Lehigh University hosts the 121st EIWA Championships, the oldest wrestling tournament in the NCAA. 

The first round is set to begin at 10AM on Friday, March 7th and the finals are scheduled to take place at approximately 12:15PM on Saturday, March 8th, all in Lehigh’s Stabler Arena. 

Click here for a complete schedule and a list of all 12 seeded wrestlers at all 10 weights.

This is the first year since the founding of the Easter Intercollegiate Wrestling Association in which no Ivy League schools will compete. The six Ivy programs decided to split off and host their own NCAA qualifying tournament for the first time in history, joining the other 32 sports already sponsored by the Ivy League. 

This will also be the first EIWA Championships featuring the Morgan State Bears, the only D1 HBCU that currently has a wrestling team. Morgan State reinstituted its program before last season following a hiatus that began at the end of the 1996–97 season.

The departure of the 6 Ivies and the addition of Morgan State brings the total number of EIWA teams to 12: Lehigh, Army West Point, Drexel, Binghamton, Bucknell, Navy, Hofstra, American, LIU, Sacred Heart, Franklin & Marshall, and Morgan State.

Cornell, who will not be at the 121st EIWAs as they are in the Ivy League, won the last three EIWA Championships. Before that, Lehigh had just concluded a four-peat. Lehigh and Cornell have combined to win the last 23 EIWAs. 

The last school besides those two to win an EIWA title was Harvard, in 2001. Syracuse, in 1994, was the last school that was neither Lehigh nor an Ivy to win an EIWA Championship. The last school still in the EIWA to win a title that wasn’t Lehigh was Navy, in 1990. 

Below is a preview, including predictions, of all ten weights being contested at the 2025 EIWAs. 

125 Pounds - 2 Allocations

Contenders

• #18 Sheldon Seymour, Lehigh
• #30 Charlie Farmer, Army
• #31 Desmond Pleasant, Drexel

Sheldon Seymour has been one of the most consistent performers at what is often the most inconsistent weight class. He only has three losses on the season, all decisions to wrestlers currently in the top 10. Seymour’s coming off one of those losses to Richie Figueroa in the last dual of the season, but before that he won two solid ranked victories over Penn’s #25 Max Gallagher and Army rival Charlie Farmer, which helped earn him the top spot in the bracket. 

Farmer has stepped into his starting role admirably for the Black Knights, making his first postseason start in his third year at West Point, taking over 125lbs for two-time qualifier Ethan Berginc, who moved up to 133 in the off season. 

Desmond Pleasant is a redshirt Junior, who, like most of the Drexel lineup, has gotten stronger as the season progressed, first popping into the national rankings in January and staying in for the remainder of the season. 

Sleepers & Landmines

• Robert Sagaris, LIU
• Nick Treaster, Navy

Robbie Sagaris is a guy who can cause havoc in any bracket, as evidenced by his early season win over #11 Dean Peterson. Nick Treaster is just a freshman who has been leveling up all year long.  

Predictions

1. Seymour, Lehigh, NQ
2. Farmer, Army, NQ
3. Pleasant, Drexel
4. Wagner, Binghamton

133 Pounds - 1 Allocation

Contenders

• #30 Matthew Lopes, Lehigh
• #31 Kurt Phipps, Bucknell
• #32 Ethan Berginc, Army

Matty Lopes was a very late season replacement for Ryan Crookham, who was injured early in the season and had hoped to return for the postseason but couldn’t get ready in time. Crookham was ranked #1 when the injury occured, so Lopes has some big shoes to fill, but the Mountain Hawk coaches are high on the prospects of their Blair Academy graduate. 

Kurt Phipps and Ethan Berginc are right there with Lopes, and, having been the starters all season long, have a bit more on their resumes than Lopes, hence their higher seeds. Phipps has had the most success at NCAAs, making the round of 12 last season at 133, while Berginc is in his first year the weight, having spent the last two at 125lbs. 

Phipps definitely has the most experience as well, as this is his fifth consecutive year starting for the Bison (thanks to the bonus covid year), which means it is also Phipps’ last chance to break through to the All-American rounds at NCAAs. 

All three contenders wrestled each other late in the season. Lopes lost to Berginc in a February dual but then beat Phipps a week later. But in late January, Phipps beat Berginc. So a classic Phipps>Berginc>Lopes>Phipps Ranker’s Delight!

