EWING, N.J.— In his semifinal match at 125, Malik Asfour rallied from an 11-3 deficit to earn a 16-11 win and assure a spot in Eastern Wrestling History as the first male wrestler to qualify for the National Championships. Eastern's men finished 12th of 21 schools at the Region 3 Championships. 

Asfour had the first takedown of the match, but his opponent from TCNJ slipped out and strung together 11-straight points to hold the lead at the period break. Asfour then went to work and tied the match with a dominating second period. He grabbed control of the match with a near-fall early and the third and secured the final point with riding time. With his spot at Nationals secured, Asfour fell to a wrestler from NYU in a 9-5 decision. 

Ryan Mansueto finished fourth at 141. He started the day with a loss in the semifinal but won a match by pin to battle back to the third-place match. He fell behind early and was unable to rally in an 8-1 loss. 

At 133, Jackson Orrell added another win in the consolation bracket but ultimately settled for sixth with losses by decision in the consolation semifinal and in the fifth-place match. Nicholas Delorenzo earned a win by fall in the seventh-place match to close out the scoring for the Eagles. 

After traveling with the Eastern women to Iowa this coming week, the Eastern staff will travel back to the Midwest with Asfour for the Championships on March 13th and 14th.