ITHACA, N.Y. – The No. 4 TCNJ wrestling team kicked off a busy weekend with a hard-earned 27-13 rout of No. 23 Ithaca on Friday night.
 
Vinnie Santaniello and J.J Giordano secured thrilling last-second victories for the blue and gold, while Matthew Griffin, Garrett Totten, and D.J. Henry all worked technical falls. Henry joined Santaniello and Hunter Mays in knocking off nationally ranked foes.
 
The Lions (11-6) exacted a pointed measure of payback for a 32-12 defeat at the hands of the Bombers at Lycoming's Budd Whitehill National Duals three weeks ago, when TCNJ's starters were in Iowa competing at the NWCA National Duals. With its full-strength lineup for the rematch, the blue and gold succeeded in settling the score.
 
No. 6 Griffin staked the Lions to an early lead by routing Cosmo Damiani, 18-3, by the end of the first period at 125.
 
No. 3 Totten followed with a similarly dominant effort, ending his matchup with Jay McDonnell 21 seconds early on a 17-2 technical fall, another impressive result against an Ithaca grappler who came in ranked No. 1 in Region 2.
 
No. 7 Santaniello then silenced the home crowd by edging past No. 11 Isaias Torres – a three-time NCAA qualifier and 2024 All-American – with a takedown just over a minute into overtime. Before his clinching move, Santaniello and Torres were deadlocked in a 1-1 stalemate through three intense periods.
 
Next was Giordano's turn to stun the partisan faithful. Trailing 4-2 with the final seconds ticking away, Giordano took his shot and scored a go-ahead takedown of William Bentrim with 6 seconds remaining, extending the Lions' lead to 16-0.
 
The heroics of Santaniello and Giordano proved pivotal, especially as the Bombers (5-6) picked up a pin at 157 and a 2-1 decision by Christopher Reddy over Jordan Ayyash at 165.
 
Next came a big showdown between top-ranked Mays and 5^th-ranked Konrad Parker at 174. Mays, however, turned the highly anticipated clash into an afterthought, controlling the pace throughout on the way to a drama-free 10-3 decision.
 
Ithaca stayed alive with a major decision at 184, but No. 7 Henry ended any hope the hosts retained with a dominating win over No. 15 Ryan Galka. The Lions' junior standout was relentless from the jump, eventually collecting a 19-4 technical fall over the 2024 NCAA qualifier with over a minute still left on the third-period timer.
 
The dual secured, Matt Coon put a bow on it with an 11-6 defeat of Charlie Turner in the heavyweight match.
 
NOTES

• Henry extended his team-leading tech fall tally to nine
• Totten's seventh tech fall of the season was his team-best 20^th victory
• Mays remained unbeaten on the year at 15-0
• Santaniello and Henry improved to 11-1 in duals, with Totten at 10-1 and Griffin at 8-1

UP NEXT

• The Lions stay in the Empire State for a quad meet at Cortland tomorrow, set to take on the host Red Dragons as well as Oswego State and Delaware Valley

No. 4 TCNJ 27, No. 23 Ithaca 13
125 - #6 Matt Griffin (TCNJ) tech fall Cosmo Damiani, 18-3 (3:00)
133 - #3 Garrett Totten (TCNJ) tech fall Jay McDonnell, 17-2 (6:39)
141 - #7 Vinnie Santaniello (TCNJ) dec. #11 Isaias Torres, 4-1 (SV-1)
149 – J.J. Giordano (TCNJ) dec. William Bentrim, 5-4
157 – Brian Bienus (IC) pinned Colin Menier, 3:29
165 – Christopher Reddy (IC) dec. Jordan Ayyash, 2-1
174 – #1 Hunter Mays (TCNJ) dec. #5 Konrad Parker, 10-3
184 – Xavier Pommells (IC) maj. dec. Ethan Dalling, 10-1
197 – #7 D.J. Henry (TCNJ) tech fall #15 Ryan Galka, 19-4 (5:44)
285 – Matt Coon (TCNJ) dec. Charlie Turner, 11-6
 
Extra-Countable Matches
174 – Konnor Tubin (TCNJ) dec. Max Casiano, 11-10
285 – Kamdyn Dorchedter (IC) dec. Clifford Dirkes, 2-1 (TB-1)