Cornell wins ninth straight EIWA title with five champions
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by Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - It was a strong finals session for Cornell, which won five finals bouts and cruised its ninth straight EIWA Championships, with a 30 point lead on Lehigh at the end, 176 to 146.
The run started with NCAA runner-up Nahshon Garrett, who won his third EIWA crown at 125 pounds with a lightning display of takedowns to defeat David Terao of American, 9-5. Garrett received a special award for having scored the most team points in his career, even though he is a junior.
It ended with a third place match at heavyweight, when Jacob Aiken-Phillips won an injury default over Doug Vollaro of Lehigh in the second period.
Joining Garrett as individual champions were Chris Villalonga at 149, Brian Realbuto at 157, Gabe Dean at 184 and Jace Bennett at 197. Cornell qualified eight athletes for the NCAA Div. I Championships.
Dean was named Outstanding Wrestler after a grueling 8-2 win over a tough Nate Brown of Lehigh at 184 pounds. Brown was close to scoring early, but Dean kept on the pressure and was powerful on his feet. He is expected to be the No. 1 seed at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis.
Villalonga beat Princeton’s Chris Perez of Princeton in the finals, 2-0. Realbuto was in control throughout his 6-1 win over John Boyle of American. Bennett jumped to an early lead and stopped Canaan Bethea of Pennsylvania, 4-2.
“We didn’t lose a match in the consis or finals, and we lost five on the weekend, which is more than we wanted to lose. If they told me would lose just five the day before, I would have taken it and run. Lehigh has a heck of a tough team, and this has been a great tournament to get us ready for nationals,” said
For runner-up Lehigh, it was a frustrating final night in their home gym, as three of four finalists lost. The lone winner for the Mountain Hawks was Randy Cruz, the champion at 141, who was very solid in his 6-1 win over Jordan Laster of Princeton. Lehigh qualified seven individuals for the NCAAs.
“Our guys all fought, and that is all we ask. It didn’t go our way tonight, but the bottom line is we are going to the NCAA Tournament with these guys and we have to get them healthy and ready to go in two weeks,” said Lehigh coach Pat Santoro.
It was a good night for Navy on the individual basis, with two champions, Peyton Walsh at 165 and Jadaen Bernstein at 174. Walsh on his final by injury default when Cornell’s Dylan Palacio did not wrestle in the finals. It was followed by a stunning sudden victory overtime win by Jadaen Bernstein, who took down Santiago Martinez of Lehigh for a 3-1 win.
Two teams in their second year in the conference got their first ever EIWA champions, as Kevin Devoy of Drexel won at 133 and Tyler Deuel of Binghamton was the 285 champion.
Devoy, seeded second, knocked off top seed Mason Beckman of Lehigh in the second tiebreaker, 7-7 with 10 seconds of riding time. Devoy jumped to a 3-0 lead on backpoints and Beckman battled back to force overtime.
Deuel threw Bucknell’s Joe Stolfi to his back to secure a pin in just 1:27.
Bucknell had no individual champions, but placed third in the team standings with 90 points, as its coach Dan Wirnsberger was named Coach of the Year. Rounding out the top five schools were Columbia at 82 and Pennsylvania at 81.
EIWA CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Bethlehem, Pa., March 7
125 pounds (3 NCAA qualifiers)
1st – Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) dec. David Terao (American), 9-5
3rd – Paul Petrov (Bucknell) dec. Scott Parker (Lehigh), 5-3
5th – Billy Waterson (Brown) dec. Johnson Mai (Colombia), 6-0
7th – David White (Binghamton) dec. Zach Fuentes (Drexel), 4-2
133 pounds (3 NCAA qualifiers)
1st - Kevin Devoy (Drexel) dec. Mason Beckman (Lehigh), 7-7, 2nd t.b. (:10 rt)
3rd – Mark Grey (Cornell) dec. Angelo Amenta (Columbia), 7-4
5th – Grimaldi Gonzalez (Bucknell) dec. Josh Terao (American), 5-3
7th – Zachary Davis (Navy) med. Caleb Richardson (Pennsylvania)
141 pounds (5 NCAA qualifiers)
1st - Randy Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Jordan Laster (Princeton), 6-1
3rd – Tyler Smith (Bucknell) dec. David Pearce (Drexel), 9-8. s.v.
