Friday, March 20
St. Louis, Mo.
8:00 PM
Lehigh University
at
NCAA Championships
Brown reaches NCAA finals as Lehigh crowns three All-Americans Friday
3/21/2015 12:02:00 AM | Men's Wrestling
Brackets/Team Scores | Friday morning recap | Listen to Saturday's sessions
ST. LOUIS – Lehigh junior Nathaniel Brown will wrestle for a national championship Saturday night after defeating Kenny Courts of Ohio State 4-0 in the 184-pound semifinals at the NCAA Championships Friday evening at Scottrade Center. Brown will bid to win Lehigh's 28th national championship in wrestling when he meets Gabe Dean of Cornell in Saturday night's finals.
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Junior Mason Beckman and sophomore Mitch Minotti both joined Brown in becoming All-Americans with victories in the All-America round of 12 Friday nights. Both men are now two time All-Americans, with Minotti becoming the first Mountain Hawk since Troy Letters in 2003 and 2004 to earn All-America honors as a freshman and a sophomore.
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Lehigh won two of its three matches in the round of 12 with sophomore Randy Cruz falling one point short of becoming Lehigh's fourth All-American.
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With its three All-Americans, Lehigh sits in 13th place with 39.5 points.
Â(3/20/2015) Wrestling at NCAA Championships 3/20/15
"It was a really good day," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "We wanted one more in there with Randy. He had a great tournament and was right on the cusp of being an All-American. To watch Mason lose in the first round and come storming back – that's what you want to see. He carried what he did last year into what he did this year and now he's fighting for third. To see Mitch, with everything he's gone through in the offseason and everything he's gone through this year. He's just a tough kid. Nate, with everything back to his freshman year and the growth and the person he has become. He's amazing."
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After earning All-America honors earlier Friday with his win over Max Thomusseit of Pittsburgh, Brown punched his ticket to the finals by blanking Courts. Brown opened the second period with an escape to take a 1-0 lead and later countered a Courts shot to spin behind for a takedown to go up 3-0 after two periods. In the third, Brown showed a strong ride from the top position, riding out the entire period and picking up a fourth point with a 2:31 riding time advantage.
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"Courts is a really good wrestler and he's had a really good tournament," Santoro said. "It's hard to get on those guys and to take those guys down but Nate was persistent and stayed with it and kept wrestling through positions. That's why he's in the finals."
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"My biggest thing at Lehigh has just been getting tougher and doing the work," Brown said. "The key to that match was toughness. Riding him out on top, going toe-to-toe on my feet with him. Kenny is really good on his feet and I knew that coming in. I just tried forcing the pace and letting him break and that's what he did."
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Brown will face Dean for the fourth time this season in Saturday night's finals. Dean won the previous three meetings, including an 8-2 win in the EIWA finals two weeks ago.
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Beckman battled all the way back from a first round loss to win five straight matches, earning All-America honors and advancing to Saturday morning's consolation semifinals. In the round of 12 Beckman posted a 5-2 decision over Earl Hall of Iowa State. Beckman scored a key takedown late in the second period to go up 3-0 and added a third period takedown.
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"Yesterday morning was hard," Beckman said of his first round loss. "My season-long dream died but I talked to the coaches and my teammates and just came to the conclusion that I had put too much work in and did too many of the right things to go quietly into the night. I came away from St. Louis my freshman year with a horrible taste in my mouth and I promised myself I would never do that again."
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In the consolation quarterfinals, Beckman gave up a quick takedown against No. 2 seed Ryan Taylor of Wisconsin but answered with takedowns in the second and third periods and adding a two point near fall to go up 8-2. Using a strong ride on top, Beckman turned Taylor late in the match and pinned the Badger sophomore with just one second remaining. Beckman will now face top-seeded Chris Dardanes of Minnesota in the consolation semifinals. He can now finish anywhere from third to sixth.
