Norwich grad headed to NCAA wrestling tournament; Three former Chenango County grapplers place at EIWA Championships
HAMPSTEAD, NY – Wrestling in the 149 pound weight class, Frankie Garcia, Binghamton Bearcats and former Norwich state champion, placed second at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championship Tournament on Sunday, March 4 at Hofstra University.
With 10 Binghamton Bearcats making the EIWA tournament field, Gracia along with Tristan Rifanburg of Norwich and Joe Nelson of Oxford received pre-seeds on Thursday, March 1. Determined on Friday, Gracia was named a 10-seed, Rifanburg was unseeded and Nelson received a No. 7 seed.
Action started on the mats for the three wrestlers that hail from Chenango County on Saturday.
Garcia took his first match of the day with a 21-14 comeback win over the No. 7 Seed Trevor Elfvin of Drexel.
Trailing 10-2 through the first period, Gracia landed a takedown after a leg shot. Eight near fall points later, Gracia held a 13-12 lead. He went on to score another eight points to help his cause through the first match.
Facing Cornell’s Will Koll, Gracia scored first with an early takedown. Leading 2-1 after the first, Gracia tallied another point with an escaped in the third to take a 3-1 win in the quarterfinals and move into Sunday’s semifinals.
Lehigh’s Cortlandt Schuyler was Gracia’s next foe of the tournament. Getting out to an early lead, Gracia took the match win with a final of 7-4, landing in the finals.
With the NCAA’s taking the top two wrestlers from each of the 10 weight classes, Gracia – a redshirt sophomore – received an automatic bid to the championship tournament that will be held on March 16 and 17.
Gracia took on Princeton’s Matt Kolodzik, the No. 11 ranked wrestler in the nation at 149-pounds.
Able to tack on two takedowns and two escapes, Gracia scored six points in the match but the 141 pound EIWA champion beat the Norwich grad with a final of 13-6.
Gracia’s Long-time teammate from high school and now in college together, Rifanburg snagged a eighth-place podium finish, wrestling his way back through the 157 pound field after losing a tough, heartbreaking first match of the tournament.
Cornell’s Fredy Stroker topped Rifanburg with a 3-2 decision. But Rifanburg rebounded quickly when he defeated Bucknell’s Christian Bassolino with a 13-2 major decision.
Taking on the No. 6 seed, Brown’s Ian Brown, Rifanburg used the second period take down and four count back points to top Brown with his second major decision of the day. With a final score of 9-0, Rifanburg continued his journey through wrestleback rounds into Sunday’s championship day.
Rifanburg, once the 14th ranked 157 pound wrestler in the nation this season, faced a familiar opponent. Penn’s Joe Velliquette and Rifanburg faced each other in January. Rifanburg took the first meeting with an 8-4 win over the Quakers’ wrestler with five seconds left in the third period, capturing the dual match win over Penn, 19-18.
This time, Velliquette topped Rifanburg with a 14-4 major decision win.
Wrestling for seventh place, the Bearcats’ redshirt sophomore faced Harvard’s Brock Wilson. Another seeded opponent, Rifanburg fell to Wilson by a 5-0 decision.
After a long way back through the wrestleback rounds, the former New York State Champion landed a eighth-place podium finish. This was Rifanburg’s second consecutive year of standing on the podium at EIWA’s.
Nelson, former Section IV Champion of the Oxford Blackhawks, finished fifth after a two days of wrestling.
The former Oxford grad was Binghamton’s first winner of the day as he took down F&M’s Edgar Gracia with a 14-1 major decision.
In the quarters, Nelson faced Drexel’s Zack Fuentes. With a closer match final than his first of the day, Nelson squeezed out a takedown and an escape for a final of 3-1.
Moving into Sunday’s Championship day, Nelson took on Lehigh’s Darian Cruz. Scoring a 14-1 major decision, Cruz advanced to the finals, sending Nelson to the wrestleback rounds.
Amercan’s Gage Curry and Nelson have also faced each other earlier this season. Curry snuck past the Bearcats’ redshirt junior in the final period, topping Nelson 10-6.
Curry once again beat Nelson – this time with an even closer final. Nelson scored an escaped as the third period ended, tying the match at 4-4. But getting out to the slightly quicker jump was Curry, earning a takedown and the sudden victory.
After receiving a forfeit in his final match, Nelson finished fifth in the 125 pound weight class.
With these three finishing on top the podium in their weight classes, as well as two other Binghamton wrestlers, the Bearcats finished in seventh place. Out of 16 teams, this was the program’s highest finish at the EIWA’s.
In the last rankings published, Binghamton received three votes towards a spot in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Top 25 Poll.
Gracia is one of 330 total wrestlers that are headed to compete at the Division-I NCAA Tournament. He will be joined by his teammate, Steven Schneider. Schneider will be in the 184 pound tournament field after his third place finish at the EIWA’s.
