Saturday, March 4
Lewisburg, Pa.
9:00 AM
Princeton University
vs
EIWA Championships Day 2
Players Mentioned
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Two Champs, Third Place, Six NCAA Qualifers — It Was A Historic EIWAs For Princeton Wrestling
March 04, 2017 | Wrestling
RECAPS: Session I l Session II l Session III
FINAL BRACKETS
Matthew Kolodzik and Jordan Laster punctuated a historic weekend for Princeton wrestling by capturing back-to-back EIWA Championships Saturday evening at the Sojka Pavilion at Bucknell. Those two will be joined by at least four teammates at the NCAAs in St. Louis, which marks the most wrestlers Princeton has ever placed at the national championships.
Princeton finished third overall in the event with 113 team points, and the Tigers were only 4.5 points behind Lehigh for second place. The depth of the program was on display as eight different wrestlers placed, the second-most in program history.
"I was saying the other day that there were years we were done after Day 1," said head coach Chris Ayres, the 2017 EIWA Co-Coach of the Year. "Where we are now, wrestling the way we are now, it's extremely gratifying. The thing I loved about it, they just wrestled freely. They were open about it, and they were on the attack. That's what we preach."
Pat D'Arcy, Mike D'Angelo, Jonathan Schleifer and Ray O'Donnell clinched their own automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, a quartet that was completed with a rousing fall by D'Angelo in his third-place match during the final session. The sophomore duo of D'Arcy and D'Angelo — as well as Kolodzik — will be making their first trip to the NCAA Championships, while Laster, O'Donnell and Schleifer will all be making repeat trips.
Senior Brett Harner, who fell in a heartbreaking second-tiebreaker overtime match in the semifinals, took fifth place with an 11-2 major decision, but he will wait until Tuesday to find out if he takes one of the remaining at-large bids to make a third straight trip to NCAAs.
Yes, the program record of six NCAA qualifiers could be broken in days.
Kolodzik was pushed in a tough final by second-seeded Randy Cruz of Lehigh, a former EIWA champion. Cruz was able to escape in the second, and Kolodzik chose the neutral position to begin the third. Just as he did during the dual match in Bethlehem — and as he's done other times throughout the season — Kolodzik got his takedown when it mattered most. He put Cruz down in the final minute and rode him long enough to secure the riding time point, which proved to be the decisive margin in a 3-2 victory.
Laster was up next, his second attempt at an EIWA championship. Fifth-seeded Hunter Ladnier struck first with a takedown, but the Tiger veteran never wavered. He got a takedown in the second to grab a lead, and he iced the win with another takedown in the middle of the final period to post the 8-5 victory.
Besides those two wins, the result that mattered most came in the third-place match at 157, where the weight's final NCAA bid would be up for grabs. D'Angelo took Brown's Steven Galiardo twice in the opening period, but Galiardo added his own in the third period to get back in the match. D'Angelo had the advantage in the third, but he wasn't about to let Galiardo try one more comeback; he put his foe on his back and scored the fall to become the sixth Tiger heading to St. Louis.
Both Schleifer and Harner won their finales in impressive fashion to take fifth, while D'Arcy and O'Donnell dropped their matches to finish fourth. Freshman Matteo DeVincenzo made an unseeded run to the 125 podium, where he finished eighth.
125 – Matteo DeVincenzo
R1: Lost by decision to #8 Jordan Gessner (Bucknell) 4-1
C1: Won by decision over Brant Leadbeter (Navy) 9-6
C2: Won by decision over #7 Johnson Mai (Columbia) 6-5
C3: Lost by decision to #3 Tanner Shoap (Drexel) 4-0
7th Place: Lost by decision to #5 Steven Bulzomi (Binghamton) 10-7
133 - #5 Pat D'Arcy
R1: Won by major decision over Gerard Daly (Sacred Heart) 14-4
QF: Lost by decision to #4 Mark Grey (Cornell) 3-1
C2: Won by major decision over Audey Ashkar (Binghamton) 12-4
C3: Won by decision over #8 Joey Gould (Bucknell) 7-4
C4: Won by default over #3 Kevin Devoy (Drexel)
3rd: Lost by decision to #4 Mark Grey (Cornell) 8-3
141 - #1 Matthew Kolodzik
R1: Won by decision over Dylan Caruana (Binghamton) 8-2
QF: Won by decision over Jacob Macalolooy (Columbia) 6-1
SF: Won by decision over #4 Jared Prince (Navy) 3-1
Final: Won by decision over #2 Randy Cruz (Lehigh) 3-2
149 - #2 Jordan Laster
