim first place at 285 pounds. Senior Kyle Gilchrist was the runner-up at 133 pounds, falling to Army junior Jordan Thome. The defeat marked the second time in as many weeks that Gilchrist lost to Thome. Three other Columbia wrestlers placed in the top four. Freshman Chad Ryan captured third for the Light Blue in the 149-pound division, while freshman Shane Hughes and sophomore Matt Bystol finished fourth at 184 and 141 pounds, respectively. Junior Robert Dyar earned a fifth-place finish at 125 pounds, and junior Stephen West took fifth at 174 pounds.

A number of Columbia wrestlers had impressive performances in the ‘B’ Division bracket. Freshman Ryan Ponte placed first at 141 pounds, as did freshmen Elijah Sullivan at 149 pounds and Wyatt Baker at 285 pounds. Sullivan’s victory came at the expense of teammate sophomore Jake Kazimir, who took second. Three other Light Blue wrestlers posted second-place finishes, including junior Andrew Grabfelder at 133 pounds, senior Shane Strumwasser at 157 pounds, and freshman Austin Akins at 197 pounds.

Columbia’s freshmen have performed remarkably well the entire year, and this weekend, they took their performance to another level. With one freshman earning a third-place finish in the varsity bracket and another three finishing atop their weight classes in the B bracket, the future of Columbia wrestling proved itself in a big way this weekend. Hughes and Sullivan, especially, have stood out so far this season, and both continued to impress in Ithaca.

The Lions will look to build off their performance in Ithaca this weekend when they travel to Lancaster, Pa., to take on Franklin & Marshall on Jan. 27.