The EIWA Championships are set to go down March 8-9 and will have the potential to feature the biggest rematch of the season between Ryan Crookham and Vito Arujau at 133 pounds. Crookham shocked the college wrestling world in November when he defeated NCAA & World Champion Arujau but can he do it again at EIWAs or will Vito get revenge? Depending on who wins the rematch, there are also huge NCAA seeding implications for the 133-pound weight class. The article below will explore the matchup, NCAA seeding implications, and more.

How Crookham Pulled Off The Upset Over Vito

Going into their first matchup at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic on November 12, no one was predicting Crookham to defeat Arujau. So, how did he do it? We have the video embedded below for you to watch and see for yourself but I want to break down the match briefly to show how Crookham did the unthinkable and to see where Arujau might make adjustments in the rematch.

First, Crookham displayed incredible single-leg defense and scrambling ability. In total, Arujau was in deep on shots 6 times throughout the match and only finished once. Beyond that, Crookham turned two of those leg attacks into his offense and secured two takedowns off of Arujau’s shots. In the other 3 instances, Crookham was able to scramble and defend long enough to force stalemates. 

The second major factor that led to Crookham's win was his ability to ride in key moments of the match. The first instance of this came at the end of the first period. Arujau tried to rush a single-leg finish and Crookham countered for the takedown to lead 4-3. They went out of bounds with 15 seconds left but Crookham rode Vito out to hold his lead rather than allow the escape to tie the match. 

Then, in the third period, Crookham led 5-3 but Arujau had 1:11 seconds of riding time. If Arujau had escaped in 11 seconds or less, he would have held riding time and the match would have essentially been tied. However, once again, Crookham rode Arujau out just long enough to eliminate riding time and hold his lead. This forced Arujau to take an errant shot and ultimately led to Crookham capitalizing for another takedown to seal the match.

To put it simply, redshirt freshman Crookham wrestled like a seasoned veteran against Arujau. He stifled leg attacks, secured takedowns at the end of periods, and committed to riding when he needed to pull off an incredible upset over Arujau. 

Ryan Crookham’s win over Vito Arujau at the 2023 Journeymen Collegiate Classic:

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What Adjustments Can Vito Make?

I expect Arujau and his team to come up with a game plan for Crookham in the rematch and for Vito to be more prepared for Crookham’s unique style. The first major adjustment I see Arujau making is how he attacks Crookham. Most of Arujau’s attacks were below Crookham’s knees and required extended finishes. Arujau’s only takedown occurred when he converted on a knee pick and finished quickly by capturing both of Crookham’s legs. Because of this, I expect Aruaju to focus on attacks that he can finish quickly, get Crookham’s leg off the mat, and avoid getting into extended scramble positions.

Another area Vito can make adjustments in the rematch is in his match tactics. I know, this is a broad statement but as I mentioned above, Crookham wrestled a more tactical match than Vito and it played a huge part in the outcome of the match. In the first match, Arujau rushed a takedown at the end of the first period which resulted in him being down by a point going into the second period, rather than up by 2 points. Beyond that mistake, Arujau didn’t display the urgency to build any riding time when he secured the first takedown but essentially gave Crookham the escape.  

If Vito is disciplined in his attacks and has a more tactical approach, I believe he’ll have the advantage in the rematch. In fact, on The Bader Show in January, Vito admitted he didn’t really know much about Crookham. I expect him to come more prepared to EIWAs which should result in an incredible 133-pound final.

Vito Arujau on his loss to Ryan Crookham:

NCAA Seeding Implications

The final thing to consider in the Vito-Crookham rematch is how the outcome will influence the NCAA seeds at 133 pounds. One might assume that because Crookham and Arujau are ranked #1 and #2 respectively the winner of EIWAs will be the #1 seed at the NCAA Tournament. However, seeds at NCAAs are determined by a matrix that considers 7 different criteria: head-to-head competition, quality wins, coaches ranking, results against common opponents, qualifying event placement, and win percentage.

With this in mind, and without getting too far into the weeds, it's worth noting that Daton Fix is currently undefeated on the year and has a case for the #1 seed. In fact, according to The Wrestling Nomad, Daton Fix will have the edge in the seeding matrix even if Crookham defeats Arujau again at EIWAs.

Right now I have Daton coming out ahead of Crookham in the matrix if both win their conference, with it really coming down to RPI. pic.twitter.com/z2NxMtzJHB

— The Wrestling Nomad (@wrestlingnomad) March 4, 2024

The seeding committee could choose to move Crookham over Fix but it's more likely Fix remains the #1 seed. It's also worth noting that if Crookham does defeat Arujau again at EIWAs, Arujau could drop to the #4 seed. That means even if Fix does receive the #1 seed, then he'd have Arujau in the semi-finals as the #4 seed.

However, if Arujau gets revenge and wins the rematch at EIWAs, it almost guarantees that Daton Fix will be the number 1 seed (if he wins Big 12) as the only undefeated wrestler. It also opens the door for two other possibilities - 1) Arujau and Crookham to be the #2 and #3 seeds respectively at the NCAA Tournament with a potential rubber match in the NCAA semifinals OR 2) Ragusin jumps Crookham, dropping Crookham to the #4 seed. As you can see, there are a variety of potential seeding outcomes that we don't have the answers to right now...but it's fun to speculate!

Regardless of how the seeds work out, the upcoming match at EIWAs between Arujau and Crookham has the potential to be the best match of the upcoming conference weekend. Will Crookham prove the first match wasn't a fluke? Will Vito get revenge? Will they meet again in the NCAA semis? I can't wait to find out the answer to these questions at the 2024 EIWA Championships!