Three Qualify for NCAA Tournament, Army Finishes Sixth at EIWA Championships

PHILADELPHIA, PA. – The Army West Point wrestling team wrapped up competition at the 119th EIWA Championships, finishing sixth with 82.5 points. Cornell won the conference with a total of 157.5 points. Lehigh and Penn followed, finishing second (116.5 points) and third (106 points) respectively. Army's Ethan Berginc, Nate Lukez, and Ben Pasiuk each punched their ticket to compete in the NCAA Championships in Tulsa, Okla. 

How it Happened 

Junior's #14 (in the country) Ben Pasiuk highlighted the Black Knights, finishing second in the 174-class, and qualifying to compete in the NCAA Championships. Nate Lukez qualified for the NCAA's, earning a top three spot in the 157-weight class. 

Freshman #13 Ethan Berginc continued to dominate the mat, finishing fourth in the 125-class, qualifying for his first NCAA Championship. 

Julian Sanchez, Trae McDaniel, Dalton Harkins, Daniel Lawrence, and Austin Kohlhofer each reached the podium. Sanchez, Lawrence, and Kohlhofer finished eighth in their respective weight classes. McDaniel, the fourth seed in the 149-weight class, finished fourth after falling to Columbia's six-seeded Danny Fongaro in the third-place match.  

Sophomore Dalton Harkins rounded things out for Army, finishing sixth in the 175-class, after falling to Binghampton's fifth seed Brevin Cassella by a 2-1 decision. 

The Black Knights finished in the top six with 82.5 points, their eighth consecutive top-eight finish. Army finished ahead of seventh place Princeton by one point, and behind Columbia and Navy who both finished fifth with 95 points. 

Complete results from today as well as team standings are listed below. 

Cadet's Corner 

"Incredible experience to qualify for nationals in front of my brothers. I could not have done it without their support. I look forward to representing Army in Tulsa. BHAW" – Nate Lukez 

"Overall solid performance, not the outcome I wanted, but I live to fight another day. I learned a lot about myself this weekend and It's amazing to know I accomplished a small goal of mine ever since I was little, but the work isn't finished. I am excited to get back and scrap one last time this season with my brothers. TUSLA here we come! #BHAW" – Ethan Berginc 

"I thought the whole team went out there and gave it their all, our team looked the best they have all year when it mattered most. Now time to make a statement at Nationals and become an All-American." – Ben Pasiuk

Coach's Corner 

"As a team, we showed a lot of improvement from where we were at this point last year. So, we are proud of the progress we made and the experience our young team gained this year. All 8 of our placers return next year and will have the experience of competing at a championship and that will benefit them this off-season as they prepare to reach new heights.  

Ethan, Nate, and Ben absolutely led the way and earned their right to compete for All-American honors at the NCAA Championships. Our focus will be on them and getting them prepared to chase their dreams." – Head Coach Kevin Ward 

125 | #13 (in the country) Ethan Berginc, 6 Seed * 

Round of 16 - #6 Ethan Berginc (Army) MD #11 Dayton DelViscio (Navy), 8-0 

Quarterfinals - #3 Ryan Miller (Penn) dec. #6 Ethan Berginc (Army), 6-1 

Cons. of 8 #2 - #6 Ethan Berginc (Army) dec. #13 Robert Sagaris (LIU), 4-1 

Cons. of 4 - #6 Ethan Berginc (Army) MD #10 Carter Bailey (Lehigh), 11-2 

Cons. Semifinals - #6 Ethan Berginc (Army) dec. #4 Diego Sotelo (Harvard), 4-3 

3rd Place Match - #2 Ryan Miller (Penn) dec. #6 Ethan Berginc (Army), 3-0 

133 | Richard Treanor, 10 Seed 

Round of 16 - #10 Richard Treanor (Army) TB-2 #7 Kyle Waterman (Drexel), 1-1 

Quarterfinals - #2 Michael Colaiocco (Penn) MD Richard Treanor (Army), 10-1 

Cons. #12 - Jack Maida (American) dec. Richard Treanor (Army), 5-1 

141 | Julian Sanchez, 7 Seed 

Round of 16 – #7 Julian Sanchez MD #10 Joseph Cangro (Harvard), 11-1 

Quarterfinals - #2 Darren Miller (Bucknell) dec. Julian Sanchez, 6-2 

Cons. of 8 #2 – Julian Sanchez (Army) dec. #12 Nate Lucier (Binghamton), 8-2 

Cons. Semifinals - #3 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) dec. #7 Julian Sanchez (Army), 3-2 

7th Place Match - #9 Justin Hoyle (Hofstra) dec. #7 Julian Sanchez (Army), 6-5 

149 | Trae McDaniel, 4 Seed 

Round of 16 – Trae McDaniel MD #13 Michael Zarif (Binghamton), 10-1 

Quarterfinals - #5 Dylan Chappell (Bucknell) dec. Trae McDaniel (Army), 8-6 

Cons. of 8 #2 – Trae McDaniel (Army) Fall #10 Kaemen Smith (Navy), 14-4 (6:31) 

