No. 8 Lehigh leads No. 11 Cornell by 8.5 points after first session of EIWA Championships
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Top Photo courtesy of Lehigh Athletics.
Bottom Photo of Lehigh heavyweight Jordan Wood was among the seven Mountain Hawks to score first-round pins. Photo by Joe D'Aquila, Phototrens
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - The battle has begun for supremacy at the EIWA Championships, as No. 8 Lehigh and No. 11 Cornell got strong starts during the first session on Saturday. Both teams advanced all 10 of their entries into the quarterfinal round.
However, based upon their ability to get bonus points in that first session, Lehigh holds an 8.5 point lead over Cornell after session one. Cornell has won the last 11 EIWA Championships, so the strong start is helping Lehigh in its quest to snap that streak.
“Bonus points are going to be crucial in this tournament. We have to keep advancing and build up on this momentum going into tonight. Getting our guys all back was huge, about three of four weeks ago. The energy is better in the room. It’s better all round. We are excited,” said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro.
At 125, NCAA champion Darian Cruz got the Mountain Hawks off the a great start, securing a pin over Daniel Planta of Penn right off the bat, one of the first bouts of the day. Although taken down to start the match, No. 2 seed Scott Parker added another late pin at 133 over Jonathan Gomez of Princeton in 6:56. Add in a major decision at 141 pounds by No. 3 seed Luke Karam and it was a strong start.
Before the session was over, Lehigh had piled up seven pins and two major decisions. Joining Cruz and Parker with pins were the five largest athletes on the team, Gordon Wolf (165), Jordan Kutler (174), Ryan Preisch (184), Chris Weiler (197) and Jordan Wood (285). Add in two majors from Karam and Ian Brown (157).
“Cornell is getting a lot of bonus points, so keep the team race tight in the beginning is important. I went out there looking for a pin,” said Wolf.
Cornell was also active with bonus points, but not at the same rate as Lehigh. Pins by the Big Red came from freshman stars Yianni Diakomihalis (141) and Ben Darmstadt (197), plus Greco-Roman Team USA member Jon Jay Chavez (165). Other bonus points came from a technical fall from Max Dean (184) and a major decision from Brandon Womack (174).
Big Red heavyweight Jeramy Sweany got a bye, which he can convert to pin points with a win in the quarterfinals.
“It is awesome (getting the pin). They forecast a close race. I am trying to make sure that doesn’t happen. I didn’t wrestle collegiate my freshman and sophomore year. My junior year, I felt like the team needed me. It has exceeded my expectations. It is awesome to be with my teammates, who are a great group of guys,” said Chavez.
After the first round, the top five teams also included third-place Navy, fourth-place Drexel and fifth-place American.
The top seeds defeated in the first round were a pair of No. 6 wrestlers, who lost to unseeded opponents. At 133 pounds, unseeded David Campbell of Bucknell edged No. 6 Gianni Ghione of Penn, 4-2. Also at 165 pounds,
unseeded Jon Viruet of Brown upset No. 6 Vincent DePrez of Binghamton, 3-2.
A round of consolations were also held, and the teams behind Lehigh and Cornell changed slightly, with Drexel in third, Navy in fourth and Binghamton in fifth.
Fans can enjoy the competition on FloWrestling, which is providing a broadcast as well as brackets on FloArena. The evening session begins at 6:00 p.m. ET
EIWA CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Hempstead, N.Y.
