Manheim, PA - The Hofstra wrestling team will be sending seven automatic qualifiers to the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships, headlined by No. 1 Holden Heller winning the individual title at 157 pounds in a 6-2 decision over No. 7 Nick Palumbo (Sacred Heart) at the 117th EIWA Championships. Hofstra finished in fourth-place in the 10-team field with 106.5 points at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex.

Joining Heller for the trip to St. Louis will be No. 3 Vinny Vespa (141), No. 4 Greg Gaxiola (149), No. 3 Ricky Stamm (165), No. 4 Charles Small (184), No. 5 Trey Rogers (197) and No. 4 Zachary Knighton-Ward (285). It marks the most Hofstra wrestlers to qualify for the national championships since six wrestlers represented the Pride at the 2012 NCAA Championships.

Seeded first in the tournament at 157 pounds, Heller advanced to the final match of the bracket with an 11-7 decision win over No. 9 Matt Swanson of Binghamton before earning a dominant 11-3 major decision win against No. 5 Jaden Fisher (Bucknell). In the final against Palumbo, Heller held onto a narrow one-point lead on Palumbo going into the third period, but the junior grappler scored a late takedown to secure his first-place finish by way of a 6-2 decision. In doing so, Heller became the first Hofstra wrestler to win an EIWA title since Joe Booth won in 2014 at 165 pounds.

The third seed in the 285 pound bracket, Knighton-Ward punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships by advancing to the third-place match with a 5-2 decision win over No. 7 Sean O'Malley (Drexel), and he took third with a 7-2 decision over No. 5Joe Doyle of Binghamton. Knighton-Ward began his day with a 9-2 decision win over Doyle in the quarterfinals, before he was sent to the consolation bracket after a 2-0 loss to eventual champion No. 1 Jordan Wood of Lehigh. Knighton-Ward qualifies for his second consecutive NCAA Championship after earning an at-large bid to the 2020 NCAA Championship.

After winning his quarterfinal match at 165 pounds by a 3-1 sudden victory over No. 5 Joe Accousti (Sacred Heart), Small was forced into the consolation bracket after he injury defaulted against No. 1 Lou DePrez (Binghamton). In the consolation bracket, he won consecutive matches by 3-2 decision over No. 9 Dylan Ammerman of Lehigh in the semifinal and No. 3 Taylor Brown of Army West Point in the third-place match. His win over Ammerman earned him an automatic qualification to the NCAA Championship.

In his first EIWA Championship, Gaxiola squared off against No. 5 Matthew Kolonia of Bucknell in the 149 pound quarterfinal and came away with a 4-1 decision win. He advanced to the semifinal, where he ran into No. 1 PJ Ogunsanya of Army West Point. He suffered defeat by 10-4 decision against the eventual champion, dropping him to the consolation bracket. Against No. 6 Michael Zarif (Binghamton), Gaxiola scored an early takedown before winning by fall after 1:06 in the first period, earning him a trip back to the NCAA Championships. Gaxiola would advance to the third-place match against No. 3 Luke Nichter of Drexel, where Gaxiola would suffer a 6-2 decision defeat.

Looking to make it back to the NCAA Championships, Stamm fell into the consolation bracket after he was beaten in a 5-1 decision by No. 6 Brian Meyer of Lehigh. The redshirt senior won his first consolation match by way of a 5-2 decision over No. 9 Ryan Ferro of Long Island. His match against No. 5 Evan Barczak of Drexel went into the tiebreaker round, where he saw defeat in the second tiebreaker period after Barczak scored two points for a technical violation on Stamm and then a last-second escape. With a chance at automatic qualification still alive, Stamm entered the fifth-place match against No. 8 Clayton Fielden (Army West Point) and after trailing 3-1 entering the third period, he quickly escaped from the bottom position and scored a takedown with just seconds remaining in the match to win a trip to St. Louis by 4-3 decision.

After suffering a 6-5 decision defeat to No. 4 Bryan McLaughlin of Drexel, Rogers bounced back with an 11-2 major decision over No. 8 Sam DePrez of Binghamton in the consolation quarterfinal. He suffered a tough 4-2 loss to No. 3 Jacob Koser, but secured automatic NCAA qualification with a win by medical forfeit over No. 6 Robert Hetherman (Sacred Heart).

In addition to the seven qualifiers, a trio of Hofstra wrestlers scored place-finishes in their respective weight classes. No. 5 Garrett Lambert took fourth at 133 pounds, while No. 4 Dylan Ryder placed fifth at 125 pounds, and No. 2 Ross McFarland finished in eighth-place at 174 pounds.

Lehigh claimed the EIWA team title with 158.5 points and four individual champions. Lehigh edged out second-place Navy with 129.0 points and third-place Army West Point at 119.5 points for its fourth straight EIWA championship. The Midshipmen finished the day with one champion at 141 pounds, while Army West Point had two champions and three finish as runner-up.

