Wrestling Attends EIWA Championships

Friday, March 6

Bethlehem, Pa.

All Day

Bucknell University

EIWA Championships

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

3/3/2020 8:10:00 AM | Wrestling

Media Notes

2020 EIWA Championships
When: Friday, March 6 and Saturday, March 7
Where: Stabler Arena – Bethlehem, Pa.
Participating Teams: American, #17 Army West Point, Binghamton, Brown, Bucknell, Columbia, #18 Cornell, Drexel, Franklin & Marshall, Harvard, Hofstra, #10 Lehigh, LIU, Navy, Penn, #12 Princeton, Sacred Heart
Event Website: EIWAWrestling.org
Live Results: FloWrestling.org
Online Video: FloWrestling.org ($)
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WRST
Media Notes: BucknellBison.com

Projected Bucknell Lineup

125: Geo Barzona (12-12)
133: Darren Miller (18-13)
141: David Campbell (8-16)
149: Matthew Kolonia (17-7)
157: Jaden Fisher (22-18)
165: Zach Hartman (24-7)
174: Mitch Hartman (16-11)
184: Kyle Inlander (9-14)
197: Drew Phipps (28-6)
285: Brandon Stokes (7-10)

About the EIWA Championships
• The Bucknell wrestling team is set to compete at the 116th EIWA Championships this Friday and Saturday at Lehigh's Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa.
• The field includes 17 teams, including four ranked in the regular season's final National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Coaches Poll: No. 10 Lehigh, No. 12 Princeton, No. 17 Army West Point and No. 18 Cornell. The EIWA welcomed its 17th team, LIU, ahead of the 2019-20 campaign.
• A year ago, Lehigh successfully defended its EIWA title at Binghamton's Events Center.
• In 2018, the Mountain Hawks won the EIWA Championships at Hofstra's David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex. With their victory, they snapped Cornell's title run at 11.
• Only seven current members of EIWA have captured the team title: Lehigh (36), Cornell (25), Navy (13), Penn (4), Princeton (3), Army West Point (1) and Harvard (1).

Tournament Schedule
Friday, March 6
Session 1:
      • 11 a.m. - Championship First Round
      • 2:45 p.m. - First Round Wrestlebacks
Session 2:
      • 6 p.m. - Championship Quarterfinals
      • 7:30 p.m. - Wrestleback Quarterfinals

Saturday, March 7
Session 3:
      • 10 a.m. - Championship Semifinals
      • 11:50 a.m. - 7th-Place Matches and Wrestleback Semifinals
Session 4:
      • 2:30 p.m. - 1st-, 3rd- and 5th-Place Matches

NCAA Qualifiers From the EIWA Championships
• The EIWA will have 44 automatic qualifiers for the 2020 NCAA Championships, ranking behind only the Big Ten (79) and Big 12 (54).
• The EIWA was second to the Big Ten in automatic qualifiers from the 125-, 141-, 165- and 197-pound weight classes.
• At last year's EIWA Championships, Zach Hartman (157) and Drew Phipps (197) earned automatic berths. The season before, Phipps missed securing the EIWA's final automatic bid at 184 pounds by a single spot.
• Since the Bucknell wrestling program was reinstated ahead of the 2006-07 season thanks in large part to a generous donation from Bill Graham '62, 19 different wrestlers have combined to earn 41 NCAA berths and four All-America certificates.
• Since the program was revived, four Bison have qualified for four NCAA Championships: David Marble (133, 2007-10), Andy Rendos (165, 2007-10), Joe Stolfi (285, 2013-16) and Tyler Smith (141, 2015-18).

EIWA Allotments
125: 7    165: 6
133: 2    174: 4
141: 5    184: 4
149: 4    197: 6
157: 3    285: 3
   Total: 44

