Cornell ahead of Lehigh by 12 points as semifinal pairings set at EIWA Championships
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Two-time NCAA champion Gabe Dean of Cornell scores a takedown against Joe Heyob of Penn in the EIWA quarterfinals. Photo by Sabrina Smith, Cornell University
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Cornell led Lehigh by 12 points as both teams advanced six wrestlers to Saturday morning’s semifinals after the Friday evening session at the EIWA Championships held at Bucknell University. Cornell is seeking a record 11th straight conference title.
“It is like with Lehigh, a lot of good, a lot of bad. I have no idea what the score is right now. Our horses need to win big for us in the finals. Right off the bat tomorrow, you can get to the national championships and that is what this is all about. If you can win it along the way, that’s a nice bonus. We have won 10 times in a row, and it would be sweet to take that 11th one,” said Cornell head coach Rob Koll.
For both teams, bonus points were much harder to get in the quarterfinals than the first session. Two of Cornell’s top stars scored technical falls in the quarters, No. 1 seed and returning champion Brian Realbuto at 174 and two-time NCAA champion and three-time EIWA champion Gabe Dean at 184. Both had scored pins in the first round.
Realbuto scored a 16-1 technical fall over Andrew Labrie of Brown in his quarterfinal match, and has drawn No. 4 seed and a 2015 EIWA champion Jadean Bernstein of Navy in the semifinals.
“It is big for the team race. Our coach just kind of had it in our minds that if we had a lead, we should go for bonus points. When we are wrestling, we are trying to put points on the board. That wasn’t my prettiest match out there, but I am feeling pretty good overall,: said Realbuto.
Competing in his final EIWA Championships as a senior, Dean got his offense rolling in the quarterfinals in a 21-6 technical fall over Joe Heyob of Penn. He has drawn No. 4 seed Samson Imonode of Army in the semifinals.
“I need to keep going forward and pushing. It is going well this year. I only have a few days left, so I have to keep pushing. The bonus points are important in this tournament, especially when you are facing other great teams. We have to keep trying to score bonus points as a team,” said Dean.
For Lehigh, only two of their quarterfinal winners scored bonus points, as No. 1 seed and returning champion Darien Cruz got a technical fall at 125 and No. 1 seed Scott Parker got a major decision at 133. Lehigh is trying to make up for the loss of No. 1 seed Jordan Kutler, who missed weight at 157 pounds.
Cornell and Lehigh battled just once in the quarterfinals, when No. 2 seed Randy Cruz of Lehigh faced No. 7 Will Koll of Cornell at 141 pounds. Cruz, who won EIWA titles in 2013 and 2015, defeated Koll, 6-0 and will face No. 3 seed Tyler Smith of Bucknell in the semifinals.
Lehigh suffered a key loss at 165 pounds in the quarterfinals when No. 2 seed Cole Walter was beaten by No. 7 Brooks Martino of Penn, 8-4.
During the semifinals, Cornell saw a seed go down at 197, when unseeded Rocco Caywood of Army beat No. 5 seed Ben Honis, 4-3 on a riding time point. Caywood had just 1:04 in riding time. It was Caywood’s second upset of the day, after beating No. 4 Steban Cervantes of Navy in the first round.
Cornell led by just four points after the quarterfinal round. It was followed by a round of consolations, which Cornell had four alive and Lehigh just two wrestlers. Cornell won three matches in that consolation round, while Lehigh won one bout, and the lead was extended by eight points.
Cornell’s heavyweight, No. 6 seed Craig Scott, lost by an injury default in his quarterfinals against No. 3 Garrett Ryan of Columbia. Coaches helped him off the mat after the bout was stopped due to the injury. However, Scott came back in the consolations with a 3-2 win over Omar Haddad of Hofstra to score some team points and continue in the tournament.
Lehigh suffered another setback in the consolations, when No. 6 seed Ben Haas lost by an injury default to Steban Cervantes of Navy at 197 pounds, unable to continue after 32 seconds.
“Overall, we wrestled pretty well. Obviously, our day did not start off great. We have a lot of wrestling ahead of us. We have a big day tomorrow. It is a big point day,” said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. “They have been (scoring bonus points) all year. They are just wrestling the whole time, trying to score as many points as they can. We have done a good job but we have to make up some ground tomorrow.
Princeton moved into third place in the second session, putting five wrestlers in the semifinals and scoring 64.5 points, just five points behind Lehigh. Rounding out the top five is Army in fourth with 55 points and Navy in fifth with 51.5 points.
There are nine returning or former EIWA champions in the field, and all have advanced to the semifinals. In addition to Dean, Realbuto, Cruz, Cruz and Bernstein, other past conference champions still in the hunt are Kevin DeVoy of Drexel at 133, Matt Cimato of Drexel at 141, Dylan Palacio of Cornell at 157 and Brett Harner of Princeton at 197
The morning session is at 10:00 a.m., with the finals scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET. The tournament is being broadcast by Flowrestling.