Watch Berginc win a 2024 Black Knight Invitational title:

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Sleepers & Landmines

• Micah Roes, Binghamton
• Mason Leiphart, F&M

Micah Roes proved capable of qualifying for the NCAAs in 2021, however, it should be noted that was when the EIWA enjoyed their typical number of qualifiers but without the participation of the Ivy League schools. 

Mason Leiphart racked up over 20 wins in both of his last two seasons at F&M but injuries slowed him down this season. He also has one of the most fearsome beards in the NCAA. 

Predictions

1. Phipps, Bucknell, NQ
2. Lopes, Lehigh
3. Berginc, Army
4. Roes, Binghamton

141 Pounds - 3 Allocations

The Favorite

• #7 Josh Koderhandt, Navy

Josh Koderhandt has been a national contender all year long. Having finished in the bloodround at last year’s NCAAs, he entered the preseason rankings at #13 and has only risen in the polls since. 

Koderhandt, a senior and four-time national qualifier, has only lost three times this season, once to #2 Jesse Mendez and twice to #4 Brock Hardy. He’s also has wins over #8 Vance Vombaur and #11 Sergio Lemley, and will be the favorite to win his second straight EIWA title. 

Watch Koderhadnt win a 2024 EIWA title:

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Contenders

• #22 Jordan Soriano, Drexel
• #25 Rich Treanor, Army
• #27 Dylan Chappell, Bucknell
• #33 Carter Bailey, Lehigh

Four other ranked wrestlers will be chasing just three automatic qualifying spots in one of the conference’s deepest weights, meaning two ranked wrestlers will have to rely on wildcard invites at a minimum. 

Jordan Soriano, Rich Treanor, Dylan Chappell and Carter Bailey are all experienced veterans, as they are all juniors or seniors. Only Chappell has made the NCAA Tournament, however, qualifying in 2023 and 2024. Expect a dog fight in the consolation rounds at this weight. 

Sleepers & Landmines

• Bryce Kresho, F&M
• Andrew Fallon, Sacred Heart

Bryce Kresho has amassed a staggering 30 wins this season on 43 D1 bouts. Senior Andrew Fallon fell just shy of qualifying for the 2024 NCAA Championships and could be in the mix to snag one of the three bids up for grabs in 2025. 

Predictions

1. Koderhandt, Navy
2. Soriano, Drexel
3. Chappell, Bucknell
4. Bailey, Lehigh

149 Pounds - 1 Allocation

Contenders

• #33 Malyke Hines, Lehigh
• Trae McDaniel, Army

All signs point to a Hines/McDaniel rematch in the EIWA finals. The top two seeds were in a 12-10 shootout in a February 1st dual won by Hines. To McDaniel's credit, he had also been bouncing back and forth between 157 and 149 this season, though now appears to have settled at 149. 

Hines is no stranger to the NCAAs, having made the tournament the last four years. The sixth-year senior has yet to break through to the All-American round, however, he did finish one match shy of the podium in 2023 at 141lbs. 

And while McDaniel was slimming down from 157, Hines has been growing into 149. The Florida native started his varsity career with two seasons at 133 before wrestling the last two at 141. 

Expect the drama at 149 will be amped up with just 1 AQ available.

Sleepers & Landmines

• Ivan Garcia, Binghamtonn
• Noah Tapia, Hofstra

Ivan Garcia is fifth-year senior looking to make a name for himself in his first, and final, varsity season. Noah Tapia will have two more years to make his mark, though the true Sophomore is already making his second postseason start for the Hofstra Pride. 

Predictions

1. McDaniel, Army NQ
2. Hines, Lehigh
3. Garcia, Binghamton
4. Tapia, Hofstra

157 Pounds - 1 Allocation

Contenders

• #31 Logan Rozynski, Lehigh
• Luke Nichter, Drexel
• Jonathan Ley, Navy

With only one nationally ranked wrestler (in the 30s) and only one automatic qualifying bid up for grabs, 157 could be one of the most unpredictable weights at EIWAs. 

Top seed Logan Rozynski has the strongest claim to being the favorite. A true freshman from prep powerhouse Blair Academy, Rozynski has a 4-1 win over UPenn rival #22 Jude Swisher at Midlands, however Swisher does hold the 2-1 series advantage over Rozynski this season. 

Drexel senior and 2021 national qualifier Luke Nichter also has a win over Swisher, a first period pin in a dual with their next door neighbors in Philly. Nichter also has a win over #29 Legend Lamer, although losses to unranked wrestlers have kept Nichter out of the rankings for most of the season. 

