Vito Arujau

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Vito Arujau
Personal information
Full nameVitali Arujau
National team United States
Born (1999-06-01) June 1, 1999 (age 22)
Syosset, New York
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight57 kg (126 lb)
Sport
Country United States
SportWrestling
Event(s)Freestyle and folkstyle
College teamCornell Big Red
ClubNew York RTC
Titan Mercury Wrestling Club
Coached byRob Koll
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing  United States
Pan American Championships
Gold medal – first place 2021 Guatemala 57 kg
US National Championships
Gold medal – first place 2020 Coralville (SN) 57 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Fort Worth (SN) 57 kg
Junior World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2019 Tallin 57 kg
Cadet World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2016 Tbilisi 58 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing the Cornell Big Red
EIWA Championships
Silver medal – second place 2019 Vestal 125 lbs

Vitali Arujau (Russian: Виталий Аруджау; born June 1, 1999 in Syosset, New York) is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes at 57 kilograms. In freestyle, he is the reigning Pan American Continental champion and was the 2020 US National Champion and the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials runner–up, as well as a two–time age–group World Championship silver medalist. As a folkstyle wrestler, Arujau is an NCAA Division I All-American and EIWA conference runner-up out of the Cornell University.[1]

Folkstyle career[]

High school[]

Arujau attended Syosset High School in Syosset, New York. He started wrestling in the varsity team as an eight grader ('13–'14) and placed second in the state tournament that year, after losing to eventual teammate Yianni Diakomihalis in the 99-pounds finals.[2] After his setback in the state finals, he never lost a single match in his high school career and ended up with a 216–1 record and four NYSPHSAA titles.[3] When he was a two-time state champion ('14-'15), Arujau committed to Cornell University and entered the school as a four–time state champion.[4]

College[]

2018-19[]

As a freshman, Arujau started off competing at 133 pounds and went 5–1 before moving down to 125 pounds.[5] After moving down, he compiled 26 wins (17 with bonus points) and 3 more losses.[1] In the post-season, he made his way to the finals of the EIWA Conference Championships, where he lost to Pat Glory in a tight 8–10.[6] As the eight seed at the NCAA's, he defeated his first two opponents via major decision before falling to Northwestern's Sebastian Rivera, the top–seed. He rebounded in the consolation bracket, earning victories over the fourteenth, fourth and second seeds (the latter being Nick Piccininni) before losing once again to Rivera to place fourth and earn All-American honors.[7][8]

2019-21[]

After taking an Olympic redshirt for '19-'20 as a sophomore, Arujau was expected to return to the NCAA in this season and was likely to compete at 133 pounds.[9] However, it was announced on November 13, 2020 that the Ivy League had cancelled all winter sports that season.[10]

Freestyle[]

Cadet and Junior[]

As an age-group level wrestler, Arujau was a two-time World Silver medalist and a UWW and USAW National Champion.[11][12]

Senior and U23[]

2018[]

Arujau made his senior freestyle debut at the U23 Nationals & World Team Trials in early June. He won all of his eight matches and outscored the opposition 90 points to 5, including technical fall victories over the accomplished wrestlers Roman Bravo-Young and Nick Piccininni.[13] He was then expected to compete at the U23 World Championships,[14] but was forced to pull out.[15]

2019[]

He made his return at the US Open in late April. He reached the quarterfinals with a series of victories but was defeated by that year's Pan American Games champion Daton Fix. He reached the bronze medal match with wins over the eight and third seeds but was finally defeated by Zane Richards.[16]

At the end of the year, he competed at the US Nationals of December. He reached the semifinals with three wins (one of them over Nick Suriano) before losing to the heavily decorated and winner of the championship Spencer Lee. In the consolation bracket, he defeated one more opponent and earned the third place finish after Suriano forfeited the final match.[17]

2020[]

Arujau was scheduled to compete at the 20' US Olympic Team Trials on April 4 at State College, Pennsylvania.[18] However, the event was postponed for 2021 along with the Summer Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving all the qualifiers unable to compete.[19] After months of not being able to compete due to the outbreak, Arujau defeated Rutgers' Sammy Alvarez via technical fall in July 25, at the FloWrestling: Dake vs. Chamizo card.[20] He was then slated to wrestle Jack Mueller at the annual Beat The Streets event on September 17.[21] However, he pulled out of the bout 5 days prior and was replaced by Rustam Ampar.[22]