Bucknell at a Glance
• Bucknell went 10-6 (9-3 EIWA) in 2019-20 dual action. The Bison reached the double digits in dual victories for the first time since 2016-17; their total of EIWA victories also matched their 2016-17 figure.
• A year ago, Bucknell went 7-11 (4-7 EIWA) during dual competition. The Bison also placed 13th at the EIWA Championships in March and tied for 14th in a 67-team field at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships in late December.
• Bucknell returned three NCAA qualifiers: Zach Hartman, Garrett Hoffman and Drew Phipps. The Bison also brought back three EIWA placewinners in Hartman, Phipps and David Campbell.
• Hartman and Phipps are serving as captains in 2019-20. Phipps is in his second season as a captain.
• Phipps enters the 2020 EIWA Championships needing just four victories to become the 11th Bison to reach the century mark in his collegiate career.
• At the 2019 EIWA Championships, Hartman became the first Bucknell freshman to finish as a runner-up and Phipps earned his second-straight podium finish.
• Hartman rose as high as eighth in the national polls at 157 pounds a year ago. He notably placed third at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships with a 6-1 record.
• The Bison's group of eight newcomers includes two state champions, six state placewinners and six team captains.
• Head coach Dan Wirnsberger is in his 15th season at the helm of the Bucknell wrestling program. He has scored 130 career victories, good for second in school history; he was also tabbed as the 2015 EIWA Coach of the Year after the Bison placed third at the EIWA Championships and qualified four wrestlers for the NCAA Championships.
• Wirnsberger and Bob Ferraro, who led Bucknell to a 169-175-6 record from 1974 to 1997, are the program's only head coaches to reach the 100-win plateau.

Bucknell's EIWA Championships History
• Bucknell joined the EIWA in 1999-2000 and has wrestled at the league's championships 16 times.
• The Bison have finished as high as third in the team standings. They tied Penn for that spot in 2009 and claimed sole possession of it in 2015 and 2016.
• Bucknell wrestlers have captured an EIWA individual title on three occasions. Andy Rendos won the 165-pound crown in 2010, current assistant coach Kevin LeValley earned the 149-pound title in 2011 and Joe Stolfi was the 285-pound champion in 2014.
• Since the wrestling team was reinstated ahead of the 2006-07 campaign, 30 Bison have combined to place on the EIWA podium 60 times.

Bucknell at the 2019 EIWA Championships
• The Bison placed 13th at the 2019 EIWA Championships, held March 8-9 at Binghamton's Events Center in Vestal, N.Y.
• Zach Hartman (165) became Bucknell's eighth EIWA runner-up, joining David Marble (2008, 133), Andy Rendos (2009, 165), current assistant coach Kevin LeValley (2010, 149), Joe Stolfi (2015 & 2016, 285), Paul Petrov (2016, 125), Tom Sleigh (2017, 197) and Tyler Smith (2018, 141).
• Hartman was the first Bison freshman to finish as an EIWA runner-up.
• Drew Phipps (197) joined Hartman on the 2019 EIWA podium, placing sixth in the 197-pound weight class. Phipps took eighth at 184 pounds the year before.

Bison in the NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings
Darren Miller (133): 33rd (3rd of 4)
Zach Hartman (165): 17th (1st of 4), 14th (2nd of 4), t-15th (3rd of 4)
Drew Phipps (197): 28th (1st of 4), 29th (2nd of 4), 27th (3rd of 4)

Bison in the NCAA Rating Percentage Index
Darren Miller (133): 32nd (1st of 3)
Matthew Kolonia (141): 27th (1st of 3), 33rd (2nd of 3)
Zach Hartman (165): 21st (1st of 3), 23rd (2nd of 3)
Drew Phipps (197): 29th (1st of 3), 29th (2nd of 3)

Bison Riding Win Streaks
• Six wrestlers projected to take the mat at the EIWA Championships are currently riding win streaks: Drew Phipps (+4), Matthew Kolonia (+2), Jaden Fisher (+1), Mitch Hartman (+1), Zach Hartman (+1) and Brandon Stokes (+1).
• During the 2020 calendar year, Phipps is an impressive 17-2. He and Z. Hartman have each won nine of their past 10 bouts.
• Z. Hartman (Jan. 10 to Feb. 14), Kolonia (Nov. 23 to Jan. 30) and Phipps (Jan. 18 to Feb. 9) have all run together eight-bout winning streaks over the course of the season. Kolonia recorded all four of his pins during his streak.

