LEWISBURG, Pa. – James Conway officially punched his ticket to Kansas City and NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships with a 2-0 first day at the 2024 Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championship. While the first goal of the weekend is accomplished, Conway's tournament continues on Saturday morning in the semifinals. Pat Phillips (141 lbs.) and John Crawford (197 lbs.) will also return to action Saturday as they clinched a spot on the podium in consolation action during Friday evening's second session.
Wrestling LIU's 10th-seeded Anthony D'Alesio in a rematch from their regular season dual, Conway left no doubt on Friday night during an 8-2 decision. D'Alesio got out to a 1-0 lead with a second period escape, but Conway got the first of his two takedowns with eight seconds remaining in the second period. He escaped just nine seconds into the third period and had a takedown just six seconds after to extend his lead to 7-1. Conway continued to push the pace and earned a stalling point midway through the third period during the eventual 8-2 final.
Conway's upcoming appearance at the NCAA Division I Championships will be the first of the junior's decorated career. Fittingly enough, Conway becomes the Diplomats' 100th NCAA qualifier in program history during the same season in which F&M is celebrating its 100th anniversary as a program. Conway is also the program's first NCAA qualifier at 184 lbs. since the NCAA went to its current weight class structure at the start of the 1998-99 season. Conway's semifinal opponent will be third-seeded Nate Dugan of Princeton who took a medical forfeit loss to Conway when the two were scheduled to wrestle at the Midlands Championships.
Still alive to punch their tickets to the national tournament are Pat Phillips and John Crawford. Phillips advanced to the quarterfinals during the morning session before falling by a decision to top-seeded Josh Koderhandt of Navy. Nevertheless, he bounced back with a 7-3 decision versus LIU's Devin Matthews after scoring takedowns during both the second and third periods. Needing two more wins to clinch a qualifying spot with a top four finish, he will wrestle fifth-seeded Kai Owen of Columbia in the consolation semifinals on Saturday morning.
Now just one win away from qualifying his spot in the NCAA Tournament, John Crawford fell in the quarterfinals to third-seeded Lou Deprez of Binghamton, but bounced back to earn his first career placement on the EIWA podium. He needed a third period rally to do so as he scored a takedown with 1:25 remaining in the third period to take a 6-5 lead before putting an exclamation point on his victory with two near fall points during the closing seconds. With a top eight finish secured, Crawford will wrestle seventh-seeded Jack Wehmeyer of Columbia at the start of Saturday's morning session.
Franklin & Marshall's three place winners represent the most for the team since the 2019 season. Those three will also wrestle during session III of the EIWA Championships which begins Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. with the semifinal and consolation quarterfinal rounds. The first, third, and fifth place matches will be wrestled during Session IV which is slated for a 4:45 p.m. start.
Franklin & Marshall results and upcoming opponents
#15 Eric Howe (125 lbs.)
Round of 16: Lost vs. #2 Brett Unger (Cornell); TF: 3:23 (17-1)
Consolation Round 2: Lost vs. #10 Mike Joyce (Brown); 12-1
#5 Mason Leiphart (133 lbs.)
Round of 16: Won vs. #12 Dylan Ryder (Hofstra); TF: 3:35 (15-0)
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. #4 Kurt Phipps (Bucknell); 6-3 (SV)
Consolation Round 3: Lost vs. #15 Hunter Adrian (Brown); 11-1
#8 Pat Phillips (141 lbs.)
Round of 16: Won vs. #9 Jordan Soriano (Drexel); 14-3
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. #1 Josh Koderhandt (Navy); 5-0
Consolation Round 3: Won vs. #6 Devin Matthews (LIU); 7-3
Consolation Quarterfinals: vs. #5 Kai Owen (Columbia)
#14 Josh Hillard (149 lbs.)
Round of 16: Lost vs. #3 Kelvin Griffin (Lehigh); F: 6:33
Consolation Round 2: Lost vs. #11 Jack Nies (American); 12-2
#15 Dominic Wheatley (157 lbs.)
Round of 16: Lost vs. #2 Lucas Revano (Penn); TF: 4:50 (19-4)
Consolation Round 1: Won vs. #16 Connor MacDonald (Sacred Heart); TF: 3:36 (15-0)
Consolation Round 2: Lost vs. #10 Rocco Camillaci (Princeton); 9-4
#13 Josh Palmucci (165 lbs.)
Round of 16: Lost vs. #4 Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell); 8-0
Consolation Round 2: Lost vs. #5 Gunner Filipowicz (Army); 7-0
#6 Noah Fox (174 lbs.)
Round of 16: Lost vs. #11 Dimitri Gamkrelidze (Binghamton); 8-4
Consolation Round 2: Lost vs. #14 Michael Squires (Princeton); 5-2 (SV)
#2 James Conway (184 lbs.)
Round of 16: Won vs. #15 Justin Griffith (Drexel); 5-1
Quarterfinals: Won vs. #10 Anthony D'Alesio (LIU); 8-2
Semifinals: vs. #2 Nate Dugan (Princeton)
#6 John Crawford (197 lbs.)
Round of 16: Won vs. #11 Ibramhim Ameer (Drexel); 5-1
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. #3 Lou Deprez (Binghamton); F: 1:27
Consolation Round 3: Won vs. #9 John Dusza (LIU); 8-5
Consolation Quarterfinals: vs. #7 Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia)
#16 Harrison Shapiro (285 lbs.)
Round of 32: Won vs. #17 Marc Berisha (Sacred Heart); 5-1
Round of 16: Lost vs. #1 Nathan Taylor (Lehigh); TF: 3:32 (17-1)
Consolation Round 2: Lost vs. #9 John Stout (Penn); 4-1