Arujau competed at the US National Championships on October 9–11 as the top–seed.[23] He ran through the 57 kilograms bracket, with notable victories over 2020 ACC champion Jakob Camacho, two–time NCAA Division I All–American Jack Mueller and two–time US age–group Greco-Roman World Team Member Dylan Ragusin.[24]

Arujau represented the Spartan Combat RTC at 57 kilograms in the FloWrestling: RTC Cup on December 4–5.[25] He compiled wins over Jack Mueller, two–time US Open National runner-up and '16 NCAA champion Nahshon Garrett (twice) and '17 NCAA champion Darian Cruz to help the team reach the third–place.[26]

2021[]

To start off the year, Arujau defeated Michael Colaiocco by technical fall on January 8, at the SCRTC I.[27] Shortly after, he competed at the Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France on January 17.[28] Arujau suffered his first loss in almost a year when he was downed by 2017 World Championship runner–up Thomas Gilman in the quarterfinals, and then defeated Anvar Suviniitty and Razvan Kovacs in the consolation bracket, before suffering his second loss in the bronze–medal match, to '13 Junior World Championship bronze medalist from Georgia Beka Bujiashvili, placing fifth.[29]

On February, he competed at the America's Cup, where after three technical fall wins, he helped Team Bobby Douglas reach third place.[30] Afterwards, he wrestled two matches at the NLWC V, getting the two victories over '17 NCAA DI All–American Sean Russell and four–time All–American Zach Sanders.[31] On March 5, he got a win in a dual meet against the NJRTC.

Arujau then competed rescheduled US Olympic Team Trials from April 2–3 as the third seed, in an attempt to represent the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[32][33] To make the best–of–three, Arujau had to pass through a loaded bracket, defeating 2019 US National runner–up and 2015 NCAA champion Nathan Tomasello and Pan American Games gold medalist, Junior World Champion and US Open National champion Daton Fix.[34] In the finals, Arujau was defeated twice by Thomas Gilman, earning hard–fought runner–up honors.[35]

As the US Olympic Trials runner–up, Arujau competed at the Pan American Continental Championships on May 30, replacing an injured Thomas Gilman.[36] He racked up three technical falls without getting scored on to become the continental champion and help Team USA reach all 10 medals in freestyle.[37]

Arujau has registered to compete at the 2021 US World Team Trials on September 11–12, intending to represent the country at the World Championships at 61 kilograms.[38]

Personal life[]

Vitali is one of the three sons of the accomplished Russian wrestler Vugar Orujov.[39]

Freestyle record[]

Senior Freestyle Matches
Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event Location
2021 Pan American Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) at 57 kg
Win 40–8 Mexico Roberto Alejandro Blanco TF 10–0 May 30, 2021 2021 Pan American Continental Championships Guatemala Guatemala City, Guatemala
Win 39–8 Dominican Republic Alexander Fernández TF 11–0
Win 38–8 Brazil Bryan Oliveira TF 10–0
2020 US Olympic Team Trials 2nd place, silver medalist(s) at 57 kg
Loss 37–8 United States Thomas Gilman 2–2 April 2–3, 2021 2020 US Olympic Team Trials United States Forth Worth, Texas
Loss 37–7 United States Thomas Gilman Fall
Win 37–6 United States Daton Fix 7–5
Win 36–6 United States Nathan Tomasello 3–2
Win 35–6 Ecuador Guesseppe Rea 16–8 March 5, 2021 The East Coast Clash: NJRTC vs. Spartan Combat RTC

United States Allentown, Pennsylvania

Win 34–6 United States Zach Sanders 6–0 February 23, 2021 NLWC V

United States State College, Pennsylvania

Win 33–6 United States Sean Russell TF 14–3
2021 America's Cup 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) for TBD at 57 kg
Win 32–6 United States Frank Perrelli TF 15–5 February 10–11, 2021 2021 America's Cup

