The EIWA Championships celebrate their 107th tournament by coming to Bucknell for the first time ever. The host Bison wrestling squad and Head Coach Dan Wirnsberger hope to impress the home town crowd with the progress they have made in the five short years since wrestling was reinstated as a varsity sport.

A renaissance of sorts has been taking place in the EIWA in recent years. While the traditional powers of Cornell, Lehigh, Navy and Penn are still very much alive and well, some new powers have emerged to challenge the leaders. That includes Bucknell, which crowned its first EIWA Champion and All-American last season. American University and Rutgers have also become part of the EIWA elite, as both have consistently been in lists of the Top 20 dual meet teams all season.

Cornell has been ranked #1 all season, except for a brief time after they had a hiccup when visiting arch-rival Lehigh in January, where the Mountain Hawks upset them 17-15. The Big Red have won the last four team championships, and are odds-on favorites to win #5 this weekend.

Cornell coach Rob Koll brings six wrestlers who will come into the tournament with either the #1 or #2 seed. That includes Mack Lewnes, a three-time champion at 165 and 174, and Cam Simaz, a two-time champion at 197. Sophomore Kyle Dake brings a lot of horsepower to the Big Red lineup as a returning EIWA and NCAA champion, and Mike Grey is a returning champion at 133. Justin Kerber is a likely finalist at 165, while Steve Bosak is a co-favorite at 184.

Lehigh, the only team to defeat Cornell all season, is probably the only team that can possibly steal the team title from the Big Red. The Mountain Hawks have eight wrestlers who figure to be seeded fifth or higher, but they will have to score a number of upsets, especially when they meet Cornell wrestlers late in the tournament.

Lehigh coach Pat Santoro has only one defending champion in Zach Rey who has been ranked the #1 heavyweight in the nation all season. Sophomore Robert Hamlin is a co-favorite with Bosak at 184, and may cop the #1 seed based on a dual meet win over Bosak. 

Frank Cagnina is an exciting true freshman at 133 who may grab the #2 seed after a late-season win over Rollie Peterkin of Penn. Another true freshman, Stephen Dutton, has been coming on strong in the late season, and could have stolen the #1 seed after beating two Top 10 wrestlers in the last four days of the dual meet season. At 165, Brandon Hatchett had a lateseason win over Scott Winston of Rutgers, and projects to be a finalist. Red shirt freshman Austin Meys may see former teammate Alex Caruso of Rutgers again in the semifinals, while Joe Kennedy will be looking for a rematch with Simaz.

Barring heroics from Lehigh, there will be a spirited battle for second place involving Penn, Rutgers, and American.

The Penn Quakers have been flying under the radar most of the season, but they have some outstanding individuals who could propel them to a high finish. The team leader is former champion Rollie Peterkin, who took last season off after placing 1,2 in 2008-09. Peterkin has been ranked as high as fourth in the nation at 133 this season, and could give Grey, who defeated him 10-5 in the dual, all he can handle in a rematch. But first heʼll have to win the rematch with Cagnina in the semifinals.

Zack Kemmerer is another senior who is a probable finalist at 141. Kemmerer, who placed third a year ago, is the highest returning placer at this weight. Lightweight Mark Rappo has been overlooked by the rankers all season, but he defeated Princetonʼs Garrett Frey, ranked EIWA #1 at the time, in the dual. The Burak brothers present a double threat for coach Rob Eiter at 165 and 197. Micah, a sophomore, has been ranked #2 behind Simaz all season, while Gabriel is a threat to make the finals at 165.

Scott Giffin was runnerup at 174 a year ago, but missed most of the dual meet season with an injury. He returned to the Quaker lineup in February, but injury defaulted against Lehigh in his last bout, so he may be questionable.

Rutgers coach Scott Goodale has developed the Scarlett Knights into a true national power. The Scarlet Knights have 21 dual meet wins, and have been ranked in the Top Ten in recent weeks. While they probably wonʼt draw any #1 seeds, they are a well-balanced team which can score place points at all ten weights.

Their leaders are sophomore Scott Winston, who was third in 2009 before taking a year off, and Alex Caruso who transferred in from Lehigh after completing his undergraduate work. Junior D. J. Russo, ranked in the Top Five nationally most of the season, holds down the heavyweight spot, while Mario Mason, who transferred in from Minnesota where he was just one win short of All-American status last season.