In the latest individual wrestler National Rankings, Gracia is now at 22.
The NCAA Championships will be held at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH.
With 10 Binghamton Bearcats making the EIWA tournament field, Gracia along with Tristan Rifanburg of Norwich and Joe Nelson of Oxford received pre-seeds on Thursday, March 1. Determined on Friday, Gracia was named a 10-seed, Rifanburg was unseeded and Nelson received a No. 7 seed.
Action started on the mats for the three wrestlers that hail from Chenango County on Saturday.
Garcia took his first match of the day with a 21-14 comeback win over the No. 7 Seed Trevor Elfvin of Drexel.
Trailing 10-2 through the first period, Gracia landed a takedown after a leg shot. Eight near fall points later, Gracia held a 13-12 lead. He went on to score another eight points to help his cause through the first match.
Facing Cornell’s Will Koll, Gracia scored first with an early takedown. Leading 2-1 after the first, Gracia tallied another point with an escaped in the third to take a 3-1 win in the quarterfinals and move into Sunday’s semifinals.
Lehigh’s Cortlandt Schuyler was Gracia’s next foe of the tournament. Getting out to an early lead, Gracia took the match win with a final of 7-4, landing in the finals.
With the NCAA’s taking the top two wrestlers from each of the 10 weight classes, Gracia – a redshirt sophomore – received an automatic bid to the championship tournament that will be held on March 16 and 17.
Gracia took on Princeton’s Matt Kolodzik, the No. 11 ranked wrestler in the nation at 149-pounds.
Able to tack on two takedowns and two escapes, Gracia scored six points in the match but the 141 pound EIWA champion beat the Norwich grad with a final of 13-6.
Gracia’s Long-time teammate from high school and now in college together, Rifanburg snagged a eighth-place podium finish, wrestling his way back through the 157 pound field after losing a tough, heartbreaking first match of the tournament.
Cornell’s Fredy Stroker topped Rifanburg with a 3-2 decision. But Rifanburg rebounded quickly when he defeated Bucknell’s Christian Bassolino with a 13-2 major decision.
Taking on the No. 6 seed, Brown’s Ian Brown, Rifanburg used the second period take down and four count back points to top Brown with his second major decision of the day. With a final score of 9-0, Rifanburg continued his journey through wrestleback rounds into Sunday’s championship day.
Rifanburg, once the 14th ranked 157 pound wrestler in the nation this season, faced a familiar opponent. Penn’s Joe Velliquette and Rifanburg faced each other in January. Rifanburg took the first meeting with an 8-4 win over the Quakers’ wrestler with five seconds left in the third period, capturing the dual match win over Penn, 19-18.
This time, Velliquette topped Rifanburg with a 14-4 major decision win.
Wrestling for seventh place, the Bearcats’ redshirt sophomore faced Harvard’s Brock Wilson. Another seeded opponent, Rifanburg fell to Wilson by a 5-0 decision.
After a long way back through the wrestleback rounds, the former New York State Champion landed a eighth-place podium finish. This was Rifanburg’s second consecutive year of standing on the podium at EIWA’s.
Nelson, former Section IV Champion of the Oxford Blackhawks, finished fifth after a two days of wrestling.
The former Oxford grad was Binghamton’s first winner of the day as he took down F&M’s Edgar Gracia with a 14-1 major decision.
In the quarters, Nelson faced Drexel’s Zack Fuentes. With a closer match final than his first of the day, Nelson squeezed out a takedown and an escape for a final of 3-1.
Moving into Sunday’s Championship day, Nelson took on Lehigh’s Darian Cruz. Scoring a 14-1 major decision, Cruz advanced to the finals, sending Nelson to the wrestleback rounds.
Amercan’s Gage Curry and Nelson have also faced each other earlier this season. Curry snuck past the Bearcats’ redshirt junior in the final period, topping Nelson 10-6.
Curry once again beat Nelson – this time with an even closer final. Nelson scored an escaped as the third period ended, tying the match at 4-4. But getting out to the slightly quicker jump was Curry, earning a takedown and the sudden victory.
After receiving a forfeit in his final match, Nelson finished fifth in the 125 pound weight class.
With these three finishing on top the podium in their weight classes, as well as two other Binghamton wrestlers, the Bearcats finished in seventh place. Out of 16 teams, this was the program’s highest finish at the EIWA’s.
In the last rankings published, Binghamton received three votes towards a spot in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Top 25 Poll.
Gracia is one of 330 total wrestlers that are headed to compete at the Division-I NCAA Tournament. He will be joined by his teammate, Steven Schneider. Schneider will be in the 184 pound tournament field after his third place finish at the EIWA’s.
In the latest individual wrestler National Rankings, Gracia is now at 22.
The NCAA Championships will be held at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH.
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