Cornell seeks ninth straight EIWA title, with Lehigh a challenger
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by John Harmon EIWA
Cornell comes into Stabler Arena at Lehigh University looking for an unprecedented ninth-straight EIWA team championship. Lehigh, which finished a distant second a year ago, has rebuilt most of their lineup, and probably has the best chance in years to make a successful challenge.
In addition to the team title, there will be ten individual championships up for grabs, as well as approximately 50 or so invitations to the NCAA Championships in two weeks at St Louis, MO. About 40 of those slots will be directly at stake, with the remainder named at-large by the NCAA a few days after the tournament.
Both the Big Red and the Mountain Hawks project sending eight or nine wrestlers to the “Big Dance” in St. Louis.
But Cornell appears to have the advantage in proven returning All-Americans and EIWA finalists. In addition, the Big Red defeated the Mountain Hawks twice in dual meets this season. Once in their regularly scheduled dual meet and again in the third place match at the NWCA National Dual Meet Championships.
Starting at 125, junior Nahshon Garrett returns his high-octane offense, which has already earned him two EIWA individual championships and third and second place NCAA finishes. At 133, sophomore Mike Grey was one bout short of All-American status as a freshman. He has been battling the scales this season, but if he can keep his weight under control he will be a major factor.
Chris Villalonga returns for his final season at 149. He is the defending champion, and is a three-time NCAA Qualifier. Brian Realbuto placed only fourth at 157 as a freshman, but went on to become an All-American by placing sixth nationally.
At 165 Dylan Palacio was a finalist as a freshman, and missed All-American status by one bout a year ago.
Sophomore Gabe Dean, ranked #1 in the nation for much of the year, returns at 184 to defend his championship. And senior Jace Bennett returns at 197 to defend his championship.
So that makes no fewer than seven wrestlers who Cornell coach Rob Koll can count on to be in the thick of competition when the tournament winds down Saturday evening.
Lehigh has plenty of talent, but much of it has not yet been tested in post-season competition.
Scott Parker is a true freshman who will be in the hunt to make the finals, although he is not expected to be a real threat to Garrett at 125. Junior Mason Beckman is a defending champion and All-American at 133, and he is one of the stalwarts on the Mountain Hawk team.
Randy Cruz has grown into 141 after taking a year off after winning a championship at 133 as a true freshman two years ago. Like Cruz, Mitch Minotti also moved up a weight. Minotti was runnerup at 149 a year ago, and will challenge for the final round at 157 this year.
The Mountain Hawks have high hopes for graduate student Santiago Martinez at 174. “Santi” has officially gone 8-1 since moving up from 165 at mid-season. The interesting back story here is that as an undergraduate, Martinez was a club wrestler at Central Florida, which doesn’t have a formal wrestling program.
Nate Brown won as a freshman two years ago at 174. He took a year off to grow into 184, and hopes to challenge Dean for the championship. At 197, Elliot Riddick placed third at 174 a year ago, then bulked up quickly to 197, where he is expected to be one of the leaders.
Finally, sophomore Doug Vollaro is a big heavyweight who often goes into overtime before making his big move. He figures to earn a place, but needs to excel in order to give the Mountain Hawks a chance to challenge for the team title.
As usual, there will be a spirited race for third place honors.
Bucknell, which has an excellent dual meet team, appears to be the leader of the pack. The Bison are led by the two bookends, Paul Petrov at 125 and Joe Stolfi at 285. Petrov, who placed just sixth as sophomore, has come into his own this season and has earned over 20 wins. The exciting Stolfi is the defending heavyweight champion who leads the conference with 19 pins and over 30 wins.
Penn has been coming on strong the second half of the season. Sophomore NCAA Qualifier Caleb Richardson returns with over 20 wins, and could challenge for the title at 133. Senior Jeff Canfora has made great strides at 141 this season, and will be tough for anyone to handle.
