Thursday, March 20
Oklahoma City, Okla.
12:00 PM
Lehigh University
at
NCAA Championships
Mountain Hawks head to Oklahoma City for NCAA Championships
3/18/2014 8:00:00 AM | Men's Wrestling
Lehigh NCAA Tournament Notes | Lehigh Audio Broadcast | NCAA Wrestling Home
BETHLEHEM, Pa.  – Lehigh's eight qualifiers head to Oklahoma City for the 84th NCAA Wrestling Championships, Thursday through Saturday at Chesapeake Energy Arena, as the national tournament returns to Oklahoma for the first time since 2006. The Mountain Hawks finished second to Cornell at the EIWA Championships and bring eight wrestlers to Oklahoma City looking to improve upon last year's 25th place finish in Des Moines, Iowa.
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Among Lehigh's eight qualifiers are one senior, four sophomores and three freshmen. Three of Lehigh's NCAA tournament entrants are seeded, with EIWA Champion Mason Beckman seeded sixth at 133, freshman Elliot Riddick seeded ninth at 174 and freshman Mitch Minotti seeded 15th at 149.
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In the last three NCAA tournaments, Lehigh has crowned a national champion, placed five wrestlers in the NCAA finals and had eight All-Americans. The Mountain Hawks enter the tournament with no returning All-Americans for the first time since 2010. .
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Beckman became the 124th Lehigh wrestler to win an individual title as he claimed the 133-pound crown at the 110th EIWA Championships at the Palestra. Beckman survived an overtime test in the semifinals before winning a 4-1 decision over Kevin Devoy of Drexel in the finals. Beckman was joined in the finals by Minotti, who suffered a 4-2 loss to top seed Chris Villalonga of Cornell. As a team, the Mountain Hawks finished second with 101 points. Five wrestlers earned automatic bids to the NCAA Championships as sophomore Max Wessell and freshmen Darian Cruz and Riddick all wrestled back to secure third place. A sixth, senior Joey Napoli finished in the top eight in his weight class to earn a spot on the podium, but Napoli defaulted to sixth place after suffering an injury in his semifinal loss.
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Cruz will be the first Mountain Hawk on the mats Thursday when he meets No. 3 seed Nico Megaludis of Penn State in the round of 32 at 125. He will be followed by Beckman, who will follow with Greg Rinker of Air Force.
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Among Lehigh's other seeds, Minotti will face the winner of a pigtail bout between Cody Ruggirello of Hofstra and Kevin Birmingham of Davidson. Riddick drew Pete Renda of North Carolina State.
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In addition to its five automatic qualifiers, three wrestlers earned at-large berths into the field: Napoli and sophomores Laike Gardner (141) and John Bolich (197). Four of the five unseeded Mountain Hawks drew wrestlers seeded either second or third in their weight classes, while Gardner will open with No. 16 seed Joe Spisak of Virginia.
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Lehigh has the fifth most NCAA Champions (27) and the eighth most All-Americans (136) of all Division I wrestling programs. The Brown and White have never won the NCAA Team Championship, coming as close as second in 1939, third in 1965, 1979 and a tie for third in 2004.
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Following a 25th place finish last year, Lehigh will bid to return to the top ten after a one-year hiatus while Iowa, Minnesota and Oklahoma State are expected to battle three-time defending champion Penn State for the team title.
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The 84th NCAA Championships get underway Thursday at 11 a.m. CDT from Chesapeake Energy Arena. The opening round will feature pigtail rounds and preliminaries. Free live audio coverage of all of Lehigh's NCAA Tournament action can be heard for free at Lehighsports.com/showcase.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa.  – Lehigh's eight qualifiers head to Oklahoma City for the 84th NCAA Wrestling Championships, Thursday through Saturday at Chesapeake Energy Arena, as the national tournament returns to Oklahoma for the first time since 2006. The Mountain Hawks finished second to Cornell at the EIWA Championships and bring eight wrestlers to Oklahoma City looking to improve upon last year's 25th place finish in Des Moines, Iowa.
