LaBrie, Butterbrodt Join LaFragola as NCAA Qualifiers, Wrestling Places Eighth at EIWAs

Saturday, March 9

Vestal, NY

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Brown University

EIWA Championships

LaBrie, Butterbrodt Join LaFragola as NCAA Qualifiers, Wrestling Places Eighth at EIWAs

3/9/2019 9:29:00 PM | Wrestling

Final Results

VESTAL, N.Y. – Seniors Christian LaBrie and Ian Butterbrodt punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships, joining senior CJ LaFragola as automatic qualifiers as Brown University wrestling placed eighth as a team at the 115^th Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships on Saturday at Binghamton University's Events Center.

"I am very proud of this team, and the way we wrestled all weekend," Brown head coach Todd Beckerman said. "It was especially exciting to see Christian LaBrie and Ian Butterbrodt qualify for NCAAs for the first time and join CJ as NCAA qualifiers. The NCAA tournament is the apex of the college wrestling season and to watch these seniors qualify was special."

The Bears' eighth-place team finish marked the program's highest finish at EIWAs since 2004. Brown posted three NCAA qualifiers and six EIWA placers in back-to-back years for the first time since 2000.

The NCAA Championships will take place from Mar. 21-23 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa. The NCAA will announce the full field – including at-large qualifiers – on Tuesday, Mar. 12 and the tournament's full bracket on Wednesday, Mar. 13 at 6:00 p.m.

"We are looking forward to having a lot of alumni and fans come out to Pittsburgh in two weeks to watch and cheer on the team," Beckerman said.

Butterbrodt (North Andover, Mass.) placed second at 285 pounds, marking the Bears' highest finish since Dave Foxen won the 174-pound weight class in 2012 and becoming just the second Brown wrestler to reach an EIWA final since 2004. Competing at EIWAs for the third time, he placed for the second time and will make his debut at the NCAA Championships.

LaBrie (Exeter, R.I.) finished the tournament with a 4-2 record, placing fifth. He placed at EIWAs for the first time and will make his first appearance at NCAAs. As part of his run to fifth place, he defeated No. 4 seed Dan Reed of Columbia twice as well as No. 8 seed Kizhan Clarke of American.

LaFragola (Little Egg Harbor, N.J.) finished in fifth place at 184 pounds, placing at EIWAs for the second time and will now make his third consecutive appearance at NCAAs. He topped No. 5 seed Noah Stewart of Army, 3-2, in the fifth-place match.

Senior Jon Viruet (Springfield, Mass.) came in sixth place at 165 pounds, placing at EIWAs for the third time in four appearances. Viruet – who entered the weekend ranked 16^th in the Coaches Ranking and 10^th in the RPI at 165 pounds – will look to earn an at-large berth into NCAAs and make his second appearance at the championships.

Senior Tucker Ziegler (Myersville, Md.) closed his career with an eighth-place finish at 197 pounds, placing at EIWAs for the second straight year while sophomore Hunter Kosco (Canal Fulton, Ohio) came in eighth at 133 pounds, placing at EIWAs for the first time.

In the team standings, the Bears tallied 54 points for eighth place out of 16 schools. Lehigh won the team title with 153 points ahead of second-place Cornell (139) and third-place Princeton (122.5). The Bears finished ahead of fellow Ivy members Penn (10^th, 44.5 points), Columbia (11^th, 43.5), and Harvard (14^th, 11).

Friday Recap

Senior CJ LaFragola earned two wins to punch his ticket to the NCAA Championships at 184 pounds to lead Brown University wrestling on the first day of the 115^th Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships on Saturday at Binghamton University's Events Center.

"It was great to see CJ punch his ticket to the NCAAs for the third straight year and to have six guys place," Brown head coach Todd Beckerman said. "We're looking forward to getting back on the mat tomorrow and seeing how high our six remaining wrestlers can place."

LaFragola (Little Egg Harbor, N.J.) will make his third consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships – which will take place from Mar. 21-23 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa. – after going 2-0 on the day. Competing at EIWAs for the third time, LaFragola – the No. 4 seed at 184 – will wrestle in the semifinals on Saturday and place at the conference tournament for the second time.

The NCAA will announce the full field for the championship on Mar. 12 and unveil the bracket on Mar. 13 at 6:00 p.m.

Senior Ian Butterbrodt (North Andover, Mass.) also gained two wins and will wrestle in the semifinals of 285 pounds on Saturday. Competing at EIWAs for the third time, Butterbrodt – the No. 6 seed at 285 – will place at the event for the second time.

Overall, the Bears had six wrestlers earn place-winner status and remain in contention on Saturday. Seniors Christian LaBrie (Exeter, R.I.), Jon Viruet (Springfield, Mass.), and Tucker Ziegler (Myersville, Md.) and sophomore Hunter Kosco (Canal Fulton, Ohio) join LaFragola and Butterbrodt on the list. Butterbrodt, LaFragola, LaBrie, and Viruet all reached the quarterfinals.

At 157 pounds, LaBrie went 2-1 on the day, including an 11-6 victory over No. 4 seed Dan Reed of Columbia. He will place at EIWAs for the first time. Making his fourth EIWA appearance and placing for the third time, Viruet – the No. 2 seed at 165 pounds – notched a 2-1 record.

Kosco finished 2-1 on the day – including a 3-2 win over No. 6 seed Matt Kazimir of Columbia – at 133 pounds to place for the first time, and Ziegler – the No. 10 seed at 197 pounds – went 2-1 to place at EIWAs for the second time in three appearances.

In the team standings, Brown ranks eighth out of 16 schools with 37 points. Lehigh leads the field with 85 points while both Cornell and Princeton sit in a tie for second with 82 points apiece.

