Lehigh wrestling readying for 2014-15 season as practice officially begins
10/14/2014 5:31:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh wrestling team began preparations for the 2014-15 season with the official start of practice last Friday in the Caruso Wrestling Complex. The Mountain Hawks had a successful stint of preseason workouts and open room sessions and will now ratchet things up with the annual Brown and White wrestle-offs just over two weeks away and the season-opener versus Hofstra just over three weeks away.
"This is an exciting time of year," explained Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. "It's noticeable on the first official day of practice. The intensity level picks up a little bit. It's similar to when the second semester starts and when the postseason starts there's a different level as the intensity in the room picks up.
"It's exciting because we have a fun team to be around," Santoro continued. "We have a pretty full roster, the biggest we've had since I've been here. We're excited about our young guys. They're hungry and they're working hard. They're being led by some good leaders this year.
(10/14/2014) Wrestling Opens Practice
The Mountain Hawks have one of their largest rosters in recent years, with 40 wrestlers listed. Freshmen in their first year at Lehigh make up more than a quarter of the roster, while Lehigh also has brought in three wrestlers that competed for other programs last year. Graduate students Santiago Martinez (UCF) and Marshall Peppelman (Cornell) will use their final seasons of eligibility in the Brown and White, while Jonathan Mele comes to Lehigh after one season at Clarion University.
Martinez and Peppelman are the only two Mountain Hawks using their final season of eligibility so while the team remains relatively young, many of the returning wrestlers have already posted significant achievements early in their Lehigh careers.
Lehigh finished 18th at last year's NCAA Championships with three All-Americans; all of whom return for the 2014-15 season: junior Mason Beckman, sophomore Mitch Minotti and sophomore Darian Cruz. Sophomore Elliot Riddick finished just one win shy of All-America honors as a freshman at 174 and is expected to bump up to 197 for his sophomore season. In addition junior Nathaniel Brown and sophomore Randy Cruz return after winning EIWA titles in 2013 and deferring their eligibility last year.
In all, Lehigh's roster features eight wrestlers who qualified for last year's NCAA Championships, plus Brown and Randy Cruz, who qualified last year.
The upperclass group will be challenged by a freshman class that was ranked in the top 20 nationally. Among the ten true freshmen who competed in high school last year are InterMat top 100 recruits Dylan Milonas and Scott Parker, plus Pennsylvania state champion Ian Brown.
"We have a lot more depth than we've had in the past," explained Santoro, who begins his seventh season as head coach. "It's pretty good depth. The best part about it they're a good group that gets along really well; a tight-knit group. In this sport there's going to be a lot of adversity, a lot of ups and downs throughout a long season. This team has responded in the past and hopefully we will continue to do that."
With 40 men on the roster, the Mountain Hawks have improved depth as the enter the new season, especially at 125 where there are 5-6 options including Darian Cruz, Parker and Mele, plus junior Cody Kievman, sophomore Artem Timchenko and freshman Camden Fischer.
Santoro's main focus for the team is to simply improve on a daily basis, but with the start of the season rapidly approaching and Lehigh set to face a tough November schedule, the Mountain Hawks will be going up against tough competition right away.
"We jump right into the fire," Santoro said. "We start with Hofstra and go right in to Penn State and Pittsburgh. November is a really big month."
The 2014-15 season begins with annual Brown and White Wrestle-offs, set for Thursday October 30, inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The dual meet opener is set for the following Thursday, November 6, when Lehigh hosts Hofstra. Tickets for all home duals are now on sale and can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by visiting LehighTickets.com.
Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
"This is an exciting time of year," explained Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. "It's noticeable on the first official day of practice. The intensity level picks up a little bit. It's similar to when the second semester starts and when the postseason starts there's a different level as the intensity in the room picks up.
"It's exciting because we have a fun team to be around," Santoro continued. "We have a pretty full roster, the biggest we've had since I've been here. We're excited about our young guys. They're hungry and they're working hard. They're being led by some good leaders this year.
The Mountain Hawks have one of their largest rosters in recent years, with 40 wrestlers listed. Freshmen in their first year at Lehigh make up more than a quarter of the roster, while Lehigh also has brought in three wrestlers that competed for other programs last year. Graduate students Santiago Martinez (UCF) and Marshall Peppelman (Cornell) will use their final seasons of eligibility in the Brown and White, while Jonathan Mele comes to Lehigh after one season at Clarion University.
Martinez and Peppelman are the only two Mountain Hawks using their final season of eligibility so while the team remains relatively young, many of the returning wrestlers have already posted significant achievements early in their Lehigh careers.
Lehigh finished 18th at last year's NCAA Championships with three All-Americans; all of whom return for the 2014-15 season: junior Mason Beckman, sophomore Mitch Minotti and sophomore Darian Cruz. Sophomore Elliot Riddick finished just one win shy of All-America honors as a freshman at 174 and is expected to bump up to 197 for his sophomore season. In addition junior Nathaniel Brown and sophomore Randy Cruz return after winning EIWA titles in 2013 and deferring their eligibility last year.
In all, Lehigh's roster features eight wrestlers who qualified for last year's NCAA Championships, plus Brown and Randy Cruz, who qualified last year.
The upperclass group will be challenged by a freshman class that was ranked in the top 20 nationally. Among the ten true freshmen who competed in high school last year are InterMat top 100 recruits Dylan Milonas and Scott Parker, plus Pennsylvania state champion Ian Brown.
"We have a lot more depth than we've had in the past," explained Santoro, who begins his seventh season as head coach. "It's pretty good depth. The best part about it they're a good group that gets along really well; a tight-knit group. In this sport there's going to be a lot of adversity, a lot of ups and downs throughout a long season. This team has responded in the past and hopefully we will continue to do that."
With 40 men on the roster, the Mountain Hawks have improved depth as the enter the new season, especially at 125 where there are 5-6 options including Darian Cruz, Parker and Mele, plus junior Cody Kievman, sophomore Artem Timchenko and freshman Camden Fischer.
Santoro's main focus for the team is to simply improve on a daily basis, but with the start of the season rapidly approaching and Lehigh set to face a tough November schedule, the Mountain Hawks will be going up against tough competition right away.
"We jump right into the fire," Santoro said. "We start with Hofstra and go right in to Penn State and Pittsburgh. November is a really big month."
The 2014-15 season begins with annual Brown and White Wrestle-offs, set for Thursday October 30, inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The dual meet opener is set for the following Thursday, November 6, when Lehigh hosts Hofstra. Tickets for all home duals are now on sale and can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by visiting LehighTickets.com.
Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Players Mentioned
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125
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133/141
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125/133
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125/133
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165/174
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125/133
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