Bucknell University Athletics
Wrestling's Chappell Named Bison of the Week Following EIWA Tournament Run
3/11/2024 1:00:00 PM | Wrestling
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell wrestling's Dylan Chappell was named Bison of the Week on Monday for his runner-up performance at the EIWA Championships on Friday and Saturday. Chappell won three straight bouts, including a pair of big upsets, to earn his spot in the finals and punch his ticket to the NCAA Championships for a second year in a row.
It's Chappell's second time in his career earning Bison of the Week, as he received the accolade after a similar run at last year's EIWA Championships. The Cranberry Township, Pa. native has now been an EIWA runner-up in back-to-back seasons and has accomplished the feat at two different weight classes, 149 in 2023 and 141 this season. Chappell is one of only three Bison to have finished as an EIWA runner-up two times, joining Joe Stolfi (2015 & 2016) and Zach Hartman (2019 & 2020). Chappell and Hartman are the only two Bison to do it at two different weight classes.
Chappell was seeded seventh out of 17 141-pound wrestlers at this year's EIWA Championships, which were hosted by Bucknell in Sojka Pavilion. In order to reach the finals, he defeated 10th-seeded Logan Brown of Army by a 4-2 decision in the round of 16, second-seeded Vince Cornella of Cornell 4-1 in sudden victory in the quarterfinals, and third-seeded Malyke Hines of Lehigh 8-7 in the tiebreaker in the semifinals. Beating Hines in the semifinals guaranteed Chappell's automatic qualification for the 2024 NCAA Championships. Cornella was ranked 12th in the country by Intermat, and Hines was ranked 17th. Hines had previously defeated Chappell by a 21-6 technical fall back in February.
Chappell's run came to an end in the finals, as he was defeated by top-seeded and 13th-ranked Josh Koderhandt of Navy.
Chappell is now 6-2 in two trips to the EIWA Championships. In 2023 he was seeded fifth and upset fourth-seeded Trae McDaniel (Army) in the quarterfinals and top-seeded Doug Zapf (Penn) in the semifinals. He lost in the championship finals to four-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell.
Making Chappell's postseason runs all the more impressive are the weight class changes he's made throughout his career. He wrestled at 133 pounds during his first season in Lewisburg in 2021-22, then spent most of 2022-23 at 141 before bumping up to 149 in February and finishing the season in that spot. This season, Chappell opened the campaign at 149 and dropped back down to 141 in January.
Chappell enters the 2024 NCAA Championships, hosted in Kansas City, Mo. March 21-13, with a 20-9 record. He's 65-26 over his career. He was one of six Bison to earn a spot on the EIWA podium over the weekend. Dorian Crosby (285) joined Chappell as a runner-up. Four earned automatic qualification to the NCAA Championships. The NCAA brackets and seeding will be unveiled at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13.
Players Mentioned
