Sunday, November 15
Troy, N.Y.
11:15 AM
Lehigh University
22
vs
12
No. 16 Minnesota
No. 7 Lehigh splits with Big Ten foes Sunday at Northeast Duals
11/15/2015 3:58:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Lehigh Wrestling Tickets
TROY, N.Y. – Bolstered by a first period pin from sophomore Darian Cruz, No. 7 Lehigh won six of ten bouts to defeat No. 16 Minnesota 22-12 in its first of two matches Sunday at the Journeymen/ASICS Northeast Duals. The Mountain Hawks had to settle for a split against Big Ten foes however, as they dropped their second dual of the day 24-6 to No. 10 Nebraska. Lehigh now stands at 2-1 after two weekends of dual competition.
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"We did the little things wrong in both matches," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. "We had our butts to the edge of the mat instead of the center. We didn't have many attempts. Minnesota has a young team and we took advantage of that. We saw some good things from individuals but as a team, we didn't control the center. We stayed on the edge and it cost us a bunch of matches today.
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Cruz started the day strong for Lehigh by pinning Minnesota's Skylar Petry in a battle of ranked wrestlers at 125. Cruz scored an early takedown, rolled Petry into a tilt off a restart and was able to secure the fall at the 1:43 mark.
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Minnesota answered with wins in the next two weight classes as Sam Brancale upset senior Mason Beckman 4-1 behind a third period takedown at 133 and Tommy Thorn knocked off junior Randy Cruz 3-0 at 141 behind a third period reversal and riding time advantage.
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Junior Laike Gardner started a run of three consecutive Mountain Hawk victories with Lehigh's second bonus win of the day. Gardner racked up five takedowns in a 12-3 major decision over Miles Patton at 149 to put the Mountain Hawks up 10-6 after four bouts. Junior Mitch Minotti followed with a 4-2 win over Brandon Kingsley at 157 and a 5-2 decision by freshman Ryan Preisch over Dylan Urbach at 165 put Lehigh up 16-6 with three bouts remaining.
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The Golden Gophers posted their third win of the dual at 174 as Nick Wanzek benefitted from a third period stalling point to edge junior Elliot Riddick 3-2.
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Senior Nathaniel Brown re-established some cushion for the Brown and White with a 9-5 win over Chris Pfarr. Brown had three takedowns and a two point near fall but gave up a late takedown while bidding for a major decision.
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Lehigh clinched the match when sixth-ranked Brett Pfarr could not score bonus points against senior John Bolich in a 7-3 decision.
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Senior Max Wessell closed out the victory with an impressive 10-9 upset over sixth-ranked Michael Kroells at heavyweight. Wessell scored the first three takedowns of the match but trailed 7-6 through two periods. After choosing neutral to start the third period, Wessell took the lead for good with a pair of takedowns and held on after two more Kroells escapes.
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"I liked his aggressiveness," Santoro said of Wessell. "He got a bunch of early takedowns and kept attacking. He got ridden out in the second period but didn't let it affect him. He needed a couple more takedowns in the third period and he got them. That was good because we want our guys to see that you can still win matches when things don't go your way."
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Lehigh's second dual of the day against Nebraska was tighter than the 24-6 match score and 8-2 bout split indicated. All ten bouts were decided by five points or less including three that required overtime. All four returning Mountain Hawk All-Americans were defeated in Lehigh's first loss of the dual season.
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Darian Cruz struck first in his match with Nebraska's Tim Lambert, but the tenth-ranked Cornhusker used a Peterson roll to reverse Cruz and earn four near fall points. The 6-3 deficit proved too much to overcome as Lambert prevailed 10-6.
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The Lehigh-Nebraska match featured six bouts in which both wrestlers appeared in the latest InterMat rankings. The Cornhuskers won four of those six bouts. In addition to Lambert's win, Eric Montoya handed Beckman a 6-1 loss to put Nebraska up 6-0 after two bouts.
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Randy Cruz posted the first of Lehigh's two wins against the Cornhuskers, using a second period reversal and then two point near fall off a cradle to eventually defeat Anthony Abidin 6-4.
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Nebraska went on to win the next five bouts. Gardner and Preisch dropped decisions to fifth-ranked Cornhuskers at 149 and 165, while Minotti was edged in sudden victory by Tyler Berger at 157 and Riddick fell to unranked Micah Barnes at 174. In a matchup of top ten wrestlers at 184, Brown suffered his first loss of the year, 5-3 to TJ Dudley in sudden victory. Dudley had the only two takedowns of the match, including the winner in the final seconds of sudden victory, while Brown was limited to two escapes plus riding time.