The Quakers have a trio of runnersup returning, led by senior Lorenzo Thomas at 184. Thomas is also a returning All-American who has been nationally ranked all season. Junior C. J. Cobb is back at 149, with just two losses on the season, and senior Brad Wukie returns at 174 after missing the first half of the season.
American has three team leaders, led by junior David Terao, a two-time NCAA Qualifier who was runnerup at 125 a year ago. He is joined by his brother Josh, a freshman at 133. John Boyle is a junior 157-pounder who has been a dependable performer for the Eagles all season, with over 30 wins to his credit. Freshman Jeric Kasunic, one of the EIWA pin leaders, will compete at 184.
Army figures to be in the mix for a high team finish for the first time in several years. The Black Knights are particularly strong through the middle of the lineup, beginning with sophomore Russell Parsons, who has over 20 wins at 157 despite sitting out his freshman year.
Cole Gracey, who was EIWA Freshman of the Year back in 2012, has returned to form and could challenge for an individual title at 165. Junior Brian Harvey is a returning NCAA Qualifier at 174, while Bryce Barnes, a two-time Qualifier, returns at 197.
Princeton continues their strong rebuilding effort under coach Chris Ayres. The Tigers are particularly strong in the upper weights, led by sophomore Brett Harner (184) and junior NCAA Qualifier Abe Ayala (197). The Tigers also have an outstanding freshman in Jonathan Schleifer at 165, while sophomore Jordan Laster (141), completes a quartet of wrestlers with over 20 wins.
Navy has been hurt badly by injuries this season, but nonetheless has a few outstanding competitors. Senior Peyton Walsh has over 30 wins and is the probable #1 seed at 165. Freshman Jadeen Bernstein had done an excellent job at 174 filling in for defending champion Mat Miller, out for the season with an injury. Junior Michael Woulfe has made a late-season push in the tough 184-pound weight class.
Looking at the tournament weight-by-weight
125_ Garrett will not be challenged for the #1 seed. Terao should draw the #2 seed based on an 8-4 win over Petrov in the dual. Parker is highly regarded, but aside from his loss to Garrett has not been seriously tested in conference competition.
133_ Beckman is the defending champion and is undefeated in conference competition, and this will earn him the #1 seed. Drexel sophomore Kevin Devoy, who has over 30 wins including a 3-2 late-season victory over Grey, (plus a 7-3 win over Richardson) is the likely #2 seed, although Grey can make an argument based on a tie-breaker loss to Beckman. Richardson is capable of making the finals for the Quakers.
141_ Preston is the defending champion, and his only conference loss was to Grey before he dropped to 133, so he will likely be the #1 seed. He will be challenged by sophomore Jamel Hudson of Hofstra, undefeated in conference competition. Former champion Randy Cruz has been defeated by both Preston and Hudson and hopes to cop the #3 seed.
149_ Villalonga is the defending champion, but lost the dual against Cobb in overtime. Hofstra senior Cody Ruggirello has had an outstanding season, but suffered a close dual loss to Bucknell’s Victor Lopez. The coaches will have to sort this one out at the seeding meeting. Several wrestlers could be in the running to make the finals here, including Lopez and Cobb.
157_ Realbuto appears set to be the top seed based on his two dual meet wins over Minotti, who in turn defeated Brown’s Justin Staudenmayer 3-1. Staudenmayer will be the likely #4 seed despite a tiebreaker loss to Brooks Martino of Penn.
165_ Walsh, who owns three close wins over Gracey, should be the undisputed #1 seed, with Gracey, who has a solid win over Palcacio, right behind him. That makes Palacio #3 based on his win over Schleifer. Ray Bethea of Penn could also sneak in here, as he had a 6-5 win over Schleifer in late February.
174_ This is a wide open weight class, and the eventual winner here could be a surprise. Pickett and Martinez split their two dual meet bouts, so the coaches may have a decision to make. Harvey and Bernstein have traded wins earlier, but Harvey won decisively in the Star Meet, so is the likely #3 seed.
