VESTAL, N.Y. — Seven of the Mids' 10 entrants placed among the top eight in their respective weight classes, including 2019 EIWA Champion Tanner Skidgel (So / Tulsa, Okla.), to lead the Navy wrestling team to a fifth-place finish at the 115th EIWA Championship held Friday and Saturday at Binghamton's Events Center in Vestal, N.Y.  In addition to Skidgel, 141-pound Nicholas Gil (Sr / Crystal Lake, Ill.), 149-pound Jared Prince (Jr / Safety Harbor, Fla.), 174-pound Spencer Carey (Jr / Ringwood, N.J.) and 197-pound Joshua Roetman (Jr / Kotzebue, Alaska) have earned automatic bids to the 2019 NCAA Championship (March 21-23 at PPG Paints Arena / Pittsburgh).

"The team, all 10 athletes, worked to establish strong position in their matches and that position was one part of our team's performance this weekend," said fifth-year Navy head coach Joel Sharratt. "We out-hustled our opponents and made opportunities happen that favored us in the majority of our matches and that was another factor to the success we had. These guys live a dedicated and disciplined lifestyle and really made it work in our favor. Weight management and recovery was excellent and our support staff and medical professionals did a great job getting these guys the preparation they needed to reach another level this weekend. It truly takes a village.

"All 10 of our wrestlers competed with passion, they competed hungry for the opportunity to advance and pursue bigger goals and realize the effort of their labor. The Class of 2019 pushed these guys every day and to load up five NCAA qualifiers with high-level national rankings is a positive indicator of team culture and team direction."

Lehigh, who claimed its second consecutive team title and 36th overall, led the way with three individual champions (157, 174, 285), as did second-place Cornell (133, 141, 184). Princeton (125, 197), Navy (165) and Penn (149) accounted for the remaining four winners.  Lehigh paced the field with 153 points, while Cornell followed in second with 139.  Princeton fell in at third with 122.5 points, followed by Army in fourth with 106.5 points and Navy in fifth with 92.5 points.

Navy placed four wrestlers in the semifinals, while three competed in the finals of their respective weight classes. Gil, Prince and Skidgel all participated in the championship bout for the first time in their careers, while all three earned their highest finish at the Championship. For Skidgel, a first-time participant in just his sophomore season, he is the Mids' first EIWA Champion since 2015 when Peyton Walsh won at 165 pounds and Jadaen Bernstein won at 174 pounds.

Fourth-place finishers Carey and Roetman were also first-time participants at the EIWA Championship and are first-ime NCAA qualifiers. Gil and Prince will both make their third appearance at the NCAA Championship.

While the EIWA received 47 automatic bids to the NCAA Championship, wrestlers who failed to qualify over the weekend will be eligible for one of 44 at-large berths which will be announced on Tuesday, March 12.  

"I am very excited for the five automatic qualifiers we put through today, but I believe we have a strong opportunity to pick up Casey Cobb (133) in the at-large selection process next week," added Sharratt.


Team Scores
1.  153.0 - Lehigh
2.  139.0 - Cornell
3.  122.5 - Princeton
4.  106.5 - Army
5.  92.5 - Navy
6.  78.0 - Binghamton
7.  75.5 - American
8.  54.0 - Brown
9.  49.0 - Drexel
10. 44.5 - Penn
11. 43.5 - Columbia
12. 31.0 - Franklin & Marshall
13. 29.5 - Bucknell
14. 11.0 - Harvard
15. 10.0 - Hofstra
16. 0.0 - Sacred Heart

EIWA Coach of the Year
• Kevin Ward, Army

Coaches Trophy for Outstanding Wrestler
• Yianni Diakomihalis, Cornell

John Fletcher Memorial Award (most career points)
• Ryan Preisch, Lehigh (74.5 points)

Billy Sheridan Memorial Award (most fall in shortest amount of time)
• Josh Humphreys, Lehigh (2, 3:50)

Sportsmanship Award
• American

Navy Results at 2019 EIWA Championship
125:  Jacob Allen (0-2)
• 13-16 this season | 13-16 career
• One of seven Navy wrestlers to make their first EIWA appearance
Round of 16: lost to (1) Vitali Arujau, Cornell / Dec / 7-4
Consolation of 8 #1: lost to Trey Keeley, Brown / Dec / 8-1 TB2