At-large bids with the NCAA Championships will be announced on March 9, and the brackets and seeding released on March 10. The 2021 NCAA Championships will take place on March 18-20 from Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Team Score
1. Lehigh 158.5
2. Navy 129
3. Army West Point 119.5
4. Hofstra 106.5
5. Drexel 89.5
6. Bucknell 84.5
7. Binghamton 75.5
8. Sacred Heart 39
9. American 30.5
10. Long Island 24.5

No. 4 Dylan Ryder - 125
Quarterfinal: L by 14-4 maj. dec. vs. No. 5 Micah Rose (Binghamton)
Consolation quarterfinal: W by 11-2 maj. dec. vs. No. 8 Ryan Chauvin (Army West Point)
Consolation semifinal: L by 4-3 dec. vs. No. 3 Gage Curry (American)
Fifth-place match: W by 6-2 dec. vs. No. 6 Brandon Seidman (Bucknell)

No. 5 Garrett Lambert - 133
Quarterfinal: L by 2-0 dec. vs. No. 4 Chandler Olson (Drexel)
Consolation quarterfinal: W by Fall (3:56) vs. No. 9 Kyle Randall (Sacred Heart)
Consolation semifinal: W by 5-3 dec. vs. No. 6 Mark Montgomery (Army West Point)
Third-place match: L by 5-0 dec. vs. No. 2 Darren Miller (Bucknell)

No. 3 Vinny Vespa - 141
Quarterfinal: W by 8-1 dec. vs. No. 6 Drew Witham (Long Island)
Semifinal: L by 10-2 maj. dec. vs. No. 2 Lane Peters (Army West Point)
Consolation semifinal: L by 3-0 dec. vs. No. 5 Julian Flores (Drexel)
Fifth-place match: W by 6-1 dec. vs. No. 6 Drew Witham (Long Island)

No. 4 Greg Gaxiola - 149
Quarterfinal: W by 4-1 dec. vs. No. 5 Matthew Kolonia (Bucknell)
Semifinal: L by 10-4 dec. vs. No. 1 PJ Ogunsanya (Army West Point)
Consolation semifinal: W by Fall (1:06) vs. No. 6 Michael Zarif (Binghamton)
Third-place match: L by 6-2 dec. vs. No. 3 Luke Nichter (Drexel)

No. 1 Holden Heller - 157
Quarterfinal: W by 11-7 dec. vs. No. 9 Matt Swanson (Binghamton)
Semifinal: W by 11-3 maj. dec. vs. No. 5 Jaden Fisher (Bucknell)
Final: W by 6-2 dec. vs. No. 7 Nick Palumbo (Sacred Heart)

No. 3 Ricky Stamm - 165
Quarterfinal: L by 5-1 dec. vs. No. 6 Brian Meyer (Lehigh)
Consolation quarterfinal: W by 5-2 dec. vs. No. 9 Ryan Ferro (Long Island)
Consolation semifinal: L by 3-2 dec. (TB2) vs. No. 5 Evan Barczak (Drexel)
Fifth-place match: W by 4-3 dec. vs. No. 8 Clayton Fielden (Army West Point)

No. 2 Ross McFarland - 174
Quarterfinal: L by 4-3 dec. vs. No. 7 Tim Fitzpatrick (American)
Consolation preliminary: W by Fall (2:03) vs. No. 9 Thomas DiGennaro (Long Island)
Consolation quarterfinal: L by 5-4 dec. vs. No. 6 Vincent Andreano (Bucknell)
Seventh-place match: L by Medical Forfeit (5:03) vs. No. 8 Dean Caravela (Navy)

No. 4 Charles Small - 184
Quarterfinal: W by 3-1 dec. (SV) vs. No. 5 Joe Accousti (Sacred Heart)
Semifinal: L by def. (1:31) vs. No. 1 Lou DePrez (Binghamton)
Consolation Semifinal: W by 3-2 dec. vs. No. 9 Dylan Ammerman (Lehigh)
Third-place match: W by 3-2 dec. vs. No. 3 Taylor Brown (Army West Point)

No. 5 Trey Rogers - 197
Quarterfinal: L by 6-5 dec. vs. No. 4 Bryan McLaughlin (Drexel)
Consolation quarterfinal: W by 11-2 maj. dec. vs. No. 8 Sam DePrez (Binghamton)
Consolation semifinal: L by 4-2 dec. vs. No. 3 Jacob Koser (Navy)
Fifth-place match: W by Medical Forfeit vs. No. 6 Robert Hetherman (Sacred Heart)

No. 4 Zachary Knighton-Ward - 285
Quarterfinal: W by 9-2 dec. vs. No. 5 Joe Doyle (Binghamton)
Semifinal: L by 2-0 dec. vs. No. 1 Jordan Wood (Lehigh)
Consolation semifinal: W by 5-2 dec. vs. No. 7 Sean O'Malley (Drexel)
Third-place match: W by 7-2 dec. vs. No. 5 Joe Doyle (Binghamton)