Friday, March 21
Oklahoma City, Okla.
8:00 PM
Lehigh University
at
NCAA Championships
Lehigh crowns two more All-Americans, Minotti falls short in semifinals
3/21/2014 11:29:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Listen to Saturday's Medal Round | Session III Recap | Session IV Brackets and Team Scores | Day Two Photo Gallery
OKLAHOMA CITY – Sophomore Mitch Minotti fell short in his bid to reach the NCAA finals but two other Mountain Hawks joined him in earning All-America honors Friday night in session four of the NCAA Championships at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Freshman Darian Cruz and sophomore Mason Beckman both won their first matches Friday night to earn All-America status giving Lehigh three All-Americans in the 2014 championship.
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"This is a really important tournament for Lehigh wrestling, with two freshmen and a sophomore getting on the podium," said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. "This was a class we were excited about a couple years ago, and they came on nicely this year. This is a resilient group. They didn't get too high with the highs or too low with the lows. They're just having fun, and when you have fun, good things will happen."
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Lehigh enters the final day of competition in 18th place with 28.5 points.
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Cruz and Beckman gave Lehigh a boost early in Friday's evening session with wins in the round of 12.
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At 125, Cruz edged No. 10 seed David Terao of American 3-2 in the tiebreakers to become Lehigh's ninth freshman All-American (and second of the tournament) and its first true freshman All-American since Rich Santoro and Jim Reilly accomplished the feat in 1980.
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Cruz and Terao were tied 1-1 through regulation and the first sudden victory period. In the first half of the tiebreak, Terao appeared to be headed to ride out the 30 second period but Cruz scored a reversal in the final seconds of the period to go up 3-1. Terao escaped in his half of the tiebreaker but Cruz stood his ground defensively to pick up the victory.
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In his next match, Cruz fell to No. 16 seed Joey Dance of Virginia Tech 4-1. The key move in the match came in the third period when Dance caught Cruz on his back for a two point near fall while Cruz was headhunting. Cruz will wrestle for seventh place on Saturday against Earl Hall of Iowa State.
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Beckman earned All-America honors for the first time in his career following a 6-1 decision over Cornell's Mark Grey at 133. The sixth-seeded Beckman rode out the second period escaped early in the third to lead 1-0. A second stall warning against Beckman tied the match at 1-1 but Beckman held a riding time advantage. Grey, the No. 15 seed, tried a desperation cement mixer but Beckman caught the Big Red freshman on his back for a takedown and two point near fall before adding the riding time point to account for the final score.
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In the consolation quarterfinals, Beckman scored takedowns in each of the first two periods to defeat the No. 12 seed Joe Roth of Central Michigan 6-3. Beckman can finish anywhere from third to sixth and will face No. 1 seed Joe Colon of Northern Iowa in the consolation semifinals.
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Minotti came up short in his bid to become Lehigh's first freshman NCAA finalist since 2003 as he fell 5-2 to No. 11 seed Josh Kindig of Oklahoma State. The No. 15 seed at 149, Minotti escaped to take the lead early in the second period but Kindig scored a takedown off a re-shot and rode out the remainder of the period. Kindig added a reversal in the third period plus riding time advantage to deny Lehigh its sixth national finalist in the last four years.
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"Mitch has wrestled a really good tournament," Santoro said. "Josh Kindig is a really good wrestler – a national finalist. You can't take anything away from what Mitch has accomplished so far. There's no negative to his tournament.
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The loss drops Minotti into the consolation semifinals where he will face the No. 9 seed Eric Grajales of Michigan in a rematch of the Midlands finals won by Minotti 5-4 in a tiebreaker. Minotti can finish anywhere between third and sixth as well.
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"These guys are going out there and fighting," Santoro said. "They're fighting and their having fun. That's all we ask of them and they're doing it. There's no downside to this tournament. We're going to continue to build off this. We have a lot of work to do. We know that, and we're excited about it."
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Lehigh entered Friday night's session with a chance for four All-Americans but freshman Elliot Riddick dropped a 1-0 decision to Bryce Hammond of Cal State Bakersfield at 174. The only point of the match came from an escape by Hammond at the start of the third period. Riddick's freshman season ends at 25-12.
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A tight three-team race has developed for the team title with Penn State taking a 91-90.5 lead over Minnesota heading to Saturday's competition. Oklahoma State is lurking in third place just 3.5 points behind the Nittany Lions.
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The Mountain Hawks' three All-Americans will compete in the medal round Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. CT from Chesapeake Energy Arena. The medal round will be televised on ESPNU and ESPN3 with audio of all five Lehigh matches available at Lehighsports.com. The NCAA finals are set for 7 p.m. CT Saturday night.
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Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season
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Semifinals
149 – No. 11 Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 15 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) 5-2
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Fourth Round Consolations
125 – Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec. No. 10 David Terao (American) 3-2, t.b.