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"We need to have attempts if we're going to win matches," Santoro said. "It's something we've been hammering since the start of the season. We can't wrestle with fear. You have to let it ride. The more you shoot, the better you get. That's what we have to work on. Nebraska just put it to us. Give them credit, they shut us down. We lost every swing match, which was tough."
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Lehigh's other win against Nebraska came from Bolich, who scored a takedown in sudden victory to knock off ninth-ranked Aaron Studebaker.
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Wessell's bid to defeat two ranked wrestlers in a day came up short in a 5-0 loss to No. 14 Collin Jensen.
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The Mountain Hawks will open their home schedule with a pair of duals next weekend. Lehigh will host Pitt Friday at 7 p.m. and Edinboro Sunday at 1 p.m. with both matches taking place inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Tickets can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by logging on to LehighTickets.com.
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No. 7 Lehigh 22, No. 16 Minnesota 12
125 – Darian Cruz (Lehigh) Fall Skylar Petry (Minn) 1:43
133 – Sam Brancale (Minn) dec. Mason Beckman (Lehigh) 4-1
141 – Tommy Thorn (Minn) dec. Randy Cruz (Lehigh) 3-0
149 – Laike Gardner (Lehigh) major dec. Miles Patton (Minn) 12-3
157 – Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. Brandon Kingsley (Minn) 4-2
165 – Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) dec. Dylan Urbach (Minn) 5-2
174 – Nick Wanzek (Minn) dec. Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) 3-2
184 – Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) dec. Chris Pfarr (Minn) 5-2
197 – Brett Pfarr (Minn) dec. John Bolich (Lehigh) 7-3
285 – Max Wessell (Lehigh) dec. Michael Kroells (Minn) 10-9
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No. 10 Nebraska 24, No. 7 Lehigh 6
125 – Tim Lambert (Nebraska) dec. Darian Cruz (Lehigh) 10-6
133 – Eric Montoya (Nebraska) dec. Mason Beckman (Lehigh) 6-1
141 – Randy Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Anthony Abidin (Nebraska) 6-4
149 – Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) dec. Laike Gardner (Lehigh) 8-5
157 – Tyler Berger (Nebraska) dec. Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) 7-5 sv
165 – Austin Wilson (Nebraska) dec. Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) 3-1
174 – Micah Barnes (Nebraska) dec. Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) 3-2
184 –TJ Dudley (Nebraska) dec. Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) 5-3 sv
197 – John Bolich (Lehigh) dec. Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) 3-1 sv
285 – Collin Jensen (Nebraska) dec. Max Wessell (Lehigh) 5-0
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TROY, N.Y. – Bolstered by a first period pin from sophomore Darian Cruz, No. 7 Lehigh won six of ten bouts to defeat No. 16 Minnesota 22-12 in its first of two matches Sunday at the Journeymen/ASICS Northeast Duals. The Mountain Hawks had to settle for a split against Big Ten foes however, as they dropped their second dual of the day 24-6 to No. 10 Nebraska. Lehigh now stands at 2-1 after two weekends of dual competition.
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"We did the little things wrong in both matches," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. "We had our butts to the edge of the mat instead of the center. We didn't have many attempts. Minnesota has a young team and we took advantage of that. We saw some good things from individuals but as a team, we didn't control the center. We stayed on the edge and it cost us a bunch of matches today.
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Cruz started the day strong for Lehigh by pinning Minnesota's Skylar Petry in a battle of ranked wrestlers at 125. Cruz scored an early takedown, rolled Petry into a tilt off a restart and was able to secure the fall at the 1:43 mark.
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Minnesota answered with wins in the next two weight classes as Sam Brancale upset senior Mason Beckman 4-1 behind a third period takedown at 133 and Tommy Thorn knocked off junior Randy Cruz 3-0 at 141 behind a third period reversal and riding time advantage.
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Junior Laike Gardner started a run of three consecutive Mountain Hawk victories with Lehigh's second bonus win of the day. Gardner racked up five takedowns in a 12-3 major decision over Miles Patton at 149 to put the Mountain Hawks up 10-6 after four bouts. Junior Mitch Minotti followed with a 4-2 win over Brandon Kingsley at 157 and a 5-2 decision by freshman Ryan Preisch over Dylan Urbach at 165 put Lehigh up 16-6 with three bouts remaining.
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The Golden Gophers posted their third win of the dual at 174 as Nick Wanzek benefitted from a third period stalling point to edge junior Elliot Riddick 3-2.
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Senior Nathaniel Brown re-established some cushion for the Brown and White with a 9-5 win over Chris Pfarr. Brown had three takedowns and a two point near fall but gave up a late takedown while bidding for a major decision.
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Lehigh clinched the match when sixth-ranked Brett Pfarr could not score bonus points against senior John Bolich in a 7-3 decision.
