Vito Arujau
Personal information
Full nameVitali Arujau
Born (1999-06-01) June 1, 1999
Syosset, New York, U.S.
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight133 lb (60 kg)
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportWrestling
Event(s)Freestyle and Folkstyle
College teamCornell Big Red
ClubNew York RTC
Titan Mercury Wrestling Club
TeamUSA
Coached byMike Grey
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing the  United States
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2023 Belgrade61 kg
Pan American Championships
Gold medal – first place2021 Guatemala57 kg
Gold medal – first place2023 Buenos Aires61 kg
Grand Prix
Bronze medal – third place2022 Warsaw57 kg
Bronze medal – third place2023 Budapest61 kg
US Open
Gold medal – first place 2023 Las Vegas 61 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 Tallinn 57 kg
Cadet World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2016 Tbilisi 58 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing the Cornell Big Red
NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Tulsa 133 lb
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Detroit 125 lb
EIWA Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Philadelphia 133 lb
Gold medal – first place 2022 Ithaca 125 lb
Silver medal – second place 2019 Vestal 125 lb

Vitali Orujov (Russian: Виталий Оруджов; born June 1, 1999) is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes at 61 kilograms.[1] In freestyle, he is the reigning World Champion at 61kg, as well as a two-time Pan-American gold medalist and the 2023 US National champion.[2]

In folkstyle, Arujau is the reigning NCAA Division I National champion at 133 pounds out of Cornell University.[3]

Folkstyle career

High school

Arujau attended Syosset High School in Syosset, New York. He started wrestling on the varsity team as an eighth grader ('12–'13) and placed second in the state tournament that year, losing to eventual teammate Yianni Diakomihalis in the 99-pound final.[4] After his setback in the state final, he did not lose another match in his high-school career and ended with a 216–1 record and four NYSPHSAA titles.[5] 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.[6]

College

2018-19

As a freshman, Arujau started competing at 133 pounds, going 5–1 before moving down to 125 pounds.[7] After moving down, he compiled 26 wins (17 with bonus points) and three losses.[1] In the post-season, he made his way to the finals of the EIWA Conference Championships, where he lost to Pat Glory 10–8.[8] As the eighth seed at the NCAAs, 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 14th, fourth, and second seeds (the last being Nick Piccininni) before losing again to Rivera to place fourth and earn All-American honors.[9][10]

2019-21

After taking an Olympic redshirt for '19-'20 as a sophomore, Arujau was expected to return to college this season and compete at 133 pounds.[11] However, it was announced on November 13, 2020, that the Ivy League had canceled all winter sports that season.[12]

2021-22

Following the combined Olympic/COVID layoff, Arujau returned to the Cornell lineup at 125 pounds (except his first match of the season, against Stanford).[13] Arujau finished the regular season with a 10–1 record, with his only loss to Pat Glory of Princeton.[14] Arujau avenged that loss later in the season, defeating Glory by major decision, 19–6, in the final of the EIWA tournament to claim his first EIWA title.[15] At the NCAA tournament, Arujau reached the semifinals, where he met Glory for a third time in 2021-22, fifth overall, with Glory taking the rubber match by major decision, 13–5. Arujau recovered with a pair of wins in the consolation bracket to finish in third place.[16]

2022-23

During the 2022-23 season, Arujau went 24-1,[17] including a title at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas.[18] He won his second straight EIWA title at the Palestra in Philadelphia, helping Cornell to a team title.[19] At the 2023 NCAA championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Arujau earned his third All-American honor and his first national title, beating two-time defending champion Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State in the final, 10-4.[20] In the semifinals, he defeated three-time national finalist Daton Fix of Oklahoma State by major decision, 11-3.[21] At the conclusion of the tournament, he was named Outstanding Wrestler.[22]

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.[23][24]

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.[25] He was then expected to compete at the U23 World Championships,[26] but was forced to pull out.[27]

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.[28]

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.[29]

2020

Arujau was scheduled to compete at the 20' US Olympic Team Trials on April 4 at State College, Pennsylvania.[30] 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.[31] 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.[32] He was then slated to wrestle Jack Mueller at the annual Beat The Streets event on September 17.[33] However, he pulled out of the bout 5 days prior and was replaced by Rustam Ampar.[34]

Arujau competed at the US National Championships on October 9–11 as the top–seed.[35] 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.[36]

Arujau represented the Spartan Combat RTC at 57 kilograms in the FloWrestling: RTC Cup on December 4–5.[37] 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.[38]

2021

To start off the year, Arujau defeated Michael Colaiocco by technical fall on January 8, at the SCRTC I.[39] Shortly after, he competed at the Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France on January 17.[40] 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 Răzvan-Marian 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.[41]

