EIWA - I need an At Large Bid/WildCard

 The EIWA tournament this weekend was TOUGH. Quite a few guys finished outside of NCAA qualification & while some unfortunately probably do not stand a chance at getting in, others still have a shot through the At Large/Wildcard selection. I am going to present who I feel stands a shot at getting one of these At Large/Wildcard bids. Obviously not all of them will, but nevertheless I'll put the few pre law classes I took in college to work & present my arguments. 

133 lbs 
Dominic LaJoie of Cornell 

I think Cornell's Dominick LaJoie makes a case. He had a strong EIWA finish of 3rd, one match shy of qualification, plus on the season he has a 5-2 win over Kyle Biscoglia of Northern Iowa & SOCON runner-up Brayden Palmer of Chattanooga.  What hurts him is not being ranked. 

133 lbs
Malyke Hines of Lehigh 

What hurts Hines is that he had to medical forfeit out of the EIWA's going 0-2. Yet what helps him in his opportunity to get an At Large/Wildcard bid is the fact that he was ranked #17 in the nation before the EIWA tournament & that he owns a dominating 13-7 decision over EIWA Runner-up Josh Koderhardt of Navy. 

133 lbs 
Kurt Phipps of Bucknell 

Do we make the case for Kurt Phipps of Bucknell? I have a feeling that a bad EIWA tournament is going to be held against him when it comes time to choose the At Large/Wildcard selections at 133 lbs.  Obviously with only four at larges/wildcards available, three of them aren't going to the EIWA. I feel that both LaJoie & Hines make better cases than what Phipps does, but for the record Phipps ranking was #32 & he defeated EIWA champion Michael Colaiocco earlier this season 9-5. 

141 lbs 
Darren Miller of Bucknell 

Miller finished 5th at the EIWA's, one match shy of placing. He was ranked #28 at the time & he defeated Connor McGonagle of Lehigh who ended up placing 4th 4-2 in the Quarterfinals. That has to at least make a case. 

141 lbs 
Ryan Anderson of Binghamton 

Anderson was 6th in the EIWA's.  He was ranked #26 at the time & his greatest asset is that he owns a 6-4 decision over EIWA champion Matt Kazimir of Columbia. 

149 lbs 
P.J. Ogunsanya of Army 

Medical forfeited to 6th place in the EIWA tournament.  Any other season that wouldn't concern me, but it does in 2022. In a year where the weights are overloaded & overcrowded with talent, four At Large/Wildcard bids are so few.  Yet Ogunsanya has #20 ranking, with victories over Iowa State's Jarret Degen & Virginia's Jarod Verkleeren.  That will help. 

149 lbs 
Luke Nichter of Drexel 

Did you read my article on injuries and how much they suck? I think overall that'll be the final verdict on Luke Nichter of Drexel. In the round to place at the EIWA's he was dominating Marshall Keller of Princeton 8-0 when he received an injury & had to forfeit the match. A #28 ranking does help, but there aren't a lot of high quality wins on the resume this season.  Nevertheless he deserves mention & consideration. 

157 lbs 
Hunter Richard of Cornell 

What's gonna kill Hunter Richard here I believe is the fact that because he was battling it out for the starting position at Cornell, he got a late start to the season. It bugs the Hell out of me, but I think that's what hurts him the most in making a case for an At Large/Wildcard bid. What he has going for him is that he finished 6th in the EIWA tournament, one match shy of qualification. On top of that he has wins this season over EIWA runner-up Andrew Cerniglia 5-4 & Garrett Model of Wisconsin 10-6.  Although I doubt they count it because he's been hurt most of the season, Richard also defeated Brock Mauller of Missouri 6-4. That ought to count for something. Don't know if it will, but it should.  Furthermore Richard had a very impressive 4th place finish at the Southern Scuffle. 

157 lbs 
Brian Meyer of Lehigh 

The new qualification system that was put into place back in 2009, was put into place for this exact situation. Someone that had a good season, that just fell apart at the conference tournament.  That's the case with Brian Meyer of Lehigh. Finishing a very disappointing one match shy of placing at the EIWA's, the #25 ranked wrestler has many notable wins on the season.  These include a 6-5 victory over MAC runner-up Ashton Eyler of Lock Haven, a 4-3 victory over Jake Wentzel of Pittsburgh, a 2-1 tiebreaker over Lucas Revano of Penn & a 4-3 decision over Brevin Cassella of Binghamton. 

174 lbs 
Jake Logan of Lehigh 

Finished 5th at the EIWA Championships, one match shy of qualification. Although unranked, has an 8-5 victory over Ben Pasiuk of Army & a 5-2 victory over Chris Foca of Cornell. 

174 lbs
Chris Foca of Cornell 

Speaking of Chris Foca of Cornell, he makes another case for At Large/Wildcard NCAA qualification. A higher ranking of #14, wins over both EIWA runner-up Nick Incontrera of Pennsylvania & EIWA 3rd placer Ben Pasiuk of Army. 

184 lbs 
Charles Small of Hofstra 

Charles Small is the type of guy that I can honestly see getting into his car, making the drive into New York City & hiring an attorney to represent him at the At Large/Wildcard selection committee.  I won't go that far, but I will say this in his defense. 4th place EIWA finish, which was one match shy of NCAA qualification. Has a 3-2 win on Chris Weiler of Wisconsin on the year & is ranked #31. 

184 lbs 
Neil Antrassian of Pennsylvania 

Finished 5th at the EIWA tournament.  Ranked #29.  Has a head to head 5-3 sudden victory over Small, as well as an 8-6 victory over Chris Weiler of Wisconsin & a 9-6 decision over David Key of Navy (who I'm about to also make a case for).  he also owns a 9-6 decision over EIWA 3rd place finisher A.J. Burkhart of Lehigh. 

184 lbs 
David Key Navy 

Well obviously between Small, Antrassian & Key, not all three of them will be selected for NCAA qualification through the At Large/Wildcard selection. That's just not going to happen in 2022.  I do think one of them could be selected though.  I think the 4th place finish for Small makes him the most likely candidate, but head to head as said he lost to Antrassian & Key also got him 3-2.  Key's other big notable win on the year is Layne Malczewski of Michigan State 10-4. 

197 lbs 
J.T. Brown of Army 

Some might have a problem with me putting 7th place J.T. Brown ahead of 6th place J.T. Davis of Lehigh, but I'm more than happy to explain myself.  Brown has a #26 ranking Vs U.R. Davis, & furthermore head to head, Brown defeated Davis 5-2.  Brown also owns a 5-4 victory over Cole Urbas, 4th place EIWA as well. 

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There you have it. Anxious to see who all out of these guys ends up getting an At Large bid/Wildcard. This is such a tough year. I personally feel that out of all the EIWA talent here, Hunter Richard makes the best argument.