Day 1: Recap / Blog Replay
Day 2: Blog Replay
The American University wrestling team concluded competition at the 109th EIWA Championships in Piscataway, N.J. on Saturday. Five wrestlers reached the podium and two received automatic bids to the 2013 NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
Blake Herrin earned a runner-up finish at heavyweight, dropping a tough 2-1 match in overtime in the championship bout. David Terao will join Herrin in Des Moines after placing third at 125 lbs.
Kevin Tao placed fifth at 149 lbs. after ending up on the short end of a 5-3 decision in sudden victory overtime in the consolation semifinals.
Mark Cirello and Phillip Barreiro joined the trio on the podium, with each grappler placing eighth in their respective weight classes.
Video highlights from today's action will be available shortly on AUeagles.com.
Herrin and Terao will head to Des Moines for the 2013 NCAA Championships from March 21-23. At-large bids will be announced by the NCAA on Wednesday, March 13.
125 – David Terao (3rd Place)
Terao posted his fastest pin of the year to secure a spot in the 2013 NCAA Championships. After an early takedown, Terao pinned Army's Hunter Wood in 45 seconds. Terao posted a 5-3 decision in his third place match against sixth-seeded William Watterson of Brown, using a riding time advantage built up in the second period to secure the victory.
Consolation Semifinals – Terao pins Wood (Army), 0:45
3rd Place Match – Terao dec. 6th-seed Watterson (Brown), 5-3
149 – Kevin Tao (5th Place)
Tao took a 3-0 lead in the second period before Navy's seventh-seeded Raymond Borja opened the final period with an escape. He added the takedown to send it to sudden victory overtime, where he scored an early takedown for the 5-3 decision. Tao received fifth place after a medical forfeit by Rutgers' Ken Theobold.
Consolation Semifinals – 7th-seed Borja (Navy) dec. Tao, 5-3 (SV)
5th Place Match – Tao med. forfeit Theobold (Rutgers)
157 – Mark Cirello (8th Place)
Cirello dropped his only match of the day to eighth-seeded Troy Hernandez of Pennsylvania. Hernandez took a 6-1 lead in the first period and was able to build up an 11-2 advantage with riding time for the major decision.
7th-Place Match – 8th-seed Hernandez (Pennsylvania) major dec. Cirello, 11-2
165 – Phillip Barreiro (8th Place)
Barreiro closed out his career in a tight 9-7 decision to Harvard's Devon Gobbo. Gobbo took an early 7-1 lead before Barreiro battled back with a takedown to put the score at 7-4 heading into the final period. Barreiro opened the third with an escape and added a takedown to knot it at seven. Gobbo got an escape but Barreiro was unable to get the final takedown as the riding time advantage secured seventh place for Gobbo.
7th-Place Match – Gobbo (Harvard) dec. Barreiro, 9-7
285 – Blake Herrin (2nd Place)
Herrin was edged in the tiebreaker period by Navy's Daniel Miller, 2-1, in the heavyweight title match. The two went scoreless after the first period, with Herrin posting the first point on an escape in the second period. Miller tied it up in the third with an escape to send it to overtime. After a scoreless sudden victory overtime, Miller posted the victory with an escape in the second half of the tiebreaker period for the championship.
1st-Place Match – Miller (Navy) dec. Herrin, 2-1 (TB-1)