On February, he competed at the America's Cup, where after three technical fall wins, he helped Team Bobby Douglas reach third place.[42] 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.[43] 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.[44][45] 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.[46] In the finals, Arujau was defeated twice by Thomas Gilman, earning hard–fought runner–up honors.[47]

As the US Olympic Trials runner–up, Arujau competed at the Pan American Continental Championships on May 30, replacing an injured Thomas Gilman.[48] 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.[49]

2022

In April, Arujau won the 2022 World Team Trials at 57kg to qualify for Final X in Stillwater, Oklahoma.[50] At Final X, he lost in back-to-back matches to eventual 2022 world silver medalist Thomas Gilman.[51] He competed at the 2022 Poland Open, taking bronze. Arujau also competed at the 2022 U23 World Wrestling Championships in Pontevedra, Spain. He lost his first match and did not place.[52]

2023

For the 2023 freestyle season, Arujau moved up in weight to 61kg. In April, Arujau won his first national championship, going 5-0 at the US Open to qualify directly to Final X.[53] At Final X, Arujau faced the World Team Trials winner, Nahshon Garrett, a fellow Cornell University wrestler. At Final X, Arujau defeated Garrett in consecutive matches, 6-5 and 13-10,[54] to earn a spot on Team USA for the 2023 World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. In between the US Open and Final X, Arujau represented Team USA at the Pan American Games, where he won the gold medal.[55] Prior to the World Championships, Arujau traveled to Budapest, Hungary for a ranking series event, where he went 2-1 and finished in third place.[56]

At the 2023 World Wrestling Championships, Arujau went 5-0 with 3 wins by technical fall to win his first world championship.[57] In the finals, he defeated Russia's Abasgadzhi Magomedov (who was wrestling under an "independent" flag due to athletic sanctions against Russia stemming from the invasion of Ukraine).

Personal life

Vitali is one of the three sons of the accomplished Russian wrestler Vugar Orujov.[58]

Freestyle record

NCAA record

Stats

Collegiate awards and records

Freestyle awards and honors

  • 2023
    • 1st place, gold medalist(s) US Nationals / Final X (61 kg)
    • 1st place, gold medalist(s) Pan Am Chamionship (61 kg)
    • 1st place, gold medalist(s) Senior World Championship (61 kg)
    2021
    • 1st place, gold medalist(s) Pan Am Championship (57 kg)
    2020
    • 2nd place, silver medalist(s) US Nationals (57 kg)
    2019
    • 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) US Nationals (57 kg)
    • 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Junior Worlds (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)
    2016
    • 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Cadet Worlds (58 kg)

