Sacred Heart’s Andrew Fallon, left, fell one win shy of earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I tournament Saturday at the EIWA championships.
Sacred Heart junior Andrew Fallon was literally seconds away from earning an invitation to the NCAA Division I wrestling championships Saturday at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) championships on the campus of Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa.
Fallon (133 pounds) lost his initial match in the EIWA championships on Friday but with three consecutive wins in the consolation bracket, he put himself into position to finishing in the top five at 133 pounds and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA championships.
But in the consolation semifinals, Fallon dropped a 6-5 decision to Army’s Braden Basile, who escaped with 1:17 remaining in the match.
Fallon had one remaining opportunity – win the fifth place bout against former American University teammate Max Leete. But it was Leete who will be going to the NCAA tournament after winning an overtime tiebreaker.
The score was tied 2-2 after two overtime periods but Leete had seven seconds of riding time in the second OT period to earn the victory.
Fallon (17-6) finished sixth to become Sacred Heart’s first EIWA medalist since 2021 and the first Pioneer to win a medal in a full EIWA tournament since 2016. The 2021 tournament didn’t include the Ivy League schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fallon was the top wrestler for Sacred Heart, who finished 17th out of 17 schools with 9½ points. Junior Vincent Milazzo (141) was the only other Sacred Heart wrestler to win a match, going 1-2 in the tournament.
In their final EIWA appearance, Cornell won their 28th league championship with six finalists and three individual champions. Nine Big Red wrestlers earned NCAA bids as Cornell held off Lehigh, 164½ to 159½.
The six Ivy League programs are leaving the EIWA at the end of the season. It was Cornell’s third consecutive EIWA championship. Either Cornell or Lehigh have won each EIWA title since 2002.
Two Connecticut wrestlers fell short of their bids for automatic bids to the NCAA tournaments.
Long Island University’s Devin Matthews, who wrestled at Gilbert-Winsted, went 1-2 at 141 pounds. Matthews had his best collegiate season going 17-12 with more wins than in his first seasons combined (16).
At 184 pounds, Bucknell’s Mikey Bartush went 0-2 in his first EIWA appearance. Bartush, who is from Norwalk and wrestled at Greens Farms Academy, went 20-11 on the year.
Fallon, who was seeded 10th in the tournament, dropped a 9-2 decision to Basile in his first match of the tournament but remained alive with a 12-5 win over Princeton’s Sean Pierson.
In his next match, Fallon erased a seven-point deficit to beat Drexel’s John Hildebrandt, 12-9 in overtime. Hildebrandt led 8-1 after one period and 8-2 after two periods. In the third period, Fallon had two takedowns in the final 45 seconds to outscore Hildebrandt, 6-1 to force overtime.
In the extra session, Fallon got a takedown with 1:18 remaining to win it.
Fallon, a three-time Rhode Island state champion and 2019 New England champion from Bishop Hendricksen, remained alive with a double overtime win over Brown’s Hunter Adrian. The score was tied 2-2 after OT but Fallon advanced because he had one second of riding time in the second OT.
That set up the match with Leete, who was a teammate of Fallon at American University for two seasons before Fallon came to Sacred Heart.
The match was tied 1-1 after regulation with both wrestlers getting escapes. There was no scoring in the first two-minute OT session.
The second OT is broken down into two 30 seconds sessions with each wrestler getting a chance to ride out the opponent.
In the first portion of the second OT, Lette started on bottom and got away in three seconds to take a 2-1 lead. In the second portion of OT, Fallon got away with 19 seconds remaining to tie the score at 2-2. But Leete had seven seconds of riding time.
Fallon tried a throw in the final seconds of the match to try for a takedown but it was unsuccessful.
The last Sacred Heart wrestlers to win medals at the EIWA championships were Nick Palumbo (157, 2nd), Joe Accousti (184, 6th), Kyle Randall (8th, 133) and Seth Brown (149, 8th) in 2021.
2024 EIWA championships
At Lewisburg, Pa.
