EIWA Weekly Recap (12/11/2023)

Below is a recap of last week’s EIWA action, with individual news and highlights worth noting.

Key Takeaways 

• Kai Owen of Columbia pins #6 Happel of UNI 
• Columbia takes out #19 Northern Iowa on the road
• Army has two champs at Cleveland State Open in Lukez and Harkins
• Navy’s Cerniglia comes back from injury and upsets #11 Thompson of Ohio

American  

American did not compete this past weekend. The Eagles will have no competition until they face off with Navy on 12/21. 

Army

 The Black Knights were at the Cleveland State Open – and walked away with multiple placewinners. Leading the squad were Nate Lukez and Dalton Harkins at 157 lbs and 165 lbs, respectively. Neither wrestler faced a ranked opponent, but each notched multiple bonus point wins. They had four runner-ups in Charlie Farmer (125 lbs), Logan Brown (141 lbs), Matthew Williams (149 lbs), and Lucas Stoddard (285 lbs). 3rd place winners include Ethan Berginc (125 lbs), Braden Basile (133 lbs), Andrew Christie (165 lbs) and Austin Kohlhofer (285 lbs). Dakota Morris (165 lbs) and Shane Percelay (141 lbs) were both 5th place finishers. The lone sixth place finisher was Thomas Deck at 149 lbs. This was another event where the entire team competed – which seems to be a regular occurrence this semester. 

Next up for “America’s Team” is the Wilkes Open in two weeks a few days before Christmas. 

Binghamton 

The Bearcats were off this weekend after the grueling CKLV tournament. Expect them at the Sheridan Tournament at Lehigh – which was just recently added to the schedule. It may be a bit of a spoiler, but they may have a new addition to the roster competing at this event. Look out for some news later in the week regarding this. 

Brown  

The Bears of Brown University will be off for a few weeks. They do not compete until right before the Christmas Holiday, as they are another team who will be at Lehigh for the Sheridan Invitational. 

Bucknell 

The Bison were off this weekend. They will be on the mats Saturday hosting Buffalo and Bloomsburg. 

Columbia 

The Lions were on the road in the state of Iowa taking on #4 Iowa and #19 Northern Iowa. Aaron Ayzerov was the lone victor against Iowa. Against Northern Iowa, they came out on top winning six of ten bouts – three of them being pins! In what may be the upset of the weekend across the nation, Kai Owen (141 lbs) pinned #6 Happel with short time left in the first utilizing a cradle on the edge. Richard Fedalen kept it rolling at 149 lbs with a pin of his own. The final fall came at 165 lbs by Kyle Mosher. Other wins came from #11 Angelo Rini, #26 Lennox Wolak, and #27 Jack Wehmeyer. Columbia’s first win of the season is a huge one!

#4 Iowa 38, Columbia 3

125: #15 Drake Ayala (Iowa) def. #20 Nick Babin (Columbia) | TF, 19-3 (3:32)

133: Cullan Schriever (Iowa) def. #11 Angelo Rini (Columbia) | Dec., 9-6

141: #1 Real Woods (Iowa) def. Kai Owen (Columbia) | TF, 18-2 (3:00)

149: Caleb Rathjen (Iowa) def. Richard Fedalen (Columbia) | MD, 15-3

157: #2 Jared Franek (Iowa) def. Jaden Le (Columbia) | Dec., 9-5

165: #7 Michael Caliendo (Iowa) def. Kyle Mosher (Columbia) | MD, 18-5

174: Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) def. Garrett Bilgrav (Columbia) | TF, 19-4 (3:45)

184: #22 Aaron Ayzerov (Columbia) def. Aiden Riggins (Iowa) | Dec., 5-2

197: #25 Zach Glazier (Iowa) def. #33 Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia) | MD, 14-2

HWT: Bradley Hill (Iowa) def. Billy McChesney (Columbia) | TF, 19-4 (3:00)

