2025 EIWA Championships - Day One Recap

The 121st EIWA Championships kicked off today. The action in the championship bracket included the first round (round of 16), quarterfinals, and semi-finals. We saw two rounds of wrestling in the consolation bracket. Tomorrow’s action begins at 10AM with consolation semifinals and 7th place bouts. All finals, 3rd place, and 5th place matches will begin at approximately noon. 

Full brackets can be found HERE

125lbs – 2 Allocations

Session 1 

First round and quarterfinals: All of the higher seeds won in the first round, which placed seeds 1-8 into the quarters. The semifinals included the top 4 seeds. The closest quarterfinal match was between Wagner of Binghamton and Sagaris of LIU. Wagner won via tiebreakers in an awesome bout. The previous meeting of the year was a win by Wagner via fall. 

Session 2

Semifinals and consolation rounds 1 and 2: Seymour continued his run as the top seed with a pin over Wagner. Farmer defeated Pleasant in a tight 8-6 battle. Seymour and Farmer each punch their ticket to NCAAs. In the consi’s, Coen Bainey won two matches to advance to the consi-semis. Robbie Sagaris of LIU did as well. 

Finals: #1 Sheldon Seymour (LEH) vs #2 Charlie Farmer (ARMY)

Consi Semi #1: #7 Coen Bainey (AMER) vs #4 Carson Wagner (BING)

Consi Semi #2: #5 Robbie Sagaris (LIU) vs #3 Desmond Pleasant (DREX)

7th: #6 Nick Treaster (NAVY) vs #10 Julian Dawson (MSU) 

133lbs – 1 Allocation 

Session 1 

First round and quarterfinals: This was another weight where the top 8 advanced into the quarterfinals. During the quarters, the top side of the bracket had some barnburners. Top seed, Berginc of Army, defeated Leiphart of F&M after trailing 7-2 after the first period. He came away victorious in a come-from-behind win 11-8 win in overtime. Waterman of Drexel beat Roes of Binghamton for the second time this season in a tight 4-1 bout. 

Session 2

Semifinals and consolation rounds 1 and 2: In a weight class that we knew would be tight coming into the weekend, the semifinals did not disappoint. Kyle Waterman of Drexel used a takedown and rideout point to defeat Army’s top-seeded Berginc. Kurt Phipps of Bucknell snuck by Matty Lopes of Lehigh in the other semifinal. No wrestler has punched a ticket to NCAAs, as there is only one allocation. Raymond Lopez of American and Micah Roes each advanced into the consolation semis. All wrestlers in the wrestlebacks will need to hope for an at-large selection.

Finals: #4 Kyle Waterman (DREX) vs #2 Kurt Phipps (BUCK) 

Consi Semi #1: #7 Raymond Lopez (AMER) vs #1 Ethan Berginc (ARMY) 

Consi Semi #2: #5 Micah Roes (BING) vs #3 Matty Lopes (LEH)

7th: #6 Braxton Fries-Appello (SHU) vs #10 Brendan Ferretti (NAVY)

141lbs – 3 Allocations

Session 1 

First round and quarterfinals: For the third straight weight class, all top 8 seeds competed in the quarterfinals. Second-seeded Soriano of Drexel dominated his quarter by winning via tech fall. Bryce Kresho was trailing in the third until he pinned Lehigh’s Bailey. Kresho is the 5th seed, while Bailey is the 4th. Kresho suffered a loss to Bailey during the season. This was the tightest bout of that round. Top-seeded Koderhandt of Navy, and 3rd seed, Chappell of Bucknell, each won by decision. 

Session 2

Semifinals and consolation rounds 1 and 2: Josh Koderhandt of Navy won over F&M’s Bryce Kresho. The bottom half was a tight one-point win by Dylan Chappell of Bucknell over Jordan Soriano from Drexel. Chappell lost to Soriano during the season. In the consies, Army’s Rich Treanor had two wins to stay alive. Justin Hoyle of Hofstra knocked off the 4th seed, Bailey of Lehigh to continue his run. There are three allocations, which means all wrestlers in the consi semis are still alive to earn the auto bid to NCAAs 

Finals: #1 Josh Koderhandt (NAVY) vs #3 Dylan Chappell (BUCK) 

Consi Semi #1: #6 Rich Treanor (ARMY) vs #5 Bryce Kresho (F&M)

Consi Semi #2: #8 Justin Hoyle (HOF) vs #2 Jordan Soriano (DREX)

7th: #9 Nate Lucier (BING) vs #4 Carter Bailey (LEH) 

149lbs – 1 Allocation

Session 1 

First round and quarterfinals: There was one lower seed to win in the first round. Braden Bower of Bucknell came in as the 11th seed and knocked off Tapia of Hofstra. All matches in the quarters were decided by regular decision. The top 3 seeds advanced while 5th seed, Smith of Navy, knocked off Asuncion of Sacred Heart by a 7-5 score. McDaniel of Army is the top-seed. He squeaked by Drexel’s Findora, the 8th seed, by a 1-0 score. 

