Conference Tournament Ends With Second Highest Point Total In Program History

Saturday, March 7

Bethlehem, Pa.

10:00 AM

Army West Point

EIWA Championships

Conference Tournament Ends With Second Highest Point Total In Program History

March 07, 2020 | Wrestling

BETHLEHEM, PA – The Army West Point wrestling team capped off the 116^th EIWA Conference Championship with 112 total points, good enough for a third-place team finish. Army also finished the conference tournament with six NCAA qualifiers headed to Minneapolis, Minn. in two weeks for the Championships.

The Black Knights marked their second highest team score in program history, surpassing the 2018-19 team's previous score of 106.5, and sitting just behind the leading 1987 squad's 135.25.

Heading into day two of the Conference Championships, the Army West Point wrestling team had seven wrestlers competing in the semifinal round, with three NCAA qualifiers already clinched.

The Black Knights struggled to find a win in the semi's but didn't let that kill their momentum. Army followed up their losses with five consecutive wins from the 157lb bout to the 197lb bout to secure five separate opportunities at a third-place team finish. The Black Knights capped off a successful day with nine top eight finishes including a seventh-place finish by Corey Shie, three fifth-place finishes from Trey Chalifoux, Andrew Wert Jr. and P.J. Ogunsanya. Three fourth-place finishes came from Cael McCormick, Noah Stewart, and J.T. Brown.

The two strongest outings of the day came from Markus Hartman and Ben Harvey, who finished third overall in their respective weight classes and secured themselves a place amongst the countries best.

*NCAA Tournament Qualifiers

125lbs | No. 4 seed, Trey Chalifoux (5^th Place)*
Semifinals: L, MD, 11-1 vs. No. 1 seed Pat Glory (Princeton)
Cons. Semifinals: L, 12-3 MD vs. No. 2 seed Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh)
Fifth Place: W, 10-4 Dec. vs. Dom LaJoie (Cornell)

133lbs | No. 6 seed, Andrew Wert Jr. (5^th Place)
Cons. Round of 4: W, Dec, 9-2 Mike Jaffe (Harvard)
Cons. Semifinals: L, 5-2 Dec. vs. Casey Cobb (Navy)
Fifth Place: W, Forfeit by Carmen Ferrante (Penn)

141lbs | No. 9 seed, Corey Shie (7^th Place)
Cons. Round of 4: L, Dec, 7-4 TB2, vs. Doug Zapf (Penn)
Seventh Place: W, 17-13 Dec. vs. Wilfredo Gil (F&M)

149lbs | No. 7 seed, P.J. Ogunsanya (5^th Place)
Cons. Round of 4: W, 11-5 Dec. vs. Ricky Cabanillas (Brown)
Cons. Semifinals: L, 1-0 Dec. vs. Kizhan Clarke (American)
Fifth Place: W, 3-2 Dec. vs. Jimmy Hoffman (Lehigh)

157lbs | No. 2 seed, Markus Hartman (3^rd Place) *
Semifinals: L, 8-2 Dec. vs. Josh Humphreys (Lehigh)
Cons. Semifinals: W, 8-0 MD vs. Adam Santoro (Cornell)
Third Place: W, 5-4 Dec. vs. Parker Kropman (Drexel)

165lbs | No. 4 seed, Cael McCormick* (4^th Place)
Semifinals: L, 1-0 Dec. vs. Tanner Skidgel (Navy)
Cons. Semifinals: W, 2-0 Fall (0:45) vs. Grant Cuomo (Princeton)
Third Place: L, 5-4 Dec. vs. Philip Conigliaro (Harvard)

174lbs | No. 3 seed, Ben Harvey* (3^rd Place)
Semifinals: L, 5-2 Dec. vs. Spencer Carey (Navy)
Cons. Semifinals: W, 11-0 MD vs. Mitch Hartman (Bucknell)
Third Place: W, 6-1 Dec. vs. Michael O'Malley (Drexel)

184lbs | No. 3 seed, Noah Stewart* (4^th Place)
Semifinals: L, 8-6 Dec. vs. Christopher Weiler (Lehigh)
Cons. Semifinals: W, 14-4 MD vs. Jonathan Loew (Cornell)
Third Place: L, 9-3 SV Dec. vs. Tanner Harvey (American)

197lbs | No. 6 seed, J.T. Brown* (4^th Place)
Semifinals: L, 6-1 Dec. vs. Benjamin Darmstadt (Cornell)
Cons. Semifinals: W, 11-0 MD vs. Bryan McLaughlin (Drexel)
Third Place: L, 10-2 MD vs. Patrick Brucki (Princeton)

Highlights:

This is the first time since the 2007-08 season that the Black Knights have finished third overall as a team at the conference tournament.
The Black Knights earned only their third 100-point mark as a team in program history with a 112 team total.
This is the second consecutive year that the Black Knights have posted a top four finish as a team and the fourth time in the last five years.
Ben Harvey earned the Billy Sheridan Memorial Award which is given to the wrestler with the most falls in the least time.
Harvey will return to the national tournament for the third year in a row and posted his fourth podium finish at the conference tournament.
McCormick and Stewart, both in their senior season, qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second time in their careers.
Chalifoux placed at the tournament for the fourth straight season and finished just above his previous two sixth-place finishes. This will be his second NCAA Championship appearance.
Hartman notched his 30^th win of the season and continues to lead the Black Knights in overall wins.