Wrestling Hosts Senior Day Versus Columbia; Travels to #9 Cornell

Bucknell (5-10) vs. Columbia (5-7)
When: Friday, Feb. 21 – 6 p.m.
Where: Davis Gym – Lewisburg, Pa.
Watch: YouTube
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WRST

Bucknell (5-10) at #9 Cornell (10-1)
When: Saturday, Feb. 22 – 3 p.m.
Where: Friedman Wrestling Center – Ithaca, N.Y.
Watch: ESPN+
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WRST

Projected Bucknell Lineup:
125 - Chris Nucifora (0-6)
133 - #27 Kurt Phipps (17-8)
141 - #20 Dylan Chappell (17-7)
149 - Braden Bower (9-14) or Aiden Davis (9-6)
157 - Cade Wirnsberger (14-17)
165 - #22 Noah Mulvaney (11-4)
174 - #16 Myles Takats (19-5)
184 - Logan Deacetis (10-10)
197 - #25 Dillon Bechtold (19-8)
285 - Logan Shephard (6-13)

Rankings Intermat

Senior Day

Bucknell will honor six seniors, Logan Deacetis, Kolby DePron, Grayson McLellan, Trevor Nugent, Kurt Phipps, and Nolan Springer, before the Columbia match.

Bucknell at a Glance:

• Bucknell will renew tensions with two former conference foes in Columbia and Cornell this weekend. The Ivy League schools departed from the EIWA before this season as the Ivy Conference decided to sponsor wrestling.
• Columbia and Cornell will conclude regular season play before the EIWA Championships.
• The Orange & Blue lost 23-18 to EIWA opponent American on Friday night finishing the year 3-4 in conference duals.
• Five Bucknell wrestlers are ranked by Intermat with Myles Takats slotting the highest at #16.
• The second edition of the NCAA Coaches Rankings were released last week and five Bison received recognition: #28 Kurt Phipps (133), #19 Dylan Chappell (141), #22 Noah Mulvaney (165), #17 Myles Takats (174), and #20 Dillon Bechtold (197). Noah Mulvaney, due to his early season injuries, misses the initial cut but should be ranked in the forthcoming editions.
• The following wrestlers were ranked by RPI as thusly: #25 Kurt Phipps (133), #18 Dylan Chappell (141), #27 Cade Wirnsberger (157), #9 Myles Takats (174), and #14 Dillon Bechtold (197).
• Bucknell had the No. 25 recruiting class in the country by Intermat.
• Head coach Dan Wirnsberger is in his 19th season with the Bison and his 20th year leading the program since its revival in 2005.

A Look Back at the American Dual

• Bucknell never led in the 23-18 defeat to the Eagles.
• The Orange & Blue trailed 6-0 early after Chris Nucifora (125) was pinned.
• The Bison were down 16-3 before Cade Wirnsberger (157) and Noah Mulvaney (165) won back-to-back decisions.
• American earned a major decision to reestablish its double-digit lead, 20-9.
• Logan Deacetis (184) and Dillon Bechtold (197) won a major decision and a technical fall respectively to cut the deficit to 20-18.
• Logan Shephard (285) dropped the final bout 5-3 allowing American to escape with the victory.

Scouting Columbia/Series History

• The Lions are 5-7 overall and 2-3 in Ivy League play.
• Columbia has only wrestled two ranked foes in #9 Michigan and #9 Cornell. The Wolverines won 28-9 and the Big Red crushed Columbia 40-0.
• Bucknell and Columbia share Cornell, Lock Haven, and Maryland as common foes. Both teams lost to Lock Haven while Columbia edged Maryland 19-18 while the Bison fell to the Terrapins.
• Columbia went 5-8 overall and 4-3 in EIWA play during the 2023-24 season. They placed fourth at the EIWA Championships with two individual champions.
• Bucknell and Columbia are meeting for the 17th time. The Bison own the series record 9-7 but have lost the last four out of five matches. The two teams first met in 1977.

Scouting Cornell/Series History

• The Big Red are 10-1 overall and 5-0 in Ivy League play.
• Cornell has tangled with three ranked foes in #19 Lehigh (23-19), #19 Missouri (26-12), and #8 NC State (18-20). The last ranked matchup came on Jan. 12. Since then, Cornell has crushed seven straight unranked victims.
• Bucknell and Cornell share Columbia and Lehigh as common foes. Cornell defeated both squads while Bucknell hasn't faced Columbia yet and lost to Lehigh 29-13.
• Cornell went 12-4 overall and 5-0 in its last EIWA campaign during the 2023-24 season. They left the EIWA by winning the championship with 164.5 points. The Big Red finished second behind Penn State at the NCAA National Championships.
• Bucknell and Cornell are meeting for the eighth time. The Big Red own the 6-1 record. The two teams first met in 1979. Bucknell's sole win came in 1980. The squads, despite being conference foes for decades, haven't met in a dual since 2013.

Up Next

Bucknel will prepare for the EIWA Championships hosted by Lehigh on March 7-8.

Wrestling Hosts Senior Day Versus Columbia; Travels to #9 Cornell

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dillon Bechtold

Braden Bower

Dylan Chappell

Aiden Davis

Logan Deacetis

Kolby DePron

Grayson McLellan

Noah Mulvaney

Chris Nucifora

Trevor Nugent

Kurt Phipps

Logan Shephard

Nolan Springer

Myles Takats

Myles Takats

Cade Wirnsberger