Four Dragons Advance To Day Two of EIWA Tournament

Saturday, March 5

Ithaca, N.Y.

11 AM

Drexel University

EIWA Championships

Four Dragons Advance To Day Two of EIWA Tournament

3/5/2022 8:01:00 PM | Wrestling

ITHACA, N.Y. – The Dragons had a strong showing in the opening day of the 118^th EIWA Tournament, amassing 30.5 points. Drexel will have four wrestlers advance to the final day of competition.

DU opened the day with a 4-6 record in the Round of 16. The Dragons saw big victories from Mickey O'Malley, Luke Nichter, Jaxon Maroney and Evan Barczak. Despite recording losses in the opening round, Jared Donahue and Eli Anthony picked up tech fall and fall victory respectively in consolation, giving the Dragons some late team points.

O'Malley improved to 2-0 on the day with a big win in the quarterfinals. With his advancement to the semifinals tomorrow, O'Malley only needs one win to secure an automatic qualification to the NCAA Tournament.

The Dragons put up some good fights in the opening rounds of the second session but came up just short in several matches. Maroney, Nichter, Kropman, Barczak, McLaughlin and Anthony each competed in the second round of consolation to close out day one. Maroney kicked things off with an upset decision at 133lbs followed by a dominant performance by Barczak who nailed his first fall victory of the year over Blaine Bergey (Princeton). McLaughlin gave the Dragons their final win of the day in an upset decision over Navy to advance to day two.

Scoring Breakdown

125 | No. 10 Antonio Mininno (0-2)
Round of 16
No. 9 Beau Bayless (Harvard) def. Mininno, 6-4 Dec.

Cons. of 8
Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) def. Mininno, 14-4 MD

Mininno fought back from an early deficit to move within one, but a last-minute takedown gave Bayless the advantage he needed to secure the victory. The senior fought for a win in his second matchup but fell against Sheldon Seymour from Lehigh, eliminating him from a chance at day two.

133 | No. 8 Jaxon Maroney (2-1)
Round of 16
Maroney def. No. 9 Anthony Sobotker (Binghamton), SV 3-1

Quarterfinals
No. 1 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) def. Maroney, 2-0 Dec.

2^nd Cons. of 8
Maroney def. No. 6 Angelo Rini (Columbia), 7-0 Dec.

Maroney and Sobotker battled to a 1-1 stalemate through three periods, sending the match to sudden victory. A takedown by Maroney secured the victory for the Dragons, the first of the day. The sophomore came close to upsetting the No. 1 seed Koderhandt but fell short in a 2-0 contest, moving him to the consolation bracket. Maroney rounded out an impressive outing with an upset victory over Rini (Columbia), 7-0. With the win, Maroney will advance to the final day of the tournament.

141 | No. 15 Jared Donahue (1-2)
Round of 16
No. 2 CJ Composto (Penn) def. Donahue, TF 22-6 (6:35)

Cons. of 16
Donahue def. Jordan Carlucci (Sacred Heart), TF 15-0 (5:31)

Cons. of 8
No. 10 Timothy Levine (Brown) def. Donahue, 10-0 MD

Despite picking up a tough loss to No. 2 Composto from Penn, Donahue came back with a vengeance in the first consolation round, dominating Jordan Carlucci (Sacred Heart) 15-0 for a second period victory. No. 10 Timothy Levine followed by giving Donahue his second loss of the day in a 10-0 major decision.

149 | No. 6 Luke Nichter (1-2)
Round of 16
Nichter def. No. 11 Cristiaan Dailey (F&M), 16-4 MD

Quarterfinals
No. 3 Max Brignola (Lehigh) def. Nichter, 11-7 Dec.

2^nd Cons. of 8
Marshall Keller (Princeton) def. Nichter, Inj. Default

Nichter dominated start to finish in the opening round, holding Dailey scoreless through two periods. Despite Dailey finding several late points, Nichter remained composed, pulling through for a technical fall victory. In his second match, Nichter came out strong taking an early 6-0 lead but No. 3 Brignola answered back for a 11-7 victory, moving Nichter to the consolation bracket. Nichter picked up his second loss of the day due to an injury default in the second round of consolation.

157 | No. 8 Parker Kropman (1-2)
Round of 16
No. 9 Trevor Tarsi (Harvard) def. Kropman, 10-3 Dec.

