Lehigh sweeps five finals bouts to win EIWA Championships and snap Cornell’s 11-year streak
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Ryan Preisch of Lehigh presses for the pin in the finals against Max Dean of Cornell at 184 pounds. Photo by Joe Daquilo, Phototrens.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Going into the final session at the EIWA Championships, Lehigh was in the driver’s seat in its quest to win the tournament, but nothing was guaranteed. After winning all five of its finals bouts, including beating Cornell in all three head-to-head battles, Lehigh emerged with a 17.5 point victory, snapping Cornell’s 11-year stranglehold on the conference title.
Claiming titles for Lehigh were 2017 NCAA champion Darian Cruz (125), Scott Parker (133), Jordan Kutler (174), Ryan Preisch (184) and Jordan Wood (285).
It was a big day for Preisch, who scored a pin in the finals over Cornell’s freshman Max Dean, and brought home the Outstanding Wrestler and Most Falls award. It was a big day for Lehigh on the award stand. Cruz got the trophy for the most team points scored in a career at the conference meet, and head coach Pat Santoro was named Coach of the Year.
“It is a good feeling. It is nice to see these guys accomplish one of their goals. One of their goals this year was to win this championship, and they did that. I am especially happy for Darian Cruz. For five years, he has been wanting this, and he has it after a lot of hard work. Cornell has dominated this the last 12 years or so. It was good to come here and win this for the first time in a long time,” said Santoro
Lehigh came out strong, winning the first two gold-medal matches against Cornell opponents. Neither match included a takedown from either wrestler.
Cruz scored an escape against Noah Baughman of Cornell for a close 1-0 win, in which his opponent chose neutral in the third period, hoping to win it with a takedown. It was Cruz’s third EIWA individual title. Parker also finished his match against Chaz Tucker with a 1-1 tie, as both traded escapes. In overtime, Parker got an escape and rode out Tucker for a 2-1 decision to defend his 2017 EIWA title.
“It is getting more and more emotional, as my career is getting closer to the end. I am sure that when it is all done, I can get emotional about all of this, but I don’t have time for that now. Not that I am cold-hearted or anything. I have a big, warm heart, but I have to focus on what is at hand. I got past this, and now it’s the NCAA Tournament,” said Cruz.
At 184 pounds, Preisch made it three-for-three over Cornell, with his pin of Dean at the 4:31 mark. He turned Dean to his back three different times, finishing the match with a punishing move where he had a leg in and attacked the head to press for the fall. Preisch had been injured earlier in the season, and wrestled with a dominance and confidence all tournament.
“I felt really good. The challenge was good. I look (for the pin) every time. Anytime you can end the match early, I get off the mat. We knew getting pins were big for us all tournament. Getting a pin against a Cornell guy is the icing on the cake,” said Preisch.
Kutler edged a former EIWA champion, Navy’s Jadaen Bernstein, 2-0, on an escape and riding time. Wood, a No. 2 seed, knocked off top seed and local hero Michael Hughes of Hofstra, 2-1 in overtime. After a 1-1 tie in regulation and no takedown in sudden victory, Wood got his escape, then rode out the much bigger Hughes to secure the title.
Cornell had six finalists, and won all three of their other bouts. Freshmen stars Yianni Diakomihalis (141) and Ben Darmstadt (197) reached the top of the podium for the Big Red, along with U.S. Greco-Roman National Team member Jon Jay Chavez (165). All three were able to get their high-powered offenses unleashed in the finals.
Diakomihalis, a Cadet World freestyle champion in high school, won his first conference title scoring takedowns regularly against No. 2 seed Tyler Smith of Bucknell in a 17-9 major decision. Darmstadt, ranked No. 1 in some of the national rankings, also got a major decision, stopping Penn star Frank Mattiace in the finals, 10-0. Chavez, who focused most of his early years in college on Greco-Roman, showed some great leg attack offense and technique on top as well, beating Jonathan Schleifer of Princeton, 10-4.
Others claiming EIWA titles were Matt Kolodzik of Princeton at 149 and Markus Scheidel of Columbia at 157. Kolodzik defended his 2017 EIWA title, stopping the amazing run of No. 10 seed Frank Garcia of Binghamton, 13-6. Scheidel, a 2014 EIWA runner-up, won a tight 4-3 decision over Mike D’Angelo of Princeton, with a riding time point making the difference.
