Lehigh University Athletics
Sunday, December 4
University Park, Pa.
12:00:00 PM
Lehigh University
at
Penn State
No. 11 Lehigh to visit defending national champion Penn State Sunday at Bryce Jordan Center
11/30/2016 3:33:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Match Notes | Big Ten Network | Audio
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – One of the oldest and most storied rivalries in eastern college wrestling will be renewed Sunday as No. 11 Lehigh visits second-ranked and defending national champion Penn State in the Nittany Lions' annual BJC dual, which will take place in the 16,000-seat Bryce Jordan Center. Both teams had Thanksgiving weekend off from competition and come in unbeaten on the dual season. Lehigh is 3-0 and posted back-to-back wins at Pitt and Edinboro in its last action two weeks ago. Senior Randy Cruz, junior Darian Cruz and sophomore Ryan Preisch all enter this weekend at 6-0 on the season. That trio comprises three of Lehigh's eight ranked wrestlers.
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Prior to having Thanksgiving weekend off from competition, the Mountain Hawks traveled to western Pennsylvania and posted dual victories over tough opposition from No. 21 Pitt and Edinboro. Lehigh claimed eight bouts from the Panthers in a 28-8 triumph on Nov. 18 including four major decisions. Freshman Kyle Gentile had one of those majors for his first career victory. The following day, the Mountain Hawks earned a 6-4 match split in a 20-13 win at Edinboro. Senior Randy Cruz and freshman Jordan Kutler delivered major decisions, with Kutler earning his first career bonus point win. Darian and Randy Cruz, Kutler, sophomore Ryan Preisch and senior Ben Haas all went 2-0 on the weekend.
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While Jordan Kutler's emergence has forced a number of wrestlers up from 157 to 165, last year's 165-pounder Ryan Preisch also has bumped up a weight class. Now a sophomore, Preisch is off to a 6-0 start up at 174, joining Darian and Randy Cruz as Lehigh probable starters who are unbeaten on the season. Four of Preisch's six wins this season have produced bonus points. A NCAA qualifier at 165 last season, Preisch finished fourth at the Southern Scuffle and capped his freshman campaign with a 17-10 record.
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Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center holds close to 16,000 spectators as the Nittany Lion wrestling program uses the arena for one or two signature duals per season. The last time Lehigh wrestled in the BJC was in the 2001 NWCA National Duals when the Mountain Hawks went 3-2 to claim seventh place. Lehigh suffered losses to top-ranked Oklahoma State and Michigan but defeated Montana State-Northern and Nebraska before besting the host Nittany Lions 28-6 in the seventh place dual. The Bryce Jordan Center opened in 1996 and hosted the 1999 NCAA Championships, with Lehigh finishing in 19th place with three All-Americans: Ryan Bernholz (6th, 149), Chris Ayres (6th, 157) and John Van Doren (5th, 184).
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Defending national champion and No. 2-ranked Penn State opened its dual season with convincing wins over Army West Point and Stanford. The Nittany Lions dominated the field, claiming eight champions and racking up 245 points to win the Keystone Classic, Nov. 19 at Penn. Leading the way for the Nittany Lions are top-ranked Zain Retherford at 149 and Jason Nolf at 157. Retherford won a national title in 2016 while Nolf and Bo Nickal (184) are returning NCAA finalists.
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Penn State has a wrestler ranked in all 10 weight classes in the latest InterMat rankings, with newcomers Nick Suriano (125), Jered Cortez (133) and Vincenzo Joseph (165) all ranked in the top 12. NCAA wrestling legend Cael Sanderson is in his eighth season as Penn State's head coach. Penn State has won five NCAA team titles in the last six seasons.
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Lehigh has wrestled Penn State more than any other opponent in school history. Sunday's dual marks the 105th meeting between the rivals in a series that dates back to 1911. Penn State has won the last six duals. Lehigh and Penn State are meeting for the 84th straight year. The Mountain Hawks' last win in the series came in Cael Sanderson's first dual as Penn State's head coach. The Nittany Lions have been ranked no lower than sixth in the last six duals in this series.
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Sunday's dual gets underway at noon from the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pa. The dual will be televised nationally via the Big Ten Network. Audio coverage will be available on ESPN Radio of the Lehigh Valley (1230/1320/1160-AM) and ESPNLV.com beginning at 11:55 a.m.
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Lehigh returns to Leeman-Turner Arena for two duals next weekend, which will close out competition in the fall semester. The Mountain Hawks will welcome former All-American Chris Ayres '99 and the No. 25 Princeton Tigers on Friday Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. before welcoming the Drexel Dragons for a 2 p.m. dual on Sunday Dec. 11. Following a break for final exams and the holidays, Lehigh will open 2017 at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn. Jan. 1-2.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – One of the oldest and most storied rivalries in eastern college wrestling will be renewed Sunday as No. 11 Lehigh visits second-ranked and defending national champion Penn State in the Nittany Lions' annual BJC dual, which will take place in the 16,000-seat Bryce Jordan Center. Both teams had Thanksgiving weekend off from competition and come in unbeaten on the dual season. Lehigh is 3-0 and posted back-to-back wins at Pitt and Edinboro in its last action two weeks ago. Senior Randy Cruz, junior Darian Cruz and sophomore Ryan Preisch all enter this weekend at 6-0 on the season. That trio comprises three of Lehigh's eight ranked wrestlers.
