PHILADELPHIA – With the dual season complete, members of the Columbia wrestling team will look to punch tickets to the NCAA Division I Wrestling National Championships as they take part in the 119^th Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships hosted by Penn. The championships are set to run from Saturday, March 4 to Sunday, March 5.
 
Competition will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday from the Palestra.
 
HOW TO WATCH/FOLLOW

EIWA Championships – Live Results | Watch (FloWrestling) | Social Media (@culionswr)
 
PRE-SEEDED LIONS
 
Earlier this week it was announced that 10 Lions earned pre-seeds for the EIWA Championships. Columbia will be represented in every weight class with the 10 seeds.
 
No. 24 Cesar Alvan, No. 14 Joshua Ogunsanya, and No. 23 Matt Kazimir were the highest seeded Lions. Alvan earned the No. 3 pre-seed at 157, while Ogunsanya also earned the No. 3 pre-seed at 165. Kazimir was awarded the No. 4 pre-seed at 141 as the defending EIWA Champion.
 
A slew of other Lions earned five, six, or seven seeds. No. 22 Nick Babin (125) took the No. 5 seed. A No. 6 seed went to No. 33 Angelo Rini at 133. Danny Fongaro was also given a No. 6 seed at 149. No. 33 Lennox Wolak (174) earned the No. 5 seed and Aaron Ayzerov (184) was given a No. 7 seed.
 
Jack Wehmeyer (197) and Billy McChesney (285) rounded out the Columbia pre-seeds. Wehmeyer was listed as a No. 11 seed. A No. 13 seed went to McChesney.
 
ALL-IVY LIONS
 
Kazimir, Alvan, and Ayzerov were all named Second Team All-Ivy. Kazimir went 4-1 in Ivy League duals this season at 141 with wins against Danny Coles (Princeton), Carmen Ferrante (Penn), Joseph Cangro (Harvard), and Ian Oswalt (Brown). Kazimir earns back-to-back Second Team All-Ivy honors after being recognized last year.
 
Alvan also completed the Ivy slate with a 4-1 record at 157. He earned wins against Ty Whalen (Princeton), No. 12 Anthony Artalona (Penn), Trevor Tarsi (Harvard), and Sam McMonagle (Brown). Ayzerov posted a 3-2 record in Ivy League action this season with wins over No. 32 Nate Dugan (Princeton), Ethan Hatcher (Cornell), and James Araneo (Brown).
 
Fongaro and Ogunsanya garnered honorable mention honors. Fongaro went 3-2 in Ivy League duals, earning wins over Marshall Keller (Princeton), Jack Crook (Harvard), and Ricky Cabanillas (Brown). Ogunsanya was 2-1 in Ivy action with wins against No. 32 Lucas Revano (Penn) and Joshua Kim (Harvard). Ogunsanya was also recognized as Academic All-Ivy for his commitment to the classroom.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Lions wrapped up a memorable season with a thrilling 18-16 win over No. 29 Maryland on senior day at Levien Gym. The win propelled the Lions into the Intermat team dual rankings where the Lions came in at No. 29. The team ranking marked the second time in program history that Columbia has been ranked as a team.
 
Babin, Kazimir, Alvan, Ogunsanya, Wolak, and Ayzerov each earned wins in the dual to help power the Lions past Maryland. Columbia finished the season with a 6-7 overall dual record, including a 5-3 mark in EIWA duals. The Lions defeated two ranked opponents – No. 21 Lehigh and No. 29 Maryland.
 
LIONS IN THE COACHES' POLL
 
Heading into the EIWA Championships, eight Lions hold rankings in the NCAA Division I Wrestling Coaches' Ranking and/or RPI polls.
 
The highest ranked Lion in both polls is Ogunsanya, who, at 165 pounds, comes in at No. 14 in the Coaches' Poll and No. 17 in the RPI Index.  At 141 pounds, Kazimir comes in at No. 14 in the RPI Index and No. 23 in the Coaches' Poll. 
 
At 125 pounds, Babin sits at No. 22 in the Coaches' Poll and No. 18 in the RPI Index. Alvan is ranked No. 24 in the Coaches' Poll and No. 16 in the RPI Index at 157 pounds. Rini comes in at No. 33 in the Coaches' Poll and No. 27 in the RPI Index at 133 pounds. At 174 pounds, Wolak is listed as No. 33 in the Coaches' Poll and No. 16 in the RPI Index.
 
Fongaro and Ayzerov are not listed in the Coaches' Poll, but are ranked in the RPI Index. Fongaro sits at No. 28 in the RPI at 149 pounds. Ayzerov comes in at No. 31 in the RPI at 184 pounds.
 
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ALLOCATIONS
 
The NCAA announced, on Thursday, Feb. 23, the pre-allocations for qualifying for the NCAA Division I Wrestling National Championships, with the EIWA holding 45 total automatic qualifications.
 
Each qualifying tournament was awarded pre-allocations to the national tournament based on regular season performance by conference wrestlers through February 19. 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 – 6
133 – 5
141 – 5
149 – 2
157 – 3
165 – 5
174 – 4
184 – 4
197 – 5
285 – 6
 
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).