Friday, March 20
St. Louis, Mo.
11:00 AM
Lehigh University
at
NCAA Championships
Brown reaches semifinals; three other Lehigh wrestlers to compete for All-America honors
3/20/2015 3:25:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Brackets/Team Scores | Listen to Session IV
ST. LOUIS – Junior Nathaniel Brown advanced to the semifinals and earned All-American status to lead Lehigh in session three of the NCAA Championships Friday morning at Scottrade Center. Brown's third meeting of the year with Pittsburgh's Max Thomusseit proved to be the charm as Brown posted a 7-4 decision.
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Three other Mountain Hawks will wrestle for All-America status Friday night with junior Mason Beckman and sophomore Randy Cruz both winning two matches in the morning. Sophomore Mitch Minotti will also wrestle in the round of 12 after dropping his quarterfinal match.
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Lehigh finished the third session with 20 points, tying the Mountain Hawks with Wisconsin for 15th place.
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Brown earned Lehigh's 140th All-America medal with his 7-4 win over Thomusseit at 184. Thomusseit won the two previous meetings this season 6-4 and 3-1 but in the first period on Friday Brown countered a pair of Thomusseit shots into takedowns to lead 4-1 after one period. Brown used a strong ride to build advantage time in his favor. Thomusseit scored a reversal in the second period and a Brown escape put him up 5-3 after two. Brown escaped to open the third and was solid defensively, conceding just one point for stalling while earning a point for a riding time advantage of more than two minutes.
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In Friday's semifinals, the No. 7 seed Brown will face unseeded Kenny Courts of Ohio State. Brown pinned courts in Lehigh's upset win over the Buckeyes at the NWCA National Duals last month.
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Minotti dropped down to the round of 12 after losing a 12-4 major decision to Nebraska's four-time All-American James Green in the quarters at 157. Green totaled five takedowns, including two in both the first and third periods to deny Minotti a second straight semifinal appearance. Minotti will need to beat Oklahoma State's Anthony Collica to become a two-time All-American.
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Beckman and Cruz both posted one bonus point victory on their way to the round of 12. In his first match at 133, Beckman needed overtime but secured a takedown to beat Penn's Caleb Richardson 3-1 in sudden victory. In his third round consolation, Beckman jumped on Kent State's Mack McGuire early with a takedown and two point near fall and never looked back in a 12-3 major decision. Beckman, the No. 10 seed, will face sixth-seed Earl Hall of Iowa State in the round of 12.
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Cruz began his day with a 12-3 major decision of Wisconsin's Jesse Thielke at 141. An early takedown and three-point near fall gave Cruz a 5-0 lead and Cruz continued his strong work on top while adding two more takedowns in the match. In his next match, Cruz scored a takedown and two point near fall late in the second period, which proved to be the difference in an 8-2 win. The No. 13 seed, Cruz will battle No. 7 Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers for All-American status.
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The other two Mountain Hawks to advance to Friday's action were eliminated with one point losses. At 125 freshman Scott Parker fell 4-3 to Jordan Conaway of Penn State. Parker scored the first takedown but gave up a takedown late in the third and was unable to get the escape that would have sent the match to overtime. His freshman campaign ends at 19-11.
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Senior Santiago Martinez also fell victim to a late third period takedown. Wisconsin's Frank Cousin's scored the takedown at 174 and went on to win 3-2. Martinez's season ends at 20-14.
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Ohio State leads the team race with 64.5 points followed by Iowa with 47.5. Missouri is third with 45 points.
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The NCAA Championships continue Friday night with the semifinals and All-America round of 12 beginning at 7 p.m. (CT). The semifinals will be televised on ESPN with streaming video on ESPN3. Once again, audio of all Lehigh bouts will be available for free at Lehighsports.com.
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Quarterfinals
157 – No. 4 James Green (Nebraska) major dec. No. 12 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) 12-4
184 – No. 7 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) dec. No. 2 Max Thomusseit (Pitt) 7-4
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Second round consolations
125 – No. 11 Jordan Conaway (Penn St.) dec. Scott Parker (Lehigh) 4-3
133 – No. 10 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. Caleb Richardson (Penn) 3-1, s.v.
