Saturday, March 21
St. Louis, Mo.
8:00 PM
Lehigh University
at
NCAA Championships
Brown drops 6-2 decision in finals; Lehigh takes 13th at NCAA Championships
3/21/2015 11:27:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Final Brackets/Team Scores | Saturday morning recap
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ST. LOUIS – Lehigh junior Nathaniel Brown came up short in his bid to win a NCAA title Saturday night as the Mountain Hawk All-American dropped a 6-2 decision to Cornell's Gabe Dean in the finals at Scottrade Center. Brown was unable to get his offense going against Dean but led the way for Lehigh's three All-Americans with his second place finish at 184.
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Junior Mason Beckman and sophomore Mitch Minotti joined Brown in earning All-America honors for the Mountain Hawks, who finished 13th with 39.5 points. Beckman finished sixth at 133 while Minotti took eighth at 149. Both men are now two time All-Americans. Lehigh now has 142 all-time All-Americans, eighth most among division one programs.
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"It was a good tournament," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "Every single guy battled. Unfortunately there are only ten winners and eight All-Americans at each weight, but I'm proud of the way we wrestled. We have a lot to build off for next year with four returning All-Americans. One thing I've learned in this tournament is that you have to continue to be a student of this sport and you have to get a lot better."
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Brown was hoping the fourth meeting of the season between he and Dean would be the charm. After a scoreless first period, Dean opened the second period with an escape and converted a single leg takedown to go in front 3-0. Brown escaped to get on the board and trailed 3-1 after two periods. In the third Brown chose down and escaped, but not before Dean went over one minute of riding time. Brown pursued a go ahead takedown in the final period but Dean countered a Brown shot for the clinching takedown and added 1:25 of riding time to account for the 6-2 final.(3/21/2015) Wrestling at NCAA Championships 3/21/15
""It was a tough match," Brown said. "That kid is good. I just didn't get to my offense enough. He kept getting back to that switch and putting it on. I'll find a way to do that. Wisdom comes from this. It's something I'll use next year. I'm just really thankful to be a Mountain Hawk and to be competing with this team."
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"Dean is really good," Santoro added. "Each match we learned something. We have to do a lot over this summer. Nate is a guy who will put the time in. He's going to get a lot bigger and stronger and get better attacks. That part I'm not concerned about, I'm just disappointed for him; but what a great weekend to watch him compete." Â
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Lehigh's wrestling's sixth NCAA finalist in the last five years, Brown finishes his junior season at 29-6 with four of the losses coming against Dean.
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Ohio State won its first ever national team title with 102 points, 18 more than second place Iowa. The Mountain Hawks actually defeated the Buckeyes 21-18 in the quarterfinals of the NWCA National Duals in February, one of the highlights of a 14-6 dual season.
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"This team exceeded expectations coming into this season," Santoro said. "We had a lot of question marks coming in with the weight classes we didn't know. Every single one of them developed and got better this year. We have a lot of great wrestlers in this room and good people, so we're excited about our future."
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Lehigh returns all three of its 2015 All-Americans, four total All-Americans, and 11 NCAA qualifiers for the 2015-16 season.
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National Finals
149 – No. 1 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) dec. No. 3 David Habat (Edinboro) 3-1, s.v.
157 – No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) major dec. No. 2 Brian Realbuto (Cornell) 10-2
165 – No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma St.) dec. No. 6 Taylor Walsh (Indiana) 14-7
174 – No. 2 Matt Brown (Penn St.) dec. No. 8 Tyler Wilps (Pitt) 5-4
184 – No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) dec. No. 7 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) 6-2
197 – No. 3 Kyven Gadson (Iowa St.) Fall No. 4 Kyle Snyder (Ohio St.) 4:24
285 – No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) dec. No. 6 Adam Coon (Michigan) 7-6
125 – No. 4 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio St.) dec. Zeke Moisey (West Virginia) 8-5
133 – No. 13 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) dec. No. 3 Cory Clark (Iowa) 11-8
141 – No. 1 Logan Stieber (Ohio St.) dec. No. 2 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) 11-5
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ST. LOUIS – Lehigh junior Nathaniel Brown came up short in his bid to win a NCAA title Saturday night as the Mountain Hawk All-American dropped a 6-2 decision to Cornell's Gabe Dean in the finals at Scottrade Center. Brown was unable to get his offense going against Dean but led the way for Lehigh's three All-Americans with his second place finish at 184.
