Thursday, March 16
St. Louis, Mo. • Scottrade Center
11:00 AM/6:00 PM CT
Princeton University
vs
NCAA Championships Day 1
Players Mentioned
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
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Photo by: Beverly Schaefer
Record-Setting Seven Ready To Make More History In St. Louis For Princeton Wrestling
March 14, 2017 | Wrestling
They boarded a plane one day earlier than expected and practiced Monday night in a high school gym.
After all, snow wasn't going to get in the way of history for Princeton this week.
The Princeton wrestling team, only nine days removed from a historic performance at the 2017 EIWA Championships, sent a program-record seven wrestlers to the 2017 NCAA Championships, which will be held Thursday-Saturday at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. All six sessions will be televised on either ESPN/ESPNU, and every mat throughout the Championships will be streamed live on WatchESPN. The full schedule is below.
With seven wrestlers in competition, including seeded standouts Matthew Kolodzik (4th, 141) and Jordan Laster (16th, 149), Princeton is hoping for one more stellar team weekend. The Tigers have not finished in the Top 25 at the NCAA Championships since 1985, when they finished 16th. Could they become the second Princeton team in history to break into the Top 15?
It would be an amazing accomplishment, but simply being able to realistically ask that question is fairly amazing in itself.
Here is more to get you ready for the 2017 NCAA Championships. You can download the full Championships Notes Packet, which includes match-by-match results for all seven competitors, here.
Making History • Princeton set a program record this year by qualifying seven wrestlers to the 2017 NCAA Championships, which is the most in the Ivy League this season and tied with Lehigh for the most in the EIWA. The previous high was five, which was accomplished multiple times, including 2015.
How They Got Here • Six of Princeton's NCAA qualifiers earned their spots directly at the EIWA Championships: Pat D'Arcy (4th, 133); Matthew Kolodzik (1st, 141); Jordan Laster (149, 1st); Mike D'Angelo (3rd, 157); Jon Schleifer (5th, 174); Ray O'Donnell (4th, 285). The seventh qualifer, Brett Harner, received an at-large bid at 197.
Captain America • Senior tri-captain Brett Harner became the ninth wrestler in Princeton history to earn All-America honors during the 2016 NCAA Championships in New York City.
Harner placed eighth at 197 in Madison Square Garden to become the first Tiger to earn All-America honors since Greg Parker (2002, 2003).
We Are The Champions • Princeton senior Jordan Laster and freshman Matthew Kolodzik both won EIWA individual championships two weeks ago at Bucknell. Kolodzik wasn't taken down a single time over four matches and defeated Lehigh's Randy Cruz 3-2 in the final. Laster, who reached the 2015 EIWA final, rallied to defeat Drexel's Matthew Cimato 5-3 in the semifinal, and then topped Harvard's Hunter Ladnier 8-5 in the final.
Return Trip • Four of Princeton's seven wrestlers are making a return trip to the NCAAs. Harner, Laster and Schleifer are each making their third appearances, while O'Donnell is making his second. D'Arcy and D'Angelo, as well as Kolodzik, will all be making their first appearances.
Third Time's A Charm • Princeton finished third at the 2017 EIWA Championships, and the Tigers finished only 4.5 points behind Lehigh for second place. It was the team's highest finish at EIWAs since 1978, when the Tigers won the title. The Tigers also won two individual weight classes for the first time since 1984, when Dave Crisanti '87 (118) and John Orr '86 (142) won their respective titles.
Planting The Seed • Matthew Kolodzik earned the fourth seed at 141 pounds, while Jordan Laster is seeded 16th at 149. Kolodzik joins Warren Taylor '43, Bradley Glass '53, John Orr '85, and Greg Parker '03 as the only Tigers to be seeded in the top four of their respective weight classes.