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Senior Max Wessell closed out the victory with an impressive 10-9 upset over sixth-ranked Michael Kroells at heavyweight. Wessell scored the first three takedowns of the match but trailed 7-6 through two periods. After choosing neutral to start the third period, Wessell took the lead for good with a pair of takedowns and held on after two more Kroells escapes.
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"I liked his aggressiveness," Santoro said of Wessell. "He got a bunch of early takedowns and kept attacking. He got ridden out in the second period but didn't let it affect him. He needed a couple more takedowns in the third period and he got them. That was good because we want our guys to see that you can still win matches when things don't go your way."
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Lehigh's second dual of the day against Nebraska was tighter than the 24-6 match score and 8-2 bout split indicated. All ten bouts were decided by five points or less including three that required overtime. All four returning Mountain Hawk All-Americans were defeated in Lehigh's first loss of the dual season.
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Darian Cruz struck first in his match with Nebraska's Tim Lambert, but the tenth-ranked Cornhusker used a Peterson roll to reverse Cruz and earn four near fall points. The 6-3 deficit proved too much to overcome as Lambert prevailed 10-6.
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The Lehigh-Nebraska match featured six bouts in which both wrestlers appeared in the latest InterMat rankings. The Cornhuskers won four of those six bouts. In addition to Lambert's win, Eric Montoya handed Beckman a 6-1 loss to put Nebraska up 6-0 after two bouts.
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Randy Cruz posted the first of Lehigh's two wins against the Cornhuskers, using a second period reversal and then two point near fall off a cradle to eventually defeat Anthony Abidin 6-4.
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Nebraska went on to win the next five bouts. Gardner and Preisch dropped decisions to fifth-ranked Cornhuskers at 149 and 165, while Minotti was edged in sudden victory by Tyler Berger at 157 and Riddick fell to unranked Micah Barnes at 174. In a matchup of top ten wrestlers at 184, Brown suffered his first loss of the year, 5-3 to TJ Dudley in sudden victory. Dudley had the only two takedowns of the match, including the winner in the final seconds of sudden victory, while Brown was limited to two escapes plus riding time.
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"We need to have attempts if we're going to win matches," Santoro said. "It's something we've been hammering since the start of the season. We can't wrestle with fear. You have to let it ride. The more you shoot, the better you get. That's what we have to work on. Nebraska just put it to us. Give them credit, they shut us down. We lost every swing match, which was tough."
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Lehigh's other win against Nebraska came from Bolich, who scored a takedown in sudden victory to knock off ninth-ranked Aaron Studebaker.
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Wessell's bid to defeat two ranked wrestlers in a day came up short in a 5-0 loss to No. 14 Collin Jensen.
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The Mountain Hawks will open their home schedule with a pair of duals next weekend. Lehigh will host Pitt Friday at 7 p.m. and Edinboro Sunday at 1 p.m. with both matches taking place inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Tickets can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by logging on to LehighTickets.com.
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No. 7 Lehigh 22, No. 16 Minnesota 12
125 – Darian Cruz (Lehigh) Fall Skylar Petry (Minn) 1:43
133 – Sam Brancale (Minn) dec. Mason Beckman (Lehigh) 4-1
141 – Tommy Thorn (Minn) dec. Randy Cruz (Lehigh) 3-0
149 – Laike Gardner (Lehigh) major dec. Miles Patton (Minn) 12-3
157 – Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. Brandon Kingsley (Minn) 4-2
165 – Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) dec. Dylan Urbach (Minn) 5-2
174 – Nick Wanzek (Minn) dec. Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) 3-2
184 – Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) dec. Chris Pfarr (Minn) 5-2
197 – Brett Pfarr (Minn) dec. John Bolich (Lehigh) 7-3
285 – Max Wessell (Lehigh) dec. Michael Kroells (Minn) 10-9
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No. 10 Nebraska 24, No. 7 Lehigh 6
125 – Tim Lambert (Nebraska) dec. Darian Cruz (Lehigh) 10-6
133 – Eric Montoya (Nebraska) dec. Mason Beckman (Lehigh) 6-1
141 – Randy Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Anthony Abidin (Nebraska) 6-4
149 – Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) dec. Laike Gardner (Lehigh) 8-5
157 – Tyler Berger (Nebraska) dec. Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) 7-5 sv
165 – Austin Wilson (Nebraska) dec. Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) 3-1
174 – Micah Barnes (Nebraska) dec. Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) 3-2
184 –TJ Dudley (Nebraska) dec. Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) 5-3 sv
197 – John Bolich (Lehigh) dec. Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) 3-1 sv
285 – Collin Jensen (Nebraska) dec. Max Wessell (Lehigh) 5-0
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