Closing out the team race was Princeton in third with 93 points, Drexel in fourth with 86.5 points and Navy in fifth with 83 points.
The EIWA had the second-most automatic NCAA qualifiers of all conferences with 47, behind only the Big Ten. For many athletes, it was a big day as they qualified for the NCAA’s in Cleveland in two weeks. However, for those affiliated with the storied Lehigh program, this was as day to celebrate which was a long time waiting.
EIWA CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Bethlehem, Pa.
125 pounds
1st - Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec Noah Baughman (Cornell), 1-0
3rd - Zack Fuentes (Drexel) dec Gage Curry (American), 3-1
5th - Joe Nelson (Binghamton) forfeit Trey Chalifoux (Army)
7th - Nolan Hellickson (Harvard) pin Matteo Devincenzo (Princeton), 5:27
133 pounds
1st - Scott Parker (Lehigh) dec Chaz Tucker (Cornell), 2-1 OT
3rd - Austin Desanto (Drexel) dec Josh Terao (American), 10-8
5th –Jonathan Gomez (Princeton) forfeit Jacob Nicholson (Binghamton)
7th - Lane Peters (Army) dec David Campbell (Bucknell), 5-0
141 pounds
1st - Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) maj dec Tyler Smith (Bucknell), 17-9
3rd - Luke Karam (Lehigh) dec Nicholas Gil (Navy), 1-0
5th - AJ Jaffe (Harvard) maj dec Zeke Salvo (Brown), 18-7
7th - JP Ascolese (Columbia) dec Pat D'arcy (Princeton), 7-1
149 pounds
1st - Matt Kolodzik (Princeton) dec Frank Garcia (Binghamton), 13-6
3rd - Jared Prince (Navy) tech fall Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh), 16-1,6:16
5th - Hunter Ladnier (Harvard) dec Michael Sprague (American), 7-3
7th - Jacob Macalolooy (Columbia) dec Ryan Burkert (Hofstra), 4-1
157 pounds
1st - Markus Scheidel (Columbia) dec Mike D'Angelo (Princeton), 4-3
3rd - Garett Hammond (Drexel) dec Lucas Weiland (Army), 5-3
5th - Joe Velliquette (Penn) forf Justin Staudenmayer (Brown)
7th - Brock Wilson (Harvard) dec Tristan Rifanburg (Binghamton), 5-0
165 pounds
1st - Jon Jay Chavez (Cornell) dec Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton), 10-4
3rd - Drew Daniels (Navy) maj dec May Bethea (Penn), 10-2
5th - Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) forf Jon Viruet (Brown)
7th - Ebed Jarrell (Drexel) dec Andrew Mendel (Army), 8-5
174 pounds
1st - Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) dec Jadaen Bernstein (Navy), 2-0
3rd - Brandon Womack (Cornell) pin Ben Harvey (Army), 3:54
5th - Josef Johnson (Harvard) dec Tyrel White (Columbia), 3-2 OT
7th - Austin Rose (Drexel) dec Sage Heller (Hofstra), 7-2
184 pounds
1st - Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) pin Max Dean (Cornell), 4:31
3rd –Steve Schneider (Binghamton) med forf Michael Coleman (Navy)
5th - CJ Lafragola (Brown) med forf Alex Deciantis (Drexel)
7th - Joe Heyob (Penn) maj dec Drew Phipps (Bucknell), 13-5
197 pounds
1st - Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) maj dec Frank Mattiace (Penn), 10-0
3rd - Stephen Loiseau (Drexel) dec Jeric Kasunic (American), 3-2
5th - Patrick Brucki (Princeton) dec Chris Weiler (Lehigh), 9-6
7th - Rocco Caywood (Army) dec Tucker Ziegler (Brown), 7-5
285 pounds
1st - Jordan Wood (Lehigh) dec Michael Hughes (Hofstra), 2-1 OT
3rd - Jeramy Sweany (Cornell) dec Garrett Ryan (Columbia), 5-4
5th - Antonio Pelusi (F&M) dec Brett Dempsey (American), 2-1
7th - Christian Araneo (Princeton) m for Ian Butterbrodt (Brown)
Team Standings
1 Lehigh 164.5
2 Cornell 146
3 Princeton 93
4 Drexel 86.5
5 Navy 83
6 American 66.5
7 Binghamton 65.5
8 Army 56.5
9 Columbia 55.5
10 Brown 50
11 Harvard 49.5
12 Penn 48.5
13 Hofstra 37
14 Bucknell 32
15 F&M 17.5
16 Sacred Heart 2.5
Automatic NCAA qualifiers
125 pounds (1 qualifier)
