Saturday, March 9
Lewisburg, Pa.
10:30 AM
Lehigh University
at
EIWA Championships
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Four Lehigh Wrestlers Win EIWA Titles, Mountain Hawks Finish In Second Place
3/9/2024 8:48:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Four Lehigh wrestlers won individual EIWA titles and eight Mountain Hawks are headed to the NCAA Championships as the EIWA Championships wrapped up Saturday at Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion. The Mountain Hawks have first-time conference champions at the first two weights and the last two weights. Ultimately, Lehigh finished five points shy of Cornell as the Big Red won their third straight team title by a 164.5-159.5 margin.
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Lehigh's four individual champions were true first-year Luke Stanich (125), deferred first-year Ryan Crookham (133), junior Michael Beard (197) and sophomore Nathan Taylor (285).
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Crookham, who defeated Cornell's Vito Arujau in the finals at 133 for his second win this year over the reigning world champion, received the Coaches' Trophy as the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler. Taylor won the Sheridan Trophy for the most falls in the fastest time in the championship bracket, recording two in 3:55, both of which came on Saturday.
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Stanich became just the third Lehigh true first-year since 1980 to win an EIWA title, joining Randy Cruz (2013) and Josh Humphreys (2019). After beating Army's Ethan Berginc 11-6 in Saturday morning's semifinals, Stanich posted a 6-0 decision over Cornell's Brett Ungar to claim the title. In the finals bout, Stanich scored on a single leg takedown in the final seconds of the first period, added an escape and a stalling point in the second, before riding out the third.
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Crookham gave up the first takedown in Saturday's rematch with Arujau but scored the next two, which ultimately proved to be the difference. He scored on a single leg to take a 4-3 lead in the first period, only to get reversed. An escape tied the bout at 5-5 after one period. Crookham and Arujau traded escapes in the second and third periods. In the latter stages of the third, Crookham converted another single leg attempt into the go-ahead takedown and added an escape after Arujau took an injury timeout. The final score was 10-6 giving Lehigh EIWA titles at the first two weight classes.
Beard improved to 26-1 on the season and avenged a loss to Cornell's Jacob Cardenas by winning a 6-3 sudden victory decision. Cardenas scored the only takedown of regulation, but Beard answered with two escapes and a strong second period rideout that sent the match into overtime. Beard was finally able to gain control for the winning takedown late in the sudden victory period.
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Taylor's Saturday began with a first period pin of Cornell's Lewis Fernandez in the semifinals, and then in the finals he needed just 1:27 to pin Bucknell's Dorian Crosby to capture his first championship. Taylor's semifinal fall temporarily gave the Mountain Hawks the lead late in Saturday's morning session.
Junior Max Brignola was Lehigh's fifth finalist after winning a thrilling 4-1 sudden victory decision over Penn's Lucas Revano in the semifinals. In the finals, Brignola ran into Cornell's Meyer Shapiro, who posted a 6-3 decision.
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First-year Kelvin Griffin finished in third place at 149 and secured NCAA qualification with a second period pin of Penn's Jude Swisher in the consolation semifinals. Griffin avenged a pair of losses to Army's Matt Williams with a 20-9 major decision in the third-place bout. He finished the tournament at 5-1 with three falls and two major decisions.
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Junior Malyke Hines rebounded from a heartbreaking semifinal loss to become a four-time NCAA qualifier with a fourth-place finish at 141. A reversal had Hines up 7-5 on Bucknell's Dylan Chappell in the second half of the tiebreakers in the semifinal, but Chappell scored a takedown in the final seconds to win 8-7. An 11-2 win over Franklin & Marshall's Pat Phillips secured NCAA qualification. Hines dropped his third-place match 7-4 in sudden victory to Penn's CJ Composto.
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Jake Logan became Lehigh's eighth NCAA qualifier after holding off Bucknell's Noah Mulvaney 8-7 to earn fifth place at 165. Logan scored takedowns in each of the first two periods to cap a 4-2 tournament and secure his second berth to NCAAs.