Quarterfinal pairings
125 pounds
Darian Cruz (Lehigh) vs. Aslan Kilic (Navy)
Joe Nelson (Binghamton) vs. Zack Fuentes (Drexel)
Gage Curry (American) vs. Noah Baughman (Cornell)
Trey Keeley (Brown) vs. Trey Chalifoux (Army)
133 pounds
Austin Desanto (Drexel) vs. Hunter Kosco (Brown)
Lane Peters (Army) vs. Chaz Tucker (Cornell)
Josh Terao (American) vs. David Campbell (Bucknell)
Cody Trybus (Navy) vs. Scott Parker (Lehigh)
141 pounds
Yianni Diakomilhalis (Cornell) vs. Pat D'arcy (Princeton)
Aj Jaffe (Harvard) vs. Nicholas Gil (Navy)
Luke Karam (Lehigh) vs. Joe Russ (Binghamton)
Kizhan Clarke (American) vs. Tyler Smith (Bucknell)
149 pounds
Matt Kolodzik (Princeton) vs. Jacob Macalolooy (Columbia)
Michael Sprague (American) vs. Jared Prince (Navy)
Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh) vs. Hunter Ladnier (Harvard)
Frank Garcia (Binghamton) vs. Will Koll (Cornell)
157
Mike D'Angelo (Princeton) vs. Lucas Weiland (Army)
Garett Hammond (Drexel) vs. Fredy Stroker (Cornell)
Justin Staudenmayer (Brown) vs.Ian Brown (Lehigh)
Joe Velliquette (Penn) vs. Markus Scheidel (Columbia)
165
Jon Jay Chavez (Cornell) vs. Ebed Jarrell (Drexel)
Drew Daniels (Navy) vs. Gordon Wolf (Lehigh)
Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton) vs. Jon Viruet (Brown)
Andrew Mendel (Army) vs. May Bethea (Penn)
174
Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) vs. Austin Rose (Drexel)
Tyrel White (Columbia) vs. Brandon Womack (Cornell)
Ben Harvey (Army) vs. Josef Johnson (Harvard)
Anthony Lombardo (Binghamton) vs. Jadaen Bernstein (Navy)
184
Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) vs.Drew Phipps (Bucknell)
CJ Lafragola (Brown) vs. Alex Deciantis (Drexel)
Steve Schneider (Binghamton) vs. Michael Coleman (Navy)
Joe Heyob (Penn) vs. Max Dean (Cornell)
197
Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) vs. Steban Cervantes (Navy)
Jeric Kasunic (American) vs. Chris Weiler (Lehigh)
Frank Mattiace (Penn) vs. Stephen Loiseau (Drexel)
Tucker Ziegler (Brown) vs. Patrick Brucki (Princeton)
285
Michael Hughes (Hofstra) vs. Ian Butterbrodt (Brown)
Brett Dempsey (American) vs. Jeramy Sweany (Cornell)
Garrett Ryan (Columbia) vs. Antonio Pelusi (F&M)
Christian Araneo (Princeton) vs. Jordan Wood (Lehigh)
EIWA standings after first session
1. Lehigh, 26
2. Cornell, 17.5
3. Drexel, 17
4. Navy, 16
5. Binghamton, 14.5
6. American, 14
7. Army, 13
8. Princeton, 12.5
9. Hofstra 12
10. Columbia 11
11. Bucknell 9.5
12. Brown 9
12. Harvard 9
14. F&M 8.5
15. Penn, 5.5
16. Sacred Heart, 2.5
Bottom Photo of Lehigh heavyweight Jordan Wood was among the seven Mountain Hawks to score first-round pins. Photo by Joe D'Aquila, Phototrens
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - The battle has begun for supremacy at the EIWA Championships, as No. 8 Lehigh and No. 11 Cornell got strong starts during the first session on Saturday. Both teams advanced all 10 of their entries into the quarterfinal round.
However, based upon their ability to get bonus points in that first session, Lehigh holds an 8.5 point lead over Cornell after session one. Cornell has won the last 11 EIWA Championships, so the strong start is helping Lehigh in its quest to snap that streak.
“Bonus points are going to be crucial in this tournament. We have to keep advancing and build up on this momentum going into tonight. Getting our guys all back was huge, about three of four weeks ago. The energy is better in the room. It’s better all round. We are excited,” said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro.
At 125, NCAA champion Darian Cruz got the Mountain Hawks off the a great start, securing a pin over Daniel Planta of Penn right off the bat, one of the first bouts of the day. Although taken down to start the match, No. 2 seed Scott Parker added another late pin at 133 over Jonathan Gomez of Princeton in 6:56. Add in a major decision at 141 pounds by No. 3 seed Luke Karam and it was a strong start.
Before the session was over, Lehigh had piled up seven pins and two major decisions. Joining Cruz and Parker with pins were the five largest athletes on the team, Gordon Wolf (165), Jordan Kutler (174), Ryan Preisch (184), Chris Weiler (197) and Jordan Wood (285). Add in two majors from Karam and Ian Brown (157).
“Cornell is getting a lot of bonus points, so keep the team race tight in the beginning is important. I went out there looking for a pin,” said Wolf.
Cornell was also active with bonus points, but not at the same rate as Lehigh. Pins by the Big Red came from freshman stars Yianni Diakomihalis (141) and Ben Darmstadt (197), plus Greco-Roman Team USA member Jon Jay Chavez (165). Other bonus points came from a technical fall from Max Dean (184) and a major decision from Brandon Womack (174).
Big Red heavyweight Jeramy Sweany got a bye, which he can convert to pin points with a win in the quarterfinals.
