Season outlook: Once young Mountain Hawks now deep, experienced team
11/3/2015 3:39:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
The Lehigh wrestling program continues to trend upward, as the Mountain Hawks prepare for the 2015-16 season. Last year a young, but talented Lehigh squad went 14-6 in duals and finished fourth at the NWCA National Duals. Once again armed with the slogan "Eyes on March," the Mountain Hawks finished second in the EIWA and enjoyed another successful run at the NCAA Championships, crowning three All-Americans for the second straight year and producing the program's sixth national finalist since 2011.
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With four All-Americans and 11 NCAA qualifiers returning, expectations will be high for the Mountain Hawks in 2015-16. Head coach Pat Santoro enters his eighth season with a 42-man roster. The young wrestlers who have thrived in recent years are now seasoned and accomplished veterans. Behind them is a number of young, talented grapplers that will contribute to what could be the deepest Lehigh team in quite some time. The Mountain Hawks have their "Eyes on March" as they begin the new season. The goals remain the same: producing national champions and All-Americans in March, but the Mountain Hawks are also committed to picking up more victories on the season's final day in March in New York.
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"Expectations are high for everybody this year," Santoro said. "We're excited about our team. We have good senior leadership, good junior leadership and some young guys coming up. It's a good mix but we really need our leaders to be leaders at this point. People need to rise to the occasion because it gets really competitive really early."
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The four returning All-Americans include a pair of fifth-year seniors in Mason Beckman and Nathaniel Brown. Beckman is a two-time All-American at 133 while Brown finished second at 184 in earning his first All-America medal last season. Junior Mitch Minotti has earned All-America honors in each of his first two seasons while sophomore Darian Cruz returns after reaching the podium as a true freshman in 2014. Junior Randy Cruz is a two-time EIWA Champion who just missed being an All-American last year. With six other NCAA qualifiers on the roster, Lehigh's once-young talent has grown into an experienced core. As many as seven or eight starters could have junior or senior eligibility, allowing the young talent in the room time to develop.
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"It's a great group," Santoro said. "It's one of the best groups I've been around in terms of leadership and accountability. Bottom line is we need to stay healthy and wrestle really intense if we want to have a fun year."
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To prepare for March, Santoro has lined up another challenging schedule that includes six home duals and matchups with five of the top 10 finishers at last year's NCAA Championships.
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"We have a lot of work to do," Santoro said. "We throw them into the fire early in the year with a lot of quality teams so we're going to find out pretty quickly what we need to work on. That's why we scheduled so tough early on."
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Here's a weight by weight look at what to expect from the Mountain Hawks in 2015-16:
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125 – In 2014, Darian Cruz became Lehigh's first true freshman All-American since 1980 with a seventh place finish at the NCAA Championships. Cruz deferred his eligibility last year and had a strong 22-3 season that ended with him winning Lehigh's Deferred Eligibility Wrestler of the Year award. Junior Cody Kievman will back up Cruz. Scott Parker, a NCAA qualifier as a true freshman last season, will likely defer his eligibility.
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133 – Mason Beckman will bid to become a three-time All-American after finishing sixth at this weight class in each of the last two seasons. Beckman led Lehigh with 30 victories last season and came back from a first round loss to earn All-America honors. Behind Beckman on the depth chart are sophomores Jon Mele and Dean Somers, deferred freshman Camden Fischer, and talented true freshman Ryan Pomrinca from New Jersey.
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141 – Randy Cruz came back from a deferral year to win his second career EIWA title in his first season at this weight class. Cruz finished one win short of earning All-America honors last season. Freshman Cortlandt Schuyler had a strong season while deferring his eligibility last year. Also in the mix are true freshmen David Pipa and Tyler Casamenti.
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149 – This may be Lehigh's deepest weight class. Sophomore Drew Longo is the incumbent. Longo continued to improve as the year went on and ended up placing sixth in the EIWA, narrowly missing on an automatic berth to NCAAs. Junior Laike Gardner went 18-6 in his deferred year while moving up to this weight class. Junior Will Switzer is also back and has seen varsity action at this weight in the past. Also providing depth here will be sophomore Brandon Diaz and talented freshmen Jordan Kutler, Kent Lane and Chase Gallik.