Cons. of 8
Kropman def. Jack Nies (American), 9-4 Dec.

2^nd Cons. of 8
Hunter Richard (Cornell) def. Kropman, Fall 5:35

After a loss in the round of 16, Kropman rallied back against Jack Nies from American in the first consolation round, taking home a 9-4 decision to even himself out at 1-1 on the day. Despite a strong effort, Kropman fell to a dominant Hunter Richard (Cornell) for his second loss of the day.

165 | No. 7 Evan Barczak (2-1)
Round of 16
Barczak def. No. 10 Val Park (Navy), SV 4-2

Quarterfinals
No. 2 Zach Hartman (Bucknell) def. Barczak, 9-5 Dec.

2^nd Cons. of 8
Barczak def. Blaine Bergey (Princeton), Fall 1:07

Barczak led Park 2-1 for most of the match but couldn't find the extra point to seal the deal. Park earned a point for riding time sending the match to sudden victory, but Barczak fought back with two takedown points for a 4-2 SV decision. In his second matchup, Barczak met a familiar face in Hartman from Bucknell. He gave the No. 2 seed a run early but Hartman powered through with a late takedown opportunity for a victory. The redshirt senior put up his best performance of the day in the second round of consolation, pinning Blaine Bergey (Princeton) in 1:07. If Barczak secures a win in the opening match tomorrow he will secure an automatic qualification at 165lbs.

174 | No. 1 Mickey O'Malley (2-0)
Round of 16
O'Malley def. Drew Clearie (Brown), 4-1 Dec.

Quarterfinals
O'Malley def. No. 8 Jacob Nolan (Binghamton), 9-2 Dec.

O'Malley secured his eighth EIWA victory of the year in a close 4-1 decision with Clearie from Brown. The redshirt-junior set the pace early, coming close to several near fall scenarios, allowing him to control the scoring throughout all three periods. With his second decision victory of the day over Jacob Nolan (Binghamton), O'Malley needs one more win tomorrow to be an automatic qualifier for the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

184 | No. 10 Bryan McLaughlin (2-1)
Round of 16
No. 7 AJ Burkhart (Lehigh) def. McLaughlin, 9-7 Dec.

Cons. of 8
McLaughlin def. Joe Accousti (Sacred Heart), 3-1 Dec.

2^nd Cons. of 8
McLaughlin def. No. 5 David Key (Navy) 12-10 Dec.

McLaughlin found a tough matchup in the round of 16, coming up short in a 9-7 decision. The redshirt senior came back firing in the first consolation round, forcing a takedown in the final 10 seconds to win a 3-1 decision over Accousti from Sacred Heart. McLaughlin closed out the day on a strong note, holding on for an upset 12-10 decision over No. 5 David Key (Navy).

197 | No. 13 Santino Morina (0-2)
Round of 16
No. 4 Jacob Koser (Navy) def. Morina, TF 16-0 (2:21)

Cons. of 8
Sam Wustefeld (Columbia) def. Morina, 4-3 Dec

Morina struggled against a No. 4 seed Jacob Koser from Navy in his opening match, taking an early 16-0 tech fall loss. The freshman came close to rebounding in the first round of consolation but fell to Sam Wustefeld (Columbia) on a single riding time point, 4-3.

287 | Eli Anthony (2-2)
Round of 32 (Pigtail)
Jeffrey Crooks (Harvard) def. Anthony, Fall 6:11

Consolation Pigtail
Anthony def. Nick Copley (Sacred Heart), Fall 3:31

Cons. of 8
Anthony def. Tim Nagosky (LIU), 3-2 Dec.

2^nd Cons. of 8
No. 5 Joe Doyle (Binghamton) def. Anthony, Fall 0:39

Anthony kicked off his first appearance at the EIWA tournament with a tough matchup against Jeffrey Crooks from Harvard. Despite losing by fall, Anthony secured a fall victory of his own against Copley (Sacred Heart), earning himself a spot back in the consolation bracket. The freshman got his second win in a 3-2 decision over Tim Nagosky (LIU) but evened out a 2-2 with a loss to No. 5 Joe Doyle from Binghamton.

Up Next:
Maroney, Barczak, McLaughlin and O'Malley will compete for the Dragons tomorrow in the final day of the tournament, starting at 10 a.m.