Santoro welcomes nine newcomers to Lehigh wrestling program
6/2/2011 4:58:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro has announced the addition of nine student-athletes who will join the Mountain Hawks program in the fall. The incoming class covers the entire lineup and features a group of wrestlers that have combined for eight state titles. Seven of the nine newcomers hail from Pennsylvania, while New York and New Jersey are also represented in the class.
“What I like about this group as a whole is that they're all good kids,” Santoro explained. “They're good people and good students along with being good wrestlers. A lot of them have goals of being national champions so they're excited. It's a nice sized class that will add 
a lot to the room. We'll have a couple guys that can make an impact right away.”
a lot to the room. We'll have a couple guys that can make an impact right away.”The top-ranked wrestler in the incoming class is Mason Beckman, who comes to Lehigh from Reynolds High School in Pennsylvania. Beckman posted a 196-12 career record and was 98-0 over his last two seasons en route to a pair of PIAA AA state titles. His 196 career wins set a new Pennsylvania AA record once held by former Lehigh captain Matt Fisk. Beckman, who projects at 125, is ranked sixth nationally and second at his weight class by InterMat. Among his numerous accomplishments were four district and regional titles, three championships at the Manheim Holiday Tournament and two wins at both the prestigious Walsh Ironman and King of the Mountain tournaments.
John Bolich from Upper Moreland High School in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania continued to improve as his high school career progressed. Bolich finished with a 138-22 career mark and placed at the state tournament in each of his final two seasons. As a junior, Bolich took seventh at 160 before bumping up to 189 for his senior season where he went 41-1 and placed third in the state after winning sectional, district and regional titles. He is also active in freestyle and Greco-Roman, and recently won a gold medal in freestyle at the FILA Cadet Pan-Am championships in Brazil.
The second PIAA AA state champion in the class is Nathaniel Brown from Lewisburg High School. A four-time state qualifier, Brown placed third, then second and then first in his final three years. He went 38-0 in his senior season, and was 78-1 over his past two seasons. Ninety five of Browns 149 career wins came by fall. Brown projects at 174 for Lehigh. He is ranked 52nd nationally and fourth at his high school weight of 171 by InterMat.
The lone New Yorker in the incoming class, Jimmy Carucci comes from Shenendehowa high school, the same school that produced current Lehigh sophomore Austin Meys. Carucci qualified for the state tournament as a senior after moving to Shenendehowa and finished the year with a 39-6 record, finishing fourth in the state at 140. He is a two-time state qualifier and a three-year team captain with a career mark of 125-42.
Jack Delia comes to Lehigh from North Hunterdon High School in New Jersey and will bring depth to the heavyweight position. Delia amassed a 109-29 career record including a 75-2 mark over the last two years with both losses coming in the state finals. A multi-sport athlete (football and lacrosse) who did not take up wrestling until the ninth grade, Delia won district, region and county titles and also won the John Goles and Hopatcong Invitational championships in each of his final two years.
Another talented lightweight from Pennsylvania, Chris Dinnien joins the Mountain Hawks from Germantown Academy. Dinnien amassed a 171-25 career record with 102 falls. A four-time Pennsylvania state champion for prep and independent schools, Dinnien is a four-time place winner at the National Prep Championships, hosted by Lehigh at Stabler Arena, including a runner-up finish at 125 as a senior. Dinnien, who projects at 125 or 133 for Lehigh, is a NHSCA All-American, a two-time Beast of the East place winner, has twice placed in the top 12 at the Walsh Ironman and is a member of the PA Junior National Freestyle team.
Dave Quackenbos arrives at Lehigh from Red Lion High School and will provide depth in the upper weights for the Mountain Hawks. A projected 197-pounder, Quackenbos posted a 96-24 career record in high school including a 35-3 mark as a senior. Wrestling at 215 in his final two and a half years of high school, Quackenbos placed fourth in his region as a junior and third in his region as a senior, as he qualified for his first state tournament. As a senior, Quackenbos won titles at the Tophat, Conestoga Valley and King of the Mountain tournaments.
Rounding out the group of 2011 graduates is Matt Tadich from Norwin High School in North Huntingdon, Pa. Tadich transferred to Norwin for his senior season after spending time at Blair Academy and Shady Side Academy. His career record of 94-18 includes an eighth place finish at the 2011 PIAA AAA tournament, capping off a 35-5 year. He also reached the round of 12 at the Walsh Ironman as a sophomore. Tadich projects at 141 or 149 for Lehigh.
Santoro addressed the fact that seven of the nine members in the class hail from the Keystone State.
“You always recruit nationally, but we love to bring in Pennsylvania kids,” he said. We're a Pennsylvania school. Any time you can get local kids or Pennsylvania kids it's a big thing because Pennsylvania has great wrestling. The sport attracts great crowds and parents can watch their kids wrestle in Grace Hall which is one of the best places anywhere to wrestle.”
The final member of the incoming class is Eric Hess, who was originally part of Lehigh's 2010 recruiting class, but was forced to defer his enrollment to the University while successfully battling Hodgkin's Disease. Hess comes from Benton High School where he amassed a 155-14 career record and won AA state titles in each of his final two seasons, while placing second as a sophomore. He posted a pair of top-three finishes at the Powerade tournament and placed at the NHSCA sophomore and junior nationals. Early in his senior season, Hess placed in a pair of college open tournaments, taking third at the East Stroudsburg Open and sixth at the Nittany Lion Open. Hess projects at 157 or 165 for Lehigh and recently returned to competition by going 4-2 at University Nationals in Akron, Ohio in late April.
“We're really excited to have Eric Hess come in this year,” Santoro said. “He went through his rehab and got a clean bill of health. He competed last month and did fairly well for someone who had not competed in a year. He's an outstanding person. We're really excited about having him come here. He has some outstanding leadership qualities and will make an immediate impact on our guys.”
Lehigh's incoming class has already received high marks from several national media outlets. The class was recently ranked ninth by TheOpenMat.com and 15th by InterMat.
“The guys in this group are excited to come in and compete right away,” Santoro said. There are some guys in this class who are willing to do what it takes to make sure that happens. We also have a lot of good people coming back so next year is going to be very interesting.”
In addition to the nine newcomers, Lehigh returns nine starters, including eight NCAA Qualifiers, three All-Americans and national champion Zack Rey for the 2011-12 season.
Lehigh Wrestling Incoming Class for Fall 2011
|
Name
|
Hometown/High School
|
Projected Wt.
|
|
Mason Beckman
|
Reynolds, Pa./Reynolds
|
125
|
|
John Bolich
|
Willow Grove, Pa./Upper Moreland
|
184
|
|
Nathaniel Brown
|
Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg
|
174
|
|
Jimmy Carucci
|
New Hartford, N.Y./Shenendehowa
|
141
|
|
Jack Delia
|
Lebanon, N.J./North Hunterdon
|
285
|
|
Chris Dinnien
|
Ambler, Pa./Germantown Academy
|
125/133
|
|
Eric Hess
|
Benton, Pa./Benton
|
157/165
|
|
David Quackenbos
|
Brogue, Pa./Red Lion
|
197
|
|
Matt Tadich
|
North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin
|
141/149
|
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