141 – No. 13 Randy Cruz (Lehigh) major dec. Jesse Thielke (Wisconsin) 12-3
174 – No. 16 Frank Cousins (Wisconsin) dec. No. 15 Santiago Martinez (Lehigh) 3-2
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Third round consolations
133 – No. 10 Mason Beckman (Lehgh) major dec. Mack McGuire (Kent St.) 12-3
141 – No. 13 Randy Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Joey Ward (North Carolina) 8-2
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ST. LOUIS – Junior Nathaniel Brown advanced to the semifinals and earned All-American status to lead Lehigh in session three of the NCAA Championships Friday morning at Scottrade Center. Brown's third meeting of the year with Pittsburgh's Max Thomusseit proved to be the charm as Brown posted a 7-4 decision.
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Three other Mountain Hawks will wrestle for All-America status Friday night with junior Mason Beckman and sophomore Randy Cruz both winning two matches in the morning. Sophomore Mitch Minotti will also wrestle in the round of 12 after dropping his quarterfinal match.
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Lehigh finished the third session with 20 points, tying the Mountain Hawks with Wisconsin for 15th place.
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Brown earned Lehigh's 140th All-America medal with his 7-4 win over Thomusseit at 184. Thomusseit won the two previous meetings this season 6-4 and 3-1 but in the first period on Friday Brown countered a pair of Thomusseit shots into takedowns to lead 4-1 after one period. Brown used a strong ride to build advantage time in his favor. Thomusseit scored a reversal in the second period and a Brown escape put him up 5-3 after two. Brown escaped to open the third and was solid defensively, conceding just one point for stalling while earning a point for a riding time advantage of more than two minutes.
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In Friday's semifinals, the No. 7 seed Brown will face unseeded Kenny Courts of Ohio State. Brown pinned courts in Lehigh's upset win over the Buckeyes at the NWCA National Duals last month.
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Minotti dropped down to the round of 12 after losing a 12-4 major decision to Nebraska's four-time All-American James Green in the quarters at 157. Green totaled five takedowns, including two in both the first and third periods to deny Minotti a second straight semifinal appearance. Minotti will need to beat Oklahoma State's Anthony Collica to become a two-time All-American.
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Beckman and Cruz both posted one bonus point victory on their way to the round of 12. In his first match at 133, Beckman needed overtime but secured a takedown to beat Penn's Caleb Richardson 3-1 in sudden victory. In his third round consolation, Beckman jumped on Kent State's Mack McGuire early with a takedown and two point near fall and never looked back in a 12-3 major decision. Beckman, the No. 10 seed, will face sixth-seed Earl Hall of Iowa State in the round of 12.
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Cruz began his day with a 12-3 major decision of Wisconsin's Jesse Thielke at 141. An early takedown and three-point near fall gave Cruz a 5-0 lead and Cruz continued his strong work on top while adding two more takedowns in the match. In his next match, Cruz scored a takedown and two point near fall late in the second period, which proved to be the difference in an 8-2 win. The No. 13 seed, Cruz will battle No. 7 Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers for All-American status.
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The other two Mountain Hawks to advance to Friday's action were eliminated with one point losses. At 125 freshman Scott Parker fell 4-3 to Jordan Conaway of Penn State. Parker scored the first takedown but gave up a takedown late in the third and was unable to get the escape that would have sent the match to overtime. His freshman campaign ends at 19-11.
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Senior Santiago Martinez also fell victim to a late third period takedown. Wisconsin's Frank Cousin's scored the takedown at 174 and went on to win 3-2. Martinez's season ends at 20-14.
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Ohio State leads the team race with 64.5 points followed by Iowa with 47.5. Missouri is third with 45 points.
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The NCAA Championships continue Friday night with the semifinals and All-America round of 12 beginning at 7 p.m. (CT). The semifinals will be televised on ESPN with streaming video on ESPN3. Once again, audio of all Lehigh bouts will be available for free at Lehighsports.com.
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Quarterfinals
157 – No. 4 James Green (Nebraska) major dec. No. 12 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) 12-4
184 – No. 7 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) dec. No. 2 Max Thomusseit (Pitt) 7-4
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Second round consolations
125 – No. 11 Jordan Conaway (Penn St.) dec. Scott Parker (Lehigh) 4-3
133 – No. 10 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. Caleb Richardson (Penn) 3-1, s.v.
141 – No. 13 Randy Cruz (Lehigh) major dec. Jesse Thielke (Wisconsin) 12-3
174 – No. 16 Frank Cousins (Wisconsin) dec. No. 15 Santiago Martinez (Lehigh) 3-2
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Third round consolations
133 – No. 10 Mason Beckman (Lehgh) major dec. Mack McGuire (Kent St.) 12-3
141 – No. 13 Randy Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Joey Ward (North Carolina) 8-2
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Players Mentioned
133
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
125
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