After grueling competition at the NCAA national qualifying tournament, which took place on March 9 in Fresno State, Calif., Eastern will be sending two prevailing wrestlers to the national championships .

Fifty competitors from five West Region teams competed in the NCAA meet to qualify for 19 spots in NCAA National Championships, held March 21-23 in Albany, N.Y.

Eastern arrived for competition with a full roster, but not all were able to place in the tournament. Panthers Pat Dowty and Frank DeFilippis stepped up and took their seats at the table of the country’s best, reserving their spots at the championship tournament.

“The competition was fierce,” Eastern wrestling coach Ralph McCausland said. “Fresno and Northern Iowa were ranked all year.”

Louis Taylor took third place in the 174-pound division, after losing a close semi-final match in overtime. Taylor was voted on as a first alternate for the national championship. Jim Kassner finished with a 1-2 record while Dexter Wright, Mike Stanley, Andy Coyle, Sam Smith, Kyle Bracey and Joe Gleissner all finished 0-2 on the day.

“In a tournament like this, one loss can take you out,” McCausland said. “Everything is experience-based leading up until this point, and you have to present yourself here.

“Taylor was very, very close. Frank understood very well, but Pat couldn’t have taken a tougher road to the national tournament.”

DeFilippis took first place for the 159-pound weight class, finishing 2-0. The junior defeated Ben Banca from Fresno State 4-3 in the first round before going on to an overtime tie breaker win over Wyoming’s ranked competitor Lee Provost.

“The final match was really close,” DeFilippis said. “I had an escape with in the first four or five seconds in overtime to win.”

Going into the tournament as the last place seed at 133 pounds, sophomore Pat Dowty had a little bit of a tougher road to victory. Dowty faced four competitors to qualify, wrestling someone from every team.

Dowty lost his first match to a Northern Iowa competitor, who went on to win the entire tournament. Dowty then won the rest of his matches, defeating Air Force’s 133 pounder 6-4. He then locked up and took down No.15 ranked Derek Hayes from Fresno St. 8-5 before finishing the tournament by beating Kelly McConkil, a ranked wrestler from Wyoming.

“I was nervous going in,” Dowty said. “I had a penalty point that cost me in the first match. My back was against the wall. I knew that I had to win, and I worked too hard to let the season end here.”

Going into the tournament, both wrestlers knew where they stood next to the other competitors and used that to motivate themselves to achieve their goals.

“I was excited going in,” DeFilippis said. “We had a really good week of practice and I was confident going in. I just kept telling myself that I worked too hard to lose. I felt like I was going to win because I knew I was better. Believing in myself made it easier.”

Dowty shared a similar attitude at the tournament and turned it on to claim victory.

“My back was against the wall, but I knew I could beat everyone that was there,” he said. “I worked too hard to let it end here.”

After having success qualifying for the national championship, both DeFilippis and Dowty are heading into the NCAA Championships with confidence.

“We have both beaten guys that will be there,” Dowty said. “That gives us a lot of confidence going in.”

DeFilippis shares the same outlook as Dowty.

“We both know we belong there,” DeFilippis said. “This is the best of the best, and we are prepared to win.”