Lehigh sending eight to NCAAs as seeds, brackets announced Wednesday
3/12/2014 6:46:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Brackets | NCAA Release | Release on ESPN Coverage
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh will send a total of eight wrestlers to next week's NCAA Championships as the NCAA announced its at-large qualifiers Wednesday afternoon before unveiling the brackets for the three-day national tournament in Oklahoma City Wednesday evening. Senior Joey Napoli and sophomores Laike Gardner and John Bolich earned at-large berths, joining the five Mountain Hawks who qualified automatically based on their finishes at the EIWA Championships.
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Three of Lehigh's NCAA qualifiers earned seeds, led by sophomore Mason Beckman who earned the No. 6 seed at 133, while four of the Mountain Hawks who did not earn seeds will face wrestlers seeded No. 2 or No. 3 in their opening matches, creating a challenging road for the Brown and White to navigate.
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The NCAA Wrestling committee announced the 33 wrestlers who qualified at each weight class throughout the day Wednesday with the seeds and first round pairings announced online Wednesday evening. New this year, the committee seeded the top 16 wrestlers in each weight class up from the top 12 in recent years.
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Beckman earned the highest seed among Lehigh's eight qualifiers. The recently-crowned EIWA Champion at 133 will open with Gregory Rinker of Air Force, the West Regional champion and a Lehigh Valley native who attended Northampton High School.
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Freshman Elliot Riddick garnered perhaps the most pleasant surprise as he earned the No. 9 seed at 174. Riddick, who wrestled back from an early loss to finish third in the EIWA, will face Pete Renda of North Carolina State in the first round in the first of two matches between the Mountain Hawks and Wolfpack.
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Lehigh's third seeded wrestler is freshman Mitch Minotti, who earned the No. 15 seed at 149. The Midlands Champion and EIWA runner-up will face the winner of a pigtail bout between Hofstra's Cody Ruggirello and Davidson's Kevin Birmingham in the first round. Minotti defeated Ruggirello 12-5 in the EIWA semifinals on Sunday.
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The Mountain Hawks' other two automatic NCAA qualifiers face tough opening draws. Coming off a strong third place finish in the EIWA, freshman Darian Cruz will meet No. 3 seed and two-time returning finalist Nico Megaludis of Penn State in round one at 125. Sophomore heavyweight Max Wessell also took third in the EIWA, and will open with No. 2 seed Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State.
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None of Lehigh's three at-large qualifiers earned seeds. Gardner drew No. 16 seed Joe Spisak of Virginia for his first match. Gardner defeated Spisak 7-5 in sudden victory at the Northeast Duals in late November. Napoli is headed to his third NCAA tournament and will be challenged right off the bat by Derek St. John of Iowa, the defending national champion, a two-time finalist, and the No. 2 seed at 157. Bolich drew the No. 3 seed at 197, Morgan McIntosh of Penn State. McIntosh won a 10-2 major decision when the Mountain Hawks and Nittany Lions met in November.
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Also on Wednesday the NCAA, in conjunction with television partner ESPN, announced that the order of matches for the NCAA Finals on Saturday March 22 will be decided at the conclusion of the medal round matches Saturday morning. Last year it was announced on selection Wednesday that the finals would begin at 174 and conclude at 165.
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Action at the 84th NCAA Championships begins Thursday March 20 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City and runs through Saturday March 22. Live audio for all of Lehigh's NCAA Tournament action will be broadcast online at Lehighsports.com, while for the first time the entire tournament will be televised by the ESPN family of networks (Sessions 1-3 and 5 on ESPNU, sessions 4 and 6 on ESPN) and streaming coverage of every mat will be available online via ESPN3 and WatchESPN.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh will send a total of eight wrestlers to next week's NCAA Championships as the NCAA announced its at-large qualifiers Wednesday afternoon before unveiling the brackets for the three-day national tournament in Oklahoma City Wednesday evening. Senior Joey Napoli and sophomores Laike Gardner and John Bolich earned at-large berths, joining the five Mountain Hawks who qualified automatically based on their finishes at the EIWA Championships.
