The wrestling team went into winter break with a 6–0 dual meet record and as the No. 10 ranked team in the nation.

They came out with a 10–1 dual meet record and moved up three spots to No. 7 in the country.

The Bombers are slowly making strides and doing what is required of them to fulfill their goal of winning the conference and being crowned National Champions.

On Dec. 28 and 29, the team traveled to Oviedo, Fla. for the Brute/Zac Jarzynka Sunshine Wrestling Classic.

Only individual scores were kept at the meet and the 10-team tournament included five other nationally ranked teams including No. 6 St. John’s University (Minn.), No. 7 Augsburg College, No. 15 The College of New Jersey and No. 24 Heidelberg College.

Sophomore David Priest (174 pounds) led the way for the Blue and Gold by finishing first in his weight class.

The first meet of the new year the Budd Whitehill National Duals on Jan. 9 and 10 at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pa.

Ithaca made it all the way to the championship round by defeating Rhode Island College 34–9, No. 27 ranked Messiah College 37–6, CUNY-Hunter 33–9 and No. 16 Wilkes University 26–13.

However, in the championship match, the Blue and Gold fell to No. 5 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 23–15 for their first dual meet defeat of the season.

The South Hill squad was the second seed in the tournament, while Wisconsin-Whitewater was the top seed.

However, the loss did not dampen this team’s spirit as this past weekend, they competed in the New York State Collegiate Championships in Oswego.

This tournament included teams from Division I, III and junior colleges. The Blue and Gold finished fourth out of 17 teams and ahead of all the Division III opponents.

They also finished better than two Division I teams, one of which was Cornell University.

Another impressive feat in this tournament was that out of the 10 wrestlers, nine received all-state honors. That means they finished within the top eight of their weight class.

The Bombers return to action at 7 p.m. Jan. 29 against Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pa.