133:  (4) Casey Cobb (3-2 / Placed Seventh)
• 25-11 this season | 25-11 career
• One of seven Navy wrestlers to make their first EIWA appearance
• One of five first-time EIWA entries for Navy to survive the opening day of competition and advance
Round of 16: def Hunter Kosco, Brown / Dec / 4-3
Quarterfinals: lost to (5) Lane Peters, Army / Dec / 3-2
Consolation of 8 #2: def Geo Barzona, Bucknell / Dec / 1-0
Consolation Quarterfinals: lost to (8) Doug Zapf, Penn / Dec / 3-2
Seventh-Place: def Hunter Kosco, Brown / Dec / 8-5

141:  (2) Nicholas Gil (3-1 / Placed Second / NCAA Tournament Qualifier)
• 28-6 this season | 106-39 career
• One of five Navy wrestlers to earn an automatic NCAA Tournament berth
• One of three Navy wrestlers to advance to the EIWA Finals
• One of four Navy wrestlers to advance to the EIWA Semifinals
• Having competed in three EIWA Championships, he made his second consecutive appearance in the EIWA Semifinals.
• Made his first finals appearance at the EIWA Championship
• Now stands to 9-6 all-time at the EIWA Championship
• Tied Ed Prendergast (2005-08) for 12th on the Mids' all-time wins list with 106 with his semifinals win over Army's Corey Shie
Round of 16: def Gerard Daly, Sacred Heart / Tech Fall / 19-2 (4:34)
Quarterfinals: def (7) Marshall Keller, Princeton / Major Dec / 10-0
Semifinals: def (6) Corey Shie, Army / Dec / 4-1
Championship: lost to (1) Yianni Diakomihalis, Cornell / Dec 8-2

Sharratt on Gil - "Team captain Nick Gil did a tremendous job taking care of what he needed to do and leading the team to an inspirational performance.  His match in the finals was against the defending NCAA Champion and he knows he has the ability and hunger for it now. A small adjustment to his attacks will help advance him to the podiums' elite territory."

149:  (4) Jared Prince (3-1 / Placed Second / NCAA Tournament Qualifier)
• 19-9 this season | 66-24 career
• One of five Navy wrestlers to earn an automatic NCAA Tournament berth
• One of three Navy wrestlers to advance to the EIWA Finals
• One of four Navy wrestlers to advance to the EIWA Semifinals
• Having competed in three EIWA Championships, he made his third consecutive appearance in the EIWA Semifinals and battled Princeton's Matt Kolodzik in the semis for a third year in a row. For the first time in three tries, he defeated Koldzik (5-4) to make his first appearance in the EIWA finals
• Now stands to 11-3 all-time at the EIWA Championship
Round of 16: def Zach Krause, Brown / Dec / 5-0
Quarterfinals: def PJ Ogunsanya, Army / Dec / 1-0
Semifinals: def (1) Matt Kolodzik, Princeton / Dec / 5-4
Championship: lost to (2) Anthony Artalona / Dec / 3-1 SV

Sharratt on Prince - "Jared Prince certainly improved his real estate value in knocking off the nation's No. 3 ranked wrestler. This tournament will improve his seeding for Pittsburgh and was a positive factor to put him in the right place to climb the podium, as well."

157:  Quentin Hovis (2-3 / Placed Eighth)
• 11-13 this season | 27-19 career
• One of seven Navy wrestlers to make their first EIWA appearance
• One of five first-time EIWA entries for Navy to survive the opening day of competition and advance
Round of 16: lost to (1) Zach Hartman, Bucknell / Dec / 1-0
Consolation of 8 #1: def (9) Evan Barczak, Drexel / 12-5
Consolation of 8 #2: def (10) Joe Oliva, Penn / Fall / 1:26
Consolation Quarterfinals: lost to (4) Dan Reed, Columbia / Dec / 5-1
Seventh Place: lost to (8) Kizhan Clarke, American / Dec / 5-3

