PHILADELPHIA – Columbia wrapped up the 2023 EIWA Championships in a great way as eight Lions placed in their division and five Lions qualified for the NCAA Championships later this month.
 
Columbia finished tied for fourth as a team with 95 total points. Navy also had 95 points. Cornell won the EIWA Championship with 165.5 points, followed by Lehigh with 120.5 points and Penn with 106 points.
 
The fourth-place team finish is the program's best since the 2014-15 season when Columbia also finished fourth at the EIWA Championships. The fourth-place finish marks the seventh top five finish in school history. The team's 95 points is the most in program history. The Lions previously scored a record high 84.5 points last year at the EIWA Championships.
 
"Up and down the lineup, we performed at a championship level," Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling Zach Tanelli said. "It was gritty, tough wrestling from everyone that makes me proud to be their coach. They represented their families and Columbia University proudly. This is a tremendous team that will be ready to compete when we touch down in Tulsa next week at the NCAA Championships."
 
Nick Babin (125), Angelo Rini (133), Matt Kazimir (141), Joshua Ogunsanya (165) and Lennox Wolak (174) each earned auto bids and will represent Columbia at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
 
Babin lost in the quarterfinals on Saturday, but worked his way through the consolation bracket late Saturday and Sunday to reach the fifth-place bout. He faced Harvard's Diego Sotelo in a rematch after losing to Sotelo in the quarterfinals. Babin powered through to a 7-2 decision to take fifth place at 125 and punch his ticket to the NCAA Championships.
 
Rini, Kazimir, Ogunsanya and Wolak entered Sunday in the semi-finals of the championship bracket. All four were defeated in the semi-finals, but came back through the consolation bracket to place and earn an automatic qualification for the NCAA Championships.
 
Rini lost an 8-0 major decision to Michael Colaiocco (Penn) in the semis before winning back-to-back matches in the consolation bracket. Rini defeated Navy's Brendan Ferretti in an 11-2 major decision to secure third-place at 133.
 
Kazimir faced top-seeded Vince Cornella (Cornell) in the semi-finals, where he lost by fall (4:37). Kazimir then lost by fall againt to Navy's Josh Koderant (2:28) in the consolation semis. Kazimir bounced back to take a 3-0 decision against Darren Miller (Bucknell) in the fifth-place bout.
 
Ogunsanya lost an 8-2 decision to Quincy Monday (Princeton) in the 165 semi-finals to start Sunday. He responded with back-to-back decision wins to capture third-place. Ogunsanya defeated Josh Kim (Harvard), 5-4 in the consolation semis. He then downed Binghamton's Brevin Cassella, 2-1 in the third-place bout.
 
Wolak started the day with a loss via tech fall to top-seeded Chris Foca (Cornell) at 174. He rebounded with back-to-back major decisions over Sammy Starr (Navy) and Philip Conigliaro (Harvard) to finish in third.
 
Danny Fongaro (149), Aaron Ayzerov (184) and Jack Wehmeyer (197) also made their way to the podium as eight Lions placed at the EIWA Championships.
 
Fongaro started the day in the 149 semi-finals. He lost three bouts Sunday and finished sixth in the 149 division. Ayzerov dropped both bouts in the 184 consolation bracket to finish eighth. Wehmeyer had an impressive run in the 197 bracket over the weekend. He defeated Daniel Lawrence (Army) in a 3-2 decision to start the day before dropping a 6-3 decision to Trey Rogers (Hofstra) in the fifth-place bout.
 
RESULTS
 
EIWA Championships – Final Results
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (The Palestra)
 
125 | Round of 16: (5) Nick Babin def. (12) Jacob Moon (HOF); Dec. 7-0
            Quarterfinals: (4) Diego Sotelo (HARV) def. (5) Nick Babin; Dec. 4-1
            Consi. of 8 #2: (5) Nick Babin def. (14) Antonio Mininno (DRXL); MD, 14-4
            Consi. of 4: (5) Nick Babin def. (7) Mason Leiphart (F&M); Fall, 0:25
            Consi-Semis: (3) Ryan Miller (PENN) def. (5) Nick Babin; Dec. 4-1
            5^th Place: (5) Nick Babin def. (4) Diego Sotelo (HARV); Dec. 7-2
 
Nick Babin – 5^th Place
 
133 | Round of 16: (6) Angelo Rini def. (11) Dante Frinzi (HARV); MD, 15-6
            Quarterfinals: (6) Angelo Rini def. Kurtis Phipps (BUCK); Dec. 5-3
            Semi-Finals: (2) Michael Colaiocco (PENN) def. (6) Angelo Rini; MD, 8-0
            Consi-Semis: (6) Angelo Rini def. (7) Kyle Waterman (DRXL); MD, 11-2
            3^rd Place: (6) Angelo Rini def. (5) Brendan Ferretti (Navy); MD, 11-2
 