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Minotti persevered through a nine minute battle with Oklahoma State's Anthony Collica in the round of 12 to earn his second All-America medal. Collica reversed Minotti in the third period and after an escape the match went into overtime tied 2-2. The wrestlers did not score in the first sudden victory period and traded escapes in the first round of tiebreakers. After a scoreless second sudden victory period, Minotti escaped late in the first half of the second tiebreaker and was able to ride out Collica while earning a late two-point near fall to win 6-3.
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"He did everything right but it just wasn't going his way," Santoro said of Minotti's "blood round" match. "But he found a way and gutted it out and that's what Mitch does. Mitch is a fighter and he's going to fight for seven minutes, for nine minutes, whatever it takes."
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In his next match, Minotti dropped an 8-0 major decision to Nick Brascetta of Virginia Tech. Minotti will wrestle Brian Murphy of Michigan for seventh place on Saturday.
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Cruz came up a point short in his bid for All-America honors. He led Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers 1-0 after two periods but Ashnault chose neutral in the third and went ahead 2-1 with a takedown. Ashnault was able to build up a 1:13 riding time advantage before Cruz escaped and held on to win 3-2. Cruz's season ends at 22-9.
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Entering the final day of competition Ohio State leads the team race with 86.5 points, 13.5 more than second place Iowa. Cornell is in third place with 66.5 points, followed by Edinboro (64.5) and Missouri (60).
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The NCAA Championships conclude Saturday with two more sessions of wrestling. Session five, featuring the consolation semifinals and medal matches for third, fifth and seventh begins at 10 a.m. CT and will be televised on ESPNU with audio coverage on ESPN3.
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The final session, featuring the ten championship bouts, will begin at 7 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN. Audio of all of Lehigh's matches on Saturday will also be available for free online at Lehighsports.com.
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Semifinals
184 – No. 7 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) dec. Kenny Courts (Ohio St.) 4-0
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Fourth round consolations
133 – No. 10 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. No. 6 Earl Hall (Iowa St.) 5-2
141 – No. 7 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) dec. No. 13 Randy Cruz (Lehigh) 3-2
157 – No. 12 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. Anthony Collica (Oklahoma St.) 6-3, tb2
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Consolation quarterfinals
133 – No. 10 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) Fall No. 2 Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin) 6:59
157 – Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech) major dec. Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) 8-0
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ST. LOUIS – Lehigh junior Nathaniel Brown will wrestle for a national championship Saturday night after defeating Kenny Courts of Ohio State 4-0 in the 184-pound semifinals at the NCAA Championships Friday evening at Scottrade Center. Brown will bid to win Lehigh's 28th national championship in wrestling when he meets Gabe Dean of Cornell in Saturday night's finals.
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Junior Mason Beckman and sophomore Mitch Minotti both joined Brown in becoming All-Americans with victories in the All-America round of 12 Friday nights. Both men are now two time All-Americans, with Minotti becoming the first Mountain Hawk since Troy Letters in 2003 and 2004 to earn All-America honors as a freshman and a sophomore.
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Lehigh won two of its three matches in the round of 12 with sophomore Randy Cruz falling one point short of becoming Lehigh's fourth All-American.
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With its three All-Americans, Lehigh sits in 13th place with 39.5 points.
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"It was a really good day," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "We wanted one more in there with Randy. He had a great tournament and was right on the cusp of being an All-American. To watch Mason lose in the first round and come storming back – that's what you want to see. He carried what he did last year into what he did this year and now he's fighting for third. To see Mitch, with everything he's gone through in the offseason and everything he's gone through this year. He's just a tough kid. Nate, with everything back to his freshman year and the growth and the person he has become. He's amazing."
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After earning All-America honors earlier Friday with his win over Max Thomusseit of Pittsburgh, Brown punched his ticket to the finals by blanking Courts. Brown opened the second period with an escape to take a 1-0 lead and later countered a Courts shot to spin behind for a takedown to go up 3-0 after two periods. In the third, Brown showed a strong ride from the top position, riding out the entire period and picking up a fourth point with a 2:31 riding time advantage.
