Columbia's wrestling facilities may be much closer to the iconic building, but recently it has been the Cornell grapplers putting the "Empire" in "Empire State."
Despite their name, the Lions (2-10, 0-4 EIWA) are much tamer than the Big Red (8-2, 1-0), who rank third nationally.
The Penn wrestlers (10-5, 5-1) will get the privilege of finding out just how good (or bad) each team is when it heads to the state of New York this weekend.
But with Cornell, there is very little ambiguity: They are really, really good.
Since 2003, the Big Red have racked up four top-10 finishes at the NCAA championships, including a pair of top-fives.
The two times they didn't finish in the top 10? Paltry 11th- and 12th- place finishes in 2004 and 2007, respectively.
"Up and down the lineup, 125 [pounds] to heavyweight, they are about as solid a team as there is in the country right now," Penn coach Rob Eiter said.
That solidity starts with verifiable stud No. 2 Troy Nickerson at 125.
The junior from Chenango Forks, N.Y., is a two-time All-American, having placed second as a freshman and third as a sophomore.
Penn 125-pounder Rollie Peterkin, who is ranked 11th, seems at peace with the enormous task laid out in front of him.
"You just take it like any other match and know that he's beatable," Peterkin said. "All the training I have done, at this point, there's not much I can change. I know I have trained hard."
If Nickerson is the Darth Vader to Cornell's Empire, then the Big Red's No. 1 165-pounder Mack Lewnes is Emperor Palpatine.
Eiter will have to hope the force is strong with his own 165-pounders, seniors Zack Shanaman and Andrew Coles.
Shanaman will be competing for the first time since returning from injury, so Coles, a backup for most of the season, might wrestle at a different weightclass.
Either way, Eiter is confident is his guys.
"Andrew's done a phenomenal job filling in," Eiter said. "Zack is a competitor. It is his senior year, so he is itching to get back in, and right now we do not have a choice. But Zack's ready."
Aside from Nickerson and Lewnes, Cornell has five other ranked wrestlers, including No. 5 157-pound grappler Jordan Leen who is a former national champion.
Luckily, Shanaman, Peterkin and the rest of the Quakers should get some much-needed respite Saturday when they wrestle at Columbia.
The Lions don't have much to be proud of, outside of 13th-ranked heavyweight Ryan Flores.
In fact, the Quakers are more worried about their own late-season fatigue than anything Columbia can throw at them.
"It is kind of the point where a lot of people fizzle out," Peterkin said. "We all have to focus on doing the right things: getting enough sleep, eating right."
Good nutrition may be a bit more than Peterkin or any of the other wrestlers can handle, but focus should not be a problem.
"That's the key," Eiter said. "You gotta keep them fresh."
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