Created: 3/11/2002 12:51:25 PM
After two days of competition at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships at Lehigh University, the Ivy League walked away with seven of 10 possible individual champions, while also placing every League team in the top 10. Leading the team standings was #8-ranked Pennsylvania who placed second in the meet. Following the Quakers were Cornell, Harvard, and Brown in third, fourth, and fifth, respectively. Princeton and Columbia completed the Ivy League field in ninth and tenth.
Earning individual championships were Cornell's Travis Lee (Ekekela, Hawaii) at 125 pounds and Clint Wattenberg (Chico, Calif.) at 184 pounds, Jesse Jantzen (Shoreham, N.Y.) and Dawid Rechul (Huntington Station, N.Y.) of Harvard at 149 pounds and heavyweight, Pennsylvania's Yoshi Nakamura (Elyria, Ohio) and Josh Henson (Hanover, Pa.) at 157 pounds and 165 pounds, and Princeton's Greg Parker (Clifton Park, N.Y.)at 174 pounds.
Jantzen earned the Sheridan Award for the most pins in the least amount of time and was named the meet's Most Outstanding Wrestler after he pinned three of his four opponents and defeated another by 14 points. Currently ranked seventh in the Amateur Wrestling News, he qualified for the NCAA Championships, which will take place March 21-23 at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, N.Y.Rechul, last year's EIWA Most Outstanding Wrestler, will be making his third appearance at the nationals. Also attending the NCAA Championships from Harvard will be junior Pat O'Donnell (Prosperity, Pa.), senior Kevin El-Hayek (Canfield, Ohio), junior Reggie Lee (Spokane, Wash.) and junior Robbie Griffin (Franklin, Mass.).
The Quakers, who finished second at the EIWA's for the third consecutive year, will also send six to the NCAA Tournament. Representing Penn are Nakamura, Josh and Joe Henson (Hanover, Pa.), Rick Springman (Norristown, Pa.), Mason Lenhard (Parma, Ohio) and Marcus Schontube (Lowell, Ind.).Springman was the recipient of the 2002 Fletcher Award, awareded to teh wrestler who has garnered the most team points during their career at the EIWA Championships. Springman is a four-time EIWA finalist and accumulated 75 points in four years.
Leading the field with the most wrestlers to represent in the NCAAs is Cornell with seven. Joining Lee and Wattenberg will be senior Jim Stanec (St. Louis, Mo.), junior Gabe Webster (Athens, Pa.), sophomores Alejandro Alvarez (Grapevine, Tex.) and Scott Roth (Martins Ferry, Ohio), and Matt Greenberg (Upper Saddle River, N.J.). Cornell will have the most wrestlers in the NCAA Tournament of any EIWA team. Last season, the Big Red took four wrestlers to the tourney, with Stanec earning All-America honors.
Four Bear wrestlers will attend the nationals. Finishing second at the EIWAs, Bronson Lingamfelter (Boxborough, Mass.) earned a invite to the NCAAs. Joining him will be juniors Clint Frease (Clearwater, Fla.)and Jason Mercado (Pitman, N.J.) and sophomore Nick Ciarcia (Berlin, Conn.).
EIWA Championships
TEAM RESULTS
1. Lehigh -- 131.5
2. Penn -- 118.0
3. Cornell -- 114.5
4. Harvard -- 86.5
5. Brown -- 65.5
6. Navy -- 62.5
7. Army -- 53.0
8. Rutgers -- 52.5
9. Princeton -- 43.5
10. Columbia -- 28.5
11. East Stroudsburg -- 17.5
12. Bucknell -- 12.5
13. Franklin & Marshall -- 10.0
INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS
125 -- Travis Lee, Cornell
133 -- Dan Hyman, Lehigh
141 -- Mark Conley, Navy
149 -- Jesse Jantzen, Harvard
157 -- Yoshi Nakamura, Pennsylvania
165 -- Josh Henson, Pennsylvania
174 -- Greg Parker, Princeton
184 -- Clint Wattenberg, Cornell
197 -- Jon Trenge, Lehigh
Hwt -- Dawid Rechul, Harvard