Wrestling Places Four in Finals; Sits Second at EIWA Championships

Friday, March 6

Washington, D.C.

10 a.m.

Bucknell University

EIWA Championships

Photo by: Lauren Medeiros

Wrestling Places Four in Finals; Sits Second at EIWA Championships

3/6/2026 10:20:00 PM | Wrestling

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Bucknell Wrestling enjoyed one of its most successful day ones in the EIWA Championships in recent memory on Friday. The Orange & Blue, enjoying Mat Madness, landed four finalists and nine place winners to sit second behind perennial champion Lehigh. Bucknell tallied 112 points and is in perfect position to collect a top three finish, have multiple individual titles for the first time in program history, and send four or more wrestlers to the NCAA Championships.

"I am extremely pleased with our team's effort today," said head coach Dan Wirnsberger. They competed very well and were scoring bonus points. Nine place winners and four in the finals is a fantastic accomplishment. There is still work to do and day two is when you make your mark and win championships. The guys will be ready to fight."

Two Bucknell grapplers, Myles Takats (174) and Dillon Bechtold (197) entered the EIWA Championships as the number one seeds in their respective weight classes. The duo, despite nagging and lingering injuries collected from a season of hard grappling, delivered upon expectations and booked their finals tickets.

Takats started the day with a bye to the quarterfinals. He faced No. 8 Richie Grungo (Lehigh) and wasted little time demolishing the potential Cinderella entry. He scored 11 points in the second points en route to his 17-2 tech fall victory. Takats booked passage to the finals with an exciting semifinals win over No. 5 Andrew Christie (Army). Christie led 1-0 after two periods but the Bison junior paired an escape point and riding time with a takedown to seal the 5-1 win.

Bechtold largely followed Takats' script. The Orange & Blue sophomore also defeated an eighth-seed in his quarterfinals matchup with a tech fall. Bechtold rolled to an 18-3 victory over Franklin & Marshall's RJ Moore, powered by five takedowns. In his next match against No. 5 Zyan Hall (Navy), Bechtold, like Takats, trailed 1-0 entering the final period. The scoring ended the same with Bechtold using riding time, an escape point, and a takedown for the 5-1 victory.

Riley Bower (149), seeded second in his weight class, pitched a shutout in his two bouts. In the quarterfinals, he faced No. 7 Dakota Asuncion and swiftly dealt with his Pioneer opponent as the harsh Oregon wilderness did with its settlers. Bower used a takedown and then pinned his foe in two minutes and 16 seconds. Lehigh's Carter Bailey was seeded 11th but clearly dangerous and gave Bower a tight semifinals match until the third period where a nearfall clinched a 6-0 triumph

Noah Mulvaney (165), a three-seed, rounded out Bucknell's finalists. He faced No. 11 Austin Craft (American), who using home mat advantage, won a round of 16 upset over No. 6 Jake Slotnick (Hofstra). Mulvaney, showing the same disdain Hercules displayed for Antaeus' strength drawn from mother Earth, picked up and handled Craft in a 5-0 decision. His semifinals match against No. 2 Gunner Filipowicz (Army) followed the pattern that many of Mulvaney's matches in the regular season did - heading into sudden victory. Both wrestlers traded escape points and seemed to accept their fates would be decided by extra periods. Mulvaney improved his record in sudden victory to 4-0 with a mighty pin and avenged his regular season loss to the Black Knight wrestler.

Dylan Chappell's (141) streak of runner-up titles came to an end after his loss in the semifinals. The Bison fifth-year grappler won his quarterfinals bout in a 11-6 decision over Bryce Kresho (Franklin & Marshall). Top-seeded Luke Stanich (Lehigh) dismissed Chappell's attempt at a league title in a 14-4 decision. Chappell will wrestle tomorrow in the consolation semifinals in an attempt for the third place bout.

Cade Wirnsberger (157) collected a 4-1 victory in the Round of 16 against No. 10 Josh Hillard (Franklin & Marshall). He dropped a 5-3 decision to No. 2 Logan Rozynski (Lehigh) in the quarterfinals. Wirnsberger displayed fortitude by recording two straight wins. He edged No. 8 Felix Lettini (Sacred Heart) on tiebreaker criteria in the Consolation Round of 8 and vanquished No. 5 Luke Nichter (Drexel) on a takedown and riding time point in the Consolation Round of 4. He will start tomorrow's bouts in the Consolation Semifinals.

Tyler Bienus (184) entered the EIWA Championships as the fourth seed. He fell in a minor upset in the quarterfinals to No. 5 Daniel Williams (Navy). The loss did not shake his resolve. He recorded two straight pins, defeating No. 11 Josh Jorgge (Hofstra) in the Consolation Round of 8 and Bryce Phillips (Morgan State) in the Consolation Round of 4. Bienus opens tomorrow in the Consolation Semifinals, seeking admission to the third place match.

Logan Shephard (285) wrestled on short notice after Lucas Lawler's injury prevented his inclusion. The senior, seeded seventh, stepped up and won his Round of 16 matchup in a 19-4 tech fall over No. 10 Adrian Sans (Hofstra). No. 2 Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) outclassed him with a pin in 47 seconds in the quarterfinals. Undaunted by the swift defeat, Shephard unlocked two straight tech falls over No. 9 Brody Kline (Franklin & Marshall) in the Consolation Round of 8 and No. 11 Brendan Gilchrist (Sacred Heart) in the Consolation Round of 8. He will face No. 1 Brady Colbert (Army), who was upset in the semifinals, in tomorrow's Consolation Semifinals.

Kade Davidheiser (125) wrestled himself into a seventh place match tomorrow. The eighth-seed dropped a 3-2 decision in the Round of 16 to No. 9 Teague Strobel (Hofstra). He rebounded with a pin over No. 10 Sawyer Ostroff (LIU) in the Consolation Round of 8. No. 6 Carson Wagner (Binghamton) defeated Davidheiser 9-4 in the Consolation Round of 4.

Bryce Manera (133) was the only Bison to not advance to day two. The six-seeded wrestler fell in a 6-3 decision in the Round of 16 to No. 11 Treshaun Tecson (Morgan State) and then lost 11-0 in the Consolation Round of 8 to No. 4 Mason Leiphard (Franklin & Marshall).

The action resumes tomorrow at 11 a.m. with the Semifinal Consolations and will be streamed on FloWrestling.