United States Concord, North Carolina

Win 31–6 United States Sean Rusell TF 10–0
Win 30–6 United States Daniel Deshazer TF 10–0
2021 Henri Deglane Grand Prix 5th at 57 kg
Loss 29–6 Georgia (country) Beka Bujiashvili 13–15 January 16, 2021 Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane 2021

France Nice, France

Win 29–5 Romania Razvan Kovacs 8–2
Win 28–5 Finland Anvar Suviniitty TF 11–1
Loss 27–5 United States Thomas Gilman 2–6
Win 27–4 United States Michael Colaiocco TF 11–0 January 8, 2021 SCRTC I

United States Austin, Texas

FloWrestling RTC Cup 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) for SPWC at 59 kg
Win 26–4 United States Darian Cruz TF 11–0 December 4–5, 2020 FloWrestling RTC Cup United States Austin, Texas
Win 25–4 United States Nahshon Garrett 7–5
Win 24–4 United States Nahshon Garrett 14–9
Win 23–4 United States Jack Mueller TF 11–0
2020 US Nationals 1st place, gold medalist(s) at 57 kg
Win 22–4 United States Dylan Ragusin TF 13–3 October 10–11, 2020 2020 US Senior National Championships

United States Coralville, Iowa

Win 21–4 United States Jack Mueller 11–6
Win 20–4 United States Jakob Camacho TF 11–0
Win 19–4 United States Jackson Nielsen TF 10–0
Win 18–4 United States Jonathan Gurule TF 11–0
Win 17–4 United States Sammy Alvarez TF 16–5 July 25, 2020 FloWrestling: Dake vs. Chamizo

United States Austin, Texas

2020 Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix 16th at 57 kg
Loss 16–4 Russia Aleksandr Sabanov 11–12 January 23–26, 2020 Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin 2020

Russia Krasnoyarsk, Russia

2019 US Nationals 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) at 57 kg
Win 16–3 United States Zach Sanders TF 10–0 December 20–22, 2019 2019 US Senior Nationals – US Olympic Trials Qualifier

United States Fort Worth, Texas

Loss 15–3 United States Spencer Lee TF 4–14
Win 15–2 United States Nick Suriano 2–2
Win 14–2 United States Zach Sanders TF 10–0
Win 13–2 United States Desmond Moore TF 10–0
2019 US Open 4th at 57 kg
Loss 12–2 United States Zane Richards 2–8 April 24–27, 2019 2019 US Open National Championships

United States Las Vegas, Nevada

Win 12–1 United States Zach Sanders TF 11–1
Win 11–1 United States Josh Rodriguez 3–2
Loss 10–1 United States Daton Fix TF 8–18
Win 10–0 United States Jesse Delgado 14–10
Win 9–0 United States Britain Longmire TF 11–0
2018 US U23 World Team Trials 1st place, gold medalist(s) at 61 kg
Win 8–0 United States Roman Bravo-Young TF 10–0 June 1–3, 2018 2018 US U23 World Team Trials

United States Akron, Ohio

Win 7–0 United States Roman Bravo-Young TF 15–4
Win 6–0 United States Nick Piccininni TF 10–0
Win 5–0 United States Joe Nelson TF 10–0
Win 4–0 United States Rahsun Lawrence TF 10–0
Win 3–0 United States Jeffrey Jokerst TF 11–0
Win 2–0 United States Tony DeCesare TF 10–0
Win 1–0 United States Warren Stanfield TF 14–1

NCAA record[]