184_ This is arguably the deepest weight class in the tournament, with as many as seven automatic qualifiers. Fans are already looking forward to a possible final between defending champion Dean and nationally-ranked Brown. Harner will likely get the #3 seed based on a late-season win over Thomas . A high seed could also go Navy’s Michael Woulfe, who has wins over both Sleigh and Kasunic.
197_ Despite an early season loss to Harvard’s James Fox, it appears that Princeton junior Abe Ayala will grab the #1 seed, as he avenged that loss in the February dual meet. Bennett is the defending champion, but his two decisive losses to Ayala might cost him at seeding time. Riddick has tiebreaker losses to both Ayala and Bennett, while Army junior Brian Barnes has a win over Bennett on his side.
285_ Stolfi appeared to be the obvious top seed until he was upset 9-8 on the last weekend of the season by Binghamton senior Tyler Deuel, who has some serious credentials of his own. So the coaches will have to sort this out at the seeding meeting. Vollaro is also in the running for the #2 seed, but Columbia freshman Garrett Ryan and Hofstra sophomore Michael Hughes both have a chance to make the finals.
EIWA NOTE: Fans who like to plan ahead should know that the 2016 EIWA Championships will be hosted by Bucknell. The tournament will move to Princeton in 2017. The exact dates have not been finalized, but the first weekend of March will be the designated time.
EIWA NCAA AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS (43)
125 (3), 133 (3), 141 (5), 149 (3), 157 (7), 165 (4), 174 (2), 184 (5), 197 (6), 285 (5)
WEBCAST: Live on FloWrestling
EVENT SCHEDULE
At Stabler Arena, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa.
Friday, March 6
10:00 a.m. – Championship 1st Round
12:30 p.m. – Championship Quarterfinals and 1st Round Wrestleback
2:45 p.m – 2nd Round Wrestleback
Saturday, March 7
10:00 a.m. – Championship Semifinals and 3rd Round Wrestleback
12:30 p.m. – Wrestleback Semifinals and 7th place matches
5:00 p.m. – EIWA Hall of Fame Ceremony, followed by Championship Finals, Places 1, 3, 5
In addition to the team title, there will be ten individual championships up for grabs, as well as approximately 50 or so invitations to the NCAA Championships in two weeks at St Louis, MO. About 40 of those slots will be directly at stake, with the remainder named at-large by the NCAA a few days after the tournament.
Both the Big Red and the Mountain Hawks project sending eight or nine wrestlers to the “Big Dance” in St. Louis.
But Cornell appears to have the advantage in proven returning All-Americans and EIWA finalists. In addition, the Big Red defeated the Mountain Hawks twice in dual meets this season. Once in their regularly scheduled dual meet and again in the third place match at the NWCA National Dual Meet Championships.
Starting at 125, junior Nahshon Garrett returns his high-octane offense, which has already earned him two EIWA individual championships and third and second place NCAA finishes. At 133, sophomore Mike Grey was one bout short of All-American status as a freshman. He has been battling the scales this season, but if he can keep his weight under control he will be a major factor.
Chris Villalonga returns for his final season at 149. He is the defending champion, and is a three-time NCAA Qualifier. Brian Realbuto placed only fourth at 157 as a freshman, but went on to become an All-American by placing sixth nationally.
At 165 Dylan Palacio was a finalist as a freshman, and missed All-American status by one bout a year ago.
Sophomore Gabe Dean, ranked #1 in the nation for much of the year, returns at 184 to defend his championship. And senior Jace Bennett returns at 197 to defend his championship.
So that makes no fewer than seven wrestlers who Cornell coach Rob Koll can count on to be in the thick of competition when the tournament winds down Saturday evening.
Lehigh has plenty of talent, but much of it has not yet been tested in post-season competition.
Scott Parker is a true freshman who will be in the hunt to make the finals, although he is not expected to be a real threat to Garrett at 125. Junior Mason Beckman is a defending champion and All-American at 133, and he is one of the stalwarts on the Mountain Hawk team.
