Saturday, March 5
Ithaca, N.Y.
11:00 a.m.
Columbia University
vs
EIWA Championships
Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin
Wrestling Set For EIWA Championships
3/4/2022 4:16:00 PM | Wrestling
Columbia Wrestling heads to the EIWA Championships set to run from March 5-6.
ITHACA, N.Y. — The dual season is over, and now Columbia Wrestling will look to punch tickets to the NCAA Division I Wrestling National Championships as they take part in the 118th Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships hosted by Cornell and set to run from Saturday, March 6.
Saturday's action begins at 11 a.m. and Sunday's action gets going at 10 a.m.
HOW TO WATCH/FOLLOW
EIWA Championships – Live Results | Watch (FloWrestling) | Social Media (@culionswr)
PRE-SEEDED LIONS: No. 27 Matt Kazimir, following a strong season at 141 pounds, earned the No. 1 pre-seed heading into the EIWA Championships and along with six other Columbia grapplers, gave Columbia seven pre-seeded Lions for the tournament.
At 165 pounds, No. 18 Joshua Ogunsanya (165) earned the No. 4 pre-seed and at 174 pounds, Nick Fine earned himself a No. 4 pre-seed as well. A pair of Lions earned No. 5 pre-seeds, with Danny Fongaro, at 149 pounds, and No. 32 Joe Manchio each getting the nods.
A No. 6 seed went to Rini at 133 pounds and at 184 pounds Brian Bonino earned a No. 8 seed.
ALL-IVY LIONS: Five Columbia Wrestling grapplers earned 2022 All-Ivy League honors as announced by the Ivy League as part of the postseason awards on Wednesday, Mar. 2.
Three Lions earned Second Team All-Ivy League honors with Kazimir (18-5, 3-0 IVY) at 141 pounds, Fongaro (16-10, 2-1 IVY) at 149 pounds and Ogunsanya (17-5, 3-1 IVY) all getting the nod. While at 133 pounds and 174 pounds Rini (18-8, 3-2 IVY) and Fine (20-11, 3-2 IVY) earned honorable mention nods respectively.
LAST TIME OUT: The Lions wrapped up the 2022 dual season with a pair of road duals at Maryland (Feb. 18) and then-ranked No. 14 Rutgers (Feb. 19). Columbia dropped both duals, falling 22-15 at Maryland and 21-17 at Rutgers.
Against Maryland, Columbia got wins from Manchio, Fongaro, Ogunsanya and Fine. While at Rutgers the Lions got victories from Kazimir, Fongaro, Andrew Garr (157), Ogunsanya and Fine.
Over the weekend, Fongaro, Ogunsanya and Fine all doubled up on wins having a solid weekend to wrap the dual season up.
RANKED LION WINS: Seven Lions have earned themselves at least one win over a ranked opponent so far this season.
125 | Joe Manchio
The highest ranked Lion in both polls is Kazimir (18-5), who, at 141 pounds, comes in at No. 12 in the RPI Index and No. 17 in the Coaches' Rank. At 165 pounds, Ogunsanya (17-5) comes in at No. 15 in the RPI Index and No. 18 in the Coaches' Rank.
Columbia's final grappler to hold rankings in both polls is Manchio (12-9), who at 125 pounds comes into the weekend ranked No. 20 in the RPI Index and No. 29 in the Coaches' Rank.
Making his first appearance in the rankings, at 149 pounds, is Fongaro (16-10) who holds a No. 20 RPI ranking. Columbia's final two ranked grapplers comes both from the RPI Index, with Rini (18-8) coming in at No. 19 and Fine (20-11) sitting at No. 23.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ALLOCATIONS: The NCAA announced, on Thursday, Feb. 24, the pre-allocations for qualifying for the NCAA Division I Wrestling National Championships, with the EIWA holding 42 total automatic qualifications.
Each qualifying tournament was awarded pre-allocations to the national tournament based on regular season performance by conference wrestlers through February 20. The pre-allocations are determined using a sliding scale of a .700 winning percentage, top 30 coaches' rank and top 30 ratings percentage index (RPI) with a maximum of 29 pre-allocations per weight class.
