LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall wrestling team wrapped up the 2024 EIWA Championships on Saturday. The Diplomats already had an NCAA qualifier in James Conway following his semifinal win on Friday night, but wrestled all the way through the placing matches to earn their final spots on the podium during Saturday's action on the mats. With the team's most place winners since the 2019 championships, James Conway took fifth, Pat Phillips finished in sixth, and John Crawford placed eighth.
Already locked in for the NCAA Division I Championship, Conway was out to a 4-1 lead in his semifinal against third-seeded Nate Dugan of Princeton before a late takedown gave the Tiger a 5-4 victory. Coming back for the consolation semifinals during the same session, Conway dropped an 8-4 decision to Navy's David Key before he was able to avenge his Lehman Open finals match against Binghamton's Jacob Nolan. Nolan secured the match's first takedown but Conway was able to get that back during the final second of the opening period. The F&M junior added another takedown during the second which eventually helped him earn the riding time point in the 10-6 decision.
Pat Phillips got his day off to a great start as he scored a takedown and had six total near fall points to race out to a 9-0 lead against Columbia's fifth-seeded Kai Owen during the consolation quarterfinals. That score held until the third period when Owen cut Phillips' lead down to 10-6 after a pair of takedowns that were held up after review. Undeterred, Phillips countered with three takedowns of his own to secure a 20-8 major decision. However, he would fall one match short of NCAA qualification with an 11-2 match against No. 3 seed Malyke Hines of Lehigh. Phillips finished in sixth after wrestling Princeton's Tyler Vazquez during the medal round.
John Crawford also earned his first career placement at the EIWA Championships with a win to close Friday's session, but fell by a 4-3 decision against Columbia's Jack Wehmeyer. A second period takedown proved to be the difference in that match with a spot in the NCAA Tournament on the line. Crawford finished in eighth place at the conference championships after wrestling Bucknell's Logan Deacetis during his medal round match.
Brackets for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be announced on March 14, with the tournament set to take place in Kansas City from Thursday, March 21 through Saturday, March 23. At-large selections for Kansas City will be announced on Tuesday.
Franklin & Marshall Place Winner Results
#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: Won vs. #5 Kai Owen (Columbia); 20-8
Consolation Semifinals: Lost vs. #3 Malyke Hines (Lehigh); 11-2
Fifth Place: Lost vs. #12 Tyler Vazquez (Princeton); F: 2:17
#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: Lost vs. #2 Nate Dugan (Princeton); 5-4
Consolation Semifinals: vs. #8 David Key (Navy); 8-4
Fifth Place: Won vs. #6 Jacob Nolan (Binghamton); 10-6
#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: Lost vs. #7 Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia); 4-3
Seventh Place: Lost vs. #8 Logan Deacetis (Bucknell); 12-2