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157 – Mitch Minotti moved up a weight class and became a two-time All-American despite missing most of the fall semester due to injury. Minotti finished eighth at 157 after taking sixth at 149 as a freshman. Deferred freshmen Ian Brown and Gordon Wolf and true freshman Cole Walter also figure in here along with senior Mike Stepien and junior Matt Bonshak.
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165 – Second-year freshmen Ryan Preisch and Dylan Milonas will likely battle it out here. Preisch had an impressive deferred year, going 16-5 with several impressive victories. Milonas won his first three varsity bouts before suffering an injury that ultimately ended his season. Behind Preisch and Milonas are senior Will Sullivan, junior Billy Ramsey and freshmen Paul Dunn and Charlie Sell.
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174 – Elliot Riddick came up one win short of earning All-America honors at this weight as a freshman in 2014. Last year, Riddick bumped two classes to 197, but he has decided to come back down to 174 for his junior season. He will vie for time with another fourth-year junior in Ben Haas, who deferred eligibility last season after competing in his first two seasons at 165. Ryan Preisch or Dylan Milonas could also bump up to challenge here.
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184 – A deferral year in 2013-14 paid dividends for Nathaniel Brown, who earned his first All-America medal and reached the NCAA finals at 184. Brown went 29-6 a year ago and was Lehigh's Outstanding Athlete at the year-end Lewis Wrestling Dinner. He seeks his second All-America medal in his final season in the Brown and White. Freshmen Garett Stehley and Andrew Price are behind Brown.
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197 – Senior John Bolich backed up Elliot Riddick last year but enjoyed a strong 15-3 season that featured several noteworthy wins. A NCAA qualifier in 2014, Bolich appears to be in line for a return to the starting lineup. Senior David Quackenbos and deferred freshman Thomas Murray will provide depth at this weight class.
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285 – The Mountain Hawks have two former NCAA qualifiers at this weight with both men looking to battle back from injuries. Junior Doug Vollaro qualified for nationals with a fourth-place finish at the EIWA Championships, but was unable to compete after suffering an injury in the EIWA third place match. Senior Max Wessell qualified for NCAAs in 2014 but missed all of last season due to injury. Freshman Christian Colucci will have time to develop behind the two veterans.
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The Mountain Hawks will open the dual meet season on Friday when they travel to Lewisburg, Pa. to face Bucknell at 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 with coverage beginning at 6:45.
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With four All-Americans and 11 NCAA qualifiers returning, expectations will be high for the Mountain Hawks in 2015-16. Head coach Pat Santoro enters his eighth season with a 42-man roster. The young wrestlers who have thrived in recent years are now seasoned and accomplished veterans. Behind them is a number of young, talented grapplers that will contribute to what could be the deepest Lehigh team in quite some time. The Mountain Hawks have their "Eyes on March" as they begin the new season. The goals remain the same: producing national champions and All-Americans in March, but the Mountain Hawks are also committed to picking up more victories on the season's final day in March in New York.
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"Expectations are high for everybody this year," Santoro said. "We're excited about our team. We have good senior leadership, good junior leadership and some young guys coming up. It's a good mix but we really need our leaders to be leaders at this point. People need to rise to the occasion because it gets really competitive really early."
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The four returning All-Americans include a pair of fifth-year seniors in Mason Beckman and Nathaniel Brown. Beckman is a two-time All-American at 133 while Brown finished second at 184 in earning his first All-America medal last season. Junior Mitch Minotti has earned All-America honors in each of his first two seasons while sophomore Darian Cruz returns after reaching the podium as a true freshman in 2014. Junior Randy Cruz is a two-time EIWA Champion who just missed being an All-American last year. With six other NCAA qualifiers on the roster, Lehigh's once-young talent has grown into an experienced core. As many as seven or eight starters could have junior or senior eligibility, allowing the young talent in the room time to develop.
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"It's a great group," Santoro said. "It's one of the best groups I've been around in terms of leadership and accountability. Bottom line is we need to stay healthy and wrestle really intense if we want to have a fun year."
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To prepare for March, Santoro has lined up another challenging schedule that includes six home duals and matchups with five of the top 10 finishers at last year's NCAA Championships.
Â
"We have a lot of work to do," Santoro said. "We throw them into the fire early in the year with a lot of quality teams so we're going to find out pretty quickly what we need to work on. That's why we scheduled so tough early on."
