2025 EIWA Preview (Friday March 7th & Saturday March 8th)

 

The 121st EIWA championship is set for this Friday & Saturday.  While it'll be different without the Ivy League schools this year, it'll still be a tough tournament full of some great wrestling. A lot on the line this championship.  Not many allocations & a lot of wrestlers in contention for them.  "You have to qualify" takes precedence in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania this weekend. 

125

Host school Lehigh wastes no time, looking to crown their first champ of 2025 right off the bat at 125 lbs.  NCAA's smallest weight class allots two to the DI championships this season, and unless we see some major upsets, things should happen accordingly.  Sheldon Seymour is 18-3 on the season, as Charlie Farmer is 20-7.  The last the two met, Seymour won a hard fought 6-4 decision.  It should once again prove to be a good final. 

133

Only one allocation here at 133 lbs, and we have a three-man war to determine our champion.  Freshman Matt Lopes one of the three contenders, is 9-3 on the season with a 3-2 decision over Kurt Phipps.  Ethan Berginc is a two-time NCAA DI qualifier with EIWA finishes of 4th & 3rd.  He owns a 2-1 decision over Lopes.  Phipps, a two-time NCAA DI qualifier in his own right, was one match shy of All American honors last year.  He owns a 3-2 decision over Berginc and has 7th & 4th place EIWA finishes.  We're looking at a good semi & we're looking at a good final. 

141

Gold, Silver & Bronze qualify for the NCAA DI's here at 141 lbs.  

Gold, I'm pretty sure is already spoken for.  20-3 on the season, returning EIWA champ Josh Koderhandt looks to win EIWA title #2 in fashion.  He's defeated everyone he'll face this tournament.  A 16-4 major over Richard Treanor, a 15-1 major over Dylan Chappell, a 5-2 decision over Carter Bailey & a 19-4 technical fall over Jordan Soriano.  The Midshipman earned his third medal at CKLV earlier this season going 5th-4th-4t in DI's toughest in-season tournament.  A match shy of All American honors last year, he'll hopefully take a good EIWA tournament into his final national tournament and contend for those top 8 honors. 

Silver & Bronze?  Here's where we'll have our fight. 

Chappell is a two-time EIWA runner-up, and you know he won't be looking to settle for anything else.  A good tournament wrestler, he finished 3rd at the Midlands earlier this year. 

Soriano owns a 10-8 decision over Chappell. 

Bailey owns both a 10-4 & a 12-1 decision over Treanor. 

149

Only one allocation here at 149 lbs, and I think we're going to see an excellent final to determine who gets it.  

Malyke Hines is a four-time NCAA DI qualifier looking to earn his fifth trip to the national championships.  An EIWA champ 2022, he's been 4th the past two-seasons, as he looks to win his second conference title this weekend.   His opponent will be Trae McDaniel who is 22-8 on the season, and ironically enough looking for his first DI qualification in his junior season of eligibility.  The last the two met, Hines won a close 12-10 decision. 

157

Once again, only one allocation here at 157 lbs.  On paper it looks to be an open and shut case final between Logan Rozynski & Luke Nichter.  However, I can see Brayden Roberts coming in here and stealing the show as a darkhorse pick.  The Shark is 24-5 on the season & for whatever it's worth, does own a win over Trae McDaniel, who himself will be fighting for a title at 149. 

165

Two allocations here at 165 lbs & I'm pretty sure it'll be an excellent final between Gunnar Filipowicz & Noah Mulvany.  Filipowicz is currently 23-3 on the season, 4th in the EIWA last season.  The last the two met, the match went to sudden victory with Mulvany pulling off a 13-10 decision. 

174

One of the toughest brackets in the EIWA this tournament, 174 lbs allots the top 4 to the NCAA DI championships.  

22-4 on the year, Brevin Cassell is a three-time NCAA DI qualifier with 5th-4th-3rd finishes within the EIWA.  On the season owns a 9-0 major over Danny Wask & a 3-1 decision over Dalton Harkins. 

Wask, 18-5 on the year, was an NCAA DI qualifier last season with a 7th place finish at the EIWA championships.  He owns both a 7-4 decision over Harkins & a 4-2 decision over Myles Takats. 

Takats 20-5 on the year was 6th in the EIWA a year ago.  Defeated Harkins in sudden victory, 4-1 & also owns a 5-3 decision over Jasiah Queen.   Queen, a tough freshman for the Dragons is currently 18-3 on the season. 

Call it wishful thinking as locked and loaded at 174 lbs, but I still think there's a shot for Darrien Roberts to become Morgan State's first NCAA DI qualifier.  If the Bears are going to send anyone to DI's this year, I say Roberts is their best bet. 

184

If you enjoy pandemonium and chaos, then you've come to the right place.  Only one allocation here at 184 lbs, and I'm not sure what to think.  There is so much parity within this weight class, it makes predicting very difficult.  We're not dealing blackjack here folks, we're dealing wheel of fortune.  

2023 NCAA DI qualifier Giuseppe Hoose looks to be our forerunner for the *1 seed.  He owns a 4-1 s.v. over Ross McFarland & he also defeated Will Ebert in overtime as well.   Dan Williams actually owns a 9-2 decision over Hoose & of course Logan Deacetis owns a 6-2 decision over Williams.  

I may be off my hinges, but I think anything is possible here at 184, and I think any of the six I've mentioned have a shot at winning the title. 

197

Four allocations here at 197 lbs, which like 174, will be a very fun bracket to keep track off during the EIWA championships.  

Favorite here is obviously two-time NCAA DI All American Michael Beard.  17-1 on the season, the returning EIWA champion owns a 3-2 decision over Payton Thomas, as he has teched both Wolfgang Frable & Dillon Bechtold by scores of 20-3 & 21-6 respectively.   

Here to challenge Beard will be four-time NCAA DI qualifier Mickey O'Malley, who won an EIWA title himself in 2022.  The Dragon was also one match shy of All American that season.  On the year owns a 13-10 decision over Bechtold.  

Bechtold himself is 19-8 on the year with both a 4-1 decision over Frable & a 4-2 decision over Thomas.  Frable owns a 7-2 decision over Thomas & Thomas owns a 9-3 decision over Bechtold. 

HWT

We have three allocations here at HWT.  

Two-time NCAA DI qualifier Owen Trephan looks to win an EIWA title this weekend.  18-0 on the season owns both a major over Cory Day (9-1) & Will Jarrell (11-3). 

Day himself is a two-time NCAA DI qualifier with back to back EIWA finishes of 5th.  He is currently 18-5 on the season.    

Brady Colbert is 31-6, as Jarrell has a record of 23-9.