BETHLEHEM, Pa. - For a second year in a row, six American University wrestlers have advanced to the second day of the EIWA Championships. Leading the way are top-seeded
Kizhan Clarke (149) and fourth-seeded
Tanner Harvey (184), both undefeated at 2-0 so far.
Also advancing through the consolation bracket are fifth-seeded
Gage Curry (125),
Tim Fitzpatrick (165),
Anthony Wokasch (174) and
Niko Camacho (285).
Saturday's semifinals and consolation quarterfinals begin at 10 a.m., followed by consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches. The EIWA Hall of Fame ceremony is set for 2:15 p.m., with championship finals to follow.
DAY ONE RECAP
- The Eagles featured in three of eight pigtail matches to start the day, winning one of those at 197 pounds with William Jarrell getting a shutout victory by decision, 5-0 over Harvard's Evan Callahan.
- The first wrestler through to the quarterfinals was fifth-seeded Gage Curry at 125 pounds. After a slow start against Bucknell's Geo Barzona, Curry got the escape for a 1-0 lead in the second and went on to win 5-0. It was his second EIWA first-round win over Barzona, who he also beat in 2018.
- Curry wasn't able to make it a 2-0 day, falling 3-2 to Army's Trey Chalifoux in the quarterfinals, but he recovered with a 5-1 decision over Brown's Trey Keeley in the wrestlebacks. Curry scored two takedowns including one late in the match, and moves on to the consolation round of 4 on Saturday.
- Top seeds Sal Profaci (141) and Kizhan Clarke (149) followed suit with first-round wins. Profaci had a 3-0 lead on Bucknell heading into the third period but it got exciting in the end before he won in a nail-biter, 6-4 with riding time.
- Clarke had no problem with Binghamton's Matt Swanson, getting takedown after takedown in a 10-2 major decision.
- The quarterfinals proved tougher for Clarke, who was tied 2-2 with Penn's Lucas Revano after two periods, but he prevailed 4-2 to advance to Saturday's semifinals.
- Profaci had a tough time in the quarterfinals, getting a couple points back in the third period but falling 8-6 to Binghamton's Anthony Sparacio.Â
- In a heartbreaker, top seed Profaci battled to force overtime before losing 12-10 in sudden victory to Wil Gil of Franklin & Marshall. The loss knocked redshirt senior Profaci out of his first and only EIWA Championships.
- Tanner Harvey (184) used a six-point third period, including riding time, to advance to the quarterfinals over Navy's Andrew Buckley. After a 3-2 lead heading into the third, a big takedown propelled Harvey to a strong finish and a 9-2 win.
- The quarterfinals went even better for Harvey. He led 5-2 with a takedown in each of the first two periods, and exploded in the final seconds with a takedown and four back points for a 15-4 major decision to advance to the semifinals.
- After falling 5-2 in the opening round, Tim Fitzpatrick (165) battled back with a 3-1 decision over Jacob Nolan of Binghamton who he also beat earlier in the season. Fitzpatrick later assured himself a top eight finish with a 12-5 decision vs. Sacred Heart, finishing with a takedown and riding time.
- Wrestleback success also happened for Anthony Wokasch (174) and Niko Camacho (285).Â
- Wokasch finished off his bout vs. Princeton's Kevin Parker with a takedown and a riding time point for an 8-5 decision. In the second consolation round, he beat Cornell's Brandon Womack, a 2017 All-American, also 8-5.
- Camacho had a 4-0 lead on Danny Conley of Columbia before scoring his fourth pin of the season in 3:32 to advance to the next round of wrestlebacks. In the very last match of the day, Camacho edged Drexel's Sean O'Malley 3-2 to advance to Saturday's rounds.
RESULTS
Gage Curry (125) - Seeded 5th
R16 - Curry (AU) dec. Geo Barzona (Bucknell), 5-0
QF - Trey Chalifoux (Army) dec. Curry (AU), 3-2
ConsR2 - Curry (AU) dec. Trey Keeley (Brown), 5-1
Sal Profaci (141) - Seeded 1st
R16 - Profaci (AU) dec. David Campbell (Bucknell), 6-4
QF - Anthony Sparacio dec. Profaci (AU), 8-6
ConsR2 - Wil Gil dec. Profaci (AU), SV 12-10
Kizhan Clarke (149) - Seeded 1st
R16 - Clarke (AU) major dec. Matt Swanson (Binghamton), 10-2
QF - Clarke (AU) dec. Lucas Revano (Penn), 4-2
Elijah Murphy (157)
PT - Jon Errico (Penn) major dec. Murphy (AU), 13-2
ConsR1 - TJ Calas (Sacred Heart) dec. Murphy (AU), 5-3
Tim Fitzpatrick (165)
R16 - Cael McCormick (Army) dec. Fitzpatrick (AU), 5-2
ConsR1 - Fitzpatrick (AU) dec. Jacob Nolan (Binghamton), 3-1
ConsR2 - Fitzpatrick (AU) dec. Brandon Levesque (Sacred Heart), 12-5
Anthony Wokasch (174)
PT - Aidan Monteverdi (Binghamton) major dec. Wokasch (AU), 13-5
ConsR1 - Wokasch (AU) dec. Kevin Parker (Princeton), 8-5
ConsR2 - Wokasch (AU) dec. Brandon Womack (Cornell), 8-5
Tanner Harvey (184) - Seeded 4th
R16 - Harvey (AU) dec. Andrew Buckley (Navy), 9-2
QF - Harvey (AU) major dec. Jonathan Loew (Cornell), 15-4
William Jarrell (197)
PT - Jarrell (AU) dec. Evan Callahan (Harvard), 5-0
R16 - Patrick Brucki (Princeton) pinned Jarrell (AU), 0:58
ConsR1 - Trey Rogers (Hofstra) pinned Jarrell (AU), 4:48
Niko Camacho (285)
R16 - Ben Goldin (Penn) dec. Camacho (AU), 2-0
ConsR1 - Camacho (AU) pinned Danny Conley (Columbia), 3:32
ConsR2 - Camacho (AU) dec. Sean O'Malley (Drexel), 3-2
ROUNDS
PT - Pigtail
R16 – Round of 16
QF – Quarterfinal
SF - Semifinal
Cons – Consolation rounds
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