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Junior Mason Beckman and sophomore Mitch Minotti joined Brown in earning All-America honors for the Mountain Hawks, who finished 13th with 39.5 points. Beckman finished sixth at 133 while Minotti took eighth at 149. Both men are now two time All-Americans. Lehigh now has 142 all-time All-Americans, eighth most among division one programs.
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"It was a good tournament," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "Every single guy battled. Unfortunately there are only ten winners and eight All-Americans at each weight, but I'm proud of the way we wrestled. We have a lot to build off for next year with four returning All-Americans. One thing I've learned in this tournament is that you have to continue to be a student of this sport and you have to get a lot better."
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Brown was hoping the fourth meeting of the season between he and Dean would be the charm. After a scoreless first period, Dean opened the second period with an escape and converted a single leg takedown to go in front 3-0. Brown escaped to get on the board and trailed 3-1 after two periods. In the third Brown chose down and escaped, but not before Dean went over one minute of riding time. Brown pursued a go ahead takedown in the final period but Dean countered a Brown shot for the clinching takedown and added 1:25 of riding time to account for the 6-2 final.
""It was a tough match," Brown said. "That kid is good. I just didn't get to my offense enough. He kept getting back to that switch and putting it on. I'll find a way to do that. Wisdom comes from this. It's something I'll use next year. I'm just really thankful to be a Mountain Hawk and to be competing with this team."
Â
"Dean is really good," Santoro added. "Each match we learned something. We have to do a lot over this summer. Nate is a guy who will put the time in. He's going to get a lot bigger and stronger and get better attacks. That part I'm not concerned about, I'm just disappointed for him; but what a great weekend to watch him compete." Â
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Lehigh's wrestling's sixth NCAA finalist in the last five years, Brown finishes his junior season at 29-6 with four of the losses coming against Dean.
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Ohio State won its first ever national team title with 102 points, 18 more than second place Iowa. The Mountain Hawks actually defeated the Buckeyes 21-18 in the quarterfinals of the NWCA National Duals in February, one of the highlights of a 14-6 dual season.
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"This team exceeded expectations coming into this season," Santoro said. "We had a lot of question marks coming in with the weight classes we didn't know. Every single one of them developed and got better this year. We have a lot of great wrestlers in this room and good people, so we're excited about our future."
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Lehigh returns all three of its 2015 All-Americans, four total All-Americans, and 11 NCAA qualifiers for the 2015-16 season.
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National Finals
149 – No. 1 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) dec. No. 3 David Habat (Edinboro) 3-1, s.v.
157 – No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) major dec. No. 2 Brian Realbuto (Cornell) 10-2
165 – No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma St.) dec. No. 6 Taylor Walsh (Indiana) 14-7
174 – No. 2 Matt Brown (Penn St.) dec. No. 8 Tyler Wilps (Pitt) 5-4
184 – No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) dec. No. 7 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) 6-2
197 – No. 3 Kyven Gadson (Iowa St.) Fall No. 4 Kyle Snyder (Ohio St.) 4:24
285 – No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) dec. No. 6 Adam Coon (Michigan) 7-6
125 – No. 4 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio St.) dec. Zeke Moisey (West Virginia) 8-5
133 – No. 13 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) dec. No. 3 Cory Clark (Iowa) 11-8
141 – No. 1 Logan Stieber (Ohio St.) dec. No. 2 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) 11-5
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Players Mentioned
133
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
157
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