Vito Arujau vs Jesse Mendez Is A Match Packed With Possibilities
Vito Arujau vs Jesse Mendez Is A Match Packed With Possibilities
What happens when a promising true freshman faces an established college wrestling star? The Vito Arujau vs Jesse Mendez showdown will answer that question.
How good is Ohio State true freshman Jesse Mendez? Saturday’s match against Cornell’s Vito Arujau — an established veteran who has placed twice at nationals — will offer clues as both wrestlers conclude the dual season.
As an added bonus, the Cornell vs Ohio State dual is streaming live on FloWrestling on February 18 at 1 p.m. EST.
Mendez put the 133-pound class on notice when he defeated Lucas Byrd of Illinois during the Michigan State Open finals. Byrd has placed fifth at the past two NCAA tournaments but only has one win on the championships side. He lost in the first round last year and in the second round in 2021.
The win over Byrd put the Buckeye freshman in the conversation for a podium finish but it hasn’t made him a breakout star — yet. Mendez is 13-2 on the season with losses to Virginia Tech’s Sam Latona (3-2) and returning two-time NCAA champion Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State (8-2).
A victory over Arujau solidifies Mendez as a contender — although Bravo-Young is the clear frontrunner in a loaded 133-pound field.
Arujau is 15-1 on the season and — like Mendez — has a 3-2 loss to Latona. The Cornell junior, however, won 6-1 over Latona at the Cliff Keen-Las Vegas Invite, so he is 1-1.
This is also the first season for Arujau at 133 pounds. He spent the previous five seasons at 125 — placing fourth at nationals in 2019 and third in 2022.
Stylistically, this is an intriguing match-up since both have strong freestyle ambitions, which, hopefully, leads to a wide-open bout with both intent on scoring. Arujau’s five-match series against Princeton’s Pat Glory is the new gold standard for a college wrestling rivalry.
Their back-and-forth series looked like this:
Arujau pinned Glory in 4:31 on February 9, 2019
Glory defeated Arujau, 10-8, on March 8, 2019
Glory defeated Arujau, 11-9, on February 5, 2022
Arujau defeated Glory, 19-6, on March 4, 2022
Glory defeated Arujau, 13-5, on March 18, 2022
Wrestling fans are in for a treat if the Arujau-Mendez match is half as entertaining as any of the above five.
Mendez picked up his biggest win of the season with a 3-2 victory over Lucas Byrd.
Arujau secured a win over Virginia Tech's Sam Latona at the 2022 Cliff Keen-Las Vegas Invite