{"id":4294,"date":"2024-02-15T11:21:06","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T16:21:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/?p=4294"},"modified":"2024-02-15T11:26:43","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T16:26:43","slug":"cortaca-on-the-mat-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/2024\/02\/15\/cortaca-on-the-mat-2\/","title":{"rendered":"CORTACA: On the Mat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Football is not the only sport on campus that has a rivalry with the Ithaca Bombers. The Cortland Red Dragons Wrestling squad has faced off against the Bombers for close to 60 years, maintaining a competitive dynamic to this day.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Cortland Wrestling is set to conclude its series of home matches this Thursday. As the years pass and new generations of wrestlers step onto the mat, the rivalry between Cortland and Ithaca remains intact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a great team, with a lot of talent and potential,\u201d said senior Kyle Klein. \u201cAlthough Ithaca is good, I think we will bring the energy needed to come out on top.\u201d

This meet is significant given it is always, for both teams, the last event of the year. It has remained the same for over 40 years of the team\u2019s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Head Coach Thomas Prairie is confident in his squad going into this home meet given their past achievements over the 2023-24 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019ve had our entire lineup out, we\u2019ve had a lot of success,\u201d said Prairie. \u201cWe won SUNYACS in the fall and Ithaca was there as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cortland\u2019s latest encounter with Ithaca took place during the Budd Whitehill National Duals on Jan. 12-13. in Williamsport, PA. Ithaca secured a victory over Cortland with a score of 43-2. Now the Red Dragons are focused on rectifying their performance and seeking redemption on their home turf.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Sophomore Angelo Centrone as he lifts opponent mid-air at Budd Whitehill National Duals<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This dual is one you will not want to miss. The Red Dragons will be broadcasting their best talent in their meet against the Bombers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is our only true dual meet of the season,\u201d said Prairie. \u201cWe can only put in 10 guys, so it\u2019s a little more compact and consumable for fans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prairie has made a crucial impact on the team in the two years he has been head coach at Cortland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur coach is always pushing us to do more,\u201d said sophomore Angelo Centrone. \u201cHe trains us pretty hard, but he also knows how to prepare us to be at our best potential when it really matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from Prairie’s coaching techniques, Cortland Wrestling believes their success revolves around team chemistry and working together for a common goal. The camaraderie among Cortland teammates is what sets them apart from other squads, even though wrestling is an individual sport.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe team feels like family,\u201d said first-year Cully Bellino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teammates, Bellino and Klein emphasized that training and cutting weight together as a team are big components in developing a strong bond with each other. \u201cWe push each other both in the room and out to become better wrestlers,\u201d said Klein. \u201cA lot of the sport is team-based.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked about the team’s mindset approaching the meet, Klein responded, \u201cWe all seem focused and ready to fight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join us in supporting the Red Dragons in an intense series against rivals, the Ithaca Bombers. The first match is set to begin at 7 pm on Feb. 15. in the Whitney T. Corey \u201843 Gymnasium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Football is not the only sport on campus that has a rivalry with the Ithaca Bombers. The Cortland Red Dragons Wrestling squad has faced off against the Bombers for close to 60 years, maintaining a competitive dynamic to this day. Cortland Wrestling is set to conclude its series of home matches this Thursday. As the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":360,"featured_media":4298,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","entry"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/20200125_01977-1.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/20200125_01977-1.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Leah Masi","author_link":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/author\/leah-masi\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/360"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}