It's Been A While • Princeton has had one individual NCAA champion in the 111-year history of the wrestling program; junior Bradley Glass '53 won the unlimited title by official's decision over Penn State's Homar Barr. Trailing 2-1 entering the final period, the top-seeded Glass rode Barr the whole way to earn the tying point, and he earned the referee's decision to win the title.
Looking For Number 10 • Harner's six teammates will each try to become the 10th wrestler in Princeton history to earn All-America honors this weekend. The previous nine recipients are: Warren Taylor '43 (1942); Bradley Glass '53 (1951, 1952); Emil Deliere '72 (1970, 1972); John Sefter '78 (1977, 1978); Henry Milligan '81 (1981); John Orr '85 (1984, 1985); Dave Crisanti '86 (1985); Greg Parker '03 (2002, 2003); and Brett Harner (2016).
Facts And Figures Per Round • Princeton has had five NCAA finalists: Glass (1951), Deliere (1972), Sefter (1978), Orr (1984, 1985), and Parker (2002); Parker reached the final as a 4-seed, the same seed Kolodzik holds this year. During the Chris Ayres era, two Princeton wrestlers have reached the quarterfinals: Daniel Kolodzik (Matt's older brother) fell to American's Ganbayar Sanjaa in 2012, while Harner fell to eventual NCAA champion J'den Cox of Missouri last year.
I'm Honored • Head coach Chris Ayres, a 1998 All-American at 157 while wrestling for Lehigh, was named the EIWA Co-Coach of the Year after leading Princeton to its third-place finish at EIWAs two weeks ago. He was also named the Ivy League Head Coach of the Year in 2016 after leading the Tigers to a runner-up finish to Cornell. Now in his 11th season, Ayres has rebuilt the program from the ground up. He had eight wrestlers place at the 2017 EIWA Championships only one decade after Princeton went 0-18 and didn't field a 133-pound wrestler at the conference meet.
After all, snow wasn't going to get in the way of history for Princeton this week.
The Princeton wrestling team, only nine days removed from a historic performance at the 2017 EIWA Championships, sent a program-record seven wrestlers to the 2017 NCAA Championships, which will be held Thursday-Saturday at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. All six sessions will be televised on either ESPN/ESPNU, and every mat throughout the Championships will be streamed live on WatchESPN. The full schedule is below.
| Date/Session | Time (ET/local) | TV | Video |
| Thursday, March 16 | |||
| Session I (First Round) | 12 pm/11 am | ESPNU | WatchESPN |
| Session II (Second Round/Wrestlebacks) | 7 pm/6 pm | ESPN | WatchESPN |
| Friday, March 17 | |||
| Session III (Quarterfinals/Wrestlebacks) | 11 am/10 am | ESPNU | WatchESPN |
| Session IV (Semifinals/Wrestlebacks) | 8 pm/7 pm | ESPN | WatchESPN |
| Saturday, March 18 | |||
| Session V (Final Wrestlebacks) | 11 am/10 am | ESPNU | WatchESPN |
| Session VI (Championship Finals) | 8 pm/7 pm | ESPN | WatchESPN |
With seven wrestlers in competition, including seeded standouts Matthew Kolodzik (4th, 141) and Jordan Laster (16th, 149), Princeton is hoping for one more stellar team weekend. The Tigers have not finished in the Top 25 at the NCAA Championships since 1985, when they finished 16th. Could they become the second Princeton team in history to break into the Top 15?
It would be an amazing accomplishment, but simply being able to realistically ask that question is fairly amazing in itself.
Here is more to get you ready for the 2017 NCAA Championships. You can download the full Championships Notes Packet, which includes match-by-match results for all seven competitors, here.
Making History • Princeton set a program record this year by qualifying seven wrestlers to the 2017 NCAA Championships, which is the most in the Ivy League this season and tied with Lehigh for the most in the EIWA. The previous high was five, which was accomplished multiple times, including 2015.