Columbia 28, #19 Northern Iowa 21

125: Adam Anderson (UNI) def. #27 Nick Babin (Columbia) | Fall, 5:20

133: #11 Angelo Rini (Columbia) def. #17 Julian Farber (UNI) | Dec., 8-3

141: Kai Owen (Columbia) def. #6 Cael Happel (UNI) | Fall, 2:54

149: Richard Fedalen (Columbia) def. Cael Rahnavardi | Fall, 1:15

157: #12 Ryder Downey (UNI) def. Jaden Le (Columbia) | MD, 11-2

165: Kyle Mosher (Columbia) def. RJ Weston (UNI) | Fall, 3:10

174: #26 Lennox Wolak (Columbia) def. Jared Simma (UNI) | Dec., 6-5

184: #1 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) def. #31 Aaron Ayzerov (Columbia) | TF, 25-5 (5:24)

197: #27 Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia) def. Kalob Runyon (UNI) | MD, 13-5

HWT: #9 Tyrell Gordon (UNI) def. Billy McChesney (Columbia) | Fall, 2:47

Columbia will be back in Iowa during the holidays when they compete at the Soldier Salute. 

Cornell 

Cornell was on break this weekend. The Big Red will be the lone EIWA team at the National Collegiate Duals. They wrestle on Monday 12/18 against Little Rock, #18 Pitt, and #8 Iowa State. 

Drexel 

The Dragons hosted #29 Wisconsin to a dual on Saturday. Jordan Soriano (141 lbs) and Santino Morina (285 lbs) each won by decision. Cody Walsh was a winner via technical fall. The Dragons were outmatched in a few bouts, and lost some of the toss-ups to allow Wisconsin to pull away.

#29 Wisconsin 26, Drexel 11

125: #11 Eric Barnett def. Desmond Pleasant, MD 9-0; Wisconsin 4-0

133: Nicolar Rivera def John Hildebrandt, MD 8-0; Wisconsin 8-0

141: Jordan Soriano def. Felix Lettini, Dec. 8-2; Wisconsin 8-3

149: #17 Joseph Zargo def. Dom Findora, MD 15-4; Wisconsin 12-3

157: Luke Mechler def. Tyler Williams, Dec. 4-0; Wisconsin 15-3

165: #31 Cody Walsh def. Gavin Model, TF 21-2 (5:00); Wisconsin 15-8

174: #6 Dean Hamiti def. Tanner Updegraff, TF 18-3 (4:22); Wisconsin 20-8

184: #28 Max Maylor def. Jack Janda, Dec. 17-13; Wisconsin 23-8

197: Shane Liegel def. Ibrahim Ameer, Dec. 6-5; Wisconsin 26-8

285: Santino Morina def. Gannon Rosenfeld, Dec. 5-0; Wisconsin 26-11

The Dragons will have a dual against Ohio this weekend. 

Franklin & Marshall 

The Diplomats were resting this weekend. Find them in action at the Sheridan Invitational on 12/22 at Lehigh. 

Harvard  

Harvard was also off this weekend. The Crimson will be off until the holiday break when they compete at the Midlands. 

Hofstra 

The Pride were visitors in a dual against #1 Penn State. Noah Tapia had a win at 149lbs, while #21 Keaton Kluever won via fall at heavyweight. Penn State is a historically great team; Hofstra was severely outmatched. Tapia is starting to come on strong. 

