Thursday, October 27
Bethlehem, Pa.
7:00:00 PM
Lehigh University
vs
Wrestle-offs
Annual Lehigh Wrestle-offs Set for Thursday Evening
10/26/2016 4:23:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Buy Wrestle-offs Tickets
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – With the Lehigh wrestling team less than two weeks removed from the official start of preseason practice the Mountain Hawks will compete on a public stage for the first time Thursday night with the annual Brown and White wrestle-offs, which will be held inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.
The coaches hoped to have 12 or 13 bouts for fans to catch their first glimpse of the 2016-17 Mountain Hawks, but minor dings associated with the ruggedness of practice have shortened Thursday's card to 10 bouts. Still, ninth-year head coach Pat Santoro is looking forward to seeing his wrestlers compete for the first time this season in front of the home Grace Hall crowd.
"Competition is very important," Santoro explained. "The ability to go out there and compete hard at the highest level. You don't always have many opportunities to compete. This is one of them so you need to go out there and showcase your abilities. We're looking for guys to go out there and have a lot of fun but also compete at their highest level."
Thursday's card includes bouts at every weight class but 125. Two matches are scheduled for 165. Senior Randy Cruz is the only one of Lehigh's three returning All-Americans expected to compete Thursday, and is one of five NCAA qualifiers who will take to the mats. In addition three true freshman and seven deferred freshmen will provide an eye into the youth of the program.
True freshmen will match up in the first bout of the night at 133 where Joe Lobeck will meet Nick Farro. Cruz will then face deferred freshman Ryan Pomrinca who has moved up to 141 this season.
Two high-scoring veterans will meet at 149 as senior Laike Gardner battles sophomore Cortlandt Schuyler. Gardner is a two-time NCAA qualifier, while Schuyler went 17-5 splitting his time between 141 and 149 last season.
A pair of deferred freshmen will meet at 157 as Jordan Kutler squares off against Kent Lane.
The first of two bouts at 165 will match sophomore Ian Brown, who represented Lehigh at 157 at last year's EIWA Championships and junior Drew Longo, who saw time at both 157 and 165 last season. The second will match sophomore Gordon Wolf, down a weight from where he went 1-2 at NCAAs last year against freshman Chase Gallik.
Sophomore Ryan Preisch moves up to 174 where he will meet deferred freshman Charlie Sell, while two more deferred freshmen will meet at 184 as Paul Dunn squares off against Andrew Price.
At 197 sophomore Garett Stehley bumps up to face senior Ben Haas, while the final bout of the night should be a good one between senior Doug Vollaro and freshman Jordan Wood. Vollaro qualified for NCAAs as a sophomore but was unable to compete due to injury. Wood competes publicly for the first time since representing the United States at the Junior World Championships in France.
"It's going well," Santoro said of Lehigh's preseason preparations. "But until you actually compete and get the fans and the referees in there you don't really know. That's why we do the wrestle-offs. We want to see how they do in front of a crowd with a referee. It's really a learning experience more than anything else. The wrestle-offs aren't always indicative of what our lineup will be. The lineup has changed within every season. It's a first step to see who develops the most by March.
"They look good in the room but I won't know until I see other competition," Santoro continued. "I don't get too excited our discouraged over wrestle-offs. It's just another opportunity to learn."
The wrestle-offs get underway at 7 p.m. Thursday from Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by visiting LehighTickets.com. Tickets will also be available Thursday evening at Grace Hall.
For fans unable to make Thursday's wrestle-offs, the matches will be streamed on the Patriot League Network.
Following Thursday's wrestle-offs, Lehigh will send a contingent of wrestlers to the Nov. 6 East Stroudsburg Open, before opening the dual season at home against EIWA rival Bucknell, Friday Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.
Thursday's Probable Matchups
Wt. – Brown vs. White
133 – Joe Lobeck vs. Nick Farro
141 – Randy Cruz vs. Ryan Pomrinca
149 – Cortlandt Schuyler vs. Laike Gardner
157 – Jordan Kutler vs. Kent Lane
165 – Ian Brown vs. Drew Longo
165 – Gordon Wolf vs. Chase Gallik
174 – Charlie Sell vs. Ryan Preisch
184 – Paul Dunn vs. Andrew Price
197 – Garett Stehley vs. Ben Haas
285 – Doug Vollaro vs. Jordan Wood
Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – With the Lehigh wrestling team less than two weeks removed from the official start of preseason practice the Mountain Hawks will compete on a public stage for the first time Thursday night with the annual Brown and White wrestle-offs, which will be held inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.