How They Got Here • Six of Princeton's NCAA qualifiers earned their spots directly at the EIWA Championships: Pat D'Arcy (4th, 133); Matthew Kolodzik (1st, 141); Jordan Laster (149, 1st); Mike D'Angelo (3rd, 157); Jon Schleifer (5th, 174); Ray O'Donnell (4th, 285). The seventh qualifer, Brett Harner, received an at-large bid at 197.
Captain America • Senior tri-captain Brett Harner became the ninth wrestler in Princeton history to earn All-America honors during the 2016 NCAA Championships in New York City.
Harner placed eighth at 197 in Madison Square Garden to become the first Tiger to earn All-America honors since Greg Parker (2002, 2003).
We Are The Champions • Princeton senior Jordan Laster and freshman Matthew Kolodzik both won EIWA individual championships two weeks ago at Bucknell. Kolodzik wasn't taken down a single time over four matches and defeated Lehigh's Randy Cruz 3-2 in the final. Laster, who reached the 2015 EIWA final, rallied to defeat Drexel's Matthew Cimato 5-3 in the semifinal, and then topped Harvard's Hunter Ladnier 8-5 in the final.
Return Trip • Four of Princeton's seven wrestlers are making a return trip to the NCAAs. Harner, Laster and Schleifer are each making their third appearances, while O'Donnell is making his second. D'Arcy and D'Angelo, as well as Kolodzik, will all be making their first appearances.
Third Time's A Charm • Princeton finished third at the 2017 EIWA Championships, and the Tigers finished only 4.5 points behind Lehigh for second place. It was the team's highest finish at EIWAs since 1978, when the Tigers won the title. The Tigers also won two individual weight classes for the first time since 1984, when Dave Crisanti '87 (118) and John Orr '86 (142) won their respective titles.
Planting The Seed • Matthew Kolodzik earned the fourth seed at 141 pounds, while Jordan Laster is seeded 16th at 149. Kolodzik joins Warren Taylor '43, Bradley Glass '53, John Orr '85, and Greg Parker '03 as the only Tigers to be seeded in the top four of their respective weight classes.
It's Been A While • Princeton has had one individual NCAA champion in the 111-year history of the wrestling program; junior Bradley Glass '53 won the unlimited title by official's decision over Penn State's Homar Barr. Trailing 2-1 entering the final period, the top-seeded Glass rode Barr the whole way to earn the tying point, and he earned the referee's decision to win the title.
Looking For Number 10 • Harner's six teammates will each try to become the 10th wrestler in Princeton history to earn All-America honors this weekend. The previous nine recipients are: Warren Taylor '43 (1942); Bradley Glass '53 (1951, 1952); Emil Deliere '72 (1970, 1972); John Sefter '78 (1977, 1978); Henry Milligan '81 (1981); John Orr '85 (1984, 1985); Dave Crisanti '86 (1985); Greg Parker '03 (2002, 2003); and Brett Harner (2016).
Facts And Figures Per Round • Princeton has had five NCAA finalists: Glass (1951), Deliere (1972), Sefter (1978), Orr (1984, 1985), and Parker (2002); Parker reached the final as a 4-seed, the same seed Kolodzik holds this year. During the Chris Ayres era, two Princeton wrestlers have reached the quarterfinals: Daniel Kolodzik (Matt's older brother) fell to American's Ganbayar Sanjaa in 2012, while Harner fell to eventual NCAA champion J'den Cox of Missouri last year.
I'm Honored • Head coach Chris Ayres, a 1998 All-American at 157 while wrestling for Lehigh, was named the EIWA Co-Coach of the Year after leading Princeton to its third-place finish at EIWAs two weeks ago. He was also named the Ivy League Head Coach of the Year in 2016 after leading the Tigers to a runner-up finish to Cornell. Now in his 11th season, Ayres has rebuilt the program from the ground up. He had eight wrestlers place at the 2017 EIWA Championships only one decade after Princeton went 0-18 and didn't field a 133-pound wrestler at the conference meet.
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