EIWA CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Lewisburg, Pa., March 3
Semifinal pairings
125 pounds
No. 1 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) vs. No. 4 Noah Baughman (Cornell)
No. 2 Josh Terao (American) vs. No. 6 Trey Chalifoux (Army)
133 pounds
No.1 Scott Parker (Lehigh) vs. No. 4 Mark Grey (Cornell)
No. 3 Kevin Devoy (Drexel) vs. No. 7 Jeffrey Ott (Harvard)
141 pounds
No. 1 Matt Kolodzik (Princeton) vs. No. 4 Jared Prince (Navy)
No. 2 Randy Cruz (Lehigh) vs. No. 3 Tyler Smith (Bucknell)
149 pounds
No. 1 Laike Gardner (Lehigh) vs. No. 5 Hunter Ladnier (Harvard)
No. 2 Jordan Laster (Princeton) vs. No. 3 Matt Cimato (Drexel)
157 pounds
No. 4 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) vs. No. 8 Steven Galiardo (Brown)
No. 2 Russell Parsons (Army) vs. No. 6 Mike D’Angelo (Princeton)
165 pounds
No. 1 Brandon Womack (Cornell) vs. No. 4 Jon Viruet (Brown)
No. 3 Tyrel White (Columbia) No. 7 Brooks Martino (Penn)
174 pounds
No. 1 Brian Realbuto (Cornell) vs. No. 4 Jadean Bernstein (Navy)
No. 2 Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) vs. No. 3 Casey Kent (Penn)
184 pounds
No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) vs. No. 4 Samson Imonode (Army)
No. 2 Steve Schneider (Binghamton) vs. No. 3 Michael Coleman (Navy)
197 pounds
No. 1 Tom Sleigh (Bucknell) vs. unseeded Rocco Caywood (Army)
No. 2 Brett Harner (Princeton) vs. No. 3 Frank Mattiace (Penn)
285 pounds
No. 1 Joey Goodhart (Drexel) vs. No. 4 Ray O’Donnell (Princeton)
No. 2 Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) vs. No. 3 Garrett Ryan (Columbia)
Team Standings
1. Cornell, 81.5
2. Lehigh, 69.5
3. Princeton, 64.5
4. Army, 55
5. Navy, 51.5
6. Binghamton, 48.5
7. Drexel, 46.5
8. (tie) American and Harvard, 43
10. Bucknell, 42
11. Columbia, 35.5
12. Penn, 34
13. Brown, 26
14. Hofstra, 11.5
15. Franklin and Marshall, 3.5
16. Sacred Heart, 0.5
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Cornell led Lehigh by 12 points as both teams advanced six wrestlers to Saturday morning’s semifinals after the Friday evening session at the EIWA Championships held at Bucknell University. Cornell is seeking a record 11th straight conference title.
“It is like with Lehigh, a lot of good, a lot of bad. I have no idea what the score is right now. Our horses need to win big for us in the finals. Right off the bat tomorrow, you can get to the national championships and that is what this is all about. If you can win it along the way, that’s a nice bonus. We have won 10 times in a row, and it would be sweet to take that 11th one,” said Cornell head coach Rob Koll.
For both teams, bonus points were much harder to get in the quarterfinals than the first session. Two of Cornell’s top stars scored technical falls in the quarters, No. 1 seed and returning champion Brian Realbuto at 174 and two-time NCAA champion and three-time EIWA champion Gabe Dean at 184. Both had scored pins in the first round.
Realbuto scored a 16-1 technical fall over Andrew Labrie of Brown in his quarterfinal match, and has drawn No. 4 seed and a 2015 EIWA champion Jadean Bernstein of Navy in the semifinals.
“It is big for the team race. Our coach just kind of had it in our minds that if we had a lead, we should go for bonus points. When we are wrestling, we are trying to put points on the board. That wasn’t my prettiest match out there, but I am feeling pretty good overall,: said Realbuto.
Competing in his final EIWA Championships as a senior, Dean got his offense rolling in the quarterfinals in a 21-6 technical fall over Joe Heyob of Penn. He has drawn No. 4 seed Samson Imonode of Army in the semifinals.
“I need to keep going forward and pushing. It is going well this year. I only have a few days left, so I have to keep pushing. The bonus points are important in this tournament, especially when you are facing other great teams. We have to keep trying to score bonus points as a team,” said Dean.
For Lehigh, only two of their quarterfinal winners scored bonus points, as No. 1 seed and returning champion Darien Cruz got a technical fall at 125 and No. 1 seed Scott Parker got a major decision at 133. Lehigh is trying to make up for the loss of No. 1 seed Jordan Kutler, who missed weight at 157 pounds.
Cornell and Lehigh battled just once in the quarterfinals, when No. 2 seed Randy Cruz of Lehigh faced No. 7 Will Koll of Cornell at 141 pounds. Cruz, who won EIWA titles in 2013 and 2015, defeated Koll, 6-0 and will face No. 3 seed Tyler Smith of Bucknell in the semifinals.