Session 2

Semifinals and consolation rounds 1 and 2: Trae McDaniel of Army dominated his Navy opponent nearly earning a tech fall victory. Lehigh’s Malyke Hines won 5-1. Both of the top seeds will meet in the finals with an automatic berth to NCAAs on the line. The 11th seed from Bucknell, Braden Bower, won both of his wrestle-back matches to stay alive. Noah Tapia, the 6th seed, of Hofstra advances as well. Hillard and Findora wrestled first round today, they will go at it again tomorrow for 7th place. 

Finals: #1 Trae McDaniel (ARMY) vs #2 Malyke Hines (LEH)

Consi Semi #1: #11 Braden Bower (BUCK) vs #5 Kaemen Smith (NAVY) 

Consi Semi #2: #6 Noah Tapia (HOF) vs #3 Ivan Garcia (BING) 

7th: #9 Josh Hillard (F&M) vs #8 Dom Findora (DREX) 

157lbs – 1 Allocation 

Session 1 

First round and quarterfinals: We saw some first-round drama in this weight class when 12th-seeded Greenwood of Morgan State upset 5th-seed Roberts of LIU. A last-second takedown gave him the 3-1 win. Sacred Heart’s Lettini had a close 2-1 win over Hofstra’s Clark, who was a place winner last year. They were the 8th and 9th seeds, respectively. Greenwood’s Cinderella run was cut short by a 1-0 loss to Wirnsberger of Bucknell. This weight class’s quarterfinals included four decision wins by the top four seeds to advance to the semi.

Session 2

Semifinals and consolation rounds 1 and 2: The top half of the bracket saw a very tight match between top-seed Rozynski of Lehigh and 4th-seed Wirnsberger of Bucknell. Rozynski prevailed 2-1. The bottom half was controlled by Drexel’s Luke Nichter. Two big moves followed by a third to get a fall over Ley of Navy. The top two seeds will battle it out for an auto bid to NCAAs. LIU’s Roberts won two matches in the consies to stay in the tournament. American’s Jack Nies, the 11th seed, is still wrestling and has claimed a top-six finish.

Finals: #1 Logan Rozynski (LEH) vs #2 Luke Nichter (DREX)

Consi Semi #1: #5 Brayden Roberts (LIU) vs #4 Cade Wirnsberger (BUCK)

Consi Semi #2: #11 Jack Nies (AMER) vs #3 Jonathan Ley (NAVY)

7th: #9 Jurius Clark (HOF) vs #8 Felix Lettini (SHU) 

165lbs – 2 Allocations

Session 1 

First round and quarterfinals: We saw three falls in the first round. Walsh of Drexel defeated Palmucci of F&M by a 1-0 score. The quarterfinals were much of same when Mulvaney of Bucknell, Baer of Binghamton, and Filipowicz of Army each won via major. 3rd seed, Mosher of Hofstra, was a winner by fall over Lehigh’s Grungo. 

Session 2

Semifinals and consolation rounds 1 and 2: Bucknell’s Noah Mulvaney earned a last-second takedown to upend Carter Baer of Binghamton. Mulvaney limped off the mat with the help from his trainer and coach. His status for tomorrow may be up in the air, especially since he has already clinched a trip to NCAAs. The other semifinal was won via medical forfeit by Kyle Mosher. He is Hofstra Head Coach, Jamie Franco’s, first NCAA qualifier in his new role. Army’s 2nd seed, Filipowicz, was unable to complete, unfortunately. He will hope for a wild card after failing to make the finals. Kaden Milheim of American won two matches to continue his run on the backside. Dylan Elmore of Navy did as well. It’s worth noting Morgan State’s Cooper Lockhart came in as the 12th seed. He will wrestle for 7th place tomorrow. 

Finals: #1 Noah Mulvaney (BUCK) vs #3 Kyle Mosher (HOF) 

Consi Semi #1: #7 Kaden Milheim (AMER) vs #5 Carter Baer (BING)

Consi Semi #2: #4 Dylan Elmore (NAVY) vs #2 Gunner Filipowicz (ARMY)

7th: #12 Cooper Lockhart (MSU) vs #8 Cody Walsh (DREX)

174lbs – 4 Allocations

Session 1 

First round and quarterfinals: Sacred Heart’s Zarella, the 9th seed, defeated Lehigh’s Rogers in the first round. He was the only lower seed to win that round. In the quarters, the tight match was 5th seed Army’s Harkins overtime victory over the 4th seed, Queen of Drexel. 

Session 2

Semifinals and consolation rounds 1 and 2: We saw two NCAA tickets punched. First, Danny Wask showed why he is the top seed with a win over Harkins of Army. The 2nd seed, Cassella, of Binghamton hung on to win over 3rd seeded Takats of Bucknell. American’s Caleb Campos needs one more win to punch his ticket. He will face off with Army’s Harkins. Jasiah Queen wrestled back as well. He and Takats will wrestle with an automatic bid to NCAAs on the line. 