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Three of Lehigh's NCAA qualifiers earned seeds, led by sophomore Mason Beckman who earned the No. 6 seed at 133, while four of the Mountain Hawks who did not earn seeds will face wrestlers seeded No. 2 or No. 3 in their opening matches, creating a challenging road for the Brown and White to navigate.
Â
The NCAA Wrestling committee announced the 33 wrestlers who qualified at each weight class throughout the day Wednesday with the seeds and first round pairings announced online Wednesday evening. New this year, the committee seeded the top 16 wrestlers in each weight class up from the top 12 in recent years.
Â
Beckman earned the highest seed among Lehigh's eight qualifiers. The recently-crowned EIWA Champion at 133 will open with Gregory Rinker of Air Force, the West Regional champion and a Lehigh Valley native who attended Northampton High School.
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Freshman Elliot Riddick garnered perhaps the most pleasant surprise as he earned the No. 9 seed at 174. Riddick, who wrestled back from an early loss to finish third in the EIWA, will face Pete Renda of North Carolina State in the first round in the first of two matches between the Mountain Hawks and Wolfpack.
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Lehigh's third seeded wrestler is freshman Mitch Minotti, who earned the No. 15 seed at 149. The Midlands Champion and EIWA runner-up will face the winner of a pigtail bout between Hofstra's Cody Ruggirello and Davidson's Kevin Birmingham in the first round. Minotti defeated Ruggirello 12-5 in the EIWA semifinals on Sunday.
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The Mountain Hawks' other two automatic NCAA qualifiers face tough opening draws. Coming off a strong third place finish in the EIWA, freshman Darian Cruz will meet No. 3 seed and two-time returning finalist Nico Megaludis of Penn State in round one at 125. Sophomore heavyweight Max Wessell also took third in the EIWA, and will open with No. 2 seed Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State.
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None of Lehigh's three at-large qualifiers earned seeds. Gardner drew No. 16 seed Joe Spisak of Virginia for his first match. Gardner defeated Spisak 7-5 in sudden victory at the Northeast Duals in late November. Napoli is headed to his third NCAA tournament and will be challenged right off the bat by Derek St. John of Iowa, the defending national champion, a two-time finalist, and the No. 2 seed at 157. Bolich drew the No. 3 seed at 197, Morgan McIntosh of Penn State. McIntosh won a 10-2 major decision when the Mountain Hawks and Nittany Lions met in November.
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Also on Wednesday the NCAA, in conjunction with television partner ESPN, announced that the order of matches for the NCAA Finals on Saturday March 22 will be decided at the conclusion of the medal round matches Saturday morning. Last year it was announced on selection Wednesday that the finals would begin at 174 and conclude at 165.
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Action at the 84th NCAA Championships begins Thursday March 20 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City and runs through Saturday March 22. Live audio for all of Lehigh's NCAA Tournament action will be broadcast online at Lehighsports.com, while for the first time the entire tournament will be televised by the ESPN family of networks (Sessions 1-3 and 5 on ESPNU, sessions 4 and 6 on ESPN) and streaming coverage of every mat will be available online via ESPN3 and WatchESPN.
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| Weight | Wrestler | Seed | First Round Opponent |
| 125 | Darian Cruz | ----- | No. 3 Nico Megaludis, Penn State |
| 133 | Mason Beckman | 6 | Greg Rinker, Air Force |
| 141 | Laike Gardner | ----- | No. 16 Joe Spisak, Virginia |
| 149 | Mitch Minotti | 15 | Cody Ruggirello, Hofstra or Kevin Birmingham, Davidson |
| 157 | Joey Napoli | ----- | No. 2 Derek St. John, Iowa |
| 174 | Elliot Riddick | 9 | Pete Renda, N.C. State |
| 197 | John Bolich | ----- | No. 3 Morgan McIntosh, Penn State |
| 285 | Max Wessell | No. 2 Nick Gwiazdowski |
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