For the second straight year, Cornell won the EIWA Championship. While last season the race was close and came down to the wire, in 2023 the Big Red squad was dominant.

 

Six Cornell wrestlers won individual championships leading to 165.5 points. Second place Lehigh notched 120.5 points, third place Penn scored 106, and Columbia and Navy tied for fourth with 95.

 

Vito Arujau (133), Vince Cornella (141), Yianni Diakomihalis (149), Julian Ramirez (165), Chris Foca (174), and Jacob Cardenas (197) all captured titles, while Brett Ungar (125) took second at 125. Heavyweight Brendan Furman grabbed seventh.

 

Arujau left no doubt throughout the weekend, including an 8-0 major decision over top 10 opponent and defending EIWA champ Michael Colaiocco in the finals at 133. It was the second straight conference crown for Arujau.

 

Cornella's first conference tournament was certainly a success, as the freshman pinned his first three opponents before registering a 13-3 major over Penn's Carmen Ferrante in the title bout. He also earned the Sheridan Award for most falls in least time. 

 

Diakomihalis concluded his EIWA tournament career with his fourth championship and also picked up special accolades. He captured the Fletcher Award for most career points scored at the tournament as well as the Outstanding Wrestler Award.

 

Ramirez beat NCAA finalist Quincy Monday by one point in a back-and-forth exciting finals bout at 165 to earn his first EIWA championship. 

 

Foca followed Ramirez onto center mat and continued his winning streak, topping Ben Pasiuk for his initial conference gold. Foca had a pin and a technical fall during the event.

 

Cardenas fell behind early against Lehigh's Michael Beard, the #2 wrestler in the country, in the finals, but responded with a flurry of offense to win a thriller, 10-9. 

 

Arujau and Diakomihalis weren't the only wrestlers to grab an additional EIWA conference crown at the Palestra. 

 

Patrick Glory of Princeton and Josh Humphreys of Lehigh both won their third championships. 

 

NCAA finalist Glory cruised to the finals, where he took a 2-0 decision over Cornell's Brett Ungar at 125 pounds. Meanwhile, Humphreys bonused his way to the championship match before besting Penn's Anthony Artalona, 6-4. 

 

Lehigh's Tate Samuelson won an EIWA title in his first year in the conference, outscoring his foes 31-8 at 184 pounds. 

 

Grady Griess of Navy finished the evening with a dramatic takedown at the buzzer to defeat Lehigh's Nathan Taylor and win the heavyweight title.

 

After the Big Red's outstanding weekend, Cornell's Mike Grey earned the EIWA Coach of the Year Award.

 

Drexel took the Officials Award for Team Sportsmanship.