ÂGallery: (3-9-2024) 2024 EIWA Championships, Day Two
Lehigh's four champions give the Brown and White 231 individual EIWA champions all-time. The Mountain Hawks have had at least one champion now for 25 straight EIWA Tournaments, and the four champs are the most since Lehigh had four in 2021.
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Cornell won its 28th and likely final team title as the Ivy League will conduct its own wrestling tournament in 2025.
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Lehigh's qualifiers will move on to the NCAA Championships, Mar. 21-23 in Kansas City. At-large selections will be announced Tuesday, with the seeds and brackets unveiled Wednesday at 8 p.m.
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The 2023-24 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
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125 – No. 1 Luke Stanich – 1st place
Rd. of 16: Fall No. 16 Grayson McLellan (Bucknell) 2:17
Quarterfinal: Fall No. 8 Drew Heethuis (Princeton) 4:07
Semifinal: dec. No. 5 Ethan Berginc (Army) 11-6
Final: dec. No. 2 Brett Ungar (Cornell) 6-0
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133 – No. 1 Ryan Crookham – 1st place
Rd. of 16: tech fall No. 17 Sulayman Bah (Columbia) 16-1, 2:18
Quarterfinal: dec. No. 9 John Hildebrandt (Drexel) 4-2
Semifinal: dec. No. 4 Kurt Phipps (Bucknell) 10-3
Final: dec. No. 2 Vito Arujau (Cornell) 10-6
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141 – No. 3 Malyke Hines – 4th place
Rd. of 16: major dec. No. 14 Ian Oswalt (Brown) 11-0
Quarterfinal: major dec. No. 11 Nate Lucier (Binghamton) 11-2
Semifinal: L by dec. No. 7 Dylan Chappell (Bucknell) 8-7, tb
Consolation semifinal: major dec. No. 8 Pat Phillips (F&M) 11-2
Third place match: L by dec. No. 4 CJ Composto (Penn) 7-4, sv
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149 – No. 3 Kelvin Griffin – 3rd place
Rd. of 16: Fall No. 14 Josh Hilliard (F&M) 6:33
Quarterfinal: L by dec. No. 6 Jack Crook (Harvard) 7-5
Third round consolation: Fall No. 8 Noah Tapia (Hofstra) 2:00
Consolation quarterfinal: major dec. No. 12 Richard Fedalen (Columbia) 13-4
Consolation semifinal: Fall No. 4 Jude Swisher (Penn) 3:44
Third place match: major dec. No. 2 Matt Williams (Army) 20-9
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157 – No. 3 Max Brignola – 2nd place
Rd. of 16: tech fall No. 14 Devon Capato (American) 16-1, 4:43
Quarterfinal: tech fall No. 11 Tyler Williams (Drexel) 19-4, 6:30
Semifinal: dec. No. 2 Lucas Revano (Penn) 4-1, sv
Final: L by dec. No. 1 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) 6-3
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165 – No. 7 Jake Logan – 5th place
Rd. of 16: L by dec. No. 10 Kyle Mosher (Columbia) 7-2
Second round consolation: dec. No. 15 Adam Thomson (Penn) 8-1
Third round consolation: major dec. No. 12 Blaine Bergey (Princeton) 13-4
Consolation quarterfinal: major dec. No. 9 Cael Berg (Harvard) 10-2
Consolation semifinal: L by dec. No. 2 Brevin Cassella (Binghamton) 5-0
Fifth place match: dec. No. 4 Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell) 8-7
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197 – No. 1 Michael Beard – 1st place
Rd. of 16: Fall No. 17 Lear Quinton (Brown) 1:42
Quarterfinal: Tech fall No. 8 Logan Deacetis (Bucknell) 21-5, 3:18
Semifinal: W by medical forfeit No. 4 Luke Stout (Princeton)
Final: dec. No. 2 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) 6-3, sv
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285 – No. 1 Nathan Taylor – 1st place
Rd. of 16: tech fall No. 16 Harrison Shapiro (F&M) 17-1, 3:32
Quarterfinal: major dec. No. 8 Matt Cover (Princeton) 12-0
Semifinal: Fall No. 5 Lewis Fernandez (Cornell) 2:28
Final: Fall No. 7 Dorian Crosby (Bucknell) 1:27
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Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on X/Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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Lehigh's four individual champions were true first-year Luke Stanich (125), deferred first-year Ryan Crookham (133), junior Michael Beard (197) and sophomore Nathan Taylor (285).
