2025 EIWA Conference Championships DayTwo Recap
By Austin Sommer, EIWA Sports Information Director
Lehigh University claimed the 2025 EIWA Championship Team Title with four individual champions who all advance to the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia in two weeks. Sheldon Seymour (125), Logan Rozynski (157), Michael Beard (197) and Owen Trephan (285) were each crowned as individual champions at their respective weight class. They will each advance to the 2025 NCAA Championships to be held in Philadelphia on March 20-22.
Two other Lehigh wreslters reached the EIWA finals, but had to settle for the runner-up positions. Malyke Hines (149) and Caden Rogers (184) will be waiting for the release of the NCAA At-large selections on March 11 or 12.
David McCormick, Pennsylvania Senator and former EIWA Runner-up for Army
presents the team championship trophy to Lehigh coach Pat Santoro.
Highlights
Hofstra crowns two EIWA champions for first time in program history.
Drexel places all 10 wrestlers in the top 8 and was the Team Runner-up, its highest finish in school history.
After three round and many matches, Army and Navy finish with 116.5 points and a tie for third place.
Michael Beard and Brevin Cassella share the Outstanding Wrestler Award.
Team Scores
| 1 | Lehigh | 143.5 |
| 2 | Drexel | 122.5 |
| 3 | Navy | 116.5 |
| 3 | Army West Point | 116.5 |
| 5 | Bucknell | 113 |
| 6 | Binghamton | 105.5 |
| 7 | Hofstra | 79.5 |
| 8 | American | 61 |
| 9 | LIU | 52 |
| 10 | Franklin & Marshall | 31 |
| 11 | Morgan State | 25.5 |
| 12 | Sacred Heart | 25 |
Full brackets can be found HERE
125lbs – 2 Allocations
Summary: Sagaris of LIU finds himself is some crazy scrambles, leading to fantastic bouts. His last second victory over Pleasant was fun to watch. He fell to Wagner of Binghamton in overtime in the 3rd place bout. Seymour's win over Farmer was by a wider margin than their previous matchup last month. He is poised for a podium run at NCAAs. With his ranking of #12 in the latest coaches panel, he may see a top-10 seed. Wagner, Sagaris, and Pleasant will need an at-large bid to qualify. Wagner, finishing in third, helps his odds.
Finals – #1 Sheldon Seymour (LEH) dec. #2 Charlie Farmer (ARMY) 6-0
3rd – #4 Carson Wagner (BING) dec. #5 Robbie Sagaris (LIU) 8-5
5th – #3 Desmond Pleasant (DREX) Mdec. #7 Coen Bainey (AMER) 11-2
7th – #6 Nick Treaster (NAVY) TF #10 Julian Dawson (MSU) 15-0
133lbs – 1 Allocation
Summary: Phipps came in clutch to beat Waterman of Drexel to earn the lone automatic bid. Waterman will need to hope for an at-large bid. His win over Berginc, plus missing the auto bid by one placement is key factor. I highly recommend going back to watch the consi-semi between Berginc and Lopez. The match was over 10-minutes of wrestling. The marathon bout had intense scrambles, multiple challenges, and excited fanbases. It was one of the most fun matches on the weekend. Berginc did earn the allocation for the conference coming into the weekend, his odds of an at-large are increased because of it. It's not farfetched to see the EIWA receive two of the four at-larges. Matty Lopes's win over Phipps during the year puts him in the running as well – although his odds may be slightly less.
Finals: #2 Kurt Phipps (BUCK) dec. #4 Kyle Waterman (DREX) 7-5
3rd – #1 Ethan Berginc (ARMY) dec. #3 Matty Lopes (LEH) 1-0
5th – #5 Micah Roes (BING) dec. #7 Raymond Lopez (AMER) 14-9
7th – #10 Brendan Ferretti (NAVY) WBF #6 Braxton Fries-Appello (SHU) Fall 1:08
141lbs – 3 Allocations
Summary: Koderhandt defeated Chappel in the finals for the second straight year. Expect his seed to be a single digit. He will be put in a great position to earn All-American honors. He earned his 100th NCAA win over the weekend as well. The 3rd place match was another barn burner decided by a late non-takedown call. Soriano snuck by with a one-point win. Kresho will need an at-large bid. His RPI ranking of 33rd will help his case. Again, it will all determine how all conference championships play out.
Finals – #1 Josh Koderhandt (NAVY) WBF #3 Dylan Chappell (BUCK) Fall 1:56
3rd – #2 Jordan Soriano (DREX) dec. #5 Bryce Kresho (F&M) 8-7
5th – #6 Rich Treanor (ARMY) dec. #8 Justin Hoyle (HOF) 10-5
7th – #4 Carter Bailey (LEH) Mdec. #9 Nate Lucier (BING) 13-4
149lbs – 1 Allocation
Summary: McDaniel's win earned him the only auto bid at this weight. His in-season loss to Hines was reversed this weekend. Hines will need an at-large bid. He was in the latest coaches rankings, which will help his argument. This weight has six at-large bids to divvy out in lieu of four at most weights. Braden Bower outplaced his 11th seed by placing 5th. He was just one of many Bucknell Bison to outperform their seed on the weekend.
Finals – #1 Trae McDaniel (ARMY) dec. #2 Malyke Hines (LEH) 7-5
3rd – #5 Kaemen Smith (NAVY) dec. #6 Noah Tapia (HOF) 8-5
5th – #11 Braden Bower (BUCK) MFF #3 Ivan Garcia (BING)
7th – #8 Dom Findora (DREX) Mdec. #9 Josh Hillard (F&M) 11-0
157lbs – 1 Allocation
Summary: Surprisingly, the top five seeds held at the weight. Rozynski proved why he's the top seed by winning his first EIWA title in as many tries. Drexel's Nichter will be on the lookout for an at-large bid, along with Ley of Navy. Nichter was in the coaches ranking, while Ley's impressive top-20 RPI helps his case also. This weight class contains a whopping 7 at-large bids. We may see two of those go to Nichter and Ley. With Nichter's big move capability, he can be a landmine in the NCAA bracket.