Randy Cruz has grown into 141 after taking a year off after winning a championship at 133 as a true freshman two years ago. Like Cruz, Mitch Minotti also moved up a weight. Minotti was runnerup at 149 a year ago, and will challenge for the final round at 157 this year.
The Mountain Hawks have high hopes for graduate student Santiago Martinez at 174. “Santi” has officially gone 8-1 since moving up from 165 at mid-season. The interesting back story here is that as an undergraduate, Martinez was a club wrestler at Central Florida, which doesn’t have a formal wrestling program.
Nate Brown won as a freshman two years ago at 174. He took a year off to grow into 184, and hopes to challenge Dean for the championship. At 197, Elliot Riddick placed third at 174 a year ago, then bulked up quickly to 197, where he is expected to be one of the leaders.
Finally, sophomore Doug Vollaro is a big heavyweight who often goes into overtime before making his big move. He figures to earn a place, but needs to excel in order to give the Mountain Hawks a chance to challenge for the team title.
As usual, there will be a spirited race for third place honors.
Bucknell, which has an excellent dual meet team, appears to be the leader of the pack. The Bison are led by the two bookends, Paul Petrov at 125 and Joe Stolfi at 285. Petrov, who placed just sixth as sophomore, has come into his own this season and has earned over 20 wins. The exciting Stolfi is the defending heavyweight champion who leads the conference with 19 pins and over 30 wins.
Penn has been coming on strong the second half of the season. Sophomore NCAA Qualifier Caleb Richardson returns with over 20 wins, and could challenge for the title at 133. Senior Jeff Canfora has made great strides at 141 this season, and will be tough for anyone to handle.
The Quakers have a trio of runnersup returning, led by senior Lorenzo Thomas at 184. Thomas is also a returning All-American who has been nationally ranked all season. Junior C. J. Cobb is back at 149, with just two losses on the season, and senior Brad Wukie returns at 174 after missing the first half of the season.
American has three team leaders, led by junior David Terao, a two-time NCAA Qualifier who was runnerup at 125 a year ago. He is joined by his brother Josh, a freshman at 133. John Boyle is a junior 157-pounder who has been a dependable performer for the Eagles all season, with over 30 wins to his credit. Freshman Jeric Kasunic, one of the EIWA pin leaders, will compete at 184.
Army figures to be in the mix for a high team finish for the first time in several years. The Black Knights are particularly strong through the middle of the lineup, beginning with sophomore Russell Parsons, who has over 20 wins at 157 despite sitting out his freshman year.
Cole Gracey, who was EIWA Freshman of the Year back in 2012, has returned to form and could challenge for an individual title at 165. Junior Brian Harvey is a returning NCAA Qualifier at 174, while Bryce Barnes, a two-time Qualifier, returns at 197.
Princeton continues their strong rebuilding effort under coach Chris Ayres. The Tigers are particularly strong in the upper weights, led by sophomore Brett Harner (184) and junior NCAA Qualifier Abe Ayala (197). The Tigers also have an outstanding freshman in Jonathan Schleifer at 165, while sophomore Jordan Laster (141), completes a quartet of wrestlers with over 20 wins.
Navy has been hurt badly by injuries this season, but nonetheless has a few outstanding competitors. Senior Peyton Walsh has over 30 wins and is the probable #1 seed at 165. Freshman Jadeen Bernstein had done an excellent job at 174 filling in for defending champion Mat Miller, out for the season with an injury. Junior Michael Woulfe has made a late-season push in the tough 184-pound weight class.
Looking at the tournament weight-by-weight
125_ Garrett will not be challenged for the #1 seed. Terao should draw the #2 seed based on an 8-4 win over Petrov in the dual. Parker is highly regarded, but aside from his loss to Garrett has not been seriously tested in conference competition.
