Cornell’s Arujau wins at US Senior Nationals

Editor’s note: After the time of this publication, USA Wrestling decided not to participate in this year’s World Championships.

There is a healthy amount of hype surrounding the Cornell University wrestling team heading into next season. The Big Red is ranked fourth in the nation in FloWrestling’s preseason rankings, and a big reason for that is the return of several Olympic redshirts to the roster. That includes Vito Arujau (are-oo-jzow), an All-American in his lone Cornell season two years ago.

He’s used his time away from the Big Red wisely, recently winning the 57-kilogram bracket at the U.S. Senior Nationals on Oct. 11 in Iowa. Arujau dominated his five opponents, outscoring them 56-9 to win the tournament. This was his second time competing at the event, taking third place in 2019. Arujau discussed winning the national championship.

“It was a really good experience,” Arujau said. “I’m really glad that I went because with everything going on right now, I’m just really thankful that we ended up having this competition at all. My performance there, I’m overall pretty happy with it. There are definitely some things to improve on. But overall, we went out there and had a great weekend.”

Arujau, who’s originally from Syosset on Long Island, has competed twice this year during the pandemic, with the first time being an event headlined by Lansing native and Cornell assistant coach Kyle Dake on July 25. At Senior Nationals, he competed alongside Cornell assistant coach and two-time NCAA champion Gabe Dean, who won his 86 kilogram bracket.

“I know these guys so well, Gabe and Kyle,” Arujau said. “They’re my coaches. They’re my friends. They’re people that I look up to and respect but I also have fun with. It’s really cool that I can go on these tournaments and just be with my people.”

Competing with, learning from and winning alongside such accomplished wrestlers is a huge confidence boost on Arujau’s journey as an athlete. Winning Senior Nationals was a significant checkpoint for him.

“It’s definitely a great experience and somewhat surreal too,” Arujau said. “When I was younger, it was always my dream to get to that senior-level stage and have success there. My goal is to win Olympic gold. So seeing that I’m on the right track to do so is really insightful for me to help me keep going.”

The U.S. Olympic Trials have yet to happen due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Arujau, teammate Yianni Diakomihalis and the aforementioned Dake are all still in the running for roster spots in the 2021 Olympics. Arujau discussed how he’s approaching his run at the coveted roster spot.

“I’m just giving it all I got,” Arujau said. “Most wrestlers’ career time is relatively short. A lot of wrestlers, our bodies kind of drop off like once you hit around 30 or so. Most people only get two or three Olympic runs. So, even though this one got a little messy, I’m just trying to stick to my training, stay healthy, stay in shape, and do whatever I can — the little things — to make sure that when everything else is set for me, I’m ready.”

Fortunately, the timing has worked out so Arujau does not have to spend any more time away from Cornell’s roster during his Olympic pursuit. If all goes according to plan, it will be a very busy year for Arujau, and he prefers it that way.

“If we end up having a season, I will be wrestling the season this year,” Arujau said. “The season will hopefully start in January and then, whether it’s a modified season or a full season, whatever the case is, it should lead right up to the Olympic Trials. I’ll end up having to make weight, get in shape, stay in shape, because we’ll have a match every weekend. It’ll really help my conditioning and my performance leading up to the Olympic Trials.”

As mentioned earlier, Arujau is expected to be a key part of a great Cornell team that has an NCAA Championship on its radar. He’s hoping to help the Big Red to its first national championship in history after nine top-five finishes as a team.

“I have high hopes for us,” Arujau said. “We definitely have the potential. We definitely have the drive. It all comes down to if everyone can do their individual parts. If everyone does, in fact, do their part, I wouldn’t be surprised if we won NCAA. There are definitely other teams that are just as stacked as us. We haven’t won an NCAA Tournament, so we’d be that team.”

Up next for Arujau will be the U.S. World Team Trials in the coming weeks as he looks to compete at the World Wrestling Championships, which will begin Dec. 12 in Serbia. If he makes it, it will be his first time competing on the world stage at the senior level (20+).