R1: Won by major decision over Sam Butler (F&M) 14-2
QF: Won by decision over #7 Parker Kropman (Binghamton) 7-4
SF: Won by decision over #3 Matthew Cimato (Drexel) 5-3, sv-1
Final: Won by decision over #5 Hunter Ladnier (Harvard) 8-5
157 - #6 Mike D'Angelo
R1: Won by decision over William Davis (Drexel) 10-4
QF: Won by decision over Zack Davis (Navy) 10-7
SF: Lost by major decision to #2 Russell Parsons (Army) 10-2
C4: Won by decision over #3 Victor Lopez (Bucknell) 11-6
3rd: Won by fall over #8 Steven Galiardo (Brown) 5:48
165 – Leonard Merkin
R1: Lost by fall to #2 Cole Walter (Lehigh) 6:26
C1: Won by fall over Kyle Bierdumpfel (Harvard) 0:10
C2: Lost by decision to #8 Drew Daniels (Navy) 3-2
174 - #6 Jonathan Schleifer
R1: Won by major decision over Andrew Psomas (Columbia) 14-4
QF: Lost by decision to #3 Casey Kent (Penn)
C2: Won by fall over Joe Salvi (American) 1:51
C3: Won by major decision over #7 Ben Harvey (Army) 11-0
C4: Lost by decision to #4 Jadean Bernstein (Navy) 7-3
5th: Won by decision over #5 Josef Johnson (Harvard) 6-3
184 – Kevin Parker
R1: Lost by fall to #1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) 0:36
C1: Lost by fall to Jason Grimes (American) 2:28
197 - #2 Brett Harner
R1: Won by decision over Joshua Murphy (Drexel) 3-2
QF: Won by major decision over #7 Jeric Kasunic (American) 8-0
SF: Lost by decision to #3 Frank Mattiace (Penn) 4-3, tb-2
C4: Lost by fall to #5 Ben Honis (Cornell) 4:12
5th: Won by major decision over Rocco Caywood (Army) 11-2
HWT - #4 Ray O'Donnell
R1: Won by fall over John Hartnett (Sacred Heart) 1:01
QF: Won by decision over #5 Tyler Greene (Bucknell) 9-6
SF: Lost by decision to #1 Joey Goodhart (Drexel) 3-2
C4: Won by decision over #7 Connor Calkins (Binghamton) 6-1
3rd: Lost by decision to #2 Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) 9-5
FINAL BRACKETS
Matthew Kolodzik and Jordan Laster punctuated a historic weekend for Princeton wrestling by capturing back-to-back EIWA Championships Saturday evening at the Sojka Pavilion at Bucknell. Those two will be joined by at least four teammates at the NCAAs in St. Louis, which marks the most wrestlers Princeton has ever placed at the national championships.
Princeton finished third overall in the event with 113 team points, and the Tigers were only 4.5 points behind Lehigh for second place. The depth of the program was on display as eight different wrestlers placed, the second-most in program history.
"I was saying the other day that there were years we were done after Day 1," said head coach Chris Ayres, the 2017 EIWA Co-Coach of the Year. "Where we are now, wrestling the way we are now, it's extremely gratifying. The thing I loved about it, they just wrestled freely. They were open about it, and they were on the attack. That's what we preach."
Pat D'Arcy, Mike D'Angelo, Jonathan Schleifer and Ray O'Donnell clinched their own automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, a quartet that was completed with a rousing fall by D'Angelo in his third-place match during the final session. The sophomore duo of D'Arcy and D'Angelo — as well as Kolodzik — will be making their first trip to the NCAA Championships, while Laster, O'Donnell and Schleifer will all be making repeat trips.
Senior Brett Harner, who fell in a heartbreaking second-tiebreaker overtime match in the semifinals, took fifth place with an 11-2 major decision, but he will wait until Tuesday to find out if he takes one of the remaining at-large bids to make a third straight trip to NCAAs.
Yes, the program record of six NCAA qualifiers could be broken in days.
Kolodzik was pushed in a tough final by second-seeded Randy Cruz of Lehigh, a former EIWA champion. Cruz was able to escape in the second, and Kolodzik chose the neutral position to begin the third. Just as he did during the dual match in Bethlehem — and as he's done other times throughout the season — Kolodzik got his takedown when it mattered most. He put Cruz down in the final minute and rode him long enough to secure the riding time point, which proved to be the decisive margin in a 3-2 victory.
Matthew Kolodzik after his #EIWA2017 victory. pic.twitter.com/u2oTS8nelc
— Princeton Wrestling (@tigerwrestling) March 4, 2017
Laster was up next, his second attempt at an EIWA championship. Fifth-seeded Hunter Ladnier struck first with a takedown, but the Tiger veteran never wavered. He got a takedown in the second to grab a lead, and he iced the win with another takedown in the middle of the final period to post the 8-5 victory.
