Mountain Hawks return to mats at Northeast Duals
11/26/2008 2:15:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh returns from the Thanksgiving holiday with four big matches Saturday at the Journeymen/Brute Northeast Duals. The Mountain Hawks improved to 4-0 on the dual season with a 20-12 upset of No. 9 Michigan in the Sheridan Dual at Stabler Arena on Friday, and then followed with a 41-3 drubbing of Princeton on Sunday. If the Mountain Hawks hope to move to 5-0 in duals for the first time in four years, Lehigh will need to knock-off national power Oklahoma State for the first time in school history. Lehigh will open up a long day of wrestling against the seventh-ranked Cowboys, and will also face UNC Greensboro, Binghamton and Appalachian State on the day.
Three Mountain Hawk wrestlers have survived Lehigh’s first four duals without suffering a loss this season: Trevor Chinn, Mike Galante and David Craig. Chinn, Lehigh’s lone senior starter, has two major decisions among his four wins, and is ranked 14th nationally by InterMat at 149. Craig’s early season success with two falls and a major decision have bumped him to No. 15 at 184. Galante has been one of the most pleasant surprises so far this season for Lehigh, with two wins over ranked wrestlers. The New Jersey native and Blair Academy product placed sixth in the EIWA last season and is hoping to qualify for his first NCAA tournament. He is currently ranked No. 17 at 165.
With 34 NCAA team titles, 133 individual national champions and 422 All-Americans, Oklahoma State lays claim to the title of most successful program in the history of college wrestling. The Cowboys recently won four straight NCAA titles from 2003-2006 and are coming off a fifth-place finish at last year’s NCAA championships. Head coach John Smith’s team features six nationally ranked wrestlers, led by junior Jared Rosholt, who is ranked No. 1 in the nation at 285. Lock Haven transfer Obe Blanc is ranked in the top 10 at 125, while senior Brandon Mason has moved down a weight to 165, where he is currently ranked tenth. Oklahoma State opened its dual season with a 30-9 win over Old Dominion last weekend in Stillwater, Okla.
UNC Greensboro opens its dual season with four matches at the Northeast Duals this weekend. Coach Jason Loukides’ team was 9-9 in duals last season and tied for 41st at last year’s NCAA Championships. UNC Greensboro was picked second in the Southern Conference preseason poll and has competed at the NC State and Virginia Tech Opens as well as the Navy Classic. Freshman Chris Bullins is the Spartans lone ranked wrestler, coming in at No. 19 at 165. UNCG is also lead by senior Chris Bencivenga, a NCAA qualifier at 141, and by Byron Sigmon, who won a SoCon title at 165 last season and has since moved up to 174.
Colonial Athletic Association member Binghamton brings a 2-2 record into the Northeast Duals. The Bearcats hosted the Journeymen/Brute Sprawl and Brawl last weekend, defeating Wagner and American International, while falling to North Carolina and Penn State. Head coach Pat Popolizio led the Bearcats to 13 dual wins a season ago. The Bearcats’ top individual is junior Josh Patterson, who is ranked 17th at 184 and is coming off an impressive win over Penn State’s nationally ranked Phil Bomberger last weekend, a win which upped Patterson’s season record to 8-1.
Lehigh will wrap-up the Northeast Duals against Appalachian State, the Mountain Hawks second Southern Conference opponent of the day. The Mountaineers are 2-1 on the dual season, with wins over Spartanburg Methodist and Gardner-Webb and a home loss to Buffalo. Last weekend, Appalachian State competed at the Keystone Classic, hosted by Penn. Sophomore Austin Trotman led the Mountaineers with a second place finish at 174 as Appalachian State finished sixth of ten teams overall. Trotman is the Mountaineers lone ranked wrestler, coming in at No. 20 at 174. Appalachian State was 14-7 a year ago and finished 38th at the NCAA Championships.
With the exception of Oklahoma State, Lehigh has a very limited history against the teams it will face today. The Mountain Hawks have never faced UNC Greensboro or Appalachian State, and their only meeting with Binghamton was last year at this very event. Lehigh and Oklahoma State are two of the top programs in the history of college wrestling, but the Cowboys have won all eight meetings against the Brown and White.
Action gets underway at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday when Lehigh face off against Oklahoma State at the McDonough Sports Complex at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, N.Y. The Mountain Hawks will then face UNC Greensboro at 1:15 p.m. and Binghamton at 3:15 p.m. before wrapping up with Appalachian State at 5 p.m. The Oklahoma State match can be heard live on Lehighsports.com with streaming audio powered by Yahoo! Sports College Broadcast.
