PHILADELPHIA, PA..— Juniors
Joshua Kim and
Philip Conigliaro both punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships on day two of the 2023 EIWA Championships. The Crimson now has four athletes heading to Tulsa after
Yaraslau Slavikouski and
Diego Sotelo clinched their spots yesterday. The last time the Crimson sent four athletes to the NCAA Championships was in 2012. Later, Slavikouski finished in third place at 285 after defeating No. 5 Goldin in the third-place match.
"I'm Just really happy for the guys." Head Coach
Jay Weiss said on Sunday evening. "It's such a grueling weekend. I thought this morning we weren't going to be able to buy a win but then they fought back and four qualified and very close to having five."
"Phil going from losing in the first round to climbing all the way back for fourth was awesome, especially after what he's been through this season." He continued. "Yara got upset this morning in the semis and came firing back for third. Josh finally getting a much overdue NCAA bid in dramatic fashion in OT was amazing. Diego getting a bid was incredible and watching Trevor coming so close in his senior year was memorable as well."
"I'm looking forward to heading to Tulsa with this group. It's been a while since we had four qualify so it will be a great trip."
As a team, Harvard finished in eighth place with a total of 63 points. The Crimson had one third-place finisher, two fourth-place finishers, and a fifth-place finisher.
Harvard Highlights
- After clinching his spot in the national tournament, Diego Sotelo fell to No. 1 Brett Ungar in OT, No. 6 Ethan Berginc, and No. 5 Nick Babin to close out the EIWA Championships.
- Joshua Kim upset No. 4 Barczak with a takedown in OT to move on and keep his tournament hopes alive. The junior fell to No. 3 Ogunsanya in a close 5-4 decision setting up a win-or-go-home situation for Kim. Kim defeated No. 7 Harkins in OT for his second overtime victory of the day to send him to the NCAA championships.
- Junior Philip Conigliaro battled back after losing in the first round to clinch a spot in the NCAA tournament after upsetting No. 2 Incontrera. It is the third season in a row Conigliaro has qualified for the NCAA Championships.
- Senior Trevor Tarsi saw his impressive run fall just short after falling to No. 5 Lukez via a 9-6 decision.
- Yaraslau Slavikouski defeated Ben Goldin on his way to claiming third place at 285.