Lehigh suffered a key loss at 165 pounds in the quarterfinals when No. 2 seed Cole Walter was beaten by No. 7 Brooks Martino of Penn, 8-4.
During the semifinals, Cornell saw a seed go down at 197, when unseeded Rocco Caywood of Army beat No. 5 seed Ben Honis, 4-3 on a riding time point. Caywood had just 1:04 in riding time. It was Caywood’s second upset of the day, after beating No. 4 Steban Cervantes of Navy in the first round.
Cornell led by just four points after the quarterfinal round. It was followed by a round of consolations, which Cornell had four alive and Lehigh just two wrestlers. Cornell won three matches in that consolation round, while Lehigh won one bout, and the lead was extended by eight points.
Cornell’s heavyweight, No. 6 seed Craig Scott, lost by an injury default in his quarterfinals against No. 3 Garrett Ryan of Columbia. Coaches helped him off the mat after the bout was stopped due to the injury. However, Scott came back in the consolations with a 3-2 win over Omar Haddad of Hofstra to score some team points and continue in the tournament.
Lehigh suffered another setback in the consolations, when No. 6 seed Ben Haas lost by an injury default to Steban Cervantes of Navy at 197 pounds, unable to continue after 32 seconds.
“Overall, we wrestled pretty well. Obviously, our day did not start off great. We have a lot of wrestling ahead of us. We have a big day tomorrow. It is a big point day,” said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. “They have been (scoring bonus points) all year. They are just wrestling the whole time, trying to score as many points as they can. We have done a good job but we have to make up some ground tomorrow.
Princeton moved into third place in the second session, putting five wrestlers in the semifinals and scoring 64.5 points, just five points behind Lehigh. Rounding out the top five is Army in fourth with 55 points and Navy in fifth with 51.5 points.
There are nine returning or former EIWA champions in the field, and all have advanced to the semifinals. In addition to Dean, Realbuto, Cruz, Cruz and Bernstein, other past conference champions still in the hunt are Kevin DeVoy of Drexel at 133, Matt Cimato of Drexel at 141, Dylan Palacio of Cornell at 157 and Brett Harner of Princeton at 197
The morning session is at 10:00 a.m., with the finals scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET. The tournament is being broadcast by Flowrestling.
EIWA CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Lewisburg, Pa., March 3
Semifinal pairings
125 pounds
No. 1 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) vs. No. 4 Noah Baughman (Cornell)
No. 2 Josh Terao (American) vs. No. 6 Trey Chalifoux (Army)
133 pounds
No.1 Scott Parker (Lehigh) vs. No. 4 Mark Grey (Cornell)
No. 3 Kevin Devoy (Drexel) vs. No. 7 Jeffrey Ott (Harvard)
141 pounds
No. 1 Matt Kolodzik (Princeton) vs. No. 4 Jared Prince (Navy)
No. 2 Randy Cruz (Lehigh) vs. No. 3 Tyler Smith (Bucknell)
149 pounds
No. 1 Laike Gardner (Lehigh) vs. No. 5 Hunter Ladnier (Harvard)
No. 2 Jordan Laster (Princeton) vs. No. 3 Matt Cimato (Drexel)
157 pounds
No. 4 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) vs. No. 8 Steven Galiardo (Brown)
No. 2 Russell Parsons (Army) vs. No. 6 Mike D’Angelo (Princeton)
165 pounds
No. 1 Brandon Womack (Cornell) vs. No. 4 Jon Viruet (Brown)
No. 3 Tyrel White (Columbia) No. 7 Brooks Martino (Penn)
174 pounds
No. 1 Brian Realbuto (Cornell) vs. No. 4 Jadean Bernstein (Navy)
No. 2 Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) vs. No. 3 Casey Kent (Penn)
184 pounds
No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) vs. No. 4 Samson Imonode (Army)
No. 2 Steve Schneider (Binghamton) vs. No. 3 Michael Coleman (Navy)
197 pounds
No. 1 Tom Sleigh (Bucknell) vs. unseeded Rocco Caywood (Army)
No. 2 Brett Harner (Princeton) vs. No. 3 Frank Mattiace (Penn)
285 pounds
No. 1 Joey Goodhart (Drexel) vs. No. 4 Ray O’Donnell (Princeton)
No. 2 Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) vs. No. 3 Garrett Ryan (Columbia)
Team Standings
1. Cornell, 81.5
2. Lehigh, 69.5
3. Princeton, 64.5
4. Army, 55
5. Navy, 51.5
6. Binghamton, 48.5
7. Drexel, 46.5
8. (tie) American and Harvard, 43
10. Bucknell, 42
11. Columbia, 35.5
12. Penn, 34
13. Brown, 26
14. Hofstra, 11.5
15. Franklin and Marshall, 3.5
16. Sacred Heart, 0.5
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