133_ Beckman is the defending champion and is undefeated in conference competition, and this will earn him the #1 seed. Drexel sophomore Kevin Devoy, who has over 30 wins including a 3-2 late-season victory over Grey, (plus a 7-3 win over Richardson) is the likely #2 seed, although Grey can make an argument based on a tie-breaker loss to Beckman. Richardson is capable of making the finals for the Quakers.
141_ Preston is the defending champion, and his only conference loss was to Grey before he dropped to 133, so he will likely be the #1 seed. He will be challenged by sophomore Jamel Hudson of Hofstra, undefeated in conference competition. Former champion Randy Cruz has been defeated by both Preston and Hudson and hopes to cop the #3 seed.
149_ Villalonga is the defending champion, but lost the dual against Cobb in overtime. Hofstra senior Cody Ruggirello has had an outstanding season, but suffered a close dual loss to Bucknell’s Victor Lopez. The coaches will have to sort this one out at the seeding meeting. Several wrestlers could be in the running to make the finals here, including Lopez and Cobb.
157_ Realbuto appears set to be the top seed based on his two dual meet wins over Minotti, who in turn defeated Brown’s Justin Staudenmayer 3-1. Staudenmayer will be the likely #4 seed despite a tiebreaker loss to Brooks Martino of Penn.
165_ Walsh, who owns three close wins over Gracey, should be the undisputed #1 seed, with Gracey, who has a solid win over Palcacio, right behind him. That makes Palacio #3 based on his win over Schleifer. Ray Bethea of Penn could also sneak in here, as he had a 6-5 win over Schleifer in late February.
174_ This is a wide open weight class, and the eventual winner here could be a surprise. Pickett and Martinez split their two dual meet bouts, so the coaches may have a decision to make. Harvey and Bernstein have traded wins earlier, but Harvey won decisively in the Star Meet, so is the likely #3 seed.
184_ This is arguably the deepest weight class in the tournament, with as many as seven automatic qualifiers. Fans are already looking forward to a possible final between defending champion Dean and nationally-ranked Brown. Harner will likely get the #3 seed based on a late-season win over Thomas . A high seed could also go Navy’s Michael Woulfe, who has wins over both Sleigh and Kasunic.
197_ Despite an early season loss to Harvard’s James Fox, it appears that Princeton junior Abe Ayala will grab the #1 seed, as he avenged that loss in the February dual meet. Bennett is the defending champion, but his two decisive losses to Ayala might cost him at seeding time. Riddick has tiebreaker losses to both Ayala and Bennett, while Army junior Brian Barnes has a win over Bennett on his side.
285_ Stolfi appeared to be the obvious top seed until he was upset 9-8 on the last weekend of the season by Binghamton senior Tyler Deuel, who has some serious credentials of his own. So the coaches will have to sort this out at the seeding meeting. Vollaro is also in the running for the #2 seed, but Columbia freshman Garrett Ryan and Hofstra sophomore Michael Hughes both have a chance to make the finals.
EIWA NOTE: Fans who like to plan ahead should know that the 2016 EIWA Championships will be hosted by Bucknell. The tournament will move to Princeton in 2017. The exact dates have not been finalized, but the first weekend of March will be the designated time.
EIWA NCAA AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS (43)
125 (3), 133 (3), 141 (5), 149 (3), 157 (7), 165 (4), 174 (2), 184 (5), 197 (6), 285 (5)
WEBCAST: Live on FloWrestling
EVENT SCHEDULE
At Stabler Arena, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa.
Friday, March 6
10:00 a.m. – Championship 1st Round
12:30 p.m. – Championship Quarterfinals and 1st Round Wrestleback
2:45 p.m – 2nd Round Wrestleback
Saturday, March 7
10:00 a.m. – Championship Semifinals and 3rd Round Wrestleback
12:30 p.m. – Wrestleback Semifinals and 7th place matches
5:00 p.m. – EIWA Hall of Fame Ceremony, followed by Championship Finals, Places 1, 3, 5
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