5th –Jamel Hudson (Hofstra) dec. Jeff Canfora (Pennsylvania), 3-2
7th – Dylan Realbuto (Cornell) dec. Logan Everett (Army), 12-5
149 pounds (3 NCAA qualifiers)
1st - Christopher Villalonga (Cornell) dec. Chris Perez (Princeton), 2-0
3rd – Matthew Cimato (Drexel) dec. Victor Lopez (Bucknell), 5-3
5th – C.J. Cobb (Pennsylvania) dec. Drew Longo (Lehigh), 6-3
7th – Cody Ruggirello (Hofstra) med. fft. over Steven Galiardo (Brown)
157 pounds (7 NCAA qualifiers)
1st - Brian Realbuto (Cornell) dec. John Boyle (American), 6-1
3rd – Noel Blanco (Drexel) med fft. Mitchell Minotti (Lehigh)
5th – Russell Parsons (Army) dec. Brooks Martino (Pennsylvania), 10-3
7th – Markus Scheidel (Columbia) pin Rich Eva (Princeton), 0:31
165 pounds (4 NCAA qualifiers)
1st - Peyton Walsh (Navy) med. fft. over Dylan Palacio (Cornell)
3rd – Coleman Gracey (Army) dec. Tyrel White (Columbia), 4-2
5th – Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton) dec. Raamiah Bethea (Pennsylvania), 4-3
7th – Marshall Peppelman (Lehigh) pin Zach Zupan (Binghamton), 5:54
174 pounds (2 NCAA qualifiers)
1st - Jadaen Bernstein (Navy) dec. Santiago Martinez (Lehigh), 3-1, s.v.
3rd – Duke Pickett (Cornell) dec. Brian Harvey (Army), 2-2, 3rd t.b. (0:07 rt)
5th – Shane Hughes (Columbia) pin Conan Schuster (Sacred Heart), 5:52
7th – Steven Schneider (Binghamton) dec. Richard McDonald (Brown), 5-1
184 pounds (6 NCAA qualifiers)
1st - Gabe Dean (Cornell) dec. Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh), 8-2
3rd – Lorenzo Thomas (Pennsylvania) maj. dec. Ophir Bernstein (Brown), 13-3
5th – Thomas Sleigh (Bucknell) dec. Jack McKeever (Binghamton), 1-0
7th –Mike Woulfe (Navy) dec. Zach Hernandez (Columbia), 4-2
197 pounds (5 NCAA qualifiers)
1st - Jace Bennett (Cornell) dec. Canaan Bethea (Pennsylvania), 4-2
3rd – Abram Ayala (Princeton) med. fft over Eliot Riddick (Lehigh)
5th – Bryce Barnes (Army) dec. Matt Idelson (Columbia), 11-4
7th – Caleb Wallace (Binghamton) maj. dec. Steben Cervantes (Navy), 16-5
285 pounds (5 NCAA qualifiers)
1st - Tyler Deuel (Binghamton) pin Joe Stolfi (Bucknell), 1:27
3rd – Jacob Aiken-Phillips (Cornell) inj. dft over Doug Vollaro (Lehigh). 3:11
5th – David Ng (Harvard) dec. Garrett Ryan (Columbia), 2-0
7th – Mike Hughes (Hofstra) pin Ray O’Donnell (Princeton), 0:53
Team Scores
1. Cornell, 176
2. Lehigh, 146
3. Bucknell, 90
4. Columbia, 82
5. Pennsylvania, 81
6. Drexel, 71.5
7. Princeton, 70
8. Navy, 63
9. Binghamton, 62
10. Army, 55
11. Brown, 42.5
12. American, 38.5
13. Hofstra, 33
14. Harvard, 24
15. Sacred Heart, 11.5
16. Franklin and Marshall, 4
The run started with NCAA runner-up Nahshon Garrett, who won his third EIWA crown at 125 pounds with a lightning display of takedowns to defeat David Terao of American, 9-5. Garrett received a special award for having scored the most team points in his career, even though he is a junior.
