BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Binghamton wrestling team made some noise in its season opener, with both Brevin Cassella and Will Ebert picking up ranked wins against No. 17 Illinois Saturday at Journeymen Wrestling's WrangleMania at Liberty High School. 

Ebert received plenty of attention after shutting out No. 5 Edmond Ruth 2-0 at 184 lbs. No. 15 Cassella, meanwhile, controlled his match at 174 lbs., defeating No. 11 Danny Braunagel in a 14-1 major decision. Additionally, Carson Wagner began the day with a 10-5 win over Caelen Riley at 125 lbs. Illinois would prevail in the dual over the Bearcats 30-10.

"Will Ebert had a statement win today," said Binghamton Wrestling Head Coach Kyle Borshoff. "It was great to see the hard work that he's been putting in pay off. Brevin looked dominant against a very good opponent. Carson had a nice controlled win after giving up the first takedown. Overall, I thought our team competed well against a very good Illinois squad. There were a lot of positive things that we can build off of from this dual."

Highlights
•    In his notable victory over the 2024 All-American and Big Ten champion, Ebert was able to keep the match against Ruth scoreless in the first period. Ebert then rode Ruth for the entire second period, before getting an escape at the start of the third. He was able to hold off all of Ruth's offense in the final period to secure the decision.
•    Cassella took a 3-0 lead against Braunagel after a takedown within the last minute of the first period and never looked back. The Clinton, Mass., native added four points in the second period off an escape and takedown, and then put up two takedowns in the third while recording more than two minutes of riding time to earn a major decision.
•    Wagner started the dual for Binghamton on a positive note. Down 3-1 in the first period, the sophomore countered with a takedown and a near fall to gain five points and take the lead against Riley. Wagner recorded one more takedown in the third period to pick up his first win of the season.

No. 17 Illinois 30, Binghamton 10
125 | Carson Wagner (Binghamton) def. Caelen Riley (Illinois) DEC 10-5, Binghamton 3 Illinois 0
133 | No. 7/3 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) def. Micah Roes (Binghamton) DEC 3-2, Binghamton 3 Illinois 3
141 | No. 22/19 Danny Pucino (Illinois) def. Nate Lucier (Binghamton) MD 14-4, Illinois 7 Binghamton 3
149 | No. 11/10 Kannon Webster (Illinois) def. Ivan Garcia (Binghamton) TF 21-3 5:00, Illinois 12 Binghamton 3
157 | No. 24/21 Jason Kraisser (Illinois) def. Fin Nadeau (Binghamton) DEC 6-4, Illinois 15 Binghamton 3
165 | No. NR/33 Braeden Scoles (Illinois) def. Carter Baer (Binghamton) FALL 10-2 5:20, Illinois 21 Binghamton 3
174 | No. 15/15 Brevin Cassella (Binghamton) def. No. 11/19 Danny Braunagel (Illinois) MD 14-1, Illinois 21 Binghamton 7
184 | Will Ebert (Binghamton) def. No. 5/7 Edmond Ruth (Illinois) DEC 2-0, Illinois 21 Binghamton 10
197 | No. 9/10 Zac Braunagel (Illinois) def. Andrew Bailey (Binghamton) TF 17-2 3:25, Illinois 26 Binghamton 10
285 | No. 15/13 Luke Luffman (Illinois) def. No. 13/16 Cory Day (Binghamton) MD 11-1, Illinois 30 Binghamton 10

*rankings based on FloWrestling/InterMat

Up Next
The Bearcats stay in Bethlehem to compete in their first tournament of the season at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic. The tournament starts on Sunday at 9 a.m., at Freedom High School.