EIWA NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRE-ALLOCATIONS:
125 – 4
133 – 2
141 – 4
149 – 4
157 – 5
165 – 7
174 – 4
184 – 3
197 – 5
285 – 4
PIN PARTY: During Columbia's domination of LIU, the Lions stuck five Sharks on the way to the win. The five pins were the most for the Lions since 2006, where they collected six pins against Wagner in a 53-3 win.
The fastest pin came from Ogunsanya who stuck Blake Bahna at 2:37 and right behind him was Michael Baker, who much like Ogunsanya, didn't let his match get out of the first round sticking Karl Bouyer at 2:42. Rini got his pin at 3:17, while Fine ended his match at 4:11 and Bonino's win via fall came at 4:45.
CAPTAINS OF THREE: At the start of the season, at Columbia's outdoor practice during Columbia Football's Homecoming game on Oct. 16, 2021, Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling Zach Tanelli announced that Kazimir and Manchio will be joined by Bonino as the 142nd, 143rd and 144th Lions to be named team captains for the 2021-22 season.
"All three bring unique elements to the program that consistently elevate the men and women of this team to be better versions of themselves," said Tanelli. "They deserve to have a title associated with their leadership."
PROJECTED LINEUPS
118th EIWA Championships
Ithaca, N.Y. (Mar. 5-6/Newman Arena)
125 | No. 32 Joe Manchio
133 | Angelo Rini
141 | No. 27 Matt Kazimir
149 | Danny Fongaro
157 | Andrew Garr
165 | No. 18 Joshua Ogunsanya
174 | Nick Fine
184 | Brian Bonino
197 | Sam Wustefeld
285 | Danny Conley
FOLLOWING THE LIONS: Stay up to date on all things Columbia Wrestling by following the Lions on Twitter (@CULionsWR), Instagram (@culionswr) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).
Saturday's action begins at 11 a.m. and Sunday's action gets going at 10 a.m.
HOW TO WATCH/FOLLOW
EIWA Championships – Live Results | Watch (FloWrestling) | Social Media (@culionswr)
PRE-SEEDED LIONS: No. 27 Matt Kazimir, following a strong season at 141 pounds, earned the No. 1 pre-seed heading into the EIWA Championships and along with six other Columbia grapplers, gave Columbia seven pre-seeded Lions for the tournament.
At 165 pounds, No. 18 Joshua Ogunsanya (165) earned the No. 4 pre-seed and at 174 pounds, Nick Fine earned himself a No. 4 pre-seed as well. A pair of Lions earned No. 5 pre-seeds, with Danny Fongaro, at 149 pounds, and No. 32 Joe Manchio each getting the nods.
A No. 6 seed went to Rini at 133 pounds and at 184 pounds Brian Bonino earned a No. 8 seed.
ALL-IVY LIONS: Five Columbia Wrestling grapplers earned 2022 All-Ivy League honors as announced by the Ivy League as part of the postseason awards on Wednesday, Mar. 2.
Three Lions earned Second Team All-Ivy League honors with Kazimir (18-5, 3-0 IVY) at 141 pounds, Fongaro (16-10, 2-1 IVY) at 149 pounds and Ogunsanya (17-5, 3-1 IVY) all getting the nod. While at 133 pounds and 174 pounds Rini (18-8, 3-2 IVY) and Fine (20-11, 3-2 IVY) earned honorable mention nods respectively.
LAST TIME OUT: The Lions wrapped up the 2022 dual season with a pair of road duals at Maryland (Feb. 18) and then-ranked No. 14 Rutgers (Feb. 19). Columbia dropped both duals, falling 22-15 at Maryland and 21-17 at Rutgers.
Against Maryland, Columbia got wins from Manchio, Fongaro, Ogunsanya and Fine. While at Rutgers the Lions got victories from Kazimir, Fongaro, Andrew Garr (157), Ogunsanya and Fine.
Over the weekend, Fongaro, Ogunsanya and Fine all doubled up on wins having a solid weekend to wrap the dual season up.
RANKED LION WINS: Seven Lions have earned themselves at least one win over a ranked opponent so far this season.