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Crookham, who defeated Cornell's Vito Arujau in the finals at 133 for his second win this year over the reigning world champion, received the Coaches' Trophy as the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler. Taylor won the Sheridan Trophy for the most falls in the fastest time in the championship bracket, recording two in 3:55, both of which came on Saturday.
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Stanich became just the third Lehigh true first-year since 1980 to win an EIWA title, joining Randy Cruz (2013) and Josh Humphreys (2019). After beating Army's Ethan Berginc 11-6 in Saturday morning's semifinals, Stanich posted a 6-0 decision over Cornell's Brett Ungar to claim the title. In the finals bout, Stanich scored on a single leg takedown in the final seconds of the first period, added an escape and a stalling point in the second, before riding out the third.
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Crookham gave up the first takedown in Saturday's rematch with Arujau but scored the next two, which ultimately proved to be the difference. He scored on a single leg to take a 4-3 lead in the first period, only to get reversed. An escape tied the bout at 5-5 after one period. Crookham and Arujau traded escapes in the second and third periods. In the latter stages of the third, Crookham converted another single leg attempt into the go-ahead takedown and added an escape after Arujau took an injury timeout. The final score was 10-6 giving Lehigh EIWA titles at the first two weight classes.
Ââš¡from Ryan Crookham!
— Lehigh Wrestling (@LehighWrestling) March 9, 2024
Watch @FloWrestling: https://t.co/DBkxLeTWAr#GoLehigh #ThisIsMarch pic.twitter.com/XA6PIHWawd
Beard improved to 26-1 on the season and avenged a loss to Cornell's Jacob Cardenas by winning a 6-3 sudden victory decision. Cardenas scored the only takedown of regulation, but Beard answered with two escapes and a strong second period rideout that sent the match into overtime. Beard was finally able to gain control for the winning takedown late in the sudden victory period.
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Taylor's Saturday began with a first period pin of Cornell's Lewis Fernandez in the semifinals, and then in the finals he needed just 1:27 to pin Bucknell's Dorian Crosby to capture his first championship. Taylor's semifinal fall temporarily gave the Mountain Hawks the lead late in Saturday's morning session.
ÂTaylor closes out his tournament in style! 📌🥇
— Lehigh Wrestling (@LehighWrestling) March 10, 2024
Watch @FloWrestling: https://t.co/DBkxLeTWAr pic.twitter.com/9TRgtJmjOB
Junior Max Brignola was Lehigh's fifth finalist after winning a thrilling 4-1 sudden victory decision over Penn's Lucas Revano in the semifinals. In the finals, Brignola ran into Cornell's Meyer Shapiro, who posted a 6-3 decision.
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First-year Kelvin Griffin finished in third place at 149 and secured NCAA qualification with a second period pin of Penn's Jude Swisher in the consolation semifinals. Griffin avenged a pair of losses to Army's Matt Williams with a 20-9 major decision in the third-place bout. He finished the tournament at 5-1 with three falls and two major decisions.
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Junior Malyke Hines rebounded from a heartbreaking semifinal loss to become a four-time NCAA qualifier with a fourth-place finish at 141. A reversal had Hines up 7-5 on Bucknell's Dylan Chappell in the second half of the tiebreakers in the semifinal, but Chappell scored a takedown in the final seconds to win 8-7. An 11-2 win over Franklin & Marshall's Pat Phillips secured NCAA qualification. Hines dropped his third-place match 7-4 in sudden victory to Penn's CJ Composto.
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Jake Logan became Lehigh's eighth NCAA qualifier after holding off Bucknell's Noah Mulvaney 8-7 to earn fifth place at 165. Logan scored takedowns in each of the first two periods to cap a 4-2 tournament and secure his second berth to NCAAs.
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Lehigh's four champions give the Brown and White 231 individual EIWA champions all-time. The Mountain Hawks have had at least one champion now for 25 straight EIWA Tournaments, and the four champs are the most since Lehigh had four in 2021.