It ended with a third place match at heavyweight, when Jacob Aiken-Phillips won an injury default over Doug Vollaro of Lehigh in the second period.
Joining Garrett as individual champions were Chris Villalonga at 149, Brian Realbuto at 157, Gabe Dean at 184 and Jace Bennett at 197. Cornell qualified eight athletes for the NCAA Div. I Championships.
Dean was named Outstanding Wrestler after a grueling 8-2 win over a tough Nate Brown of Lehigh at 184 pounds. Brown was close to scoring early, but Dean kept on the pressure and was powerful on his feet. He is expected to be the No. 1 seed at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis.
Villalonga beat Princeton’s Chris Perez of Princeton in the finals, 2-0. Realbuto was in control throughout his 6-1 win over John Boyle of American. Bennett jumped to an early lead and stopped Canaan Bethea of Pennsylvania, 4-2.
“We didn’t lose a match in the consis or finals, and we lost five on the weekend, which is more than we wanted to lose. If they told me would lose just five the day before, I would have taken it and run. Lehigh has a heck of a tough team, and this has been a great tournament to get us ready for nationals,” said
For runner-up Lehigh, it was a frustrating final night in their home gym, as three of four finalists lost. The lone winner for the Mountain Hawks was Randy Cruz, the champion at 141, who was very solid in his 6-1 win over Jordan Laster of Princeton. Lehigh qualified seven individuals for the NCAAs.
“Our guys all fought, and that is all we ask. It didn’t go our way tonight, but the bottom line is we are going to the NCAA Tournament with these guys and we have to get them healthy and ready to go in two weeks,” said Lehigh coach Pat Santoro.
It was a good night for Navy on the individual basis, with two champions, Peyton Walsh at 165 and Jadaen Bernstein at 174. Walsh on his final by injury default when Cornell’s Dylan Palacio did not wrestle in the finals. It was followed by a stunning sudden victory overtime win by Jadaen Bernstein, who took down Santiago Martinez of Lehigh for a 3-1 win.
Two teams in their second year in the conference got their first ever EIWA champions, as Kevin Devoy of Drexel won at 133 and Tyler Deuel of Binghamton was the 285 champion.
Devoy, seeded second, knocked off top seed Mason Beckman of Lehigh in the second tiebreaker, 7-7 with 10 seconds of riding time. Devoy jumped to a 3-0 lead on backpoints and Beckman battled back to force overtime.
Deuel threw Bucknell’s Joe Stolfi to his back to secure a pin in just 1:27.
Bucknell had no individual champions, but placed third in the team standings with 90 points, as its coach Dan Wirnsberger was named Coach of the Year. Rounding out the top five schools were Columbia at 82 and Pennsylvania at 81.
EIWA CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Bethlehem, Pa., March 7
125 pounds (3 NCAA qualifiers)
1st – Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) dec. David Terao (American), 9-5
3rd – Paul Petrov (Bucknell) dec. Scott Parker (Lehigh), 5-3
5th – Billy Waterson (Brown) dec. Johnson Mai (Colombia), 6-0
7th – David White (Binghamton) dec. Zach Fuentes (Drexel), 4-2
133 pounds (3 NCAA qualifiers)
1st - Kevin Devoy (Drexel) dec. Mason Beckman (Lehigh), 7-7, 2nd t.b. (:10 rt)
3rd – Mark Grey (Cornell) dec. Angelo Amenta (Columbia), 7-4
5th – Grimaldi Gonzalez (Bucknell) dec. Josh Terao (American), 5-3
7th – Zachary Davis (Navy) med. Caleb Richardson (Pennsylvania)
141 pounds (5 NCAA qualifiers)
1st - Randy Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Jordan Laster (Princeton), 6-1
3rd – Tyler Smith (Bucknell) dec. David Pearce (Drexel), 9-8. s.v.
