The Big Red won the team title by 30 points over the Mountain Hawks, scoring 176 points - just .5 off its school record. It went 8-1 in the final session, with its only loss an injury forfeit. Cornell won all five finals and three more third place matches. The lone match of the evening that affected the NCAA tournament picture came with Mark Grey punching his ticket at 133 with a third place finish. Needing to top Columbia's Angelo Amenta to automatically qualify, the sophomore did just that with a controlling 7-4 decision.
The night started out with Nahshon Garrett's third EIWA title at 125, scoring the program's seventh straight title at that weight after topping 17th-ranked David Terao of American for the second straight year in the championship match. Garrett dictated the match and won going away, 9-5, earning the Fletcher Award for most career points by a wrestler in the bracket.
While Garrett was honored for his career - still well in motion - sophomore Gabe Dean took home the Coach's Award for Most Outstanding Wrestler after cruising through a brutally tough 184-pound bracket. The top-ranked wrestler in the country narrowly avoided a pair of first period shots against second-seeded and third-ranked Nathaniel Brown of Lehigh in the finals before crusing to an 8-2 victory, his second of the day against a conference wrestler ranked in the top seven nationally.
Chris Villalonga (149) and Jace Bennett (197) completed repeat finishes atop the podium at Eastern's, becoming multiple-time champions along with Garrett and Dean. Villalonga used an escape and riding time to top Princeton's sixth-seeded Chris Perez by a 2-0 score and Bennett knocked off Penn's Canaan Bethea in a competitive match.
Sophomore Brian Realbuto, an NCAA All-American a season ago, won his first Eastern title with a convincing 6-1 triumph over American's John Boyle in the finals.
The most exciting match of the day came in the 174 pound consolation final between Duke Pickett and 17th-ranked Brian Harvey of Army). Each wrestler earned an escape to go into overtime knotted at 1-1. Two sudden victory sessions and four rounds of rideouts ended with the junior making his case for an at-large bid with an early escape that gave him a short riding time advantage. That seven second difference was enough to give Pickett third.
Senior heavyweight Jacob Aiken-Phillips finished third after Lehigh's Doug Vollaro was forced to injury default midway through the second period with the score tied at 0-0. Sophomore Dylan Palacio finished second at 165 after medically forfeiting out of the championship.
The ninth straight win at the meet builds on Cornell's own record and its five champions matched its total from 1993 and 2010.BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Cornell qualified six for the EIWA finals, but it was one wrestler that earned a spot in the third-place match that may have most excited the Big Red faithful on day two of the 2015 EIWA Championships at Lehigh's Stabler Arena.
Senior heavyweight Jacob Aiken-Phillips topped a pair of higher-seeded wrestlers in the consolation bracket to launch himself into the third place match and earn himself a spot at the NCAA championships for the first time in his career. He scored a comeback 7-6 victory over Hofstra's Michael Hughes in the second tiebreaker, using an escape after riding out the Pride grappler for the win. He then used a third period takedown of Columbia's Garrett Ryan, the Ivy League Rookie of the Year, to solidify his NCAA bid and send him into the third place match.
With seven NCAA qualifiers (sophomore Mike Grey could become an eighth at 133 this evening), the Big Red took command of the team lead in the morning session as well. With 151 points, Cornell enters the finals rounds with a 19-point advantage over second place Lehigh and is 65 points clear of third place Bucknell.
Nahshon Garrett had a big third period to pull away from Lehigh's Scott Parker, the first of three semifinal matchups between the two teams. Garrett, the top seed, with face 17th-ranked and second-seeded David Terao of American in the finals.
Chris Villalonga starts a run of five of six finals featuring Big Red wrestlers starting at 149. The senior topped Drexel's Matt Cimato in the semifinals by a 3-1 decision in the second tiebreaker. He will face sixth-seeded Chris Perez of Princeton in the finals.
Realbuto had a dominant semifinal win over 17th ranked Russell Parsons of Army, knocking off the No. 4 seed by a 12-3 major decision. He will wrestle for his first Eastern title tonight against American's John Boyle.
Dylan Palacio will have a chance to claim his first EIWA title as well when he meets No. 1 seed Peyton Walsh of Navy after avening one of his two losses this season with a 5-3 semifinal victory over Army's Coleman Gracey.
Both Gabe Dean (184) and Jace Bennett (197) won tight matches against top 10 foes in the semifinals, with Bennett using a late takedown and rideout of No. 10 Elliot Riddick of Lehigh for a 4-2 triumph. He will face fourth-seeded Canaan Bethea of Penn in the finals. Dean, meanwhile, knocked off Penn's Lorenzon Thomas, ranked seventh nationally, by a 10-7 decision in a high scoring bout. He will face Lehigh's third-ranked and second-seeded Nathaniel Brown in the finals in a match that will help determine the meet champion. It is the only finals matchup between the top two teams in the field.
Sophomore Mark Grey and junior Duke Pickett will also wrestle for third place after losses in the semifinals. Grey dropped a narrow 2-1 decision to Lehigh's Mason Beckman after surrendering a riding time point, but bounced back with a win over seventh-seeded Grimaldi Gonzalez of Bucknell in the wrestlebacks. He will face Columbia's sixth seed Angelo Amenta for third place and a guaranteed spot at the NCAA championships this evening. Pickett will also wrestle for third after a 3-2 loss to Jadean Bernstein of Navy in the sems and a 7-1 decision over Columbia's Shane Hughes in the wrestlebacks. Pickett will meet Army's Brian Harvey for third, though just the two two placewinners will earn bids to the NCAAs. Pickett will be a strong candidate for an at-large bid.
The Big Red's 10th placewinner was freshman Dylan Realbuto at 141, who nearly majored sixth-seeded Logan Everett of Army in the seventh place match, picking up a 12-5 win.
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