Darian Cruz (Lehigh)
133 pounds (3 qualifiers)
Scott Parker (Lehigh), Chaz Tucker (Cornell), Austin Desanto (Drexel)
141 pounds (4 qualifiers)
Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell), Tyler Smith (Bucknell), Luke Karam (Lehigh), Nicholas Gil (Navy)
149 pounds (4 qualifiers)
Matt Kolodzik (Princeton), Frank Garcia (Binghamton), Jared Prince (Navy), Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh)
157 pounds (6 qualifiers)
Markus Scheidel (Columbia), Mike D'Angelo (Princeton), Garett Hammond (Drexel), Lucas Weiland (Army),
Joe Velliquette (Penn), Justin Staudenmayer (Brown)
165 pounds (6 qualifiers)
Jon Jay Chavez (Cornell), Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton), Drew Daniels (Navy) , May Bethea (Penn), Gordon Wolf (Lehigh), Jon Viruet (Brown)
174 pounds (5 qualifiers)
Jordan Kutler (Lehigh), Jadaen Bernstein (Navy), Brandon Womack (Cornell), Ben Harvey (Army), Josef Johnson (Harvard)
184 pounds (7 qualifiers)
Ryan Preisch (Lehigh), Max Dean (Cornell), Michael Coleman (Navy), Steve Schneider (Binghamton), CJ Lafragola (Brown), Alex Deciantis (Drexel), Joe Heyob (Penn)
197 pounds (6 qualifiers)
Ben Darmstadt (Cornell), Frank Mattiace (Penn), Stephen Loiseau (Drexel), Jeric Kasunic (American), Patrick Brucki (Princeton), Chris Weiler (Lehigh),
285 pounds (5 qualifiers)
Jordan Wood (Lehigh), Michael Hughes (Hofstra), Jeramy Sweany (Cornell), Garrett Ryan (Columbia), Antonio Pelusi (F&M)
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Going into the final session at the EIWA Championships, Lehigh was in the driver’s seat in its quest to win the tournament, but nothing was guaranteed. After winning all five of its finals bouts, including beating Cornell in all three head-to-head battles, Lehigh emerged with a 17.5 point victory, snapping Cornell’s 11-year stranglehold on the conference title.
Claiming titles for Lehigh were 2017 NCAA champion Darian Cruz (125), Scott Parker (133), Jordan Kutler (174), Ryan Preisch (184) and Jordan Wood (285).
It was a big day for Preisch, who scored a pin in the finals over Cornell’s freshman Max Dean, and brought home the Outstanding Wrestler and Most Falls award. It was a big day for Lehigh on the award stand. Cruz got the trophy for the most team points scored in a career at the conference meet, and head coach Pat Santoro was named Coach of the Year.
“It is a good feeling. It is nice to see these guys accomplish one of their goals. One of their goals this year was to win this championship, and they did that. I am especially happy for Darian Cruz. For five years, he has been wanting this, and he has it after a lot of hard work. Cornell has dominated this the last 12 years or so. It was good to come here and win this for the first time in a long time,” said Santoro
Lehigh came out strong, winning the first two gold-medal matches against Cornell opponents. Neither match included a takedown from either wrestler.
Cruz scored an escape against Noah Baughman of Cornell for a close 1-0 win, in which his opponent chose neutral in the third period, hoping to win it with a takedown. It was Cruz’s third EIWA individual title. Parker also finished his match against Chaz Tucker with a 1-1 tie, as both traded escapes. In overtime, Parker got an escape and rode out Tucker for a 2-1 decision to defend his 2017 EIWA title.
“It is getting more and more emotional, as my career is getting closer to the end. I am sure that when it is all done, I can get emotional about all of this, but I don’t have time for that now. Not that I am cold-hearted or anything. I have a big, warm heart, but I have to focus on what is at hand. I got past this, and now it’s the NCAA Tournament,” said Cruz.