Â
Among Lehigh's eight qualifiers are one senior, four sophomores and three freshmen. Three of Lehigh's NCAA tournament entrants are seeded, with EIWA Champion Mason Beckman seeded sixth at 133, freshman Elliot Riddick seeded ninth at 174 and freshman Mitch Minotti seeded 15th at 149.
Â
In the last three NCAA tournaments, Lehigh has crowned a national champion, placed five wrestlers in the NCAA finals and had eight All-Americans. The Mountain Hawks enter the tournament with no returning All-Americans for the first time since 2010. .
Â
Beckman became the 124th Lehigh wrestler to win an individual title as he claimed the 133-pound crown at the 110th EIWA Championships at the Palestra. Beckman survived an overtime test in the semifinals before winning a 4-1 decision over Kevin Devoy of Drexel in the finals. Beckman was joined in the finals by Minotti, who suffered a 4-2 loss to top seed Chris Villalonga of Cornell. As a team, the Mountain Hawks finished second with 101 points. Five wrestlers earned automatic bids to the NCAA Championships as sophomore Max Wessell and freshmen Darian Cruz and Riddick all wrestled back to secure third place. A sixth, senior Joey Napoli finished in the top eight in his weight class to earn a spot on the podium, but Napoli defaulted to sixth place after suffering an injury in his semifinal loss.
Â
Cruz will be the first Mountain Hawk on the mats Thursday when he meets No. 3 seed Nico Megaludis of Penn State in the round of 32 at 125. He will be followed by Beckman, who will follow with Greg Rinker of Air Force.
Â
Among Lehigh's other seeds, Minotti will face the winner of a pigtail bout between Cody Ruggirello of Hofstra and Kevin Birmingham of Davidson. Riddick drew Pete Renda of North Carolina State.
Â
In addition to its five automatic qualifiers, three wrestlers earned at-large berths into the field: Napoli and sophomores Laike Gardner (141) and John Bolich (197). Four of the five unseeded Mountain Hawks drew wrestlers seeded either second or third in their weight classes, while Gardner will open with No. 16 seed Joe Spisak of Virginia.
Â
Lehigh has the fifth most NCAA Champions (27) and the eighth most All-Americans (136) of all Division I wrestling programs. The Brown and White have never won the NCAA Team Championship, coming as close as second in 1939, third in 1965, 1979 and a tie for third in 2004.
Â
Following a 25th place finish last year, Lehigh will bid to return to the top ten after a one-year hiatus while Iowa, Minnesota and Oklahoma State are expected to battle three-time defending champion Penn State for the team title.
Â
The 84th NCAA Championships get underway Thursday at 11 a.m. CDT from Chesapeake Energy Arena. The opening round will feature pigtail rounds and preliminaries. Free live audio coverage of all of Lehigh's NCAA Tournament action can be heard for free at Lehighsports.com/showcase.
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| Event: | 84th NCAA Championships |
| Dates: | March 20-22, 2014 |
| Session 1: | Thursday, March 20, 12 p.m. (pigtail round, round of 32) |
| Session 2: | Thursday, March 20, 7 p.m. (round of 16 and wrestleback prelims) |
| Session 3: | Friday, March 21, 11 a.m. (quarterfinals and wrestlebacks) |
| Session 4: | Friday, March 21, 8 p.m. (semifinals and wrestlebacks) |
| Session 5: | Saturday, March 22, 11 a.m. (consolation semifinals and medal rounds – 3rd-8th) |
| Session 6: |
Saturday, March 22, 8 p.m. (national finals) All session times listed are Eastern Daylight |
| Location | Oklahoma City, Okla. |
| Arena | Chesapeake Energy Arena (19,599) |
| History: | Lehigh's best finish was second in 1939. The Mountain Hawks finished 25th last year. Penn State is the three-time defending champion. |
| Television: | Sessions 1, 2, 3 and 5 live on ESPNU (SE Dial Position 174, DirecTV channel 208). Sessions 4 (semifinals) and 6 (finals) live on ESPN. |
| Radio: | None |
| Internet: |
FREE live audio of all Lehigh matches at Lehighsports.com/showcase Streaming video of entire tournament on ESPN3/WatchESPN. |
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