125 | Joe Manchio
- (Nov. 19, 2021) No. 7 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) dec. 10-8
- (Jan. 14) No. 15 Jaret Lane (Lehigh) dec. 4-3
- (Jan. 28) No. 30 Anthony Sobotker (Binghamton) dec. 5-2
- (Jan. 29) No. 21 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) dec. 11-8
- (Jan. 16) No. 18 Carter Young (Ok State) dec. 6-1
- (Dec. 3, 2021) No. 23 Bryce Hepner (Ohio State) F (1:55)
- (Jan. 14) No. 25 Brian Meyer (Lehigh) dec. 7-2
- (Jan. 23) No. 25 Lucas Revano (Penn) dec. 3-2
- (Jan. 29) No. 9 Julian Ramirez (Cornell) Med F
- (Feb. 6) No. 14 Jake Wentzel (PITT) OT2 4-2
- (Jan. 7) No. 29 Ben Pasiuk (Army) dec. 5-4
- (Jan. 14) No. 33 Jake Logan (Lehigh) dec. 4-3
- (Jan. 29) No. 29 David Key (Navy) dec. 5-3
- (Feb. 6) No. 31 Gregg Harvey (PITT) dec. 3-1
The highest ranked Lion in both polls is Kazimir (18-5), who, at 141 pounds, comes in at No. 12 in the RPI Index and No. 17 in the Coaches' Rank. At 165 pounds, Ogunsanya (17-5) comes in at No. 15 in the RPI Index and No. 18 in the Coaches' Rank.
Columbia's final grappler to hold rankings in both polls is Manchio (12-9), who at 125 pounds comes into the weekend ranked No. 20 in the RPI Index and No. 29 in the Coaches' Rank.
Making his first appearance in the rankings, at 149 pounds, is Fongaro (16-10) who holds a No. 20 RPI ranking. Columbia's final two ranked grapplers comes both from the RPI Index, with Rini (18-8) coming in at No. 19 and Fine (20-11) sitting at No. 23.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ALLOCATIONS: The NCAA announced, on Thursday, Feb. 24, the pre-allocations for qualifying for the NCAA Division I Wrestling National Championships, with the EIWA holding 42 total automatic qualifications.
Each qualifying tournament was awarded pre-allocations to the national tournament based on regular season performance by conference wrestlers through February 20. The pre-allocations are determined using a sliding scale of a .700 winning percentage, top 30 coaches' rank and top 30 ratings percentage index (RPI) with a maximum of 29 pre-allocations per weight class.
EIWA NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRE-ALLOCATIONS:
125 – 4
133 – 2
141 – 4
149 – 4
157 – 5
165 – 7
174 – 4
184 – 3
197 – 5
285 – 4
PIN PARTY: During Columbia's domination of LIU, the Lions stuck five Sharks on the way to the win. The five pins were the most for the Lions since 2006, where they collected six pins against Wagner in a 53-3 win.
The fastest pin came from Ogunsanya who stuck Blake Bahna at 2:37 and right behind him was Michael Baker, who much like Ogunsanya, didn't let his match get out of the first round sticking Karl Bouyer at 2:42. Rini got his pin at 3:17, while Fine ended his match at 4:11 and Bonino's win via fall came at 4:45.
CAPTAINS OF THREE: At the start of the season, at Columbia's outdoor practice during Columbia Football's Homecoming game on Oct. 16, 2021, Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling Zach Tanelli announced that Kazimir and Manchio will be joined by Bonino as the 142nd, 143rd and 144th Lions to be named team captains for the 2021-22 season.
"All three bring unique elements to the program that consistently elevate the men and women of this team to be better versions of themselves," said Tanelli. "They deserve to have a title associated with their leadership."
PROJECTED LINEUPS
118th EIWA Championships
Ithaca, N.Y. (Mar. 5-6/Newman Arena)
125 | No. 32 Joe Manchio
133 | Angelo Rini
141 | No. 27 Matt Kazimir
149 | Danny Fongaro
157 | Andrew Garr
165 | No. 18 Joshua Ogunsanya
174 | Nick Fine
184 | Brian Bonino
197 | Sam Wustefeld
285 | Danny Conley
FOLLOWING THE LIONS: Stay up to date on all things Columbia Wrestling by following the Lions on Twitter (@CULionsWR), Instagram (@culionswr) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).
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