At 184 pounds, Preisch made it three-for-three over Cornell, with his pin of Dean at the 4:31 mark. He turned Dean to his back three different times, finishing the match with a punishing move where he had a leg in and attacked the head to press for the fall. Preisch had been injured earlier in the season, and wrestled with a dominance and confidence all tournament.
“I felt really good. The challenge was good. I look (for the pin) every time. Anytime you can end the match early, I get off the mat. We knew getting pins were big for us all tournament. Getting a pin against a Cornell guy is the icing on the cake,” said Preisch.
Kutler edged a former EIWA champion, Navy’s Jadaen Bernstein, 2-0, on an escape and riding time. Wood, a No. 2 seed, knocked off top seed and local hero Michael Hughes of Hofstra, 2-1 in overtime. After a 1-1 tie in regulation and no takedown in sudden victory, Wood got his escape, then rode out the much bigger Hughes to secure the title.
Cornell had six finalists, and won all three of their other bouts. Freshmen stars Yianni Diakomihalis (141) and Ben Darmstadt (197) reached the top of the podium for the Big Red, along with U.S. Greco-Roman National Team member Jon Jay Chavez (165). All three were able to get their high-powered offenses unleashed in the finals.
Diakomihalis, a Cadet World freestyle champion in high school, won his first conference title scoring takedowns regularly against No. 2 seed Tyler Smith of Bucknell in a 17-9 major decision. Darmstadt, ranked No. 1 in some of the national rankings, also got a major decision, stopping Penn star Frank Mattiace in the finals, 10-0. Chavez, who focused most of his early years in college on Greco-Roman, showed some great leg attack offense and technique on top as well, beating Jonathan Schleifer of Princeton, 10-4.
Others claiming EIWA titles were Matt Kolodzik of Princeton at 149 and Markus Scheidel of Columbia at 157. Kolodzik defended his 2017 EIWA title, stopping the amazing run of No. 10 seed Frank Garcia of Binghamton, 13-6. Scheidel, a 2014 EIWA runner-up, won a tight 4-3 decision over Mike D’Angelo of Princeton, with a riding time point making the difference.
Closing out the team race was Princeton in third with 93 points, Drexel in fourth with 86.5 points and Navy in fifth with 83 points.
The EIWA had the second-most automatic NCAA qualifiers of all conferences with 47, behind only the Big Ten. For many athletes, it was a big day as they qualified for the NCAA’s in Cleveland in two weeks. However, for those affiliated with the storied Lehigh program, this was as day to celebrate which was a long time waiting.
EIWA CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Bethlehem, Pa.
125 pounds
1st - Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec Noah Baughman (Cornell), 1-0
3rd - Zack Fuentes (Drexel) dec Gage Curry (American), 3-1
5th - Joe Nelson (Binghamton) forfeit Trey Chalifoux (Army)
7th - Nolan Hellickson (Harvard) pin Matteo Devincenzo (Princeton), 5:27
133 pounds
1st - Scott Parker (Lehigh) dec Chaz Tucker (Cornell), 2-1 OT
3rd - Austin Desanto (Drexel) dec Josh Terao (American), 10-8
5th –Jonathan Gomez (Princeton) forfeit Jacob Nicholson (Binghamton)
7th - Lane Peters (Army) dec David Campbell (Bucknell), 5-0
141 pounds
1st - Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) maj dec Tyler Smith (Bucknell), 17-9
3rd - Luke Karam (Lehigh) dec Nicholas Gil (Navy), 1-0
5th - AJ Jaffe (Harvard) maj dec Zeke Salvo (Brown), 18-7
7th - JP Ascolese (Columbia) dec Pat D'arcy (Princeton), 7-1
149 pounds
1st - Matt Kolodzik (Princeton) dec Frank Garcia (Binghamton), 13-6
3rd - Jared Prince (Navy) tech fall Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh), 16-1,6:16
