Cornell University's
Julian Ramirez, Fr. 165 lbs.
Wrestler of the Week - Nov. 15-21, 2021
On Saturday evening, Nov. 20, Julian Ramirez made quite an impression in his first-ever dual meet for Cornell.
The freshman upset defending national champion Shane Griffith of Stanford on Saturday night, 3-2, during the Big Red's 30-9 dual meet victory over the Cardinals.
The action started off the opening whistle, with Ramirez winning a long scramble for a takedown and a 2-0 lead. The remaining points were all escapes, although Griffith came close to the winning takedown in the waning seconds of the match. The Stanford coaches threw the challenge brick, but after a review, the 3-2 result stood.
In an interview with EIWA contributor, Betsy Veysman, Ramirez said it was the third 3-2 bout between the two, with the wrestlers splitting a pair of matches during Ramirez's sophomore year of high school.
Watch the interview and action clip from the match on Twitter: Cornell Wrestling (@BigRedWrestling) / Twitter
Despite some familiarity, the Big Red 165 pounder said he didn't really know what to expect this time around.
"I imagined the match going 100 different ways," Ramirez said. "He's the #1 kid in the country, so it was a big opportunity for me. The only way I could win that match was to have fun, so that was my game plan."
The cheers from the raucous crowd and the smiles from Ramirez indicate he indeed had a good time.
"It was an amazing atmosphere. I had a bunch of family and friends come out to support me," he said. "A bunch of kids from Cornell texted me this week about getting tickets. It was awesome. I knew I was going to have a lot of people behind me outside of our natural crowd. It was a really cool experience."
Ramirez improved his record to 5-1 for the season after a third place finish a week ago at the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open.
"After my loss [in Binghamton], I spoke to Vito [Arujau] and Coach Grey and they helped me get my head on straight," he said. "Realistically, it was my first tournament back. I hadn't wrestled folkstyle in years. I made a lot of adjustments this week with Coach Grey, Vinson, Russell and everybody."
Ramirez said his victory against Stanford, one of eight for the Big Red, was meaningful as head coach Mike Grey earned his first-ever dual win. Of course, sitting in the opposite corner, was former Big Red leader Rob Koll.
"Rob was a great coach and did a lot for me," Ramirez said. "But Mike is my guy. I knew Mike was my guy when I got here to Cornell and it was awesome winning with him. It's just the beginning for us."