Junior wrestler Matt Valenti earned his second Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association title when he beat Robbie Preston of Harvard in the 133-pound weightclass. The win over Preston was the 100th of his career.
Valenti is the first ever Penn wrestler to reach 100 career victories in his junior year. In all, he is just the sixth to reach the century mark.
Brett Matter holds the all-time Penn mark with 128 victories.
"It's definitely an honor for me," Valenti said. "It's something that has been in the back of my mind."
Valenti was not the only Penn wrestler to achieve success at the EIWA Championships -- the Quakers as a team finished third out of thirteen teams. As projected, Lehigh took first with 129 points. Cornell edged Penn for second place 114.5 to 113.
The Quakers had nine wrestlers seeded in the tournament. Valenti and freshman Matt Dragon (149) were given No. 1 seeds. Both earned the title in their respective weightclasses.
Dragon is the first Penn freshman to win an EIWA title since Mason Lenhard did so in 2001.
"The guys competed well and I was proud of their effort," Penn coach Zeke Jones said.
Jones was especially proud of the fact that every wrestler earned points. Along with the two crowns, Matt Herrington took second, Mike Silengo (125), Cesar Grajales (141) and Dustin Wiles (184) finished third, Gene Zannetti (157) and Paul Velekei (197) finished fifth. Jack Sullivan, who wrestled above his weight at 285, managed to get two victories despite not being seeded.
"Sullivan did a great job for us," Jones said. "He stepped up for us as a true freshman."
"No one expected him to win a match," Valenti said of Sullivan.
Wiles and Grajales were the only Penn wrestlers who finished above their seeds.
Grajales had to beat Sal Tirico of Columbia in order to place third at 141 pounds. After having lost to Tirico two times already -- including a 12-3 major decision earlier in the tournament -- the freshman beat the No. 4 seed 4-3 to get in the last word.
By virtue of finishing third or better at the EIWA Championships, Valenti, Dragon, Herrington, Silengo, Grajales and Wiles will all have the opportunity to compete in the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City.
No Penn wrestler earned a wildcard bid.
The EIWA will be sending 44 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships. This is second only to the Big Ten in NCAA qualifiers. Still, Jones doesn't see the midwestern league as a better one.
"This conference is really second to none; the quality, not the quantity, is just as good as any conference in the country," Jones said. "To be [at EIWAs] for a couple of days is a real treat."