Jordan Laster after his #EIWA2017 victory. pic.twitter.com/9cqpO9SJlt
— Princeton Wrestling (@tigerwrestling) March 4, 2017
Besides those two wins, the result that mattered most came in the third-place match at 157, where the weight's final NCAA bid would be up for grabs. D'Angelo took Brown's Steven Galiardo twice in the opening period, but Galiardo added his own in the third period to get back in the match. D'Angelo had the advantage in the third, but he wasn't about to let Galiardo try one more comeback; he put his foe on his back and scored the fall to become the sixth Tiger heading to St. Louis.
Both Schleifer and Harner won their finales in impressive fashion to take fifth, while D'Arcy and O'Donnell dropped their matches to finish fourth. Freshman Matteo DeVincenzo made an unseeded run to the 125 podium, where he finished eighth.
Your EIWA Coach of the Year, @tigercoachayres, on an incredible weekend for Princeton. pic.twitter.com/4EJzN7De41
— Princeton Wrestling (@tigerwrestling) March 4, 2017
125 – Matteo DeVincenzo
R1: Lost by decision to #8 Jordan Gessner (Bucknell) 4-1
C1: Won by decision over Brant Leadbeter (Navy) 9-6
C2: Won by decision over #7 Johnson Mai (Columbia) 6-5
C3: Lost by decision to #3 Tanner Shoap (Drexel) 4-0
7th Place: Lost by decision to #5 Steven Bulzomi (Binghamton) 10-7
133 - #5 Pat D'Arcy
R1: Won by major decision over Gerard Daly (Sacred Heart) 14-4
QF: Lost by decision to #4 Mark Grey (Cornell) 3-1
C2: Won by major decision over Audey Ashkar (Binghamton) 12-4
C3: Won by decision over #8 Joey Gould (Bucknell) 7-4
C4: Won by default over #3 Kevin Devoy (Drexel)
3rd: Lost by decision to #4 Mark Grey (Cornell) 8-3
141 - #1 Matthew Kolodzik
R1: Won by decision over Dylan Caruana (Binghamton) 8-2
QF: Won by decision over Jacob Macalolooy (Columbia) 6-1
SF: Won by decision over #4 Jared Prince (Navy) 3-1
Final: Won by decision over #2 Randy Cruz (Lehigh) 3-2
149 - #2 Jordan Laster
R1: Won by major decision over Sam Butler (F&M) 14-2
QF: Won by decision over #7 Parker Kropman (Binghamton) 7-4
SF: Won by decision over #3 Matthew Cimato (Drexel) 5-3, sv-1
Final: Won by decision over #5 Hunter Ladnier (Harvard) 8-5
157 - #6 Mike D'Angelo
R1: Won by decision over William Davis (Drexel) 10-4
QF: Won by decision over Zack Davis (Navy) 10-7
SF: Lost by major decision to #2 Russell Parsons (Army) 10-2
C4: Won by decision over #3 Victor Lopez (Bucknell) 11-6
3rd: Won by fall over #8 Steven Galiardo (Brown) 5:48
165 – Leonard Merkin
R1: Lost by fall to #2 Cole Walter (Lehigh) 6:26
C1: Won by fall over Kyle Bierdumpfel (Harvard) 0:10
C2: Lost by decision to #8 Drew Daniels (Navy) 3-2
174 - #6 Jonathan Schleifer
R1: Won by major decision over Andrew Psomas (Columbia) 14-4
QF: Lost by decision to #3 Casey Kent (Penn)
C2: Won by fall over Joe Salvi (American) 1:51
C3: Won by major decision over #7 Ben Harvey (Army) 11-0
C4: Lost by decision to #4 Jadean Bernstein (Navy) 7-3
5th: Won by decision over #5 Josef Johnson (Harvard) 6-3
184 – Kevin Parker
R1: Lost by fall to #1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) 0:36
C1: Lost by fall to Jason Grimes (American) 2:28
197 - #2 Brett Harner
R1: Won by decision over Joshua Murphy (Drexel) 3-2
QF: Won by major decision over #7 Jeric Kasunic (American) 8-0
SF: Lost by decision to #3 Frank Mattiace (Penn) 4-3, tb-2
C4: Lost by fall to #5 Ben Honis (Cornell) 4:12
5th: Won by major decision over Rocco Caywood (Army) 11-2
HWT - #4 Ray O'Donnell
R1: Won by fall over John Hartnett (Sacred Heart) 1:01
QF: Won by decision over #5 Tyler Greene (Bucknell) 9-6
SF: Lost by decision to #1 Joey Goodhart (Drexel) 3-2
C4: Won by decision over #7 Connor Calkins (Binghamton) 6-1
3rd: Lost by decision to #2 Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) 9-5
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