#1 Penn State 43, Hofstra 10

125: Braeden Davis PSU maj. dec. Dylan Acevedo-Switzer HOF, 11-2, 4-0

133: #4 Aaron Nagao PSU tech fall Ryan Arbeit HOF, 21-6 (TF; 4:20) 9-0

141: David Evans PSU tech fall Alex Turley HOF, 19-4 (TF; 6:13) 14-0

149: Noah Tapia HOF maj. dec. Connor Pierce PSU, 11-2, 14-4

157: #1 Levi Haines PSU pinned Dylan Zenion HOF, WBF (1:02) 20-4

165: #14 Mitchell Mesenbrink PSU pinned Matt Waddell HOF, WBF (1:24) 26-4

174: #1 Carter Starocci PSU tech fall Eric Shindel HOF, 19-3 (TF; 5:38) 31-4

184: #2 Bernie Truax PSU pinned Will Conlon HOF, WBF (1:51) 37-4

197: #1 Aaron Brooks PSU pinned Nikolas Miller HOF, WBF (4:22) 43-4

285: #21 Keaton Kluever HOF pinned AJ Fricchione PSU, WBF (4:32) 43-10

The Hofstra Pride will be in action next week with duals against Morgan State, Bloomsburg, and Edinboro. This will be a good opportunity to get some wins under their belt. 

Lehigh 

The Mountain Hawks were on the road to battle #8 Oklahoma State. We did not see a #1 vs #3 matchup at 133 lbs between Crookham and Fix – but Crookham won by major over a tough Witcraft to retain his #1 ranking. Michael Beard won by tech fall at 197 lbs and Nathan Taylor defeated #11 Doucet, which will improve his 16th ranking. It’s very uncommon to see a Lehigh squad 0-3 to begin the year. Considering they are currently ranked #24 as team in the nation, it just goes to show the challenging strength of schedule they wrestle. 

#11 Oklahoma State 25, #24 Lehigh 12 

125: Troy Spratley (OSU) dec. Luke Stanich (Lehigh) 4-2

133: Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) major dec. Reece Witcraft (OSU) 11-2

141: Tagen Jamison (OSU) tech fall Ethan Smith (Lehigh) 17-2, 5:16

149: Jordan Williams (OSU) dec. Drew Munch (Lehigh) 10-5

157: Teague Travis (OSU) dec. Max Brignola (Lehigh) 5-1

165: Izzak Olejnik (OSU) major dec. Jake Logan (Lehigh) 14-5

174: Brayden Thompson (OSU) dec. Thayne Lawrence (Lehigh) 8-2

184: Dustin Plott (OSU) major dec. Caden Rogers (Lehigh) 9-1

197: Michael Beard (Lehigh) tech fall Kyle Haas (OSU) 18-2, 5:32

285: Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) dec. Konner Doucet (OSU) 4-3

Lehigh’s next event will be hosting the Sheridan Invitational. On 12/22, which will include plenty of EIWA competition. 

Long Island 

The Sharks improved to 3-2 on the season with a win over Bloomsburg. They wrestled great, winning eight of 10 bouts on the day. Devin Matthews, Blake Bahna, and John Dusza all had victories by bonus. It sounds like a broken record at this point, but this team is vastly improving. 

LIU 31, Bloomsburg 8

125: Robbie Sagaris (LIU) won by decision over Bronson Garber (Bloomsburg), 4-1. LIU leads 3-0.

133: Christopher Betancourt (LIU) won by dec. over Michael Cassidy (Bloom), 5-0. LIU leads 6-0.

141: Devin Matthews (LIU) won by tech fall over Major Lewis (Bloomsburg), 16-0. LIU leads 11-0.

149: Cade Balestrini (Bloomsburg) won by decision over Drew Witham (LIU), 2-1. LIU leads 11-3.

157: Rhise Royster (LIU) won by dec. over William Morrow (Bloomsburg), 4-1. LIU leads 14-3.

165: Caden Dobbins (Bloomsburg) won by tech fall over James Johnston (LIU), 15-0. LIU leads 14-8.

174: Blake Bahna (LIU) won by fall over Josh Bonomo (Bloomsburg), 1:08. LIU leads 20-8.

184: Anthony D’Alesio (LIU) won by dec. over Tanner Culver (Bloomsburg), 7-1. LIU leads 23-8.

197: John Dusza (LIU) won by major dec. over Kolby Flank (Bloomsburg), 12-2. LIU leads 27-8.

285: Aeden Begue (LIU) won by dec over Tyler McCatharn (Bloomsburg), 10-3. LIU wins 31-8.

They will be in action again 12/22 when they square off with Edinboro. 