“It is awesome (getting the pin). They forecast a close race. I am trying to make sure that doesn’t happen. I didn’t wrestle collegiate my freshman and sophomore year. My junior year, I felt like the team needed me. It has exceeded my expectations. It is awesome to be with my teammates, who are a great group of guys,” said Chavez.
After the first round, the top five teams also included third-place Navy, fourth-place Drexel and fifth-place American.
The top seeds defeated in the first round were a pair of No. 6 wrestlers, who lost to unseeded opponents. At 133 pounds, unseeded David Campbell of Bucknell edged No. 6 Gianni Ghione of Penn, 4-2. Also at 165 pounds,
unseeded Jon Viruet of Brown upset No. 6 Vincent DePrez of Binghamton, 3-2.
A round of consolations were also held, and the teams behind Lehigh and Cornell changed slightly, with Drexel in third, Navy in fourth and Binghamton in fifth.
Fans can enjoy the competition on FloWrestling, which is providing a broadcast as well as brackets on FloArena. The evening session begins at 6:00 p.m. ET
EIWA CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Hempstead, N.Y.
Quarterfinal pairings
125 pounds
Darian Cruz (Lehigh) vs. Aslan Kilic (Navy)
Joe Nelson (Binghamton) vs. Zack Fuentes (Drexel)
Gage Curry (American) vs. Noah Baughman (Cornell)
Trey Keeley (Brown) vs. Trey Chalifoux (Army)
133 pounds
Austin Desanto (Drexel) vs. Hunter Kosco (Brown)
Lane Peters (Army) vs. Chaz Tucker (Cornell)
Josh Terao (American) vs. David Campbell (Bucknell)
Cody Trybus (Navy) vs. Scott Parker (Lehigh)
141 pounds
Yianni Diakomilhalis (Cornell) vs. Pat D'arcy (Princeton)
Aj Jaffe (Harvard) vs. Nicholas Gil (Navy)
Luke Karam (Lehigh) vs. Joe Russ (Binghamton)
Kizhan Clarke (American) vs. Tyler Smith (Bucknell)
149 pounds
Matt Kolodzik (Princeton) vs. Jacob Macalolooy (Columbia)
Michael Sprague (American) vs. Jared Prince (Navy)
Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh) vs. Hunter Ladnier (Harvard)
Frank Garcia (Binghamton) vs. Will Koll (Cornell)
157
Mike D'Angelo (Princeton) vs. Lucas Weiland (Army)
Garett Hammond (Drexel) vs. Fredy Stroker (Cornell)
Justin Staudenmayer (Brown) vs.Ian Brown (Lehigh)
Joe Velliquette (Penn) vs. Markus Scheidel (Columbia)
165
Jon Jay Chavez (Cornell) vs. Ebed Jarrell (Drexel)
Drew Daniels (Navy) vs. Gordon Wolf (Lehigh)
Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton) vs. Jon Viruet (Brown)
Andrew Mendel (Army) vs. May Bethea (Penn)
174
Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) vs. Austin Rose (Drexel)
Tyrel White (Columbia) vs. Brandon Womack (Cornell)
Ben Harvey (Army) vs. Josef Johnson (Harvard)
Anthony Lombardo (Binghamton) vs. Jadaen Bernstein (Navy)
184
Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) vs.Drew Phipps (Bucknell)
CJ Lafragola (Brown) vs. Alex Deciantis (Drexel)
Steve Schneider (Binghamton) vs. Michael Coleman (Navy)
Joe Heyob (Penn) vs. Max Dean (Cornell)
197
Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) vs. Steban Cervantes (Navy)
Jeric Kasunic (American) vs. Chris Weiler (Lehigh)
Frank Mattiace (Penn) vs. Stephen Loiseau (Drexel)
Tucker Ziegler (Brown) vs. Patrick Brucki (Princeton)
285
Michael Hughes (Hofstra) vs. Ian Butterbrodt (Brown)
Brett Dempsey (American) vs. Jeramy Sweany (Cornell)
Garrett Ryan (Columbia) vs. Antonio Pelusi (F&M)
Christian Araneo (Princeton) vs. Jordan Wood (Lehigh)
EIWA standings after first session
1. Lehigh, 26
2. Cornell, 17.5
3. Drexel, 17
4. Navy, 16
5. Binghamton, 14.5
6. American, 14
7. Army, 13
8. Princeton, 12.5
9. Hofstra 12
10. Columbia 11
11. Bucknell 9.5
12. Brown 9
12. Harvard 9
14. F&M 8.5
15. Penn, 5.5
16. Sacred Heart, 2.5
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