NCAA Division I Record
Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event
Win 32–4 Jackson DiSario MD 14–3 November 20, 2021 Stanford - Cornell Dual
Start of 2021–2022 Season (sophomore year)
End of 2018–2019 Season (freshman year)
2019 NCAA Championships 4th at 125 lbs
Loss 31–4 Sebastian Rivera 3-8 March 21–23, 2019 2019 NCAA Division I National Championships
Win 31–3 Nick Piccininni 5–1
Win 30–3 Ronnie Bresser 8–5
Win 29–3 Sean Fausz MD 11–3
Loss 28–3 Sebastian Rivera 2–6
Win 28–2 RayVon Foley MD 12–2
Win 27–2 Malik Heinselman MD 12–2
2019 EIWA Championships 2nd place, silver medalist(s) at 125 lbs
Loss 26–2 Pat Glory 8–10 March 8–9, 2019 2019 EIWA Conference Championships
Win 26–1 Trey Chalifoux MD 13–1
Win 25–1 Jakob Campbell TF 19–1
Win 24–1 Jacob Allen 7–4
Win 23–1 Malik Heinselman 6–0 February 22, 2019 Ohio State – Cornell Dual
Win 22–1 Joe Heilmann MD 17–4 February 16, 2019 Cornell – North Carolina Dual
Win 21–1 Joey Prata 4–2 February 15, 2019 Cornell – Virginia Tech Dual
Win 20–1 Pat Glory Fall February 9, 2019 Princeton – Cornell Dual
Win 19–1 Blair Orr TF 19–4 February 8, 2019 Pennsylvania – Cornell Dual
Win 18–1 Luke Werner 11–4 February 2, 2019 Lock Haven – Cornell Dual
Win 17–1 Nolan Hellickson MD 20–8 January 26, 2019 Cornell – Harvard Dual
Win 16–1 Trey Keeley MD 16–3 Cornell – Brown Dual
Win 15–1 Joe Manchio MD 15–5 January 19, 2019 Cornell – Columbia Dual
Win 14–1 Luke Resnick MD 18–6 January 12, 2019 Lock Haven – Cornell Dual
Win 13–1 Dack Punke SV–1 4–2 December 30, 2018 Cornell – Missouri Dual
Win 12–1 Liam Cronin MD 10–1 Cornell – Indiana Dual
2018 South Beach Individual 1st place, gold medalist(s) at 125 lbs
Win 11–1 Tomas Gutierrez 3–2 December 29, 2018 2018 South Beach Individual
Win 10–1 Paul Bianchi Fall
Win 9–1 Tomas Gutierrez TF 16–0
Win 8–1 Matt Malavsky Fall
Win 7–1 Cole Verner 7–4 December 29, 2018 Cornell – Wyoming Dual
Win 6–1 Jacob Schwarm MD 17–7 December 16, 2018 Cornell – Northern Iowa Dual
Win 5–1 Caled Rea MD 17–3 November 17, 2018 West Virginia – Cornell Dual
Win 4–1 Joe Nelson TF 22–7 November 16, 2018 Cornell – Binghamton Dual
2018 Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open 2nd place, silver medalist(s) at 133 lbs
Loss 3–1 Charles Tucker 5–7 November 11, 2018 2018 Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open
Win 3–0 Hunter Kosco 11–5
Win 2–0 Casey Cobb 9–5
Win 1–0 Jack Davis 5–2
Start of 2018–2019 Season (freshman year)

Stats[]

Season Year School Rank Weigh Class Record Win Bonus
2019 Freshman Cornell University #5 (4th) 125 31–4 88.57% 54.29%
Career 31–4 88.57% 54.29%

Collegiate awards and records[]

  • Freshman (18-19)
    • NCAA Division I All-American (125 lbs)
    • 2nd place, silver medalist(s) EIWA Conference (125 lbs)
    • Ivy League Rookie of the Year

Freestyle awards and honors[]

  • 2019
    • 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) US Nationals (57 kg)
    2018
    • 1st place, gold medalist(s) US U23 World Team Trials (61 kg)
    • 1st place, gold medalist(s) US U23 Nationals (61 kg)

