PHILADELPHIA, PA.. – Harvard wrestling had a successful first day at the EIWA Championships as both
Diego Sotelo and
Yaraslau Slavikouski booked their tickets to the 2023 NCAA Championships in Tulsa, OK. Senior
Trevor Tarsi is also still alive at 157 as he awaits a semi-final matchup against No. 2 Josh Humphreys.
"It's always a roller coaster ride but I like how the guys are fighting." Head Coach Jay Wiess said on Saturday evening. "We got some big wins today and were close on others. Everyone is competing hard. We have a big round in the morning, and I believe they will come out firing."
Yaraslau Slavikouski won both his matchups today as the senior came into the tournament ranked No. 1 at 285. He defeated No. 16 Alex Semenenko via technical fall before defeating No. 9 Brendan Furman 7-2 to officially clinch his ticket to the NCAA Championships. Slavikouski will face No. 4 Nathan Taylor tomorrow on his hunt to win the EIWA Championship at 285.
Diego Sotelo defeated No. 14 Robert Sagaris via a 6-1 decision to open his EIWA tournament. The standout sophomore then beat No. 5 Nick Babin via a 4-1 decision to book his ticket to the NCAA Championships. Sotelo was the first athlete in the tournament to clinch a spot in Tulsa. Sotelo will face No. 1 Brett Ungar in the semi-final matchup tomorrow.
The Crimson in team play came in at No. 8 with a total of 42.5 points.
Harvard Highlights
- Trevor Tarsi had a great day for the Crimson as he also reached the semi-finals at 157. With only three spots available at 157, Tarsi will need to win one of his next two matches to advance to Tulsa. The No. 6 seed, Tarsi opened the tournament with a 9-6 decision over No. 11 Nick Delp before a big upset over No.3 Ceaser Alvan via a 6-4 decision to advance to the semi-finals. The senior will meet No.2 Josh Humphreys to open play tomorrow.
- Joshua Kim remains alive after defeating No. 11 Connor Herceg via a 7-4 decision. Kim fell earlier in the day to No. 1 Julian Ramirez in a close 3-1 matchup. The Junior opened the day by defeating Val Park via a fall in 7:26. Kim will face No. 4 Evan Barczak in the consolation round of four.
- Philip Conigliaro advanced to the consolation round of four after falling in his first matchup of the day. Conigliaro went on to beat No. 15 Sam Barnes via a 9-4 decision before upsetting No. 3 Mickey O'Malley via a 5-2 decision to stay alive. The EIWA's reigning champ at 174 will face off against No. 13 Jake Logan to begin play tomorrow.