165:  (3) Tanner Skidgel (4-0 / EIWA Champion / NCAA Tournament Qualifier)
• 20-8 this season | 25-11 career
• One of five Navy wrestlers to earn an automatic NCAA Tournament berth
• One of three Navy wrestlers to advance to the EIWA Finals and Navy's only individual champion
• Navy's first EIWA Champion since 2015 when Peyton Walsh won at 165 pounds and Jadaen Bernstein won at 174 pounds
• One of four Navy wrestlers to advance to the EIWA Semifinals
• One of seven Navy wrestlers to make their first EIWA appearance
• One of five first-time EIWA entries for Navy to survive the opening day of competition and advance
Round of 16: def Evan DeLuise, Penn / Dec / 2-0
Quarterfinals: def (6) Laurence Kosoy, Columbia / Dec / 3-0
Semifinals: def (10) Leonard Merkin, Princeton / Fall / 6:33
Championship: def (4) Cael McCormick, Army / Dec / 4-0

Sharratt on Skidgel - "Tanner Skidgel exemplified the heart of a champion throughout the two-day event. He wrestled with the most critical ingredient to elite performance and that is passion. He is a warrior and while the championship cup from the EIWA is a nice piece of hardware, it's not the completion of reaching a goal. He has two weeks to make some adjustments in his quest to reach the NCAA All-American Podium. He knows he has the skills and with the passion with which he wrestles, he will be in the mix among Pittsburgh's finest."

174:  (4) Spencer Carey (3-2 / Placed Fourth / NCAA Tournament Qualifier)
• 24-14 this season | 39-24 career
• One of five Navy wrestlers to earn an automatic NCAA Tournament berth
• One of four Navy wrestlers to advance to the EIWA Semifinals
• One of five first-time EIWA entries for Navy to survive the opening day of competition and advance
• One of seven Navy wrestlers to make their first EIWA appearance
Round of 16: def Connor Allshouse, American / Fall / 2:40
Quarterfinals: def (5) Vincent DePrez, Binghamton / Dec / 7-3
Semifinals: lost to (1) Jordan Kutler, Lehigh / Dec / 8-1
Consolation Semifinals: def (3) Ben Harvey, Army / Dec / 8-4
Third Place: lost to (5) Vincent DePrez, Binghamton / Dec / 7-3

Sharratt on Carey - "Spencer Carey wrestle very well and fans can see the effort and commitment he puts behind his preparation. When he makes wrestling happen at his pace and in his position, he is hard to beat. We are excited to see his performance in two weeks as he will certainly contribute to our team's point total."

184:  (9) Anthony Cable (1-2)
• 17-15 this season | 23-23 career
• One of seven Navy wrestlers to make their first EIWA appearance
Round of 16: lost to (8) Kyle Inlander, Bucknell / Dec / 5-3 SV
Consolation of 8 #1: def Leo Tarantino, Harvard / Dec / 5-3
Consolation of 8 #2: lost to (10) Brian Bonino, Columbia / dec / 3-1 SV

197:  (5) Joshua Roetman (4-2 / Placed Fourth / NCAA Tournament Qualifier)
• 27-11 this season | 42-23 career
• One of five Navy wrestlers to earn an automatic NCAA Tournament berth
• One of seven Navy wrestlers to make their first EIWA appearance
• One of five first-time EIWA entries for Navy to survive the opening day of competition and advance
Round of 16: def Sam Wusterfeld, Columbia / Fall / 1:55
Quarterfinals: lost to (4) Stephen Loiseau, Drexel / Dec / 4-2
Consolation of 8 #2: def Anthony DePrez, Binghamton / Dec / 6-1
Consolation Quarterfinals: def (10) Tucker Ziegler, Brown / Major / 8-0
Consolation Semifinals: def (6) Drew Phipps, Bucknell / Dec / 8-2
Third Place: lost to (4) Stephen Loiseau, Drexel / Dec / 3-0

Sharratt on Roetman - "Josh Roetman was the best I have seen him this season. He was at one of the most challenging weights in the event and really exemplified some of our basic skill sets in the areas he did not display earlier this season."

285:  (10) Thomas Ott (0-2)
• 10-16 this season | 28-44 career
Round of 16: lost to (7) Antonio Pelusi, Franklin & Marshall / Dec / 4-3 TB2
Consolation of 8 #1: lost to Ben Goldin, Penn / Dec / 2-0


### Go Navy ###