Navy 

The Midshipmen had a dual with Ohio at Jefferson Morgan High School in Pennsylvania – hometown of Head Coach Cary Kolat. Andrew Cerniglia came back from missing weeks of competition due to injury with a win over #11 Thompson. Navy ran the table winning the last five bouts from 197 lbs, 285 lbs, then back up to 141 lbs to end the dual. They had four bonus point wins in that span. Navy is a perfect 5-0 thus far, earning them a national ranking of 17th. 

#17 Navy 27, Ohio 12

149: Dominic Hoffarth (Ohio) dec Nicholas Vafiadis (Navy), 8-5 // Ohio 3, Navy 0

157: No. 20 Peyten Kellar (Ohio) dec Jonathan Ley (Navy), 4-1 // Ohio 6, Navy 0

165: No. 27 Andrew Cerniglia (Navy) dec No. 11 Garrett Thompson (Ohio), 7-5 // Ohio 6, Navy 3

174: No. 21 Sal Perrine (Ohio) dec No. 20 Danny Wask (Navy), 4-3 // Ohio 9, Navy 3

184: No. 28 Zayne Lehman (Ohio) dec No. 19 David Key (Navy), 8-5 // Ohio 12, Navy 3

197: Jacob Lucas (Navy) dec Austin Starr (Ohio), 4-3 // Ohio 12, Navy 6

285: No. 13 Grady Griess (Navy) major Jordan Greer (Ohio), 11-2 // Ohio 12, Navy 10

125: Evan Tallmadge (Navy) fall Ryan Meek (Ohio), 4:10 // Navy 16, Ohio 12

133: No. 22 Brendan Ferretti (Navy) tech fall Paul Woo (Ohio), 18-2 (6:34) // Navy 21, Ohio 12

141: No. 18 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) fall Aidan Waszak (Ohio), 4:39 // Navy 27, Ohio 12

Navy will have one more dual before the Christmas break against American on 12/21. 

Penn 

The Quakers will head into the break with plenty of rest. They will pick back up at The Midlands just before the new year.

Princeton 

The Tigers took a quick trip to #15 Rutgers in a battle of New Jersey. Rutgers proved to be too much, winning seven of ten bouts. Princeton saw wins from Eligh Rivera, Blaine Bergey, and Matt Cover. Bergey’s win was over #25 White. This is a young team that is starting to improve early in the season. 

#15 Rutgers 24 – Princeton 9

125: No. 7 Dean Peterson (Rutgers) DEC Drew Heethuis (Princeton) 7-3; Rutgers leads 3-0

133: No. 7 Dean Shawver (Rutgers) MD Sean Pierson (Princeton) 19-6; Rutgers leads, 7-0

141: No. 16 Mitch Moore (Rutgers) MD Tyler Vazquez (Princeton) 13-2; Rutgers leads, 11-0

149: Eligh Rivera (Princeton) DEC Michael Cetta (Rutgers) 4-1 (SV); Rutgers leads, 11-3

157: No. 24 Andrew Clark (RU) DEC Rocco Camillaci (Princeton) 9-4; Rutgers leads, 14-3

165: Blaine Bergey (Princeton) DEC No. 25 Anthony White (SV) 5-4; Rutgers leads, 14-6

174: Jackson Turley (Rutgers) MD Mikey Squires (Princeton) 17-6; Rutgers leads, 18-6

184: No. 12 B Brian Soldano (Rutgers) DEC No. 28 Nate Dugan (Princeton) 5-4; Rutgers leads, 21-6

197: No. 8 John Poznanski (Rutgers) DEC No. 10 Luke Stout (Princeton) 8-5; Rutgers leads, 24-6

285: Matt Cover (Princeton) DEC John O'Donnell (Rutgers) 3-1; Rutgers wins 24-9

Next on the agenda for Princeton is The Midlands between Christmas and New Year’s. 

Sacred Heart 

Sacred Heart was off this weekend. They return to the mat next week against Davidson on the road.