BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Finalists Josh Koderhandt (141) and Danny Wask (174) are among the nine Navy wrestlers who will advance to Saturday's competition as the opening day of the 121st Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championship held at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa. came to a close Friday evening. The Midshipmen stand sixth in the team standings with 85 points.
Top-seeded Koderhandt earned an opening-round bye before facing eighth-seeded Justin Hoyle from Hofstra in the quarterfinals. Koderhandt executed a takedown in the final 30 seconds to earn a 5-2 victory.
Koderhandt punched his ticket to the finals when he defeated fifth-seeded Bryce Kresho from Franklin & Marshall, 11-5. The Belleville, Ill., native registered a takedown in each period en route earning an automatic qualifying bid for the NCAA Championship for the fourth-consecutive season.
Wask, meanwhile, dominated ninth-seeded Aidan Zarrella of Sacred Heart, 17-2, in his first match of the day. Wask was spectacular in the third period where he produced three takedowns and earned four back points.
Following a scoreless opening period in his semifinals match against fifth-seeded Dalton Harkins of Army, Wask escaped the grasp of Harkins and worked for a takedown to push out to a 4-0 lead. The Wantage, N.J., native gave way to an escape but prevented Harkins' offensive attack to hold on to a 4-1 victory and advance to the finals. The win also ensured Wask an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship for a second-consecutive year.
Fifth-seeded Kaemen Smith (149), third-seeded Jonathan Ley (157), fourth-seeded Dylan Elmore (165), seventh-seeded Daniel Williams (184) and fifth-seeded Payton Thomas (197) are still alive on the back side of the bracket. All five wrestlers will begin Saturday's competition in the consolation semifinals.
Smith earned back-to-back wins over 12th-seeded Yannis Charles of Morgan State (injury default) fourth-seeded Dakota Asuncion of Sacred Heart (7-4) before dropping his semifinals match to top-seeded Trae McDaniel of Army by major decision (16-2).
Ley received an opening-round bye before meeting sixth-seeded Dakota Morris from Army in the quarterfinals. Ley secured a takedown in the final 12 seconds of the final period to break the 1-1 tie and advance to the semifinals. No. 2 seed Luke Nitcher of Drexel sent Ley to the consolation bracket after pinning the sophomore from Miami, Fla. in the second period.
Elmore dropped his first match of the day to fifth-seeded Carter Bear from Binghamton 11-3 in the quarterfinals. The freshman battled back in the consolation rounds with a tech fall over Long Island's James Johnston (16-1), followed by a major decision over eighth-seeded Cody Walsh of Drexel (13-3). It marked Elmore's fifth win by major decision this season.
Williams earned a pair of decisions, including an 8-4 upset over the No. 2 seed Giuseppe Hoose of Drexel. Williams got off to a hot start against Hoose thanks to a takedown followed by a three-point near fall.
Williams, however, would fall short in upsetting third-seeded Caden Rogers of Lehigh, as Rogers edged the Navy sophomore, 2-0.
Thomas began his day with a 17-2 tech fall victory over 12th-seeded Chris DeLena of Sacred Heart, before going on to beat fourth-seeded Wolfgang Frable of Army in the quarterfinals, 7-4.
Despite falling in the semifinals to top-seeded Michael Beard from Lehigh by fall, Thomas can clinch an NCAA berth with a win over Binghamton's Cayden Bevis tomorrow.
Competition resumes Saturday morning at 10:00 am with the consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches. Fans can watch the EIWA Championship with a FloWrestling subscription and/or view free live results on FloArena. Links to both the broadcast and live results can be found on NavySports.com.
EIWA Championship Day One Standings
1. 120 points - Lehigh
2. 101.5 - Bucknell
3. 93.5 - Drexel
4. 93.0 - Army
5. 90.0 - Binghamton
6. 85.0 - Navy
7. 62.5 - Hofstra
8. 58.0 - American
9. 43.0 - LIU
10. 26.0 - Franklin & Marshall
11. 22.0 - Sacred Heart
12. 20.0 - Morgan State
Navy Individual EIWA Day One Results
125 – (6) Nick TreasterÂ
·      Rd of 16: defeated (11) Chris Nucifora, Bucknell / Major / 13-0
·      Quarterfinals: lost to (3) #32 Desmond Pleasant, Drexel / Major / 18-7
·      Cons. of 8 #2: bye
·      Cons. of 4: lost to (7) Coen Bainey, American / Major / 11-1
133 – (10) Brendan FerrettiÂ
·      Rd of 16: lost to (7) Raymond Lopez, American / Fall / 4:17
·      Cons. of 8 #2: defeated (8) Mason Leiphart, Franklin & Marshall / Decision / 8-4
·      Cons. of 4: lost to (5) Micah Roes, Binghamton / Decision / 4-1 SV-1
141 – (1) Josh Koderhandt
·      Rd of 16: bye
·      Quarterfinals: defeated (8) Justin Hoyle, Hofstra / Decision / 5-2
·      Semifinals: defeated (5) Bryce Kresho, Franklin & Marshall / Decision / 11-5
149 – (5) Kaemen Smith
·      Rd of 16: defeated (12) Yannis Charles, Morgan State / Injury Default / :57
·      Quarterfinals: defeated (4) Dakota Asuncion, Sacred Heart / Decision / 7-5
·      Semifinals: lost to (1) #31 Trae McDaniel, Army / Major / 16-2
157 – (3) Jonathan Ley
·      Rd of 16: bye
·      Quarterfinals: defeated (6) Dakota Morris, Army / Decision / 4-1
·      Semifinals: lost to (2) #31 Luke Nitcher, Drexel / Fall / 3:13
165 – (4) Dylan Elmore
·      Rd of 16: bye
·      Quarterfinals: lost to (5) Carter Baer, Binghamton / Major / 11-3
·      Cons. of 8 #2: defeated (11) James Johnston, Long Island / Tech Fall / 16-1
·      Cons. of 4: defeated (8) Cody Walsh, Drexel / Major / 13-3
174 – (1) Danny Wask
·      Rd of 16: bye
·      Quarterfinals: defeated (9) Aidan Zarrella, Sacred Heart / Tech Fall / 17-2
·      Semifinals: defeated (5) #33 Dalton Harkins, Army / Decision / 4-1
184 – (7) Daniel Williams
·      Rd of 16: defeated Lucas White, American / Decision / 3-0
·      Quarterfinals: defeated (2) #32 Giuseppe Hoose, Drexel / Decision / 8-4
·      Semifinals: lost to (3) Caden Rogers, Lehigh / Decision / 2-0
197 – (5) Payton Thomas
·      Rd of 16: defeated Chris DeLena, Sacred Heart / Tech Fall / 17-2
·      Quarterfinals: defeated (4) #28 Wolfgang Frable, Army / Decision / 7-4
·      Semifinals: lost to (1) #5 Michael Beard, Lehigh / Fall / 4:47
285 – (12) Jacob Lucas (0-2, Did Not Place)
·      Rd of 16: lost to (5) Xavier Doolin, Morgan State / Decision / 8-1
·      Cons. of 8 #2: lost to (6) Ibrahim Ameer, Drexel / Decision / 4-1
