Penn men's wrestling on Nov. 3, 2024.
Credit: Ebunoluwa AdesidaOn the grand stage of the 2025 Ivy League Wrestling Tournament, the first in history, Penn wrestling made a statement, securing eight podium finishes and three individual titles in a display of grit and dominance — good for a second place team finish.
The Ancient Eight warred with one another on Sunday, March 9 at Princeton’s Jadwin Gymnasium. With 10 championship and consolation brackets, the grueling all-day tournament delivered high-stakes showdowns, epic finales, and the culmination of longstanding rivalries across every mat.
In the 125 category, sophomore Max Gallagher and Princeton’s No. 1 seed Marc-Anthony McGowan were set on a collision course to the finals after dominating their semifinal opponents. Following a deadlocked first period, McGowan battled ahead with six points in the second period as opposed to Gallagher’s two escape points.
Undeterred, Gallagher scored a clean takedown in the third to cut the deficit. With Penn fans calling out “stalling” from the stands, Gallagher pushed for a comeback — but McGowan weathered the storm and secured, in his own roaring victory call, the first-ever Ivy League Tournament championship title. Despite the close loss, Gallagher’s stellar tournament performance earned him an automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA championship.
In the 133 category, senior Ryan Miller cruised past Brown’s Hunter Adrian in the semifinals, setting up a highly anticipated rematch against Cornell’s No. 1 seed and two-time New York State Public High School Athletic Association champion Tyler Ferrara — who had bested Miller in Ithaca, N.Y. on Feb. 9. This time, however, Miller flipped the script, controlling the match and securing a hard-fought 4-2 decision victory over the Big Red. With the win, he claimed Penn’s first Ivy League tournament title of the night.
Hot off the heels of that win, in the 141 category, Penn senior CJ Composto shut out Princeton’s Eligh Rivera across all three championship periods with a 4-0 victory, snagging another title for the Red and Blue — and, of course, securing a spot at the NCAA championships.
Three title wins in a row might’ve seemed unlikely. But if anyone could pull it off, it would be freshman Cross Wasilewski, who has been on an absolute tear this season in the 149 category. After dismantling his semifinal opponent with a 17-1 tech fall victory, Wasilewski faced off against Cornell’s Ethan Fernandez. Fernandez, emerging from the tunnel wreathed in red mist, was eager to avenge his previous loss to Wasilewski in Ithaca.
Right from the start, both wrestlers scrambled for an early takedown, and for a moment, it looked as though Fernandez had secured one — only for it to be ruled out of bounds. Wasilewski capitalized late in the first period with a clean takedown, while Fernandez came close again in the second, only to be denied by the boundary once more.
Staying composed, Wasilewski entered the third period with confidence, even strutting midmatch in a Conor McGregor-like fashion before sealing a decisive 5-1 victory. With that, he secured Penn’s third and final title of the tournament.
The title hot streak ended when, in the finals of the 157 category, sophomore Jude Swisher fell to Cornell’s All-American standout Meyer Shapiro. Fortunately, Swisher still secured an NCAA bid. Meanwhile, junior Andy Troczynski managed to snatch fourth in the 165 consolation bracket while senior Nick Incontrera dominated Harvard’s Haden Bottiglieri in the 174 category to claim the consolation title and a well-earned spot on the podium.
In the 184 category, senior Maximus Hale found himself in a nail-biting title clash against Cornell’s Chris Foca, with both wrestlers delivering a thrilling third period that pushed the match into overtime. Hale came agonizingly close to securing a decisive takedown, but Foca managed a last-second reversal, turning the tables and clinching the victory with a match-winning takedown.
Freshman John Pardo rounded out the tournament by winning the consolation bracket in the 285 category, allowing Penn to place second behind Cornell with a total of 129.5 points. With four of the 10 finals featuring Quakers facing off against the Big Red, the tournament felt like a fitting conclusion to the seasonlong battle between the Ivy League’s top contenders.
In total, six Quakers earned automatic bids to the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships, which Penn will co-host at the Wells Fargo Center from March 20-22.
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