On Friday, March 7, the first day of the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships, No. 28 Kyle Mosher of the Hofstra University wrestling team qualified for the NCAA Championships at 165 pounds. No. 32 Ross McFarland and Justin Hoyle can still qualify with wins tomorrow at 184 and 141 pounds, respectively. Noah Tapia, Jurius Clark and Nikolas Miller also made it to day two but were unable to qualify for the Championships in their weight classes.
Mosher cruised his way through day one, earning a bye in the round of 16, followed by a quick pin in the quarterfinals and a medical forfeit in the semifinals. Against Richie Grungo of Lehigh University, Mosher started the match quickly, earning seven points from a takedown and near fall. After Grungo got back to his feet, Mosher used a fireman’s carry to take Grungo right back down to his back and pin him at one minute and thirty-seven seconds.
In the semifinals, Gunner Filipowicz of the United States Military Academy at West Point medically forfeited, moving Mosher to the finals and guaranteeing him a spot in the NCAA Championships as the EIWA earned two automatic qualifying spots at 165 pounds.
McFarland also earned a bye in the round of 16, placing him in the quarterfinals against Logan Deacetis of Bucknell University. McFarland earned two takedowns, one in the first period and one in the second along with a riding time point to win by decision 7-3. In the semifinals, McFarland battled Will Ebert of Binghamton University. The two had a close match once again with McFarland narrowly winning by decision 3-2 after earning an escape and a reversal.
To qualify for the NCAA Championships, McFarland will have to win his championship match as the EIWA only earned one automatic qualifying spot at 184 pounds.
Hoyle had a long day in comparison, wrestling in four matches. In the round of 16, he beat Nate Lucier of Binghamton by decision 4-2, before falling to Josh Koderhandt of the United States Naval Academy by decision 5-2 in the quarterfinals. In the consolation bracket, Hoyle made quick work of American University’s Elijah White, pinning him at just under one minute with a barbed wire. In the next round, Hoyle earned an escape and a takedown in the second period to narrowly beat Bailey 4-3.
The EIWA earned three automatic qualifying spots at 141 pounds, meaning Hoyle will have to win his consolation semifinal match before also winning the third-place match to qualify.
While he is still competing to place, Tapia failed to qualify for the NCAA Championships after losing in the round of 16, with 149 pounds only earning one automatic qualifying spot in the EIWA. Tapia lost by decision 4-1 to Braden Bower of Bucknell before dismantling Sacred Heart University’s Dakota Asuncion with a win by technical fall 17-2. In the consolation bracket, Tapia earned his first win over common foe Dominic Findora of Drexel University by major decision 11-2. Tapia is guaranteed to place as high as third in the tournament and as low as sixth.
Jurius Clark and Nikolas Miller both moved on to day two to compete for seventh place but were also unable to qualify for the Championships at 157 and 197 pounds, respectively.
As a team, Hofstra is currently in seventh place with 62.5 points.
Day two of the tournament took place on Saturday, March 8, with matches starting at 10 a.m.
Full day one results:
125: Jack Parker (Franklin & Marshall University) DEC Dylan Acevedo (Hofstra), 6-3 SV
125: Coen Bainey (American) DEC Dylan Acevedo (Hofstra), 6-0
133: Mason Leiphart (Franklin & Marshall) MD Chase Liardi (Hofstra), 12-1
133: Raymond Lopez (American) F Chase Liardi (Hofstra), 3:48
141: Justin Hoyle (Hofstra) DEC Nate Lucier (Binghamton), 4-2
141: Josh Koderhandt (The United States Naval Academy) DEC Justin Hoyle (Hofstra), 5-2
141: Justin Hoyle (Hofstra) F Elijah White (American), 1:45
141: Justin Hoyle (Hofstra) DEC Carter Bailey (Lehigh), 4-3
149: Braden Bower (Bucknell) DEC Noah Tapia (Hofstra), 4-1
149: Noah Tapia (Hofstra) TF Dakota Asuncion (Sacred Heart), 17-2 4:42
149: Noah Tapia (Hofstra) MD Dominic Findora (Drexel), 11-2
157: Felix Lettini (Sacred Heart) DEC Jurius Clark (Hofstra), 2-1 TB2
157: Jurius Clark (Hofstra) DEC Fin Nadeau (Binghamton), 4-2
157: Brayden Roberts (LIU) DEC Jurius Clark (Hofstra), 4-0
165: Kyle Mosher (Hofstra) F Richie Grungo (Lehigh), 1:37
165: Kyle Mosher (Hofstra) M FOR Gunner Filipowicz (Army West Point), 0-0 0:00
174: Dalton Harkins (Army West Point) MD Matthew Waddell (Hofstra), 10-0
174: Caleb Campos (American) F Matthew Waddell (Hofstra), 5:50
184: Ross McFarland (Hofstra) DEC Logan Deacetis (Bucknell), 7-3
184: Ross McFarland (Hofstra) DEC Will Ebert (Binghamton), 3-2
197: Nikolas Miller (Hofstra) DEC Eric Washington Jr. (Morgan State University), 8-3
197: Dillon Bechtold (Bucknell) DEC Nikolas Miller (Hofstra), 7-5
197: Nikolas Miller (Hofstra) MD Carsten Rawls (American), 15-6
197: Cayden Bevis (Binghamton) DEC Nikolas Miller (Hofstra), 12-10
285: Ibrahim Ameer (Drexel) MD Danny Church (Hofstra), 10-2
285: William Jarrell (American) DEC Danny Church (Hofstra), 4-1 SV
