The 2024 EIWA Championships are set to go down March 8-9 and will feature some of the nation's top wrestlers with over 50 NCAA qualifying spots on the line. This event will be live-streamed only on FloWrestling but before it begins, check out the below article to get a breakdown of the biggest storylines leading into the EIWA Championships.

More Content for the 2024 EIWA Championships

Schedule | Seeds | Crookham vs Arujau Preview

Who Wins The Ryan Crookham vs Vito Arujau Rematch?

We took a deep dive into the potential rematch between Crookham and Arujau in this article, but it’s worth highlighting it here because it is the biggest potential match that could go down at EIWAs (or any conference). Crookham took the college wrestling world by surprise when he defeated world and NCAA champion Arujau in the second week of the college season. However, almost immediately after the match, the popular opinion was that Arujau would win in the rematch. 

Since then, Crookham has proven throughout the season that the win over Arujau may not have been the fluke most thought. He’s currently 15-0 on the season with notable wins over Connor McGonagle, Vince Santaniello, Aaron Nagao, and Michael Colaiocco. On the other side of things, Arujau took about a month off the mat after the loss to Crookham but has rattled off 8 straight wins and looks to be rounding back into last season’s championship form. I expect the potential final match between Arujau and Crookham to be highly competitive and one of the best matches of the entire weekend.

Crookham's win over Arujau at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic in November 2023:

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Who Wins The EIWA Team Title?

Cornell and Lehigh have won every EIWA team title dating back to 2002 and look to be the front runners to win once again this year considering both will have the top seeds at 4 weights respectively. In their dual, Lehigh edged Cornell 17-16 in a back-and-forth dual that came down to the final weight with true freshman Luke Stanich defeating Brett Ungar. It’s also worth noting that this will be Cornell’s last year in the EIWA with the formation of an IVY League Conference tournament beginning next year. 

Crazy things always happen in the post-season and we shouldn’t be surprised if we see another team emerge and challenge for the team title at EIWAs. If any team can challenge Lehigh and Cornell this year, it’s The University of Pennsylvania. The Quakers have 7 total ranked wrestlers in the top 33 and could challenge for titles at least 2 different weights. Penn will need to pull off some upsets to win a title but they’re the dark horse team to watch in my opinion.

Check Out The Number Of Ranked Wrestlers By Team At EIWAs:

• American - 1
• Army - 5
• Binghamton - 5
• Bucknell - 3
• Columbia - 4
• Cornell - 6
• Drexel - 1
• Franklin & Marshall - 3
• Harvard - 2
• Hofstra - 1
• Lehigh - 8
• Navy - 4
• Penn - 7
• Princeton - 3

Can Michael Beard Extend His Dominance In A DEEP 197 Field?

197 is the weight to watch highlighted by 3 wrestlers ranked in the top 10, 4 in the top 12, and 6 in the top 33. The ranked wrestlers in the field are #6 Michael Beard (Lehigh), #7 Lou DePrez (Binghamton), #8 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell), #11 Luke Stout (Princeton), #27 Cole Urbas (Penn), #30 John Crawford (Franklin & Marshall), #31 Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia). 

Of those wrestlers, Michael Beard is the clear favorite and has put together an incredible season. Going into the EIWA Tournament, Beard is 22-1 with 21 wins coming by bonus points - 2 pins, 15 techs, and 4 majors. While those stats are impressive at face value, it’s even more impressive considering Beard defeated Luke Stout (15-0 and 18-8), Cole Urbas (18-1), Lou DePrez (12-1), and Jacob Cardenas (10-3). While the field is deep at 197, Beard is a significant favorite to walk away with the EIWA title.

Michael Beard's win over Lou DePrez:

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Who Wins 174 Pounds?

197 might be the deepest weight at EIWAs but 174 pounds is a close second. There are 5 total ranked wrestlers in the weight with 4 in the top 12 and 3 in the top 10. These ranked wrestlers are #7 Phil Conigliaro (Harvard), #8 Nick Incontrera (Penn), #9 Lennox Wolak (Columbia), #12 Ben Pasiuk (Army), and #29 Danny Wask (Navy). Conigliaro has wins over Incontrera and Wolak this season but it’s worth mentioning that both defeated Conigliaro last year. Beyond the top 3, Pasiuk and Wask are worthy contenders and no one should be surprised if either pulls off an upset or two to make the finals. 

Conigliaro's win over Incontrera at last year's EIWA Championships:

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What Chris Foca Will Show Up?

Chris Foca has wrestled an up-and-down year after moving up from 174 pounds last year where he placed 3rd. Foca had a rocky start at the CKLV where he surprisingly lost to both Aaron Ayzerov and Sam Wolf. However, Foca then went on an 8-match winning streak that included ranked wins over Will Feldkamp, Reece Heller, Gavin Hoffman, and Clayton Whiting. 

After that streak, it looked like Foca was back to being a national title contender. However, Foca then lost again to Columbia’s Aaron Ayzerov and dropped another match to NC State’s Dylan Fishback. Foca is the #1 seed at EIWAs but he has the potential to wrestle Ayzerov (the 5 seed) once again in the semi-finals. Foca’s performance at the EIWA Championships will should give us insight into how we should expect him to perform at NCAAs and if he’s a legitimate contender for the 184-pound title.

Chris Foca's win in the finals of the 2023 EIWA Championships:

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133 & 165 - The Toughest Weights To Qualify For NCAAs

The EIWA is the biggest conference in the NCAA and has 55 wrestlers ranked in the top 33 across all 10 weight classes. That amount of ranked wrestlers is 3rd behind only the Big Ten and Big 12 Conferences. Along with the 55 ranked wrestlers, the EIWA has 53 automatic qualifying spots up for grabs at the conference tournament spread across all of the weights.

So why are 133 and 165 the toughest weights to qualify for at EIWAs? Simply put, both weight classes have 7 wrestlers ranked in the top 33 but only the top 5 will automatically qualify for the NCAA Tournament. That means at least 2 ranked wrestlers won’t automatically qualify for the NCAA Tournament but will need an at-large bid to qualify. 

Check out all of the allocations available at the EIWA Championships by weight:

• 125 - 5
• 133 - 5
• 141 - 4
• 149 - 4
• 157 - 3
• 165 - 5
• 174 - 6
• 184 - 7
• 197 - 6
• 285 - 8