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Here's a weight by weight look at what to expect from the Mountain Hawks in 2015-16:
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125 – In 2014, Darian Cruz became Lehigh's first true freshman All-American since 1980 with a seventh place finish at the NCAA Championships. Cruz deferred his eligibility last year and had a strong 22-3 season that ended with him winning Lehigh's Deferred Eligibility Wrestler of the Year award. Junior Cody Kievman will back up Cruz. Scott Parker, a NCAA qualifier as a true freshman last season, will likely defer his eligibility.
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133 – Mason Beckman will bid to become a three-time All-American after finishing sixth at this weight class in each of the last two seasons. Beckman led Lehigh with 30 victories last season and came back from a first round loss to earn All-America honors. Behind Beckman on the depth chart are sophomores Jon Mele and Dean Somers, deferred freshman Camden Fischer, and talented true freshman Ryan Pomrinca from New Jersey.
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141 – Randy Cruz came back from a deferral year to win his second career EIWA title in his first season at this weight class. Cruz finished one win short of earning All-America honors last season. Freshman Cortlandt Schuyler had a strong season while deferring his eligibility last year. Also in the mix are true freshmen David Pipa and Tyler Casamenti.
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149 – This may be Lehigh's deepest weight class. Sophomore Drew Longo is the incumbent. Longo continued to improve as the year went on and ended up placing sixth in the EIWA, narrowly missing on an automatic berth to NCAAs. Junior Laike Gardner went 18-6 in his deferred year while moving up to this weight class. Junior Will Switzer is also back and has seen varsity action at this weight in the past. Also providing depth here will be sophomore Brandon Diaz and talented freshmen Jordan Kutler, Kent Lane and Chase Gallik.
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157 – Mitch Minotti moved up a weight class and became a two-time All-American despite missing most of the fall semester due to injury. Minotti finished eighth at 157 after taking sixth at 149 as a freshman. Deferred freshmen Ian Brown and Gordon Wolf and true freshman Cole Walter also figure in here along with senior Mike Stepien and junior Matt Bonshak.
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165 – Second-year freshmen Ryan Preisch and Dylan Milonas will likely battle it out here. Preisch had an impressive deferred year, going 16-5 with several impressive victories. Milonas won his first three varsity bouts before suffering an injury that ultimately ended his season. Behind Preisch and Milonas are senior Will Sullivan, junior Billy Ramsey and freshmen Paul Dunn and Charlie Sell.
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174 – Elliot Riddick came up one win short of earning All-America honors at this weight as a freshman in 2014. Last year, Riddick bumped two classes to 197, but he has decided to come back down to 174 for his junior season. He will vie for time with another fourth-year junior in Ben Haas, who deferred eligibility last season after competing in his first two seasons at 165. Ryan Preisch or Dylan Milonas could also bump up to challenge here.
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184 – A deferral year in 2013-14 paid dividends for Nathaniel Brown, who earned his first All-America medal and reached the NCAA finals at 184. Brown went 29-6 a year ago and was Lehigh's Outstanding Athlete at the year-end Lewis Wrestling Dinner. He seeks his second All-America medal in his final season in the Brown and White. Freshmen Garett Stehley and Andrew Price are behind Brown.
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197 – Senior John Bolich backed up Elliot Riddick last year but enjoyed a strong 15-3 season that featured several noteworthy wins. A NCAA qualifier in 2014, Bolich appears to be in line for a return to the starting lineup. Senior David Quackenbos and deferred freshman Thomas Murray will provide depth at this weight class.
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285 – The Mountain Hawks have two former NCAA qualifiers at this weight with both men looking to battle back from injuries. Junior Doug Vollaro qualified for nationals with a fourth-place finish at the EIWA Championships, but was unable to compete after suffering an injury in the EIWA third place match. Senior Max Wessell qualified for NCAAs in 2014 but missed all of last season due to injury. Freshman Christian Colucci will have time to develop behind the two veterans.
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The Mountain Hawks will open the dual meet season on Friday when they travel to Lewisburg, Pa. to face Bucknell at 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 with coverage beginning at 6:45.
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Players Mentioned
133
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
149/157
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
285
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
133/141
/ Men's Wrestling
157/165
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ Men's Wrestling
125/133
/ Men's Wrestling
149/157
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
149/157
/ Men's Wrestling
165/174
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ Men's Wrestling
125/133
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
133
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
174
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
165/174
/ Men's Wrestling
133
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
285
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
285
/ Men's Wrestling
174
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