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"Courts is a really good wrestler and he's had a really good tournament," Santoro said. "It's hard to get on those guys and to take those guys down but Nate was persistent and stayed with it and kept wrestling through positions. That's why he's in the finals."
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"My biggest thing at Lehigh has just been getting tougher and doing the work," Brown said. "The key to that match was toughness. Riding him out on top, going toe-to-toe on my feet with him. Kenny is really good on his feet and I knew that coming in. I just tried forcing the pace and letting him break and that's what he did."
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Brown will face Dean for the fourth time this season in Saturday night's finals. Dean won the previous three meetings, including an 8-2 win in the EIWA finals two weeks ago.
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Beckman battled all the way back from a first round loss to win five straight matches, earning All-America honors and advancing to Saturday morning's consolation semifinals. In the round of 12 Beckman posted a 5-2 decision over Earl Hall of Iowa State. Beckman scored a key takedown late in the second period to go up 3-0 and added a third period takedown.
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"Yesterday morning was hard," Beckman said of his first round loss. "My season-long dream died but I talked to the coaches and my teammates and just came to the conclusion that I had put too much work in and did too many of the right things to go quietly into the night. I came away from St. Louis my freshman year with a horrible taste in my mouth and I promised myself I would never do that again."
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In the consolation quarterfinals, Beckman gave up a quick takedown against No. 2 seed Ryan Taylor of Wisconsin but answered with takedowns in the second and third periods and adding a two point near fall to go up 8-2. Using a strong ride on top, Beckman turned Taylor late in the match and pinned the Badger sophomore with just one second remaining. Beckman will now face top-seeded Chris Dardanes of Minnesota in the consolation semifinals. He can now finish anywhere from third to sixth.
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Minotti persevered through a nine minute battle with Oklahoma State's Anthony Collica in the round of 12 to earn his second All-America medal. Collica reversed Minotti in the third period and after an escape the match went into overtime tied 2-2. The wrestlers did not score in the first sudden victory period and traded escapes in the first round of tiebreakers. After a scoreless second sudden victory period, Minotti escaped late in the first half of the second tiebreaker and was able to ride out Collica while earning a late two-point near fall to win 6-3.
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"He did everything right but it just wasn't going his way," Santoro said of Minotti's "blood round" match. "But he found a way and gutted it out and that's what Mitch does. Mitch is a fighter and he's going to fight for seven minutes, for nine minutes, whatever it takes."
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In his next match, Minotti dropped an 8-0 major decision to Nick Brascetta of Virginia Tech. Minotti will wrestle Brian Murphy of Michigan for seventh place on Saturday.
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Cruz came up a point short in his bid for All-America honors. He led Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers 1-0 after two periods but Ashnault chose neutral in the third and went ahead 2-1 with a takedown. Ashnault was able to build up a 1:13 riding time advantage before Cruz escaped and held on to win 3-2. Cruz's season ends at 22-9.
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Entering the final day of competition Ohio State leads the team race with 86.5 points, 13.5 more than second place Iowa. Cornell is in third place with 66.5 points, followed by Edinboro (64.5) and Missouri (60).
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The NCAA Championships conclude Saturday with two more sessions of wrestling. Session five, featuring the consolation semifinals and medal matches for third, fifth and seventh begins at 10 a.m. CT and will be televised on ESPNU with audio coverage on ESPN3.
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The final session, featuring the ten championship bouts, will begin at 7 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN. Audio of all of Lehigh's matches on Saturday will also be available for free online at Lehighsports.com.
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Semifinals
184 – No. 7 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) dec. Kenny Courts (Ohio St.) 4-0
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Fourth round consolations
133 – No. 10 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. No. 6 Earl Hall (Iowa St.) 5-2
141 – No. 7 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) dec. No. 13 Randy Cruz (Lehigh) 3-2
157 – No. 12 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. Anthony Collica (Oklahoma St.) 6-3, tb2
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Consolation quarterfinals
133 – No. 10 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) Fall No. 2 Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin) 6:59
157 – Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech) major dec. Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) 8-0
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Players Mentioned
133
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
157
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