Thursday, March 19
St. Louis, Mo.
12:00 PM
Lehigh University
at
NCAA Championships
Lehigh seeks strong finish at NCAA Championships in St. Louis
3/16/2015 8:51:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Lehigh NCAA Tournament Notes | Audio | Watch ESPN | NCAA Wrestling | Brackets announced
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BETHLEHEM, Pa.  – Lehigh has seven wrestlers competing at the 85th NCAA Wrestling Championships, beginning Thursday at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The Mountain Hawks finished second to Cornell at the EIWA Championships and qualified eight wrestlers for the NCAA Championships. An injury to sophomore heavyweight Doug Vollaro dropped Lehigh's number of entrants to seven, a group that includes two returning All-Americans and five wrestlers who have previously competed at the NCAA Championships.
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The Mountain Hawks finished 18th last year in Oklahoma City with three All-Americans, two of who are back this year: junior Mason Beckman and sophomore Mitch Minotti. Sophomore Randy Cruz won his second EIWA title two weeks ago at Stabler Arena.
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In the last four seasons, Lehigh has produced one NCAA champion, five NCAA finalists and 11 All-Americans. Last year, Beckman and Minotti finished sixth at 133 and 149, respectively, while Darian Cruz placed seventh at 125 to become Lehigh's first true freshman All-American since 1980.
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Sophomore Randy Cruz won the EIWA title at 141 pounds to lead Lehigh at the 111th EIWA Championships at Stabler Arena. Cruz won a 6-1 decision over Princeton's Jordan Laster in the finals to win Lehigh's 205th individual title and become its 57th multi-time EIWA Champion.
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Bonus points had the Mountain Hawks in contention for the team title after day one, but a rough finals session left the Mountain Hawks in second place with 145 points, while Cornell distanced itself with 176 to claim its ninth straight team title.
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Along the way Lehigh automatically qualified seven wrestlers for the NCAA Championships.
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Mason Beckman, Santiago Martinez and Nathaniel Brown all reached the finals but came up short, with Beckman and Martinez's losses coming in overtime.
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Freshman Scott Parker will be the first Mountain Hawk on the mats Thursday when he meets No. 5 seed Sean Boyle of Chattanooga in the round of 32 at 125. He will be followed by Beckman, the No. 10 seed at 133, who will face Jade Rauser of Utah Valley.
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All six of Lehigh's automatic qualifiers that will compete earned top 16 seeds. Brown earned Lehigh's highest seed (seventh) at 184, while Cruz is seeded 13th at 141; Minotti is seeded 12th at 157, Martinez 15th at 174 and sophomore Elliot Riddick, who is seeded 16th at 197.
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Lehigh has the sixth most NCAA Champions (27) and the eighth most All-Americans (139) 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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The Mountain Hawks finished 18th last year and will be looking to return to the top ten for the first time since finishing eighth in both 2011 and 2012. Penn State has won four consecutive national team titles, while Iowa, Missouri, Ohio State and Minnesota are favorites to win the team crown this weekend.Â
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The 85th NCAA Championships get underway Thursday at 11 a.m. CDT from Scottrade Center. The opening round will feature pigtail rounds and preliminaries. The three-day tournament concludes Saturday with the national finals set for 7 p.m. CDT. Free live audio coverage of all of Lehigh's NCAA Tournament action can be heard for free at Lehighsports.com/watch.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa.  – Lehigh has seven wrestlers competing at the 85th NCAA Wrestling Championships, beginning Thursday at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The Mountain Hawks finished second to Cornell at the EIWA Championships and qualified eight wrestlers for the NCAA Championships. An injury to sophomore heavyweight Doug Vollaro dropped Lehigh's number of entrants to seven, a group that includes two returning All-Americans and five wrestlers who have previously competed at the NCAA Championships.
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The Mountain Hawks finished 18th last year in Oklahoma City with three All-Americans, two of who are back this year: junior Mason Beckman and sophomore Mitch Minotti. Sophomore Randy Cruz won his second EIWA title two weeks ago at Stabler Arena.
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In the last four seasons, Lehigh has produced one NCAA champion, five NCAA finalists and 11 All-Americans. Last year, Beckman and Minotti finished sixth at 133 and 149, respectively, while Darian Cruz placed seventh at 125 to become Lehigh's first true freshman All-American since 1980.
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Sophomore Randy Cruz won the EIWA title at 141 pounds to lead Lehigh at the 111th EIWA Championships at Stabler Arena. Cruz won a 6-1 decision over Princeton's Jordan Laster in the finals to win Lehigh's 205th individual title and become its 57th multi-time EIWA Champion.
Â
Bonus points had the Mountain Hawks in contention for the team title after day one, but a rough finals session left the Mountain Hawks in second place with 145 points, while Cornell distanced itself with 176 to claim its ninth straight team title.
Â
Along the way Lehigh automatically qualified seven wrestlers for the NCAA Championships.
Â
Mason Beckman, Santiago Martinez and Nathaniel Brown all reached the finals but came up short, with Beckman and Martinez's losses coming in overtime.
Â
Freshman Scott Parker will be the first Mountain Hawk on the mats Thursday when he meets No. 5 seed Sean Boyle of Chattanooga in the round of 32 at 125. He will be followed by Beckman, the No. 10 seed at 133, who will face Jade Rauser of Utah Valley.
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All six of Lehigh's automatic qualifiers that will compete earned top 16 seeds. Brown earned Lehigh's highest seed (seventh) at 184, while Cruz is seeded 13th at 141; Minotti is seeded 12th at 157, Martinez 15th at 174 and sophomore Elliot Riddick, who is seeded 16th at 197.
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Lehigh has the sixth most NCAA Champions (27) and the eighth most All-Americans (139) 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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The Mountain Hawks finished 18th last year and will be looking to return to the top ten for the first time since finishing eighth in both 2011 and 2012. Penn State has won four consecutive national team titles, while Iowa, Missouri, Ohio State and Minnesota are favorites to win the team crown this weekend.Â
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The 85th NCAA Championships get underway Thursday at 11 a.m. CDT from Scottrade Center. The opening round will feature pigtail rounds and preliminaries. The three-day tournament concludes Saturday with the national finals set for 7 p.m. CDT. Free live audio coverage of all of Lehigh's NCAA Tournament action can be heard for free at Lehighsports.com/watch.
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| Event: | 85th NCAA Championships |
| Dates: | March 19-21, 2015 |
| Session 1: | Thursday, March 19, 12 p.m. (pigtail round, round of 32) |
| Session 2: | Thursday, March 19, 7 p.m. (round of 16 and wrestleback prelims) |
| Session 3: | Friday, March 20, 11 a.m. (quarterfinals and wrestlebacks) |
| Session 4: | Friday, March 20, 8 p.m. (semifinals and wrestlebacks) |
| Session 5: | Saturday, March 21, 11 a.m. (consolation semifinals and medal rounds – 3rd-8th) |
| Session 6: | Saturday, March 21, 8 p.m. (national finals) All session times listed are Eastern Daylight |
| Location | St. Louis, Mo. |
| Arena | Scottrade Center (22,000) |
| History: | Lehigh's best finish was second in 1939. The Mountain Hawks finished 18th last year. Penn State is the four-time defending team champion. |
| Television: | Sessions 1, 2, 3 and 5 live on ESPNU (SE Dial Position 174/523 (HD), 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/watch Streaming video of entire tournament on ESPN3/WatchESPN. |
Players Mentioned
133
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ Men's Wrestling
285
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