Finals – #1 Logan Rozynski (LEH) Mdec. #2 Luke Nichter (DREX) 10-2
3rd – #3 Jonathan Ley (NAVY) dec. #4 Cade Wirnsberger (BUCK) 2-1
5th – #5 Brayden Roberts (LIU) Mdec. #11 Jack Nies (AMER) 10-0
7th – #9 Jurius Clark (HOF) dec. #8 Felix Lettini (SHU) 7-6
165lbs – 2 Allocations
Summary: Kyle Mosher spent 97 seconds on the mat in his first match. He followed that up with two medical forfeits. Elmore had a strong performance for a 3rd place finish. He will need an at-large bid to continue his season. Morgan State's Lockhart was the lowest seeded wrestler to place in the entire event after an exceptional weekend. It would be shocking if Army's Filipowicz did not receive an at-large bid. He is 16th in the coach rankings and 13th in the RPI. He's almost a shoe-in. We can expect at least three EIWA participants at NCAAs.
Finals – #3 Kyle Mosher (HOF) MFF #1 Noah Mulvaney (BUCK)
3rd – #4 Dylan Elmore (NAVY) dec. #5 Carter Baer (BING) 4-3
5th – #7 Kaden Milheim (AMER) MFF #2 Gunner Filipowicz (ARMY)
7th – #8 Cody Walsh (DREX) WBF #12 Cooper Lockhart (MSU) Fall 2:00
174lbs – 4 Allocations
Summary: The deepest weight class was worth the price of admission. Cassella and Wask wrestled to a tiebreaker finish. Harkins punched his ticket in the morning with a win over Campos while Queen defeated Takats. Takats finished in 5th, one placement outside of the automatic bid territory. He was ranked in both the coaches panel and RPI, so his chances to receive an at-large bid are very high.
Finals: #2 Brevin Cassella (BING) dec. #1 Danny Wask (NAVY) 4-1 TB
3rd – #5 Dalton Harkins (ARMY) Mdec. #4 Jasiah Queen (DREX) 9-0
5th – #3 Myles Takats (BUCK) dec. #6 Caleb Campos (AMER) 9-5
7th – #8 Rylan Rogers (LEH) dec. #10 Blake Bahna (LIU) 5-0
184lbs – 1 Allocation
Summary: McFarland was crowned champ at the most open weight on the weekend. The 4th seed grinded out three decisions en route to the title. He was Hofstra's second EIWA champ on the year, a first in program history since joining the conference. D'Alesio won four straight in the wrestle backs to claim 3rd. He was LIU's highest place finisher on the weekend. Rogers will be in the mix for an at-large bid. He has some quality wins on the year. It will be close, depending on who else needs one from across the country.
Finals – #4 Ross McFarland (HOF) dec. #3 Caden Rogers (LEH) 11-4
3rd – #8 Anthony D'Alesio (LIU) dec. #2 Giuseppe Hoose (DREX) 4-2
5th – #7 Daniel Williams (NAVY) dec. #1 Will Ebert (BING) 7-1
7th – #11 Hunter Perez (SHU) MFF #6 Jake Gilfoil (ARMY)
197lbs – 4 Allocations
Summary: Beard of Lehigh claimed his second EIWA title. Bechtold had a strong freshman campaign. O'Malley used a big throw to pin Thomas for 3rd. Army's Frable will need an at-large. He's in both the coach rankings and RPI, which makes a strong case for him. There is a very solid chance we see a fifth participant in the NCAA bracket.
Finals: #1 Michael Beard (LEH) dec. #2 Dillon Bechtold (BUCK) 14-6
3rd – #3 Mickey O'Malley (DREX) WBF #5 Payton Thomas (NAVY) Fall :52
5th – #4 Wolfgang Frable (ARMY) Mdec. #6 Cayden Bevis (BING) 11-1
7th – #7 Nikolas Miller (HOF) TF #8 RJ Moore (F&M) 17-2
285 – 3 Allocations
Summary: Owen Trephan continued the Lehigh tradition of having an EIWA finalist since 2018. His first and only EIWA appearance included a major, fall, and decision. Brady Colbert is an amazing story. He was a last-minute addition to the bracket, and earned a trip to NCAAs. Cory Day will make his 3rd appearance at the big show. Morgan State's Xavier Doolin can earn an at-large bid and become the team's first NCAA qualifier. He was 20th in the RPI, which is one of the deciding factors. We will need to wait until Wednesday to see if he can make history.
Finals – #1 Owen Trephan (LEH) dec. #3 Cory Day (BING) 7-1
3rd – #2 Brady Colbert (ARMY) dec. #5 Xavier Doolin (MSU) 10-4
5th – #8 Logan Shephard (BUCK) dec. #9 Chris Powell (LIU) 8-5
7th – #6 Ibrahim Ameer (DREX) Mdec. #4 Will Jarrell (AMER) 13-4
Special Awards
Coach of the Year – Matt Azevedo, Drexel
John Fletcher Award (most career EIWA tournament team points) – Josh Koderhandt, Navy
Billy Sheridan Memorial Award (most pins in the least amount of time) – Raymond Lopez, American
Outstanding Wrestler – Brevin Cassella, Binghamton and Michael Beard, Lehigh