Waterman and Nichter Advance to the Finals of the EIWA Championships

Friday, March 7

Bethlehem, Pa.

Drexel University

EIWA Championships

Waterman and Nichter Advance to the Finals of the EIWA Championships

3/7/2025 9:16:00 PM | Wrestling

Drexel Third Overall With 93.5 Points

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Kyle Waterman and Luke Nichter each punched their tickets to the finals of the 121st EIWA Championships at Lehigh University Friday afternoon. Both will look to earn Drexel's first conference champion since 2022.

DU is third overall with 93.5 points, with Lehigh leading the way at 120 points. Navy is in second with 101.5. All ten Dragons advanced to day two of the tournament, with five still alive to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in Philadelphia.

Waterman started the day with a close battle with Binghamton's Micah Roes. The redshirt senior found himself down 1-0 heading into the final two minutes. Waterman tied things up with a quick escape to start the third. With fifteen seconds left on the clock, the Holland, Pa. native managed stop Roes mid-barrel roll to get the takedown. In the semifinals, Waterman upset No. 1 seed Ethan Berginc from Army. He was able to secure a takedown out of the gates of the third round, and took a 5-1 decision win. Waterman can qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in his career with a win tomorrow.

Nichter sneaked out a victory in the quarterfinal against Fin Nadeau. One escape point was enough to get the win. The redshirt senior had a dominant performance in the semifinal. He had a 14-1 advantage over the No. 3 seed Jonathan Ley of Navy, before going for the finish. Nichter started in the down position in the second, and quickly turned the tables on Ley. He was able to reverse Ley to his back for the pin just 13 seconds into the period. Nichter will attempt to make his second NCAA Championships with a win on Saturday.

Five other Dragons will compete in the consolation semifinals, with three others fighting for seventh place.

Action from Stabler Arena continues at 10 a.m. with the consolation semifinals and seventh place matches. The championship rounds will begin at 12:15 p.m.

Day 1 Results:
Desmond Pleasant, 125lbs, 1-1
Quarterfinals: Pleasant def. Nick Treaster (Navy), MD 18-7
Semifinals: Charlie Farmer (Army) def. Pleasant, Dec. 8-6

Kyle Waterman, 133lbs, 2-0
Quarterfinals: Waterman def. Micah Roes (Binghamton), Dec. 4-1
Semifinals: Waterman def. Ethan Berginc (Army), Dec. 5-1

Jordan Soriano, 141lbs, 1-1
Quarterfinals: Soriano def. Devin Matthew (LIU), TF 21-4
Semifinals: Dylan Chappell (Bucknell) def. Soriano, Dec. 9-8

Dom Findora, 149lbs, 2-2
Rd 16: Findora def. Josh Hillard (F&M), MD 9-0
Quarterfinals: Trae Mcdaniel (Army) def. Findora, Dec. 1-0
Consolation of 8: Findora def. Gage Owens (American), Dec. 4-3
Consolation of 4: Noah Tapia (Hofstra) def. Findora, MD 11-2

Luke Nichter, 157lbs, 2-0
Quarterfinals: Nichter def. Fin Nadeau (Binghamton), Dec. 1-0
Semifinals: Nichter def. Jonathan Ley (Navy), Fall (3:13)

Cody Walsh, 165lbs, 2-2
Rd of 16: Walsh def. Josh Palmucci (F&M), Dec. 1-0
Quarterfinals: Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell) def. Walsh, MD 12-1
Consolation of 8: Walsh def. Calvin Pineda (Sacred Heart), Fall (2:49)
Consolation of 4: Dylan Elmore (Navy) def. Walsh, MD 13-3

Jasiah Queen, 174lbs, 2-1
Quarterfinals: Dalton Harkins (Army) def. Queen, Dec. 4-1
Consolation of 8: Queen def. Nick Alvarez (F&M), TF 19-4
Consolation of 4: Queen def. Blake Bahna (LIU), MD 14-3

Giuseppe Hoose, 184lbs, 2-1
Quarterfinals: Daniel Williams (Navy) def. Hoose, dec. 8-4
Consolation of 8: Hoose def. Kingsley Menifee (Morgan State), Dec. 6-4
Consolation of 4: Hoose def. Hunter Perez (Sacred Heart), MD 11-2

Mickey O'Malley, 197lbs, 1-1
Quarterfinals: O'Malley def. Cayden Bevis (Binghamton), Dec. 12-5
Semifinals: Dilon Bechtold (Bucknell) def. O'Malley, SV 4-1

Ibrahim Ameer, 285lbs, 2-2
Rd of 12: Ameer def. Danny Church (Hofstra), MD 10-2
Quarterfinals: Cory Day (Binghamton) def. Ameer, Dec. 1-0
Consolation of 8: Ameer def. Jake Lucas (Navy), Dec. 4-1
Consolation of 4: Chrisopher Powell (LIU) def. Ameer, Dec. 2-1