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Cornell won its 28th and likely final team title as the Ivy League will conduct its own wrestling tournament in 2025.
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Lehigh's qualifiers will move on to the NCAA Championships, Mar. 21-23 in Kansas City. At-large selections will be announced Tuesday, with the seeds and brackets unveiled Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Â
The 2023-24 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
Â
125 – No. 1 Luke Stanich – 1st place
Rd. of 16: Fall No. 16 Grayson McLellan (Bucknell) 2:17
Quarterfinal: Fall No. 8 Drew Heethuis (Princeton) 4:07
Semifinal: dec. No. 5 Ethan Berginc (Army) 11-6
Final: dec. No. 2 Brett Ungar (Cornell) 6-0
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133 – No. 1 Ryan Crookham – 1st place
Rd. of 16: tech fall No. 17 Sulayman Bah (Columbia) 16-1, 2:18
Quarterfinal: dec. No. 9 John Hildebrandt (Drexel) 4-2
Semifinal: dec. No. 4 Kurt Phipps (Bucknell) 10-3
Final: dec. No. 2 Vito Arujau (Cornell) 10-6
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141 – No. 3 Malyke Hines – 4th place
Rd. of 16: major dec. No. 14 Ian Oswalt (Brown) 11-0
Quarterfinal: major dec. No. 11 Nate Lucier (Binghamton) 11-2
Semifinal: L by dec. No. 7 Dylan Chappell (Bucknell) 8-7, tb
Consolation semifinal: major dec. No. 8 Pat Phillips (F&M) 11-2
Third place match: L by dec. No. 4 CJ Composto (Penn) 7-4, sv
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149 – No. 3 Kelvin Griffin – 3rd place
Rd. of 16: Fall No. 14 Josh Hilliard (F&M) 6:33
Quarterfinal: L by dec. No. 6 Jack Crook (Harvard) 7-5
Third round consolation: Fall No. 8 Noah Tapia (Hofstra) 2:00
Consolation quarterfinal: major dec. No. 12 Richard Fedalen (Columbia) 13-4
Consolation semifinal: Fall No. 4 Jude Swisher (Penn) 3:44
Third place match: major dec. No. 2 Matt Williams (Army) 20-9
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157 – No. 3 Max Brignola – 2nd place
Rd. of 16: tech fall No. 14 Devon Capato (American) 16-1, 4:43
Quarterfinal: tech fall No. 11 Tyler Williams (Drexel) 19-4, 6:30
Semifinal: dec. No. 2 Lucas Revano (Penn) 4-1, sv
Final: L by dec. No. 1 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) 6-3
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165 – No. 7 Jake Logan – 5th place
Rd. of 16: L by dec. No. 10 Kyle Mosher (Columbia) 7-2
Second round consolation: dec. No. 15 Adam Thomson (Penn) 8-1
Third round consolation: major dec. No. 12 Blaine Bergey (Princeton) 13-4
Consolation quarterfinal: major dec. No. 9 Cael Berg (Harvard) 10-2
Consolation semifinal: L by dec. No. 2 Brevin Cassella (Binghamton) 5-0
Fifth place match: dec. No. 4 Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell) 8-7
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197 – No. 1 Michael Beard – 1st place
Rd. of 16: Fall No. 17 Lear Quinton (Brown) 1:42
Quarterfinal: Tech fall No. 8 Logan Deacetis (Bucknell) 21-5, 3:18
Semifinal: W by medical forfeit No. 4 Luke Stout (Princeton)
Final: dec. No. 2 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) 6-3, sv
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285 – No. 1 Nathan Taylor – 1st place
Rd. of 16: tech fall No. 16 Harrison Shapiro (F&M) 17-1, 3:32
Quarterfinal: major dec. No. 8 Matt Cover (Princeton) 12-0
Semifinal: Fall No. 5 Lewis Fernandez (Cornell) 2:28
Final: Fall No. 7 Dorian Crosby (Bucknell) 1:27
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Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on X/Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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Players Mentioned
197
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
133
/ Men's Wrestling
141/149
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
125/133
/ Men's Wrestling
285
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