Angelo Rini – 3^rd Place
 
141 | Round of 16: (4) Matt Kazimir def. (13) Devin Matthews (LIU); Dec. 3-0
            Quarterfinals: (4) Matt Kazimir def. (5) Malyke Hines (LEH); Dec. 8-4
Semi-Finals: (1) Vince Cornella (COR) def. (4) Matt Kazimir; Fall, 4:37
Consi-Semis: (3) Josh Koderdant (NAVY) def. (4) Matt Kazimir; Fall, 2:28
5^th Place: (4) Matt Kazimir def. (2) Darren Miller (BUCK); Dec. 3-0
 
Matt Kazimir – 5^th Place
 
149 | Round of 16: (6) Danny Fongaro def. (11) Blake Saito (BRWN); Fall, 6:53
            Quarterfinals: (6) Danny Fongaro def. (3) Max Brignola (LEH); Dec. 4-3
            Semi-Finals: (2) Yianni Diakomihalis (COR) def. (6) Danny Fongaro; TF, 18-3
            Consi-Semis: (4) Trae McDaniel (ARMY) def. (6) Danny Fongaro; Dec. 5-2
            5^th Place: (7) Luke Nichter (DRXL) def. (6) Danny Fongaro; Dec. 3-1
 
Danny Fongaro – 6^th Place
 
157 | Round of 16: (3) Cesar Alvan def. (14) Conner Decker (BING); Dec. 9-2
            Quarterfinals: (6) Trevor Tarsi (HARV) def. (3) Cesar Alvan; Dec. 6-4
            Consi. of 8 #2: (12) Tyler Williams (DRXL) def. (3) Cesar Alvan; MD, 11-3
 
165 | Round of 16: (3) Joshua Ogunsanya def. (14) Aidan Zarrella (SHU); MD, 13-2
            Quarterfinals: (3) Joshua Ogunsanya def. (6) Lucas Revano (PENN); Dec. 6-5
            Semi-Finals: (2) Quincy Monday (PRIN) def. (3) Joshua Ogunsanya; Dec. 8-2
            Consi-Semis: (3) Joshua Ogunsanya def. (9) Josh Kim (HARV); Dec. 5-4
            3^rd Place: (3) Joshua Ogunsanya def. (5) Brevin Cassella (BING); Dec. 2-1
 
Joshua Ogunsanya – 3^rd Place
 
174 | Round of 16: (5) Lennox Wolak def. (12) Noah Fox (F&M); MD, 22-9
            Quarterfinals: (5) Lennox Wolak def. (4) Mickey O'Malley (DRXL); Dec. 6-4
            Semi-Finals: (1) Chris Foca (COR) def. (5) Lennox Wolak; TF, 19-4
            Consi-Semis: (5) Lennox Wolak def. (6) Sammy Starr (NAVY); MD, 14-5
            3^rd Place: (5) Lennox Wolak def. (7) Philip Conigliaro (HARV); MD, 16-8
 
Lennox Wolak – 3^rd Place
 
184 | Round of 16: (7) Aaron Ayzerov def. (10) Leo Tarantino (HARV); MD, 10-1
            Quarterfinals: (2) Jacob Nolan (BING) def. (7) Aaron Ayzerov; Dec. 4-2
            Consi. of 8 #2: (7) Aaron Ayzerov def. (13) Mason McCready (BUCK); Fall, 2:36
            Consi. of 4: (6) David Key (NAVY) def. (7) Aaron Ayzerov; MD, 13-3
            7^th Place: (11) James Conway (F&M) def. (7) Aaron Ayzerov; MD, 13-4
 
Aaron Ayzerov – 8^th Place
 
197 | Round of 16: (11) Jack Wehmeyer def. (6) Cole Urbas (PENN); Fall, 2:16
            Quarterfinals: (3) Luke Stout (PRIN) def. (11) Jack Wehmeyer; Dec. 6-1
            Consi. of 8 #2: (11) Jack Wehmeyer def. (8) Connor Bourne (AMER); MD, 14-3
            Consi. of 4: (11) Jack Wehmeyer def. (13) Daniel Lawrence (ARMY); Dec. 3-2
            5^th Place: (5) Trey Rogers (HOF) def. (11) Jack Wehmeyer; Dec. 6-3
 
Jack Wehmeyer – 6^th Place
 
285 | Round of 16: (4) Nathan Taylor (LEH) def. (13) Billy McChesney; Fall, 1:06
            Consolation of 8 #1: (12) Austin Kohlhofer (Army) def. (13) Billy McChesney; Dec. 4-2
 
UP NEXT

The five Lions that qualified will head to Tulsa to compete in the Division I Wrestling National Championships set to get going on March 16 and run until March 18. The 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships brackets will be announced Wednesday, March 8. 

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).