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Vito Arujau - 2020-21 - Wrestling". Cornell University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  2. ^ BV (2016-03-03). "#4 & #1: Yianni & Greg Diakomihalis Both Win NYS Titles for State Champion Hilton". New York Wrestling News. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  3. ^ "Sarra: Vito Arujau in a league of his own". Newsday. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  4. ^ BV (2015-03-29). "A Great Weekend: Vito Arujau Commits to Cornell & Wins National Title (and MOW)". Associated Wrestling Press. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  5. ^ LLC, ACS. "Vitali Arujau (Cornell) Profile". www.wrestlestat.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  6. ^ "2019 EIWA Wrestling Championship – Finals Results – Tech-Fall". Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  7. ^ "Meet the 80 All-Americans at the 2019 NCAA wrestling tournament | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  8. ^ Falk, Steven. "NCAA wrestling championships 2019: Sebastian Rivera comes back to finish third". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  9. ^ "Way Too Early Lineup Look: 2020-21 Cornell Big Red". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  10. ^ Mirna Alsharif. "Ivy League sports competitions canceled for fall and winter". CNN. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  11. ^ "Arujau finishes with silver at Junior Worlds, 3 more Americans reach finals". InterMat. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  12. ^ BV (2015-07-23). "Arujau Wins Cadet Freestyle National Championship With Tech Fall in the Finals". New York Wrestling News. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  13. ^ NYWN (2018-06-07). "U23 New York Recap". New York Wrestling News. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  14. ^ Willis, Michael (2018-06-05). "Meet Your Men's Freestyle U23 World Team". Support USA Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  15. ^ "Three lineup changes made to U23 Freestyle World Team". Team USA. October 3, 2018.
  16. ^ Smith, Earl (2019-04-27). "2019 US Open Senior Men's Freestyle Final Results and Placewinners". The Open Mat. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  17. ^ "2019 Senior Nationals Men's Freestyle – Final Results". iawrestle.com. 2019-12-23. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  18. ^ Goodwin, Cody. "Wrestling: Iowa's Spencer Lee wins Senior Nationals, qualifies for 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials". Hawk Central. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  19. ^ Goodwin, Cody. "USA Wrestling announces that 2020 Olympic Trials are postponed". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  20. ^ "Dake edges Chamizo to highlight FloWrestling show". InterMat. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
  21. ^ "Vito Arujau vs Jack Mueller Set For Beat The Streets On September 17th". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  22. ^ "Russia's Ampar replaces Arujau and will face Mueller at Beat the Streets live matches in its September 17 fundraiser". Team USA. September 12, 2020.
  23. ^ "Who's Registered So Far For 2020 Senior Nationals?". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  24. ^ "Making Sense Of Men's Freestyle Senior Nationals Chaos". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  25. ^ "RTC Cup Lineups | Virginia Tech Wrestling Board". Virginia Tech Wrestling Board. November 18, 2020.
  26. ^ "See the results for the FloWrestling: 2020 RTC Cup Presented by Titan Mercury Wrestling Club wrestling event on FloWrestling.org". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  27. ^ "Dake, Diakomihalis, Dean, Arujau win Main Card bouts on Spartan Combat Wrestling I". Team USA. January 8, 2021.
  28. ^ Eric. "Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France Preliminary Entries". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  29. ^ "Snyder, Dake, Diakomihalis and Suriano win gold, four others earn medals at the Henri Deglane Grand Prix". Team USA. January 16, 2021.
  30. ^ "See the results for the 2021 America's Cup wrestling event on FloWrestling.org". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  31. ^ "Snyder wins 3 bouts; Dake, Arujau take two wins each in loaded NLWC 5 card". InterMat. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  32. ^ "Wrestling's Diakomihalis and Arujau Qualify for Olympic Team Trials". Cornell University Athletics. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  33. ^ Miller, Zach. "Wrestling: Men's freestyle seeds announced for U.S. Olympic Trials". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  34. ^ PennLive, Jim Carlson | Special to (2021-04-04). "David Taylor 1 of 4 Nittany Lion Wrestling Club athletes to qualify for Olympic Games in Tokyo". pennlive. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
  35. ^ "Nittany Lion Wrestling Club Sends 4 to US Olympic Team | State College, PA". StateCollege.com. 2021-04-04. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
  36. ^ "12 Olympic highlight U.S. Senior Pan American Championships roster". teamusa.org. May 17, 2021.
  37. ^ Eric. "USA Claims Eight Gold Medals for Team Title on Last Day of #WrestleGuatemala". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  38. ^ "Who's Registered For World Team Trials So Far? - FloWrestling". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
  39. ^ Hamilton, Andy. "Meet the USA men's freestyle Junior World Team members". Trackwrestling. Retrieved 2020-07-29.

External links[]

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