Brown Results:

125 Pounds (Top 4 to NCAAs)
No. 8 Trey Keeley (1-2)
Friday
No. 9 Jakob Campbell (Bucknell) def. Keeley in First Round, Dec. 8-7 TB2
Keeley def. Jacob Allen (Navy) in Consolation, Dec. 8-1
Gage Curry (American) def. Keeley in Consolation, MD 10-2

133 Pounds (Top 4 to NCAAs)
Hunter Kosco (2-3, Eighth Place)
Friday (2-1)
No. 4 Casey Cobb (Navy) def. Kosco in First Round, Dec. 4-3
Kosco def. Alex Salas (Drexel) in Consolation, Fall 3:48
Kosco def. No. 6 Matt Kazimir (Columbia) in Consolation, Dec. 3-2
Saturday (0-2)
No. 7 Zack Trampe (Binghamton) def. Kosco in Consolation, Dec. 9-4
No. 4 Casey Cobb (Navy) def. Kosco in Seventh-Place Match, Dec. 8-5

141 (Top 3 to NCAAs)
No. 9 Theo Powers (0-2)
Friday
No. 8 Wil Gil (Franklin & Marshall) def. Powers in First Round, MD 15-3
Ryan Friedman (Harvard) def. Powers in Consolation, Dec. 4-0

149 (Top 5 to NCAAs)
Zach Krause (0-2)
Friday
No. 4 Jared Prince (Navy) def. Krause in First Round, Dec. 5-0
No. 5 Michael Sprague (American) def. Krause in Consolation, Dec. 6-0

157 (Top 6 to NCAAs)
Christian LaBrie (4-2, Fifth Place)
Friday (2-1)
LaBrie def. No. 4 Dan Reed (Columbia) in First Round, Dec. 11-6
No. 5 Lucas Weiland (Army) def. LaBrie in Quarterfinals, Dec. 10-8 SV
LaBrie def. Christopher Barker (Binghamton) in Consolation, Dec. 7-2
Saturday (2-1)
LaBrie def. No. 8 Kizhan Clarke (American) in Consolation, Dec. 10-7
No. 3 Quincy Monday (Princeton) def. LaBrie in Consolation, TF 17-2
LaBrie def. No. 4 Dan Reed (Columbia) in Fifth-Place Match, Medical Forfeit

165 (Top 4 to NCAAs)
No. 2 Jon Viruet (3-3, Sixth Place)
Friday (2-1)
Viruet def. Tyler Tarsi (Harvard) in First Round, Dec. 6-0
No. 10 Leonard Merkin (Princeton) def. Viruet in Quarterfinals, Dec. 9-7 SV
Viruet def. No. 8 DJ Hollingshead (Bucknell) in Consolation, Dec. 9-3
Saturday (1-2)
Viruet def. No. 6 Laurence Kosoy (Columbia) in Consolation, Dec. 7-4
No. 1 Ebed Jarrell (Drexel) def. Viruet in Consolation, Dec. 6-5
No. 10 Leonard Merkin (Princeton) def. Viruet in Fifth-Place Match, Injury Default

174 (Top 5 to NCAAs)
AJ Pedro (1-1)
Friday
No. 5 Vincent DePrez (Binghamton) def. Pedro in First Round, MD 11-3
Pedro def. Connor Allshouse (American) in Consolation, Dec. 15-11
No. 3 Ben Harvey (Army) def. Pedro in Consolation, Medical Forfeit

184 (Top 6 to NCAAs)
No. 4 CJ LaFragola (3-2, Fifth Place)
Friday (2-0)
LaFragola def. Anthony Walters (Drexel) in First Round, Dec. 7-2
LaFragola def. No. 5 Noah Stewart (Army) in Quarterfinals, Dec. 2-1 TB2
Saturday (1-2)
No. 1 Max Dean (Cornell) def. LaFragola in Semifinals, Dec. 8-4
No. 6 Tanner Harvey (American) def. LaFragola in Consolation, Dec. 6-5
LaFragola def. No. 5 Noah Stewart (Army) in Fifth-Place Match, Dec. 3-2

197 (Top 6 to NCAAs)
No. 10 Tucker Ziegler (2-3, Eighth Place)
Friday (2-1)
No. 7 John Jakobsen (Lehigh) def. Ziegler in First Round, Fall 7:00
Ziegler def. Pierce Bausano (Harvard) in Consolation, MD 10-2
Ziegler def. No. 9 Nezar Haddad (Hofstra) in Consolation, Dec. 3-1
Saturday (0-2)
No. 5 Josh Roetman (Navy) def. Ziegler in Consolation, MD 8-0
No. 3 Rocco Caywood (Army) def. Ziegler in Seventh-Place Match, Dec. 6-2 SV

285 (Top 4 to NCAAs)
No. 6 Ian Butterbrodt (3-0, Second Place)
Friday (2-0)
Butterbrodt def. Daniel Herman (Columbia) in First Round, Dec. 3-0
Butterbrodt def. No. 3 Jeramy Sweany (Cornell) in Quarterfinals, Dec. 6-4
Saturday (1-0)
Butterbrodt def. Antonio Pelusi (Franklin & Marshall) in Semifinals, Dec. 8-3
No. 1 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) def. Butterbrodt in First-Place Match, Medical Forfeit

Team Standings:
1. Lehigh: 153
2. Cornell: 139
3. Princeton: 122.5
4. Army: 106.5
5. Navy: 92.5
6. Binghamton: 78
7. American: 75.5
8. Brown: 54
9. Drexel: 49
10. Penn: 44.5
11. Columbia: 43.5
12. Franklin & Marshall: 31
13. Bucknell: 29.5
14. Harvard: 11
15. Hofstra: 10
16. Sacred Heart: 0