Jonathan Ley should also contend for that EIWA title and the auto bid to NCAAs. The sophomore from the recently crowned National Prep Team Champions, Lake Highland Prep, is undefeated in 2025. He avenged an early season loss to Bucknell’s Cade Wirnsberger and his worst loss besides that was to #18 Dylan Evans in the opening weekend. Though unranked at the moment, there’s a good chance Ley breaks into the national conversation after this postseason. 

Sleepers & Landmines

• Brayden Roberts, LIU
• Jack Nies, American

Brayden Roberts came to Long Island by way of West Virginia, his native state, where he was a starter in 2021. This has been by far his most consistent season on the mat, where he’s racked up a 24-5 record. 

Jack Nies does not quite have the resume as others in the bracket but he has shown the ability to activate his clutch genes. 

Jack Nies beat the clock to upset the top 157lb seed at the Southern Scuffle! #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/LwQsWpKjIX

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) January 4, 2025

Predictions

1. Ley, Navy NQ
2. Rozynski, Lehigh
3. Nichter, Drexel
4. Wirnsberger, Bucknell

165 Pounds - 2 Allocations

Contenders

• #21 Gunner Filipowicz, Army
• #24 Noah Mulvaney, Bucknell
• #29 Kyle Mosher, Hofstra
• #32 Carter Baer, Binghamton

With four nationally ranked wrestlers and only 2 AQs, there will be a furious battle at 165 this weekend, with at least two ranked wrestlers on the outside looking in. 

Gunner Filipowicz and Noah Mulvaney have the strongest cases to be picked to make the finals and earn those bids, which explains why they both earned the top two seeds in the bracket. 

The appropriately named Gunner of Army has just three losses on the season, two of them being to #1 and #2 in the nation, Mitchell Mesenbrink and Michael Caliendo, respectively. He’s also got a bonus rate of over 65%. 

What Noah Mulvaney has going for him is a win over Filipowicz in a late January dual. The two EIWA rivals also split matches in 2024, with Mulvaney getting the win at the Southern Scuffle and Filipowicz getting the win at EIWAs. 

Watch Filipowicz defeat Mulvaney in the consis of the 2024 EIWAs:

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Both wrestlers are 2024 national qualifying sophomores who could make big jumps at their second NCAA Tournament. 

Looking to spoil those plans will be the nationally ranked Kyle Mosher and Carter Baer (along with the rest of the field). Mosher is a grad transfer from Columbia looking to make his first NCAAs as a Hofstra man, while Baer is a redshirt sophomore who has significantly improved following his redshirt freshman campaign. 

Sleepers & Landmines

• Dylan Elmore, Navy
• Cody Walsh, Drexel

Dylan Elmore is a freshman with something to prove, having beaten Mulvaney and losing to Filipowicz only by the score of 2-0. Cody Walsh, of the Wrestling Walshes of New Jersey, is looking to follow in his brothers’ Taylor and Chad’s All-American footsteps. 

Predictions

1. Filipowicz, Army NQ
2. Mulvaney, Bucknell NQ
3. Elmore, Navy
4. Mosher, Hofstra

174 Pounds - 4 Allocations

Contenders

• #9 Brevin Cassella, Binghamton
• #12 Myles Takats, Bucknell
• #14 Danny Wask, Navy
• #30 Dalton Harkins, Army

Perhaps the most stacked and intriguing of all the weights at the 121st EIWAs. This bracket is set to feature four nationally ranked 174-pounders and a tournament-high three competitors in the top 14. 

Don’t rule out Army senior and four-time starter Dalton Harkins, but Brevin Cassella, Myles Takats and Danny Wask have all set themselves apart from the rest of the field this season. 

Cassella is a three-time NCAA qualifier and five-time postseason starter for the Bearcats, winning a career best two wins at the 2024 NCAAs. This season Cassella placed at both the Big Red Invitational and the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. He’ll be looking to head to his final NCAAs on a high note as he attempts one final push for the NCAA podium. 

Myles Takats, or as he’s known in Europe, Kilometers Takats, has been on a roll since placing at Midlands in late December. The true sophomore from Ohio high school powerhouse Perrysburg has just one loss in 2025, to EIWA rival Danny Wask. He’s also got ranked wins over #13 Simon Ruiz, #21 Clayton Whiting, #26 MJ Gaitan, and #30 Dalton Harkins (and perhaps others I may have missed!). 

