Mountain Hawks return to action at the Midlands
12/28/2009 11:15:00 AM | Men's Wrestling
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – No. 11 Lehigh returns to action after a one-month layoff at the prestigious Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern. The Mountain Hawks have been off since going 2-1 at the Journeymen/Asics Northeast Duals Thanksgiving weekend. Lehigh brings a contingent of 12 wrestlers to one of the nation’s premier in-season tournaments, led by third-ranked heavyweight Zach Rey. Five Mountain Hawks are ranked in the latest InterMat poll, with seniors Seth Ciasulli and David Craig both having a good chance to join Rey as top-8 seeds.
The Midlands is a national invitational/open event for outstanding college teams, clubs and individuals. It is one of the premier wrestling events in the nation, annually drawing 350 of the country’s best wrestlers. The Midlands is in its 47th year, with Lehigh sending a contingent of wrestlers to Evanston for the first time since 2004, and a full squad for the first time since 2002. Over 30 colleges will send wrestlers to this year’s Midlands. The top ten teams from last year all return, including defending champion Iowa and top five teams Iowa State, Missouri, Wisconsin and host Northwestern.
The Mountain Hawks are making their first trip to the Midlands since 2004 and their first full-squad entry since 2002. It is believed to be the 29th time in 47 tournaments that Lehigh will have at least one wrestler entered in the Midlands. Lehigh undergraduates have won three Midlands titles, with Jon Trenge capturing titles in 2002 and 2004 and Darryl Burley winning as an undergrad in 1981. Burley was also a three-time finalist. Tihamer Toth-Fejel ‘76 was a five-time Midlands placer as a post-graduate competitor and also won a Midlands title.
While the Midlands Championships will mark the first time this season Lehigh’s starting lineup will compete in a tournament setting, the Mountain Hawks have had wrestlers compete in five open tournaments this year. Lehigh wrestlers have earned a total of 17 places in open tournaments this season. The Mountain Hawks most recent action came at the Nittany Lion Open on December 6. Nineteen Lehigh wrestlers entered the tournament, including several starters. Rey claimed Lehigh’s second open tournament title with a win at heavyweight, with Mike Galante, Alex Caruso, Joey Napoli and Brian Tanen all placing as well. All five men have seen action in duals for Lehigh this season. Caruso also owns an open title this year, as he won the East Stroudsburg Open in November.
Rey has been Lehigh’s best wrestler through the first part of the season. The New Jersey native, who reached the EIWA Finals and the All-America Round of 12 last year, has opened this season with 13 straight victories to climb to No. 3 in the latest polls. Rey is a perfect 8-0 in dual meets and went 5-0 to take the title at the Nittany Lion Open, defeating Missouri’s Junior World Champion Dominique Bradley along the way. Rey went 23-6 last year as a freshman, and is currently the only Lehigh regular without a loss this season.
Napoli is the latest in a recent string of true freshmen who have earned starting spots in the Lehigh lineup. Since the start of the 2005-06 season, eight true freshmen have started duals for the Brown and White, including Joe Kennedy last season. Napoli made his dual debut at the Northeast Duals last month, dropping a pair of matches. He owns a 12-6 overall record and has placed third at both the Clarion and Nittany Lion Opens this season.
Seeds and brackets for the 47th Midlands Championships are expected to be announced Monday evening. Competition begins Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. Central time from Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena. Action continues all day Tuesday and Wednesday with the finals slated for a 7 p.m. start Wednesday night.
Midlands Preview with Steve Lomangino