Starting Lineups
• Over the course of the regular season, Bucknell used 19 starters in dual competition. Three Bison started every dual: Darren Miller (133), Jaden Fisher (157) and Drew Phipps (197).
• At least three different starters took the mat at three weight classes: 141 (3), 184 (3) and 285 (4).
• Six Bison earned their first dual start this season: Brandon Seidman (125), Miller (133), Chris Lanciano (141), Jacob Hubbard (149), Fisher (157) and Vincent Andreano (165).
• Phipps started Bucknell's past 49 duals dating back to the 2017-18 campaign. He started every dual a season ago and all but the Lehigh dual in 2017-18.

Bucknell Individuals at the EIWA Championships
• Seven of the Bison projected to compete at the 2020 EIWA Championships have previous postseason experience. Of that group, Zach Hartman and Drew Phipps have earned spots on the EIWA podium.
• Senior Mitch Hartman and freshmen Jaden Fisher and Darren Miller are projected to make their EIWA debuts. Hartman is the older brother of Z. Hartman, the 2019 EIWA runner-up at 157 pounds.
• The following are the results for Bucknell's projected competitors with previous EIWA experience:

Geo Barzona: 2-4
2019: 1-2 (133 pounds)
Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh), L, Maj. Dec. (2-14)
Mike Simonetti (Franklin & Marshall), W, Tech. Fall, (18-1)
Casey Cobb (Navy), L, Dec. (0-1)
2018: 1-2 (125 pounds)
Gage Curry (American), L, Dec. (2-7)
Jacob Martin (Hofstra), W, Dec. (7-5)
Zack Fuentes (Drexel), L, Maj. Dec. (1-9)

David Campbell: 2-3
2018: 2-3 (133 pounds) - 8th Place
Gianni Ghione (Penn), W, Dec. (4-2)
#12 Josh Terao (American), L, Dec. (1-6)
Garrett Lambert (Hofstra), W, Dec. (8-4)
Jacob Nicholson (Binghamton), L, Dec. (1-8)
Lane Peters (Army), L, Dec. (0-5)

Matthew Kolonia: 1-2
2019: 1-2 (149 pounds)
Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh), L, Fall (0:54)
Frankie Garcia (Binghamton), W, Dec. (8-1)
P.J. Ogunsanya (Army), L, Dec. (2-9)

Zach Hartman: 3-1
2019: 3-1 (157 pounds) - 2nd Place
Quentin Hovis (Navy), W, Dec. (1-0)
Kizhan Clarke (American), W, Dec. (3-0)
Lucas Weiland (Army), W, Dec. (4-0)
#11 Josh Humphreys (Lehigh), L, Dec. (6-12)

Kyle Inlander: 1-2
2019: 1-2 (184 pounds)
Anthony Cable (Navy), W, SV-1 (5-3)
#7 Max Dean (Cornell), L, Fall (1:10)
Kevin Parker (Princeton), L, Tech. Fall (0-16)

Drew Phipps: 4-6
2019: 2-3 (197 pounds) - 6th Place
Anthony DePrez (Binghamton), W, Dec. (6-2)
#8 Rocco Caywood (Army), W, Dec. (3-1)
#7 Ben Honis (Cornell), L, Dec. (7-13)
Josh Roetman (Navy), L, Dec. (2-8)
Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh), L, Dec. (2-4)
2018: 2-3 (184 pounds) - 8th Place
Noah Stewart (Army West Point), W, Dec. (5-1)
#3 Ryan Preisch (Lehigh), L, Dec. (1-8)
Kanon Dean (Harvard), W, Dec. (5-4)
#20 Alex DeCiantis (Drexel), L, Dec. (6-10)
Joe Heyob (Penn), L, Maj. Dec. (5-13)

Brandon Stokes: 1-4
2019: 0-2 (285 pounds)
#5 Jordan Wood (Lehigh), L, Fall (1:44)
Omar Haddad (Hofstra), L, Dec. (1-5)
2018: 1-2 (285 pounds)
Antonio Pelusi (Franklin & Marshall), L, Fall (1:50)
Angus Cowell (Harvard), W, Dec. (4-0)
Brett Dempsey (American), L, Dec. (0-5)

Note: Rankings Intermat

A Look Ahead
• Bucknell's NCAA qualifiers will compete at the NCAA Championships, slated for March 19-21 at U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minn.
• On March 10, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will announce the 47 at-large qualifiers. The NCAA brackets and seeding will be unveiled on NCAA.com the following day at 6 p.m.