Cons. of 4 - #4 Trae McDaniel (Army) dec. #14 Marshall Keller (Princeton), 7-1 

Cons. Semifinals - #4 Trae McDaniel (Army) dec. #6 Danny Fongaro (Columbia), 5-2 

3rd Place Match - #1 Doug Zapf (Penn) dec. #4 Trae McDaniel (Army), 3-2 

157 | Nate Lukez, 5 Seed * 

Round of 16 - #5 Nate Lukez MD #12 Tyler Williams (Drexel), 10-2 

Quarterfinals - #5 Nate Lukez dec. #4 Andrew Cerniglia (Navy), 7-5 

Semifinals - #1 Anthony Artalona (Penn) dec. #5 Nate Lukez (Army), 4-3 

Cons. Semifinals - #5 Nate Lukez (Army) dec #9 Jack Nies (American), 8-1 

3rd Place Match - #5 Nate Lukez (Army) dec. #6 Trevor Tarsi (Harvard), 9-5 

165 | Dalton Harkins, 7 Seed 

Round of 16 – #7 Dalton Harkins dec. #10 Caleb Campos (American), 5-4 

Quarterfinals - #2 Quincy Monday (Princeton) dec. #7 Dalton Harkins (Army), 5-3 

Cons. of 8 #2 – #7 Dalton Harkins (Army) MD #12 Chase Barlow (Bucknell), 10-0 

Cons. of 4 - #7 Dalton Harkins (Army) dec. #6 Lucas Revano (Penn), 3-1 

Cons. Semifinals - #5 Brevin Cassella (Binghamton) dec #7 Dalton Harkins (Army), 2-1 

174 | Ben Pasiuk, 3 Seed * 

Round of 16 - #3 Ben Pasiuk dec. Jake Logan (Lehigh), 8-2 

Quarterfinals - #3 Ben Pasiuk MD #6 Sammy Starr (Navy), 11-3 

Semifinals - #3 Ben Pasiuk (Army) dec. #2 Nick Incontrera (Penn), 8-4 

Finals - #1 Chris Foca (Cornell) dec. #3 Ben Pasiuk (Army), 10-5 

184 | Sahm Abdulrazzaq, 8 Seed 

Round of 16 - #9 Maximus Hale (Penn) dec. #8 Sahm Abdulrazzaq (Army), 4-1 

Cons. of 8 #1 – #8 Sahm Abdulrazzaq (Army) MD #17 Christian Hansen (Cornell), 15-7 

Cons. of 8 #2 – #6 David Key (Navy) dec. #8 Sahm Abdulrazzaq (Army), 5-4 

197 | Daniel Lawrence, 13 Seed 

Round of 16 - #4 Jacob Koser Fall #13 Daniel Lawrence (Army), 6-0, 4:55 

Cons. of 8 #1 - #13 Daniel Lawrence (Army) dec. #12 john Dusza (LIU), 8-5 

Cons. of 8 #2 – #13 Daniel Lawrence dec. #7 John Crawford (Franklin & Marshall), 5-3 

Cons. of 4 - #11 Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia) dec. #13 Daniel Lawrence (Army), 3-2 

7th Place Match - #9 Sean O'Malley dec. #13 Daniel Lawrence (Army), 7-2 

285 | Austin Kohlhofer  

Round of 16 - #5 Ben Goldin (Penn) dec. #12 Austin Kohlhofer (Army), 2-1 

Cons. of 8 #1 - #12 Austin Kohlhofer (Army) dec. #13 Billy McChesney (Columbia), 4-2 

Cons. of 8 #2 – #12 Austin Kohlhofer (Army) dec. #7 Travis Stefanic (Princeton), 3-0  

Cons. of 4 - #6 Dorian Crosby (Bucknell) fall #12 Austin Kohlhofer (Army), 3-1 (8:41) 

7th Place Match - #9 Brendan Furman (Cornell) dec. #12 Austin Kohlhofer (Army), 6-0 

*Denotes NCAA Qualifier 

Final Team Scores 

1. Cornell 165.5 

2. Lehigh 120.5 

3. Pennsylvania 106 

4. Columbia 95 

4. Navy 95 

6. Army West Point 82.5 

7. Princeton 81.5 

8.  Harvard 63 

9. Bucknell 54 

10. Drexel 50.5 

11. Binghamton 45.5 

12. Hofstra 34 

13. American 28 

14. Franklin & Marshall 16.5 

15.  Brown 7.5 

16.  Sacred Heart 7.5 

17. LIU 3 

Up Next 

While Berginc, Lukez, and Pasiuk prepare for the NCAA Championship, the rest of the Black Knights will wait to see if they will qualify for the Championships when the brackets are announced during the selection show on Wednesday, March 8. The 2022-23 NCAA Championships are slated to be held on March 16-18 in Tulsa Okla.