Team results – 1. Cornell 164½, 2. Lehigh 159½, 3. Army West Point 95½, 4. Columbia and Pennsylvania 90½, 6. Navy 79½, 7. Bucknell 72, 8. Binghamton and Princeton 68½, 10. Harvard 52, 11. Brown 35, 12. Drexel 28½, 13. American and Franklin & Marshall 27, 15. Long Island University 25, 16. Hofstra 15, 17. Sacred Heart 9½
Championship finals
125 Luke Stanich (Lehigh) dec. Brett Ungar (Cornell), 6-0
133 Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) dec. Vito Arujau (Cornell), 10-6
141 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) dec. Dylan Chappell (Bucknell), 12-2
149 Ethan Fernandez (Cornell) tech fall Jack Crook (Harvard), 20-5, 6:57
157 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) dec. Max Brignola (Lehigh), 6-3
165 Julian Ramirez (Cornell) dec. Andrew Cerniglia (Navy), 5-3
174 Lennox Wolak (Columbia) dec. Benjamin Pasiuk (Army West Point), 5-1
184 Aaron Ayzerov (Columbia) dec. Nate Dugan (Princeton), 8-4
197 Michael Beard (Lehigh) dec. Jacob Cardenas (Cornell), 6-3, OT
285 Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) pin Dorian Crosby (Bucknell), 1:27
3rd place (consolation finals)
125 Ethan Berginc (Army West Point) dec. Mike Joyce (Brown), 5-3
133 Braden Basile (Army West Point) dec. Kurt Phipps (Bucknell), 9-3
141 CJ Composto (Pennsylvania) dec. Malyke Hines (Lehigh), 7-4 SV
149 Kelvin Griffin (Lehigh) dec. Matthew Williams (Army West Point), 20-9
157 Lucas Revano (Pennsylvania) dec. Nathan Lukez (Army West Point), 9-6, 2 OT
165 Brevin Cassella (Binghamton) dec. Gunner Filipowicz (Army West Point), 4-1, OT
174 Benny Baker (Cornell) dec. Philip Conigliaro (Harvard), 4-2
184 David Key (Navy) DEF Chris Foca (Cornell), 1-0 4:05
197 Lou Deprez (Binghamton) dec. Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia), 11-1
285 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) dec. Matthew Cover (Princeton), 9-2
Fifth place
125 Max Gallagher (Pennsylvania) M FOR Diego Sotelo (Harvard)
133 Maximilian Leete (American) dec. Andrew Fallon (Sacred Heart), 2-2, 2 OT
141 Tyler Vazquez (Princeton) pin Pat Phillips (Franklin & Marshall), 2:17
149 Jude Swisher (Pennsylvania) pin Dominic Findora (Drexel), 0:55
157 Blake Saito (Brown) dec. Andy Garr (Columbia), 9-6
165 Jake Logan (Lehigh) dec. Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell), 8-7
174 Nick Incontrera (Pennsylvania) dec. Myles Takats (Bucknell), 6-2
184 James Conway (Franklin & Marshall) dec. Jacob Nolan (Binghamton), 10-6
197 Cole Urbas (Pennsylvania) M FOR Luke Stout (Princeton)
285 Cory Day (Binghamton) dec. Lucas Stoddard (Army West Point), 6-0
Seventh place
125 Robert Sagaris (Long Island University) M FOR Jack Maida (American)
133 Micah Roes (Binghamton) dec. Hunter Adrian (Brown), 5-2 SV
141 Kai Owen (Columbia) dec. Nate Lucier (Binghamton), 17-4
149 Eligh Rivera (Princeton) dec. Richard Fedalen (Columbia), 14-9
157 Jurius Clark (Hofstra) dec. Rhise Royster (Long Island University), 4-3, 2 OT
165 Cody Walsh (Drexel) dec. Cael Berg (Harvard), 9-3
174 Danny Wask (Navy) dec. Dimitri Gamkrelidze (Binghamton), 4-2
184 Anthony D`Alesio (Long Island University) dec. Maximus Hale (Pennsylvania), 4-2
197 Logan Deacetis (Bucknell) dec. John Crawford (Franklin & Marshall), 12-2
285 Grady Griess (Navy) M FOR Keaton Kluever (Hofstra)
Outstanding wrestler: Ryan Crookham, Lehigh (133)
2024 Brackets and results (FloArena)
Army’s Kevin Ward was voted EIWA Coach of the Year by his fellow coaches.
The Official’s Award for Team Sportsmanship was awarded to Hofstra.
The John Fletcher Memorial Trophy given to the wrestler who earn’s the most career EIWA tournament points was earned by Lou Deprez. His 86 career points earned for Binghamton was five more than Vito Arujau’s career points earned for Cornell. Deprez ended his career as a 5-time EIWA placer and 3-time champion.
The Billy Sheridan Memorial Award for most falls in the least amount of time in the winner’s bracket was awarded to Nathan Taylor of Lehigh, with two pins in 3:55.