References

  1. 1 2 "Vito Arujau - 2020-21 - Wrestling". Cornell University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  2. ↑ Team, BVMSports (2023-09-17). "Vito Arujau wins gold in 61kg world championship with thrilling victory over Abasgadzhi Magomedov". BVM Sports. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  3. ↑ "Behind Vito's Rise from Self-Doubts to NCAA Champ". Intermat. 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ "Sarra: Vito Arujau in a league of his own". Newsday. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  6. ↑ BV (2015-03-29). "A Great Weekend: Vito Arujau Commits to Cornell & Wins National Title (and MOW)". Associated Wrestling Press. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  7. ↑ LLC, ACS. "Vitali Arujau (Cornell) Profile". www.wrestlestat.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  8. ↑ "2019 EIWA Wrestling Championship – Finals Results – Tech-Fall". Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  9. ↑ "Meet the 80 All-Americans at the 2019 NCAA wrestling tournament | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  10. ↑ Falk, Steven. "NCAA wrestling championships 2019: Sebastian Rivera comes back to finish third". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  11. ↑ "Way Too Early Lineup Look: 2020-21 Cornell Big Red". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  12. ↑ Mirna Alsharif (13 November 2020). "Ivy League sports competitions canceled for fall and winter". CNN. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  13. ↑ "Wrestling Sends Stanford Packing in Home Opener". Cornell Athletics.
  14. ↑ "Vitali Arujau Profile". WrestleStat.
  15. ↑ "Wrestling Claims 26th EIWA Title On Strength of Three Champions, Six NCAA Qualifiers". Cornell Athletics.
  16. ↑ "Diakomihalis Claims Third NCAA Title; Big Red Takes Seventh In Team Race". Cornell Athletics.
  17. ↑ "WrestleStat | Vitali Arujau (Cornell) Profile".
  18. ↑ "Arujau, Ramirez Claim Titles, Big Red Grabs Seventh as a Team in Vegas".
  19. ↑ "Diakomihalis Claims Fourth EIWA Title Among Six Big Red Champs, Team Title".
  20. ↑ "Diakomihalis the Fifth Four-Time NCAA Champ, Arujau Wins First as Cornell Finishes Third as a Team".
  21. ↑ "Arujau, Diakomihalis Will Wrestle for NCAA Titles; Big Red Stands Third Overall".
  22. ↑
  23. ↑ "Arujau finishes with silver at Junior Worlds, 3 more Americans reach finals". InterMat. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  24. ↑ BV (2015-07-23). "Arujau Wins Cadet Freestyle National Championship With Tech Fall in the Finals". New York Wrestling News. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  25. ↑ NYWN (2018-06-07). "U23 New York Recap". New York Wrestling News. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  26. ↑ Willis, Michael (2018-06-05). "Meet Your Men's Freestyle U23 World Team". Support USA Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  27. ↑ "Three lineup changes made to U23 Freestyle World Team". Team USA. October 3, 2018. Archived from the original on July 21, 2020.
  28. ↑ Smith, Earl (2019-04-27). "2019 US Open Senior Men's Freestyle Final Results and Placewinners". The Open Mat. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  29. ↑ "2019 Senior Nationals Men's Freestyle – Final Results". iawrestle.com. 2019-12-23. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  30. ↑ Goodwin, Cody. "Wrestling: Iowa's Spencer Lee wins Senior Nationals, qualifies for 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials". Hawk Central. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  31. ↑ Goodwin, Cody. "USA Wrestling announces that 2020 Olympic Trials are postponed". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  32. ↑ "Dake edges Chamizo to highlight FloWrestling show". InterMat. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
  33. ↑ "Vito Arujau vs Jack Mueller Set For Beat The Streets On September 17th". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  34. ↑ "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. Archived from the original on September 15, 2020.
  35. ↑ "Who's Registered So Far For 2020 Senior Nationals?". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  36. ↑ "Making Sense Of Men's Freestyle Senior Nationals Chaos". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  37. ↑ "RTC Cup Lineups | Virginia Tech Wrestling Board". Virginia Tech Wrestling Board. November 18, 2020.
  38. ↑ "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.
  39. ↑ "Dake, Diakomihalis, Dean, Arujau win Main Card bouts on Spartan Combat Wrestling I". Team USA. January 8, 2021. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021.
  40. ↑ Eric. "Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France Preliminary Entries". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  41. ↑ "Snyder, Dake, Diakomihalis and Suriano win gold, four others earn medals at the Henri Deglane Grand Prix". Team USA. January 16, 2021. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021.
  42. ↑ "See the results for the 2021 America's Cup wrestling event on FloWrestling.org". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  43. ↑ "Snyder wins 3 bouts; Dake, Arujau take two wins each in loaded NLWC 5 card". InterMat. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  44. ↑ "Wrestling's Diakomihalis and Arujau Qualify for Olympic Team Trials". Cornell University Athletics. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  45. ↑ Miller, Zach. "Wrestling: Men's freestyle seeds announced for U.S. Olympic Trials". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  46. ↑ 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.
  47. ↑ "Nittany Lion Wrestling Club Sends 4 to US Olympic Team | State College, PA". StateCollege.com. 2021-04-04. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
  48. ↑ "12 Olympic highlight U.S. Senior Pan American Championships roster". teamusa.org. May 17, 2021. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021.
  49. ↑ Eric. "USA Claims Eight Gold Medals for Team Title on Last Day of #WrestleGuatemala". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  50. ↑ Finn, Mike (May 22, 2022). "Final X Matchups are set after World Team Trials Challenge Tournament". Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine.
  51. ↑ Hamilton, Andy (June 6, 2023). "The Complete Results History Of Final X". Flo Wrestling.
  52. ↑ "Cardenas Grabs Silver To Lead Three Big Red Wrestlers At U23 Championships". Cornell Athletics. October 26, 2022.
  53. ↑ Cannizzaro, Matt (May 29, 2023). "Vito Arujau Is Competing At Final X Wrestling 2023: What You Should Know". Flo Wrestling.
  54. ↑ "Arujau, Dake Secure US National Team Spots at Final X". Cornell Athletics. June 11, 2023.
  55. ↑ Lloyd, Owen (May 6, 2023). "Torreblanca prevents American monopoly on Pan-American Wrestling Championships final day". Inside the Games.
  56. ↑ Malnoske, Andy (July 15, 2023). "Arujau earns bronze at Budapest ranking event". WETM Elmira.
  57. ↑ "Arujau Earns 61kg World Championship Gold, Dake Advances To 74kg Finals". Cornell Athletics. September 17, 2023.
  58. ↑ Hamilton, Andy. "Meet the USA men's freestyle Junior World Team members". Trackwrestling. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
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