ITHACA, N.Y. – Sophomore 165-pounder Philip Conigliaro punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships, and three other Crimson wrestlers advanced to day two as Harvard University wrestling competed at the 118^th EIWA Championships on Saturday at Cornell University's Newman Arena.
 
Conigliaro won both of his matchups in the round of 16 and the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals, securing a top-six finish and one of the conference's automatic berths into the NCAA tournament at the weight class.
 
Junior Beau Bayless (125 pounds), senior Lukus Stricker (149 pounds) and junior Trevor Tarsi (157 pounds) all reached the quarterfinals and went 2-1 on the day to advance to the second day of competition on Sunday. All three secured themselves a top-eight placing.
 
In the team standings, Harvard stands in a tie for 10^th out of 17 with 30.5 points. The Crimson totaled 12 wins as a team on the day with eight of the program's nine wrestlers to compete earning at least one victory.

Harvard Highlights

• Sophomore Philip Conigliaro – the No. 3 seed at 165 pounds – went 2-0 on the day to earn a spot in the semifinals and a top-six finish. Ranked No. 6 in the NCAA RPI and No. 11 in the NCAA Coaches Rankings, Conigliaro opened with a 17-2 technical fall in 4:48 over No. 14 seed Blake Bahna of LIU. Conigliaro followed that with a 7-4 victory over No. 6 seed Lucas Revano of Penn in the quarterfinals.
• Conigliaro will meet No. 2 seed Zach Hartman of Bucknell in the semifinals. Conigliaro will place at EIWAs for the second time after finishing third at 165 in 2020. Conigliaro improved to 17-4 on the season with his pair of wins.
• Junior Beau Bayless went 2-1 at 125 pounds to gain a spot in day two competition. The No. 8 seed at 125, he opened with a 6-4 victory over No. 9 seed Antonio Mininno of Drexel. After a setback to the No. 1 seed, Bayless responded with a 6-2 win over No. 11 seed Robbie Sagaris of LIU in the consolation.
• Bayless will meet No. 5 seed Brandon Seidman of Bucknell to begin day two. Bayles moved to 14-12 on the season.
• Senior Lukus Stricker finished the day 2-1 to advance to day two. The No. 7 seed at 149 pounds, he topped No. 10 seed Patrick Ryan, 6-3, in the round of 16. After a setback to the No. 2 seed, Stricker answered with a 12-1 major decision over No. 13 seed Jonathan Miranda of Navy.
• Stricker – ranked No 18 in the NCAA RPI – will face No. 16 seed Marshall Keller of Princeton in his first match on Sunday. Stricker bettered his season record to 18-10 on the year.
• Junior Trevor Tarsi notched a 2-1 mark on the day to continue to day two. The No. 9 seed at 157, he began with a 10-3 decision over No. 8 seed Parker Kropman of Drexel. Following a setback to the No. 1 seed, Tarsi rebounded with a 12-5 win over No. 14 seed Chase McCollum of F&M.
• Tarsi will square off with No. 5 seed Markus Hartman of Army to begin day two. Tarsi moved to 11-11 on the season.
• Sophomore Joshua Kim (174 pounds), sophomore Leo Tarantino (184), sophomore Will Hoeft (197), and first-year Jeffrey Crooks (285) each tallied one win on the day, including a fall for Crooks. Each of Kim's matches came down to a margin of three points or fewer.

Harvard Results

125 Pounds (Top Four to NCAAs)
(8) Beau Bayless
Day One (2-1)
Bayless def. (9) Antonio Mininno (Drexel) in Round of 16, Dec. 6-4
(1) Patrick Glory (Princeton) def. Bayless in Quarterfinals, MD 13-4
Bayless def. (11) Robbie Sagaris (LIU) in Consolation, Dec. 6-2
Day Two
Vs. (5) Brandon Seidman (Bucknell) in Consolation
 
141 Pounds (Top Four to NCAAs)
(12) Michael Jaffe (0-2)
(5) Connor McGonagle (Lehigh) def. Jaffe in Round of 16, Dec. 11-9
(13) JJ Wilson (Cornell) def. Jaffe in Consolation, Fall 1:50
 
149 Pounds (Top Four to NCAAs)
(7) Lukus Stricker
Day One (2-1)
Stricker def. (10) Patrick Ryan in Round of 16, Dec. 6-3
(2) Anthony Artalona (Penn) def. Stricker in Quarterfinals, MD 13-2
Stricker def. (13) Jonathan Miranda (Navy) in Consolation, MD 12-1
Day Two
Vs. (16) Marshall Keller (Princeton) in Consolation
 
157 Pounds (Top Five to NCAAs)
(9) Trevor Tarsi
Day One (2-1)
Tarsi def. (8) Parker Kropman (Drexel) in Round of 16, Dec. 10-3
(1) Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) def. in Quarterfinals, TF 16-0 3:45
Tarsi def. (14) Chase McCollum (F&M) in Consolation, Dec. 12-5
Day Two
Vs. (5) Markus Hartman (Army) in Consolation
 
165 Pounds (Top Seven to NCAAs)
(3) Philip Conigliaro
Day One (2-0)
Conigliaro def. (14) Blake Bahna (LIU) in Round of 16, TF 17-2 4:48
Conigliaro def. (6) Lucas Revano (Penn) in Quarterfinals, Dec. 7-4
Day Two
Vs. (2) Zach Hartman (Bucknell) in Semifinals
 
174 Pounds (Top Four to NCAAs)
(7) Joshua Kim (1-2)
(10) Nate Dugan (Princeton) def. Kim in Round of 16, Dec. 9-6
Kim def. (15) Ross McFarland (Hofstra) in Consolation, Dec. 5-3
(4) Nick Fine (Columbia) def. Kim in Consolation, Dec. 4-1
 
184 Pounds (Top Three to NCAAs)
(14) Leo Tarantino (1-2)
(3) Charles Small (Hofstra) def. Tarantino in Round of 16, Dec. 7-3
Tarantino def.  (11) Logan Deacetis (Bucknell) in Consolation, Dec. 5-2
(8) Brian Bonino (Columbia) def. Tarantino in Consolation, Dec. 3-2
 
197 Pounds (Top Five to NCAAs)
(15) Will Hoeft (1-2)
(2) Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) def. Hoeft in Round of 16, TF 17-2 4:38
Hoeft def. (16) Merv Mancia (American) in Consolation, Medical Forfeit
(7) Nunzio Crowley (LIU) def. Hoeft in Consolation, Dec. 3-1
 
285 Pounds (Top Four to NCAAs)
(16) Jeffrey Crooks (1-2)
Crooks def. (17) Eli Anthony (Drexel) in Round of 32, Fall 6:11
(1) Jordan Wood (Lehigh) def. Crooks in Round of 16, Fall 1:55
(8) Matt Cover (Princeton) def. Crooks in Consolation, Dec. 5-2 

Next Up

Harvard will conclude competition at the EIWA Championships tomorrow – Sunday, March 6. The day's first session begins at 9:50 a.m. prior to the tournament's final session at 3:00 p.m.