Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
EIWA Championships Day 2
Players Mentioned
Laster, Perez Reach First EIWA Finals, Will Join Ayala At NCAA Championships
March 08, 2015 | Wrestling
Sophomore Jordan Laster and junior Chris Perez both reached their first EIWA Championships Saturday at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa., and the duo joined Abram Ayala as automatic qualifiers for the 2015 NCAA Championships. Neither was able to upset their higher-seeded foes in the finals, but both will still have opportunities to keep their All-America dreams alive.
Princeton finished seventh overall with 70 team points, marking the Tigers' best finish since a seventh-place finish at the 2001 EIWA Championships. It was even more impressive considering the absence of Brett Harner, who earned the third seed at 184 but had to default from the tournament due to injury.
Laster defeated eighth-seeded David Pearce of Drexel 3-2 in the semifinal round to secure his first championship match. After a scoreless first period, Laster scored an escape and then used an inside trip for a takedown in the second period to grab a 3-1 lead. Pearce escaped in the second, and then to open the third, but Laster fended off any final attempt to take the win.
His championship opponent was third-seeded Randy Cruz of Lehigh, who thrilled the home crowd in a 6-1 victory. Laster got in during an early scramble, but the experienced Cruz was able to win that battle for a takedown, and then he used a dominant ride to take total control of the match. Another takedown in the third clinched the win, but Laster continued to battle and will now look towards the NCAA Championships.
He'll have a terrific training partner in Perez, who followed his upset of third-seeded Cody Ruggirello Friday with a 3-1 victory over second-seeded CJ Cobb of Penn in the semifinal. The turning point of the match came in a flash late in the second period, when Perez got behind a stunned Cobb with a quick takedown just before the period ended.
That would be enough for Perez, who was not about to get taken down and ruin his first chance at a final. He claimed the 3-1 victory, but he simply couldn't manage a takedown in the final against Cornell's Chris Villalonga, who has been a Top 10 wrestler in the NCAA over multiple years.
Perez battled well in a scoreless first period, but he gave up an escape point to Villalonga in the second to trail 1-0. He tried to get that point back in the third, but the top-seeded Villalonga rode out the period to claim the title.
That duo will join Ayala, who was upset in the semifinal round by Penn's Canaan Bethea 3-1, at the NCAA Championships. Ayala, who wrestled back to third throughout the day, competed at the NCAA Championships last year.
Three other Princeton wrestlers placed at the meet. Freshman Jonathan Schleifer fell to eventual EIWA champion Peyton Walsh of Navy and ultimately finished fifth, while both senior Rich Eva (157) and Ray O'Donnell (285) finished eighth.
Both Schleifer and sophomore Brett Harner, who had to default from the tournament due to injury, will now have to wait until the NCAA announces the rest of the championship field this week. Harner has several wins over NCAA qualifiers throughout the season, including a pair of All-Americas during a strong February, while Schleifer reached the Top 20 at 165 late in the season.
The 2016 EIWA Championships will return to Princeton's Jadwin Gym.
TEAM SCORES
1 Cornell 176.0
2 Lehigh 146.0
3 Bucknell 90.0
4 Columbia 82.0
5 Pennsylvania 81.0
6 Drexel 71.5
7 Princeton 70.0
8 Navy 63.0
9 Binghamton University 62.0
10 Army 55.0
11 Brown 42.5
12 American 38.5
13 Hofstra 33.0
14 Harvard 24.0
15 Sacred Heart 11.5
16 Franklin & Marshall 4.0
125 – Ryan Cash
1st R – #1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) WBF Ryan Cash 1:41
C1 – bye
C2 –#7 Johnson Mai (Columbia) dec. Cash 11-2
133 – Jordan Reich
1st R – #8 Travis Passaro (Hofstra) dec. Jordan Reich 4-1
C1 – Jordan Reich dec. Joe Nelson (Binghamton) 9-7
C2 –#7 Grimaldi Gonzales (Bucknell) maj. dec. Recih 13-5
141 – #4 Jordan Laster
1st R – Jordan Laster dec. Michael Sprague (American) 5-3
QF – Laster dec. #5 Tyler Smith (Bucknell) 5-3
SF – Laster dec. #8 David Pearce (Drexel) 3-2
Champ - #3 Randy Cruz dec. Laster 6-1
149 – #6 Chris Perez
1st R – Chris Perez dec. Thomas Quinlan (F&M) 7-2
QF – Perez dec. #3 Cody Ruggirello (Hofstra) 7-2
SF – Perez dec. #2 CJ Cobb (Penn) 3-1
Champ - #1 Chris Villalonga (Cornell) dec. Perez 2-0
157 – Rich Eva
1st R – #5 Markus Scheidel (Columbia) dec. Rich Eva 7-0
Cons 1 – Eva dec. Casey Mitchell (Sacred Heart) 6-1
Cons 2 – Eva wins by injury default
Cons 3 – #2 Mitchell Manotti (Lehigh) dec. Eva 3-1
7th Place - #5 Markus Scheidel (Columbia) WBF Eva 0:31
165 – #5 Jonathan Schleifer
1st R – Jonathan Schleifer WBF Matt Fischer (Sacred Heart)
QF – Schleifer dec. #4 Raamiah Bethea (Penn) 2-1
SF – #1 Peyton Walsh (Navy) maj. dec. Schleifer 9-1
Cons SF - #8 Tyrel White (Columbia) dec. Schleifer 6-3
5th Place – Schleifer dec. #4 Raamiah Bethea (Penn) 4-3
174 – Judd Ziegler
1st R – #2 Brian Harvey (Navy) dec. Judd Ziegler 10-5
C1 – Ziegler dec. Frank Affronti (Hofstra) 11-4
C2 - #8 Richard McDonald (Brown) dec. Ziegler 10-3
184 - #3 Brett Harner
R1 – Jack Mckeever (Bing) wins by medical forfeit
197 - #1 Abram Ayala
R1 – Abram Ayala TF Charles Kerkesner (F&M) 19-4
QF – Ayala dec. #8 Brett Dempsey (American) 12-6
SF – #4 Canaan Bethea (Penn) dec. Ayala 3-1
Cons SF – Ayala dec. #7 Matt Idelson 8-3
3rd Place – Ayala wins by forfeit
285 - #8 Ray O'Donnell
R1 – Ray O'Donnell TF Colynn Cook (Navy) 16-0
QF – Tyler Deuel (Binghamton) TF Ray O'Donnell 21-5
C2 – O'Donnell dec. Patrik Garren (Penn) 6-2
C3 - #5 David Ng (Harvard) WBF O'Donnell 2:16
7th Place - #6 Mike Hughes (Hofstra) WBF O'Donnell 0:53