ITHACA, N.Y. — No. 18
Joshua Ogunsanya punched his ticket to the NCAA Division I Wrestling National Championships with a pair of wins, and two other Columbia Wrestlers advanced to the semifinals following the first day of the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships host by Cornell and held in Newman Arena.
The Lions still have eight grapplers in contention for a podium finish and currently sit fifth overall with 52.5 points having three grapplers in the semifinals and five in the consolation rounds.
Ogunsanya, at 165 pounds, qualified for nationals by advancing to the semifinals, guaranteeing that he will finish top seven at the weekend tournament, earning the spot thanks to the seven automatic qualification spots the EIWA has at 165 pounds.
The Lion 165-pounder was not alone in reaching the semifinals, being joined by No. 32
Joe Manchio at 125 pounds and No. 27
Matt Kazimir at 141 pounds, with both Columbia grapplers snagging a pair of wins on the day.
Still alive for the podium, and possible qualification to nationals, is
Danny Fongaro (149),
Nick Fine (174),
Brian Bonino (184),
Sam Wustefeld (197) and
Danny Conley (285).
SEMI LIONS: Ogunsanya's path to punching his ticket to nationals began with a match against Sacred Heart's Ryan Bolletino that did not make it out of the first period. At 1:11 the referee smacked the mat as Ogunsanya stuck Bolletino to open the weekend in style.
His next bout, which qualified him for the big tournament, came against No. 25 Brian Meyer. The 8-4 decision win was Ogunsanya's second win of the season over Meyer, having beaten the Lehigh 165-pounder in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania during Columbia's dual meet with Lehigh, and his fifth win over a ranked opponent this season.
Seeded No. 1 heading into the weekend, Kazimir lived up to his seed, tech falling American's Ethan Szerencsits, 18-1, to open his weekend up. He then followed that up with a controlling 6-0 win over Tyler Hunt (Navy), his third win of the season against the Naval Academy 141-pounder.
Columbia's final semifinalist will be Manchio, who began his weekend with a major decision win, 10-2, over Sacred Heart's Jacob Venezi. Manchio then earned his spot in the semifinals with a battle against Bucknell's Brandon Seidman.
Tied up at 1-1, the bout rolled into sudden victory and early in the period a scramble ensued. A few controlling rolls from Manchio put him on top to get the two points he needed to advance to the next round a shot at wrestling tomorrow for nationals.
COLUMBIA RESULTS
EIWA Championships (Day One)
Ithaca, N.Y. (Newman Arena)
125 | No. 32
Joe Manchio: W, maj. 10-2 v. Jacob Venezia (SHU); W, SV-1 3-1 v. Brandon Seidman (BUCK)
133 | Angelo Rini: L, dec. 10-12 v. Richard Treanor (ARMY); W, M FOR v. No. 17 Malyke Hines (LEH); L, dec. 0-7 v. Jaxon Maroney (DREX)
141 | No. 27
Matt Kazimir: W, TF 18-1 v. Ethan Szerencsits (AMER); W, dec. 6-0 v. Tyler Hunt (NAVY)
149 | Danny Fongaro: W, dec. Ricky Cabanillas (BRO); L, dec. 3-5 v. No. 20 PJ Ogunsanya (ARMY); W, dec. 6-3 v. Patrick Ryan (AMER)
157 | Andrew Garr: L, F (0:27) v. No. 25 Markus Hartman (ARMY); L, F (4:03) v. Jack Bokina (BRO)
165 | No. 18
Joshua Ogunsanya: W, F (1:11) v. Ryan Bolletino (SHU); W, dec. 8-4 v. No. 25 Brian Meyer (LEH)
174 | Nick Fine: W, dec. 3-2 v. John Crawford (F&M); L, SV-1 2-4 v Jake Logan (LEH); W, dec. 4-1 v. Joshua Kim (HAR)
184 | Brian Bonino: W, dec. 2-1 v. Cory Day (BING); L, dec. 0-5 v. No. 13 Jonathan Loew (COR); W, dec. 3-2 v. Leo Tarantino (HAR)
197 | Sam Wustefeld: L, dec. 1-4 v. No. 26 JT Brown (ARMY); W, dec. 4-3 v. Santino Morina (DREX); W, dec. 7-5 v. Mason McCready (BUCK)
285 | Danny Conley: L, dec. 0-5 v. No. 28 Ben Goldin (PENN); W, SV-1 3-1 v. Luke Niemeyer (BUCK); W, dec. 5-1 v. Kade Carlson (ARMY)
NEXT UP: The EIWA Championships concludes tomorrow, Sunday, March. 6, starting at 10 a.m. with the semifinals and quarterfinal consolation matches. The action will be streamed on FloWrestling and hosted at Newman Arena.
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).