5th –Jamel Hudson (Hofstra) dec. Jeff Canfora (Pennsylvania), 3-2
7th – Dylan Realbuto (Cornell) dec. Logan Everett (Army), 12-5
149 pounds (3 NCAA qualifiers)
1st - Christopher Villalonga (Cornell) dec. Chris Perez (Princeton), 2-0
3rd – Matthew Cimato (Drexel) dec. Victor Lopez (Bucknell), 5-3
5th – C.J. Cobb (Pennsylvania) dec. Drew Longo (Lehigh), 6-3
7th – Cody Ruggirello (Hofstra) med. fft. over Steven Galiardo (Brown)
157 pounds (7 NCAA qualifiers)
1st - Brian Realbuto (Cornell) dec. John Boyle (American), 6-1
3rd – Noel Blanco (Drexel) med fft. Mitchell Minotti (Lehigh)
5th – Russell Parsons (Army) dec. Brooks Martino (Pennsylvania), 10-3
7th – Markus Scheidel (Columbia) pin Rich Eva (Princeton), 0:31
165 pounds (4 NCAA qualifiers)
1st - Peyton Walsh (Navy) med. fft. over Dylan Palacio (Cornell)
3rd – Coleman Gracey (Army) dec. Tyrel White (Columbia), 4-2
5th – Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton) dec. Raamiah Bethea (Pennsylvania), 4-3
7th – Marshall Peppelman (Lehigh) pin Zach Zupan (Binghamton), 5:54
174 pounds (2 NCAA qualifiers)
1st - Jadaen Bernstein (Navy) dec. Santiago Martinez (Lehigh), 3-1, s.v.
3rd – Duke Pickett (Cornell) dec. Brian Harvey (Army), 2-2, 3rd t.b. (0:07 rt)
5th – Shane Hughes (Columbia) pin Conan Schuster (Sacred Heart), 5:52
7th – Steven Schneider (Binghamton) dec. Richard McDonald (Brown), 5-1
184 pounds (6 NCAA qualifiers)
1st - Gabe Dean (Cornell) dec. Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh), 8-2
3rd – Lorenzo Thomas (Pennsylvania) maj. dec. Ophir Bernstein (Brown), 13-3
5th – Thomas Sleigh (Bucknell) dec. Jack McKeever (Binghamton), 1-0
7th –Mike Woulfe (Navy) dec. Zach Hernandez (Columbia), 4-2
197 pounds (5 NCAA qualifiers)
1st - Jace Bennett (Cornell) dec. Canaan Bethea (Pennsylvania), 4-2
3rd – Abram Ayala (Princeton) med. fft over Eliot Riddick (Lehigh)
5th – Bryce Barnes (Army) dec. Matt Idelson (Columbia), 11-4
7th – Caleb Wallace (Binghamton) maj. dec. Steben Cervantes (Navy), 16-5
285 pounds (5 NCAA qualifiers)
1st - Tyler Deuel (Binghamton) pin Joe Stolfi (Bucknell), 1:27
3rd – Jacob Aiken-Phillips (Cornell) inj. dft over Doug Vollaro (Lehigh). 3:11
5th – David Ng (Harvard) dec. Garrett Ryan (Columbia), 2-0
7th – Mike Hughes (Hofstra) pin Ray O’Donnell (Princeton), 0:53
Team Scores
1. Cornell, 176
2. Lehigh, 146
3. Bucknell, 90
4. Columbia, 82
5. Pennsylvania, 81
6. Drexel, 71.5
7. Princeton, 70
8. Navy, 63
9. Binghamton, 62
10. Army, 55
11. Brown, 42.5
12. American, 38.5
13. Hofstra, 33
14. Harvard, 24
15. Sacred Heart, 11.5
16. Franklin and Marshall, 4
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