MANHEIM, Pa. - Three wrestlers, three podium finishes and two automatic NCAA qualifiers for American University highlighted a great showing for the Eagles at the 2021 EIWA Championships. Redshirt senior Gage Curry and redshirt sophomore Tim Fitzpatrick both earned spots at the NCAA Championships by taking third place at 125 pounds and 174 pounds, respectively.

Redshirt sophomore Patrick Ryan took eighth place at 141 pounds in his first EIWA Championships.

"I'm proud of the way our guys showed up today," said interim coach Jason Grimes. "We were able to put all three on the podium and got two to nationals. These guys haven't stepped onto a competition mat since last year's EIWA Tournament while all the other teams came in with multiple competitions this season. This just shows a commitment to their craft and a strong desire to compete despite a multitude of obstacles thrown at them this year."

NOTABLE

• Curry has qualified for the NCAAs in each year he's been eligible, and will look to get a chance to compete after the meet was canceled in 2020. 
• Curry has never finished lower than fourth place in his four years at the EIWAs, and today's third-place showing tied his career best. 
• For Fitzpatrick, the NCAA qualification is his first and the third-place finish is a big jump from his eighth-place podium finish a year ago.
• Missing from the lineup at 149 pounds was All-American Kizhan Clarke, not able to participate due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols. 
• Clarke plans to use his extra year of eligibility in 2021-22.
• With just three competitors, AU finished ninth of 10 teams in the standings, ahead of one team that had nine participants.

FITZPATRICK'S RUN

• Fitzpatrick had the most exciting start to the day with an 11-1 major decision victory over Sacred Heart's Patrick O'Donnell in the round of 16. 
• He kept the momentum going by edging Hofstra's Ross McFarland 4-3 in the quarterfinals. 
• After a semifinal loss by tech fall, Fitzpatrick earned his way back into contention with a 5-3 decision vs. Binghamton's Jacob Nolan. 
• He was set to compete on the mat for third place, but was awarded it via medical forfeit by Lehigh instead.

CURRY'S RUN

• Curry needed just one bout to advance to the semifinals, getting a 7-4 win over Bucknell's Brandon Seidman in the quarters. 
• His only loss of the day was to Navy's Logan Treaster. 
• Once in the consolation bracket, Curry came up against Dylan Ryder of Hofstra. He trailed 3-2 before a takedown in the final seconds gave him a 4-3 win and a chance to compete for third place. 
• Curry and Micah Roes of Binghamton were tied 0-0 after the first period, but an escape and a late takedown put Curry up 3-0 after the second. 
• He kept it going in the third, finishing with a 6-2 win for his second third-place EIWA trophy.

RYAN'S RUN

• Ryan recovered from a quarterfinal loss to get his first EIWA bout win in the consolation round, 7-2 over Binghamton's Dane Heberlein. 
• He took his next consolation match to overtime before falling in sudden victory, and then placed eighth after a medical forfeit.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

• The 2021 NCAA DI wrestling championship is scheduled for March 18-20 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, the same arena in which the 2017 NCAA championships were held. 
• The 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships brackets will be announced Wednesday, March 11 at 6 p.m. EST on NCAA.com. 
• A 33-man tournament will be conducted in all 10 weight classes to crown individual national champions, and the top eight finishers in the double-elimination format will be honored as All-Americans.  

FULL RESULTS
Gage Curry (125) - Seeded 3rd - Finished 3rd
QF - Curry (AU) dec. Brandon Seidman (Bucknell), 7-4
SF - Logan Treaster (Navy) dec. Curry (AU), 4-0
ConsSF - Curry (AU) dec. Dylan Ryder (Hofstra), 4-3
3rd Place - Curry (AU) dec. Micah Roes (Binghamton), 6-2

Patrick Ryan (141) - Seeded 10th - Finished 8th
QF - Kurt Phipps (Bucknell) pinned Ryan (AU), 4:18
ConsR1 - Ryan (AU) dec. Dane Heberlein (Binghamton), 7-2
ConsR2 - Julian Flores (Drexel) dec. Ryan (AU), 6-4 (SV)
7th Place - Kurt Phipps (Bucknell) def. Ryan (AU), Medical forfeit

Tim Fitzpatrick (174) - Seeded 7th - Finished 3rd
R16 - Fitzpatrick (AU) major dec. Patrick O'Donnell (SHU), 11-1
QF - Fitzpatrick (AU) dec. Ross McFarland (Hofstra), 4-3
SF - Ben Pasiuk (Army) tech. fall Fitzpatrick (AU), 19-3
ConsSF - Fitzpatrick (AU) dec. Jacob Nolan (Binghamton), 5-3
3rd Place - Fitzpatrick (AU) def. Jake Logan (Lehigh), Medical forfeit

For more information on AU Wrestling, follow the team on Twitter @AU_Wrestling, Instagram @au_wrestling and Facebook @AU.Wrestling.