5th - Hunter Ladnier (Harvard) dec Michael Sprague (American), 7-3
7th - Jacob Macalolooy (Columbia) dec Ryan Burkert (Hofstra), 4-1
157 pounds
1st - Markus Scheidel (Columbia) dec Mike D'Angelo (Princeton), 4-3
3rd - Garett Hammond (Drexel) dec Lucas Weiland (Army), 5-3
5th - Joe Velliquette (Penn) forf Justin Staudenmayer (Brown)
7th - Brock Wilson (Harvard) dec Tristan Rifanburg (Binghamton), 5-0
165 pounds
1st - Jon Jay Chavez (Cornell) dec Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton), 10-4
3rd - Drew Daniels (Navy) maj dec May Bethea (Penn), 10-2
5th - Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) forf Jon Viruet (Brown)
7th - Ebed Jarrell (Drexel) dec Andrew Mendel (Army), 8-5
174 pounds
1st - Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) dec Jadaen Bernstein (Navy), 2-0
3rd - Brandon Womack (Cornell) pin Ben Harvey (Army), 3:54
5th - Josef Johnson (Harvard) dec Tyrel White (Columbia), 3-2 OT
7th - Austin Rose (Drexel) dec Sage Heller (Hofstra), 7-2
184 pounds
1st - Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) pin Max Dean (Cornell), 4:31
3rd –Steve Schneider (Binghamton) med forf Michael Coleman (Navy)
5th - CJ Lafragola (Brown) med forf Alex Deciantis (Drexel)
7th - Joe Heyob (Penn) maj dec Drew Phipps (Bucknell), 13-5
197 pounds
1st - Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) maj dec Frank Mattiace (Penn), 10-0
3rd - Stephen Loiseau (Drexel) dec Jeric Kasunic (American), 3-2
5th - Patrick Brucki (Princeton) dec Chris Weiler (Lehigh), 9-6
7th - Rocco Caywood (Army) dec Tucker Ziegler (Brown), 7-5
285 pounds
1st - Jordan Wood (Lehigh) dec Michael Hughes (Hofstra), 2-1 OT
3rd - Jeramy Sweany (Cornell) dec Garrett Ryan (Columbia), 5-4
5th - Antonio Pelusi (F&M) dec Brett Dempsey (American), 2-1
7th - Christian Araneo (Princeton) m for Ian Butterbrodt (Brown)
Team Standings
1 Lehigh 164.5
2 Cornell 146
3 Princeton 93
4 Drexel 86.5
5 Navy 83
6 American 66.5
7 Binghamton 65.5
8 Army 56.5
9 Columbia 55.5
10 Brown 50
11 Harvard 49.5
12 Penn 48.5
13 Hofstra 37
14 Bucknell 32
15 F&M 17.5
16 Sacred Heart 2.5
Automatic NCAA qualifiers
125 pounds (1 qualifier)
Darian Cruz (Lehigh)
133 pounds (3 qualifiers)
Scott Parker (Lehigh), Chaz Tucker (Cornell), Austin Desanto (Drexel)
141 pounds (4 qualifiers)
Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell), Tyler Smith (Bucknell), Luke Karam (Lehigh), Nicholas Gil (Navy)
149 pounds (4 qualifiers)
Matt Kolodzik (Princeton), Frank Garcia (Binghamton), Jared Prince (Navy), Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh)
157 pounds (6 qualifiers)
Markus Scheidel (Columbia), Mike D'Angelo (Princeton), Garett Hammond (Drexel), Lucas Weiland (Army),
Joe Velliquette (Penn), Justin Staudenmayer (Brown)
165 pounds (6 qualifiers)
Jon Jay Chavez (Cornell), Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton), Drew Daniels (Navy) , May Bethea (Penn), Gordon Wolf (Lehigh), Jon Viruet (Brown)
174 pounds (5 qualifiers)
Jordan Kutler (Lehigh), Jadaen Bernstein (Navy), Brandon Womack (Cornell), Ben Harvey (Army), Josef Johnson (Harvard)
184 pounds (7 qualifiers)
Ryan Preisch (Lehigh), Max Dean (Cornell), Michael Coleman (Navy), Steve Schneider (Binghamton), CJ Lafragola (Brown), Alex Deciantis (Drexel), Joe Heyob (Penn)
197 pounds (6 qualifiers)
Ben Darmstadt (Cornell), Frank Mattiace (Penn), Stephen Loiseau (Drexel), Jeric Kasunic (American), Patrick Brucki (Princeton), Chris Weiler (Lehigh),
285 pounds (5 qualifiers)
Jordan Wood (Lehigh), Michael Hughes (Hofstra), Jeramy Sweany (Cornell), Garrett Ryan (Columbia), Antonio Pelusi (F&M)
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