Lehigh University
Wrestle-Offs
Lehigh kicks off season with annual wrestle-offs
11/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Wrestling
 |
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh fans caught their first look at the 2008-09 edition of the Mountain Hawks with the annual wrestle-offs, held Sunday afternoon in front of over 1,200 fans inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The Mountain Hawks delivered a little bit of everything in the ten bouts, which ended up being split 5-5 between wrestlers wearing brown and white as Lehigh continued to prepare for its season opener against No. 17 Maryland next Sunday.
The afternoon’s slate of matches began at 125 with deferred freshman John McDonald taking on sophomore Mitch Berger. McDonald started an afternoon trend of big takedown numbers racking up five in a 12-5 decision.
Junior captain Matt Fisk followed up with six takedowns of his own and cruised to a 16-3 win over sophomore Mike Margherita at 133.
At 141, junior Seth Ciasulli was challenged by true freshman Justin Koren in his first bout since bumping up a weight, but a first period takedown proved to the be the difference in a 3-2 win for Ciasulli.
Next up was senior captain Trevor Chinn who made it two wins by major decision for the White team. Chinn scored seven takedowns in a 18-6 major decision over Matt Croshal at 149.
The other one-point bout of the day came at 157 as riding time proved to be the deciding factor as Sean Bilodeau edged Brian Tanen 5-4.
After a ten minute intermission, junior Mike Galante delivered the only fall of the wrestle-offs, as he hit a cement job on sophomore Tim Buirkle and pinned him in just 1:08.
Sophomore Alex Caruso took the mat next against freshman Robert Hamlin at 174. Hamlin was game, but Caruso totaled three takedowns in the first period and finished with five in the match as he prevailed 12-5.
At 184, junior David Craig made his return to action after missing the second semester of last season, and was impressive in an 11-1 major decision over freshman Robert Prigmore.
One of the more anticipated bouts came at 197 with junior Alex Iacocca and true freshman Joe Kennedy squaring off. Each wrestler showed some spark offensively, as they exchanged takedowns, but Kennedy scored late in the first and second periods and added a two point nearfall as he went on to prevail by an 11-5 score.
The final bout of the afternoon pitted junior Justin Allen and deferred freshman Zach Rey. It was Rey who scored a takedown in each period and scored a reversal to open the third en route to an 8-5 win in the final match of the afternoon.
“I think our guys were a little apprehensive early on,” said Santoro about his team’s first public appearance in front of the home fans. “They we’re not engaging enough in terms of hand fighting. We were not crisp, but it was the first time out and I think we are getting there.
Santoro concluded, “We’re opening up with Maryland next weekend and I know they’re pretty excited about coming up here, so we’ve got to be ready for them, and we’ll be working towards that this week.”
The Mountain Hawks will open the 2008-09 season next Sunday when No. 17 Maryland visits Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The match gets underway at 1 p.m. and Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (610) 7LU-GAME or visiting the Lehigh ticket office, located in Grace Hall.
|
Weight |
Matchup |
Result |
|
Score/Time |
|
125 |
John McDonald (Brown) |
dec. |
Mitch Berger (White) |
12-5 |
|
133 |
Matt Fisk (White) |
maj. dec. |
Mike Margherita (Brown) |
16-3 |
|
141 |
Seth Ciasulli (Brown) |
dec. |
Justin Koren (White) |
3-2 |
|
149 |
Trevor Chinn (White) |
maj. dec. |
Matt Croshal (Brown) |
18-6 |
|
157 |
Sean Bilodeau (Brown) |
dec. |
Brian Tanen (White) |
5-4 |
|
165 |
Mike Galante (White) |
Fall |
Tim Buirkle (Brown) |
1:08 |
|
174 |
Alex Caruso (Brown) |
dec. |
Robert Hamlin (White) |
12-5 |
|
184 |
David Craig (White) |
maj .dec. |
Robert Prigmore (Brown) |
11-1 |
|
197 |
Joe Kennedy (Brown) |
dec. |
Alex Iacocca (White) |
11-5 |
|
285 |
Zach Rey (White) |
dec. |
Justin Allen (Brown) |
8-5 |
Attendance – 1,223
Refereee – Ken Daws
Photos © 2008, Specialty Photographic. Used with permission.