The coaches hoped to have 12 or 13 bouts for fans to catch their first glimpse of the 2016-17 Mountain Hawks, but minor dings associated with the ruggedness of practice have shortened Thursday's card to 10 bouts. Still, ninth-year head coach Pat Santoro is looking forward to seeing his wrestlers compete for the first time this season in front of the home Grace Hall crowd.
"Competition is very important," Santoro explained. "The ability to go out there and compete hard at the highest level. You don't always have many opportunities to compete. This is one of them so you need to go out there and showcase your abilities. We're looking for guys to go out there and have a lot of fun but also compete at their highest level."
Thursday's card includes bouts at every weight class but 125. Two matches are scheduled for 165. Senior Randy Cruz is the only one of Lehigh's three returning All-Americans expected to compete Thursday, and is one of five NCAA qualifiers who will take to the mats. In addition three true freshman and seven deferred freshmen will provide an eye into the youth of the program.
True freshmen will match up in the first bout of the night at 133 where Joe Lobeck will meet Nick Farro. Cruz will then face deferred freshman Ryan Pomrinca who has moved up to 141 this season.
Two high-scoring veterans will meet at 149 as senior Laike Gardner battles sophomore Cortlandt Schuyler. Gardner is a two-time NCAA qualifier, while Schuyler went 17-5 splitting his time between 141 and 149 last season.
A pair of deferred freshmen will meet at 157 as Jordan Kutler squares off against Kent Lane.
The first of two bouts at 165 will match sophomore Ian Brown, who represented Lehigh at 157 at last year's EIWA Championships and junior Drew Longo, who saw time at both 157 and 165 last season. The second will match sophomore Gordon Wolf, down a weight from where he went 1-2 at NCAAs last year against freshman Chase Gallik.
Sophomore Ryan Preisch moves up to 174 where he will meet deferred freshman Charlie Sell, while two more deferred freshmen will meet at 184 as Paul Dunn squares off against Andrew Price.
At 197 sophomore Garett Stehley bumps up to face senior Ben Haas, while the final bout of the night should be a good one between senior Doug Vollaro and freshman Jordan Wood. Vollaro qualified for NCAAs as a sophomore but was unable to compete due to injury. Wood competes publicly for the first time since representing the United States at the Junior World Championships in France.
"It's going well," Santoro said of Lehigh's preseason preparations. "But until you actually compete and get the fans and the referees in there you don't really know. That's why we do the wrestle-offs. We want to see how they do in front of a crowd with a referee. It's really a learning experience more than anything else. The wrestle-offs aren't always indicative of what our lineup will be. The lineup has changed within every season. It's a first step to see who develops the most by March.
"They look good in the room but I won't know until I see other competition," Santoro continued. "I don't get too excited our discouraged over wrestle-offs. It's just another opportunity to learn."
The wrestle-offs get underway at 7 p.m. Thursday from Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by visiting LehighTickets.com. Tickets will also be available Thursday evening at Grace Hall.
For fans unable to make Thursday's wrestle-offs, the matches will be streamed on the Patriot League Network.
Following Thursday's wrestle-offs, Lehigh will send a contingent of wrestlers to the Nov. 6 East Stroudsburg Open, before opening the dual season at home against EIWA rival Bucknell, Friday Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.
Thursday's Probable Matchups
Wt. – Brown vs. White
133 – Joe Lobeck vs. Nick Farro
141 – Randy Cruz vs. Ryan Pomrinca
149 – Cortlandt Schuyler vs. Laike Gardner
157 – Jordan Kutler vs. Kent Lane
165 – Ian Brown vs. Drew Longo
165 – Gordon Wolf vs. Chase Gallik
174 – Charlie Sell vs. Ryan Preisch
184 – Paul Dunn vs. Andrew Price
197 – Garett Stehley vs. Ben Haas
285 – Doug Vollaro vs. Jordan Wood
Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Players Mentioned
157
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
174
/ Men's Wrestling
133
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
149/157
/ Men's Wrestling
133
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
165/174
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
165/174
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
285
/ Men's Wrestling
165/174
/ Men's Wrestling
285
/ Men's Wrestling2025-2026 Men's Wrestling Season Preview
Wednesday, October 29
Lehigh Sports Central: Wrestling
Wednesday, March 12
Lehigh Sports Central: Wrestling
Thursday, February 20
Lehigh Sports Central: Wrestling
Wednesday, December 04