Wask has the aforementioned win over Takats as well as wins over #6 Garrett Thompson, #10 Cade Devos, #11 Lenny Pinto, #18 Jared Simma, #24 Brady Bauman, #30 Harkins, and #32 Joseph Walker, (as well as any others I missed. He does have a loss to Cassella as well as other lower ranked wrestlers tempering his national ranking, however, he has proven his bona fides to be in the running for a podium placement in Philadelphia. 

Watch Wask defeat DeVos at the 2024 CKLV:

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Sleepers & Landmines

• Jasiah Queen, Drexel
• Darrien Roberts, Morgan State

Jasaiah Queen earned one of those qualifying spots on the line, so he will be under pressure to make sure no one steals the spot from under him. Queen has an impressive 12-3 record against D1 opponents with no ‘bad’ losses but also no ranked wins (that I could locate). 

Darrien Roberts is a grad transfer from Oklahoma using his last year of eligibility at Morgan State. Though he’s wrestled a limited number of matches, he’s shown tremendous potential throughout the season. 

Predictions

1. Wask, Navy NQ
2. Takats, Bucknell NQ
3. Cassella, Binghamton NQ
4. Harkins, Army NQ

184 Pounds - 1 Allocation

Contenders

• #21 Giuseppe Hoose, Drexel
• #22 Ross McFarland, Hofstra
• #33 Caden Rogers, Lehigh
• Will Ebert, Binghamton

This is shaping up to be a very underrated bracket as unranked Will Ebert snagged the top seed while the two highest nationally ranked wrestlers, Giuseppe Hoose and Ross McFarland, earned the #2 and #4 seeds, respectively. 

Throw another ranked wrestler into the mix with the #3 seed in Caden Rogers and baby, we got a stew going. 

Erbert spent most of the year in the national rankings thanks to an early season win over #11 Edmond Ruth and other successes, but inconsistent results popped up as the season progressed and he finished just outside the top 33 and on the bubble by tournament time.

Conversely, Hoose took the opposite path, only gaining a ranking late in the season thanks to wins over EIWA rivals Ebert and McFarland. McFarland’s time in the top 33 has been more consistent, earning a mention in every week's release from November's first set until the most recent. 

Rogers, meanwhile, wrestled a limited schedule but turned it on late in the season, beating Ebert in January and #20 Maximus Hale in February. 

Sleepers & Landmines

• Anthony D’Alesio, LIU
• Kingsley Menifee, Morgan State

Anthony D’Alesio is just 10-10 on the season but the senior transfer from West Virginia was 20-15 last season and earned a trip to the NCAA Championships. D’Alesio also has a win over Ebert. 

Kingsley Menifee is a talented true sophomore from Northern Virginia who is helping establish the Bears of Morgan State in just their second season after being reinstated. 

Predictions

1. Rogers, Lehigh NQ
2. McFarland, Hofstra
3. Hoose, Drexel
4. Ebert, Binghamton

197 Pounds - 4 Allocations

The Favorite

• #7 Michael Beard, Lehigh

Senior Michal Beard is the only returning All-American in the field at the 121st EIWAs and will be one of the few wrestlers favored to make the podium again in 2025. Beard’s storied career began at Malvern Prep and continued at Penn State, where he took 7th in 2021. It now concludes at Lehigh, where he has already qualified for two NCAA tournaments, finishing in the bloodround in 2023 and in 8th place in 2024. Beard’s only loss this season is to #2 Josh Barr. Beard will be heavily favored to win his second consecutive EIWA title in his home gym. 

Watch Beard win a 2024 EIWA title over current #3 Jacob Cardenas:

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Contenders

• #18 Mickey O’Malley, Drexel
• #24 Dillon Bechtold, Bucknell
• #28 Wolfgang Frable, Army
• #31 Payton Thomas, Navy

Mikey O’Malley is in his seventh and final season at Drexel hoping to qualify for his fifth NCAA tournament. He’s made the round of 16 and the round of 12 in 2021 and 2022 but went 1-2 in 2023 and took a medical redshirt in 2024. O’Malley wrestled a limited schedule in the 2024-25 season, going 7-1 with his sole loss being to #10 Joey Novak. O’Malley last wrestled at 174 at the NCAAs, so there’s not a lot of tape on him at 197. He’s a pinner, though, and is to be underestimated as his opponents' peril. 

Dillon Bechtold is part of a youth movement at Bucknell looking to bolster the reputation of the storied Pennsylvania private institution. The true freshman already has a ranked win on his resume over #19 Evan Bates as well as a win over EIWA rival Wolfgang Frable of Army. 