133 – No. 6 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. No. 15 Mark Grey (Cornell) 6-1
174 – Bryce Hammond (CSU-Bakersfield) dec. No. 9 Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) 1-0
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Consolation quarterfinals
125 – No. 16 Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) dec. Darian Cruz (Lehigh) 4-1
133 – No. 6 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. No. 12 Joe Roth (Central Michigan) 6-3
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OKLAHOMA CITY – Sophomore Mitch Minotti fell short in his bid to reach the NCAA finals but two other Mountain Hawks joined him in earning All-America honors Friday night in session four of the NCAA Championships at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Freshman Darian Cruz and sophomore Mason Beckman both won their first matches Friday night to earn All-America status giving Lehigh three All-Americans in the 2014 championship.
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"This is a really important tournament for Lehigh wrestling, with two freshmen and a sophomore getting on the podium," said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. "This was a class we were excited about a couple years ago, and they came on nicely this year. This is a resilient group. They didn't get too high with the highs or too low with the lows. They're just having fun, and when you have fun, good things will happen."
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Lehigh enters the final day of competition in 18th place with 28.5 points.
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Cruz and Beckman gave Lehigh a boost early in Friday's evening session with wins in the round of 12.
Â
At 125, Cruz edged No. 10 seed David Terao of American 3-2 in the tiebreakers to become Lehigh's ninth freshman All-American (and second of the tournament) and its first true freshman All-American since Rich Santoro and Jim Reilly accomplished the feat in 1980.
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Cruz and Terao were tied 1-1 through regulation and the first sudden victory period. In the first half of the tiebreak, Terao appeared to be headed to ride out the 30 second period but Cruz scored a reversal in the final seconds of the period to go up 3-1. Terao escaped in his half of the tiebreaker but Cruz stood his ground defensively to pick up the victory.
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In his next match, Cruz fell to No. 16 seed Joey Dance of Virginia Tech 4-1. The key move in the match came in the third period when Dance caught Cruz on his back for a two point near fall while Cruz was headhunting. Cruz will wrestle for seventh place on Saturday against Earl Hall of Iowa State.
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Beckman earned All-America honors for the first time in his career following a 6-1 decision over Cornell's Mark Grey at 133. The sixth-seeded Beckman rode out the second period escaped early in the third to lead 1-0. A second stall warning against Beckman tied the match at 1-1 but Beckman held a riding time advantage. Grey, the No. 15 seed, tried a desperation cement mixer but Beckman caught the Big Red freshman on his back for a takedown and two point near fall before adding the riding time point to account for the final score.
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In the consolation quarterfinals, Beckman scored takedowns in each of the first two periods to defeat the No. 12 seed Joe Roth of Central Michigan 6-3. Beckman can finish anywhere from third to sixth and will face No. 1 seed Joe Colon of Northern Iowa in the consolation semifinals.
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Minotti came up short in his bid to become Lehigh's first freshman NCAA finalist since 2003 as he fell 5-2 to No. 11 seed Josh Kindig of Oklahoma State. The No. 15 seed at 149, Minotti escaped to take the lead early in the second period but Kindig scored a takedown off a re-shot and rode out the remainder of the period. Kindig added a reversal in the third period plus riding time advantage to deny Lehigh its sixth national finalist in the last four years.
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"Mitch has wrestled a really good tournament," Santoro said. "Josh Kindig is a really good wrestler – a national finalist. You can't take anything away from what Mitch has accomplished so far. There's no negative to his tournament.
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The loss drops Minotti into the consolation semifinals where he will face the No. 9 seed Eric Grajales of Michigan in a rematch of the Midlands finals won by Minotti 5-4 in a tiebreaker. Minotti can finish anywhere between third and sixth as well.
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"These guys are going out there and fighting," Santoro said. "They're fighting and their having fun. That's all we ask of them and they're doing it. There's no downside to this tournament. We're going to continue to build off this. We have a lot of work to do. We know that, and we're excited about it."
Â
Lehigh entered Friday night's session with a chance for four All-Americans but freshman Elliot Riddick dropped a 1-0 decision to Bryce Hammond of Cal State Bakersfield at 174. The only point of the match came from an escape by Hammond at the start of the third period. Riddick's freshman season ends at 25-12.
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A tight three-team race has developed for the team title with Penn State taking a 91-90.5 lead over Minnesota heading to Saturday's competition. Oklahoma State is lurking in third place just 3.5 points behind the Nittany Lions.
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The Mountain Hawks' three All-Americans will compete in the medal round Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. CT from Chesapeake Energy Arena. The medal round will be televised on ESPNU and ESPN3 with audio of all five Lehigh matches available at Lehighsports.com. The NCAA finals are set for 7 p.m. CT Saturday night.
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Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season
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Semifinals
149 – No. 11 Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 15 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) 5-2
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Fourth Round Consolations
125 – Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec. No. 10 David Terao (American) 3-2, t.b.
133 – No. 6 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. No. 15 Mark Grey (Cornell) 6-1
174 – Bryce Hammond (CSU-Bakersfield) dec. No. 9 Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) 1-0
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Consolation quarterfinals
125 – No. 16 Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) dec. Darian Cruz (Lehigh) 4-1
133 – No. 6 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. No. 12 Joe Roth (Central Michigan) 6-3
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