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Prior to having Thanksgiving weekend off from competition, the Mountain Hawks traveled to western Pennsylvania and posted dual victories over tough opposition from No. 21 Pitt and Edinboro. Lehigh claimed eight bouts from the Panthers in a 28-8 triumph on Nov. 18 including four major decisions. Freshman Kyle Gentile had one of those majors for his first career victory. The following day, the Mountain Hawks earned a 6-4 match split in a 20-13 win at Edinboro. Senior Randy Cruz and freshman Jordan Kutler delivered major decisions, with Kutler earning his first career bonus point win. Darian and Randy Cruz, Kutler, sophomore Ryan Preisch and senior Ben Haas all went 2-0 on the weekend.
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While Jordan Kutler's emergence has forced a number of wrestlers up from 157 to 165, last year's 165-pounder Ryan Preisch also has bumped up a weight class. Now a sophomore, Preisch is off to a 6-0 start up at 174, joining Darian and Randy Cruz as Lehigh probable starters who are unbeaten on the season. Four of Preisch's six wins this season have produced bonus points. A NCAA qualifier at 165 last season, Preisch finished fourth at the Southern Scuffle and capped his freshman campaign with a 17-10 record.
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Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center holds close to 16,000 spectators as the Nittany Lion wrestling program uses the arena for one or two signature duals per season. The last time Lehigh wrestled in the BJC was in the 2001 NWCA National Duals when the Mountain Hawks went 3-2 to claim seventh place. Lehigh suffered losses to top-ranked Oklahoma State and Michigan but defeated Montana State-Northern and Nebraska before besting the host Nittany Lions 28-6 in the seventh place dual. The Bryce Jordan Center opened in 1996 and hosted the 1999 NCAA Championships, with Lehigh finishing in 19th place with three All-Americans: Ryan Bernholz (6th, 149), Chris Ayres (6th, 157) and John Van Doren (5th, 184).
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Defending national champion and No. 2-ranked Penn State opened its dual season with convincing wins over Army West Point and Stanford. The Nittany Lions dominated the field, claiming eight champions and racking up 245 points to win the Keystone Classic, Nov. 19 at Penn. Leading the way for the Nittany Lions are top-ranked Zain Retherford at 149 and Jason Nolf at 157. Retherford won a national title in 2016 while Nolf and Bo Nickal (184) are returning NCAA finalists.
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Penn State has a wrestler ranked in all 10 weight classes in the latest InterMat rankings, with newcomers Nick Suriano (125), Jered Cortez (133) and Vincenzo Joseph (165) all ranked in the top 12. NCAA wrestling legend Cael Sanderson is in his eighth season as Penn State's head coach. Penn State has won five NCAA team titles in the last six seasons.
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Lehigh has wrestled Penn State more than any other opponent in school history. Sunday's dual marks the 105th meeting between the rivals in a series that dates back to 1911. Penn State has won the last six duals. Lehigh and Penn State are meeting for the 84th straight year. The Mountain Hawks' last win in the series came in Cael Sanderson's first dual as Penn State's head coach. The Nittany Lions have been ranked no lower than sixth in the last six duals in this series.
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Sunday's dual gets underway at noon from the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pa. The dual will be televised nationally via the Big Ten Network. Audio coverage will be available on ESPN Radio of the Lehigh Valley (1230/1320/1160-AM) and ESPNLV.com beginning at 11:55 a.m.
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Lehigh returns to Leeman-Turner Arena for two duals next weekend, which will close out competition in the fall semester. The Mountain Hawks will welcome former All-American Chris Ayres '99 and the No. 25 Princeton Tigers on Friday Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. before welcoming the Drexel Dragons for a 2 p.m. dual on Sunday Dec. 11. Following a break for final exams and the holidays, Lehigh will open 2017 at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn. Jan. 1-2.
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| Date: | December 4, 2016 |
| Opponent: | No. 2 Penn State Nittany Lions |
| First match: | 12:02 p.m. |
| Arena: | Bryce Jordan Center (15,261) |
| Location: | University Park, Pa. |
| Lehigh's Record: | 3-0 overall, 1-0 EIWA |
| Penn State's Record: | 2-0 overall, 0-0 Big Ten |
| Series: | Penn State leads 67-34-3 |
| Streak: | Penn State has won the last six duals |
| Television: | Big Ten Network live with Tim Johnson and Jim Gibbons |
| Radio: | ESPN Radio of the Lehigh Valley (1230/1320/1160-AM) with Steve Lomangino and Gary Brownell beginning at 11:55 a.m. |
| Internet broadcast: | Audio at ESPNLV.com |
| Behind enemy lines: | http://www.gopsusports.com |
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