The aforementioned Frable is in his third year at West Point and his second season as the starting 197-pounder. The Wyoming Sem grad does not go by the nickname ‘Vulfie’ but I don’t think it would be a bad idea if he did. 

Frable got the best of his military academy rival Payton Thomas in the celebrated Army-Navy Dual this season, however, the true freshman Midshipman has shown flashes of brilliance this season with wins over #32 Cade Laut and the aforementioned Bechtold. 

That’s a lot of talent for one weight, and once again at least one ranked wrestler will miss out on an automatic qualifying bid.

Sleepers & Landmines

• Cayden Bevis, Binghamton
• Carsten Rawls, American

Redshirt Sophomore Cayden Bevis has probably heard enough references to the infamous 90s MTV show to last him the rest of his life but that program was a pretty big deal to me growing up so I’m not NOT going to give him a shout out when I have the chance. Carsten Rawls also shares a name with a prominent character from the revolutionary television series, in this case, the Wire. 

Predictions

1. Beard, Lehigh NQ
2. Bechtold, Bucknell NQ
3. Frable, Army NQ
4. O’Malley, Drexel NQ

285 Pounds - 3 Allocations

The Favorite

• #5 Owen Trephan, Lehigh

Owen Trephan is the highest ranked wrestler in the EIWA field, and, like his teammate Beard, is favored to finish in the top 8 of his weight class in Philadelphia. Trephan took a unique path to Bethlehem, starting his career at NC State and nearly finishing it there as a seventh year senior. However, after qualifying for two NCAAs, he found himself behind his Wolfpack teammate, current #4 Isaac Trumble, who moved up from 197 in the offseason. 

Trephan, with the help of both the NC State and Lehigh coaching staff, found a new home with the Mountain Hawks. Owen, originally from South Carolina, was cleared to start varsity matches for Lehigh in the second semester, so after wrestling unattached in the fall, Trephan made his Brown and White debut in a January dual. Terphan is undefeated this season, capping off his regular season career with a thunderous victory over NCAA finalist and current #6 Cohlton Schultz.

Lehigh’s Owen Trephan sent the Snake Pit into a frenzy on Senior Night with this titanic heavyweight takedown! #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/F1dPy07bDN

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) February 22, 2025

Contenders

• #15 Cory Day, Binghamton
• Brady Colbert, Army
• #32 William Jarrell, American

Cory Day has been a stalwart for Binghamton, now starting his fourth and final postseason for the Bearcats. Day has been to the last two NCAA tournaments, finishing in the round of 16 in 2024. 

True freshman Brady Colbert (by the way, there is no redshirting at Army or Navy but sometimes, as is the case with Colbert, they spend a gap year at a prep school before enrolling in either academy) has been in a roster battle with teammate sophomore #18 Lucas Stoddard for most of the season. Stoddard was submitted as the starter for the final set of coaches’ rankings, but Colbert was able to win the postseason start. Stoddard did earn an automatic qualifying spot for the EIWA at 285lbs, however, because Colbert had a high enough winning percentage and RPI rating, the conference was able to retain the AQ despite Stoddard no longer being in the mix. 

William Jarrell is another EIWA stalwart anchor, now in his fifth and final year starting for American and his sixth and final season on campus in Northwest DC. Jarrell earned a ranking in the second semester thanks to a placement at the Southern Scuffle and has held his ground at #32 since the January 13 rankings.

Sleepers & Landmines

• Xavier Doolin, Morgan State
• Brody Kline, F&M

Junior Xavier Doolin made his way to Morgan State from Northern Colorado where he was a two-year starter for the Bears (Morgan State is also coincidentally known as the Bears). Doolin has a win over Brady Colbert this season, though it should be noted that Colbert later avenged that loss at the Southern Scuffle. 

Redshirt freshman Brendan Gilchrist is still finding his footing at Sacred Heart but has the ability to wreck a bracket no matter where he is seeded. 

Predictions

• Trephan, Lehigh NQ
• Day, Binghamton NQ
• Colbert, Army NQ
• Jarrell, American NQ

The team race between Lehigh, Army, and Drexel, plus maybe Binghamton, Bucknell, and Navy, should be a good one! Not a lot of margin for error for Lehigh. So who knows? Perhaps we may see the first non-Lehigh EIWA team champ from the current members since 1990!

We'll all find out by Saturday evening. See you then!