Finals: #1 Danny Wask (NAVY) vs #2 Brevin Cassella (BING) 

Consi Semi #1: #6 Caleb Campos (AMER) vs #5 Dalton Harkins (ARMY)

Consi Semi #2: #4 Jasiah Queen (DREX) vs #3 Myles Takats (BUCK) 

7th: #8 Rylan Rogers (LEH) vs #10 Blake Bahna (LIU)

184lbs – 1 Allocation

Session 1 

First round and quarterfinals: Sacred Heart followed up with another upset win when 11th seed Perez beat Army’s 6th seed, Gilfoil. All other matches went as seeded in the first round. The quarterfinal round included one higher seed losing. Williams of Navy, the 7th seed, defeated Hoose of Drexel for the second time this season. With one allocation of the line, and the competitiveness of this weight – the semifinals will be exciting. 

Session 2

Semifinals and consolation rounds 1 and 2: Two of the closest semifinal bouts of the night occurred at this weight, unsurprisingly. Ross McFarland earned a one-point victory over top-seed Ebert of Binghamton. This was a similar result to the regular season overtime win by McFarland. On the bottom half, we saw Caden Rogers win 2-0 via escape and riding time point over Williams of Navy. This was a reversed outcome from their previous matchup during the season. Rogers or McFarland will need to win the bracket to claim an auto bid. Hoose of Drexel finds himself in the consi semifinals against top-seed Ebert. Hoose won this matchup by two points last time they squared off. LIU’s D’Alesio is looking to wrestle back for a 3rd place finish. He will need an at-large bid to return to NCAAs. For 7th, we have a rematch from the first round where Perez knocked off Gilfoil 5-4. 

Finals: #4 Ross McFarland (HOF) vs #3 Caden Rogers (LEH)

Consi Semi #1: #2 Giuseppe Hoose (DREX) vs #1 Will Ebert (BING)

Consi Semi #2: #7 Daniel Williams (NAVY) vs #8 Anthony D’Alesio (LIU) 

7th: #11 Hunter Perez (SHU) vs #6 Jake Gilfoil (ARMY) 

197lbs – 4 Allocations

Session 1 

First round and quarterfinals: The first round’s exciting match occurred with the 8th and 9th seed matchup. Moore of F&M used a reversal and backs, and ultimately earning a pin, with two seconds left for the win. In an old-fashioned rivalry between Army and Navy in the quarters between 4th seed Frable of Army and 5th seed, Thomas of Navy, Thomas walked away the winner 7-4. He reversed the result from their dual in February. The top three seeds all advanced. 

Session 2

Semifinals and consolation rounds 1 and 2: Beard of Lehigh earned another tech fall to cruise to the final. He will face Bechtold of Bucknell, who came in as the 2nd seed. He defeated Drexel’s O’Malley in overtime, reversing a loss earlier in the year. Beard won via technical fall when they wrestled in the dual. In the wrestlebacks, we still have the top eight wrestling to their respective seeds. A win in the consi-semis will earn an automatic allocation. 

Finals: #1 Michael Beard (LEH) vs #2 Dillon Bechtold (BUCK) 

Consi Semi #1: #6 Cayden Bevis (BING) vs #5 Payton Thomas (NAVY)

Consi Semi #2: #4 Wolfgang Frable (ARMY) vs #3 Mickey O’Malley (DREX)

7th: #7 Nikolas Miller (HOF) vs #8 RJ Moore (F&M)

285 – 3 Allocations 

Session 1 

First round and quarterfinals: The top eight seeds were in action in the quarters. We saw Morgan State’s Doolin become the lone semifinalist for his squad when he defeated 4th seed Jarrell of American. Doolin is the first Morgan State wrestler to compete in the semifinals in the EIWA Championships. The other close quarterfinal match was 3rd seeded Day of Binghamton earning a tight 1-0 victory over Ameer of Drexel. 

Session 2

Semifinals and consolation rounds 1 and 2: Trephan of Lehigh kept the team’s momentum rolling with a pin over Doolin. He earns his third trip to NCAAs. Day of Binghamton knocked off 2nd seed, Brady, of Army in the other semi. He also clinched his third trip to nationals. In their previous meeting, Trephan won by major decision. We will see the 9th seed Chris Powell of LIU and 8th seed Logan Shephard of Bucknell wrestle in the consolation semis. They each defeated higher-seeded wrestlers to advance. 

Finals: #1 Owen Trephan (LEH) vs #3 Cory Day (BING)

Consi Semi #1: #9 Chris Powell (LIU) vs #5 Xavier Doolin (MSU)

Consi Semi #2: #8 Logan Shephard (BUCK) vs #2 Brady Colbert (ARMY)

7th: #6 Ibrahim Ameer (DREX) vs #4 Will Jarrell (AMER)

Team Race 

Lehigh leads the way with 120 points and six finalists. Bucknell is in 2nd place with 4 finalists. Drexel leads Army by half a point with 93.5 points for 3rd place. Each team has two finalists while Drexel is the only team to place all ten place wrestlers in the top 8. Binghamton is in 5th place with 90 points and two finalists. Navy has 85 points with 2 finalists in sixth place as a team. Hofstra has two finalists, currently in a distant 7th place.