American, under coach Mark Cody, has developed a reputation for developing top-notch individuals who develop into All-Americans and National Champions. The Eagles are led by senior Steve Fittery, who has been ranked #1 at 157 all season. Ryan Flores is a junior who was heavyweight champion for Columbia in 2009 before transferring and taking last season off from competition.

The Eagles have six other wrestlers who figure to place high in the tournament, and if they perform as expected, American could place high in the tournament.

Some 50 or more wrestlers will qualify for the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia in two weeks. About 40 of these will qualify based on how they place in this tournament, with the others named by an NCAA committee a few days later.

Here is a closer look at each weight class.

125 - While Cornellʼs Perelli may draw the #1 seed over Pennʼs Rappo, this is a weight class where any one of seven wrestlers can beat the other six on any given day. Garrett Frey of Princeton has been ranked #1 during the season, and Joe Langel of Rutgers has a win over him. Freshman Nick Arujau broke into the American lineup late in the season, and Aaron Kalil of Navy has been looking strong in the late season. Harvardʼs Steven Keith is a returning EIWA 3rd who upset Perretti on the last day of the dual meet season. Donʼt count out Bucknell sophomore Derek Reber, who placed third here in 2009.

133 - Cornellʼs Grey missed most of the dual meet season with an injury, but will draw the #1 seed based on a 10-5 win over Pennʼs Peterkin. Lehigh freshman Cagnina upset Peterkin in the dual, and will likely get a rematch in the semifinals. Possible NCAA qualifiers are Jordan Thome of Army, Kyle Gilchrist of Columbia and F&M senior Jake Bucha. Bucknell freshman Alex Pellicotti is a possible place winner here.

141 - This is one of the toughest weight classes in the tournament. Lehighʼs Dutton and Pennʼs Kemmerer will be the likely top seeds, but there are plenty of challengers, including Trevor Melde of Rutgers and Matt Mariacher of American. Casey Thome of Army and Corey Manson of Cornell are likely NCAA Qualifiers.

149 - Cornellʼs Dake is up a weight this season, but appears to be nearly unbeatable. His most likely challenger will be Bucknell senior Kevin LeValley, who is ranked #2 in the nation. Rutgers sophomore Mario Mason and American junior Ganbayar Sanjaa are also highly ranked and will be looking for upset opportunities. Lehighʼs Napoli had a late-season upset over Mason, and may be ready to challenge the leaders.

157 Fitteryʼs finals opponent is expected to be Bryce Saddoris of Navy, last yearʼs runnerup who was a champion at 149 two seasons ago. But he was defeated in a late season dual by Daryl Cocozzo of Rutgers, so their likely semifinal bout will be critical. In another deep weight class, D. J. Meagher of Cornell and Walter Peppelman of Harvard will also be looking to pull off the key upset.

165 - Cornellʼs Kerber may get the #1 seed, but he has three strong challengers. Scott Winston of Rutgers was third two seasons ago and sat out last season, while Lehighʼs Brandon Hatchett was second a year ago, thanks to a semifinal win over Kerber. Hatchett also won the dual this season, and they could meet again in the semifinals. Donʼt overlook Gabriel Burak of Penn.

174 - As a three-time defending champion, Lewnes is the easy choice here. Fans will be looking forward to a possible match between Caruso of Rutgers and Alex Meys of Lehigh, who often worked out with each other in the Lehigh wrestling room last season. Pennʼs Giffin was runnerup last season, while Matt DeMichiel of Navy is another strong candidate to make the finals.

184 - As noted above, Hamlin and Bosak are co-favorites here. Both are ranked in the Top six in the nation. The two primary challengers are Luke Rebertus of Navy and Dan Rinaldi of Rutgers.

197 - Two-time defending champion Simaz is the heavy favorite here, with his chief challenger being Micah Burak of Penn. Also in the hunt are Danny Mitchell of American and Joe Kennedy of Lehigh, who upset Burak in their dual. Bucknellʼs Jay Hahn has been somewhat overlooked during the season, and could mount a challenge.

285 - Rey, ranked #1 in the nation all season, is undefeated and has defeated all of the challengers except Kevin Lester of Columbia. Americanʼs Flores and Russo of Rutgers are both ranked Top Five in the nation, so there should be some classic battles at heavyweight among three athletic heavyweights.