Friday, March 18
New York, N.Y.
11:00 AM
Lehigh University
at
NCAA Championships
Five Mountain Hawks to wrestle for All-America honors Friday night
3/18/2016 3:32:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Brackets | Team Scores | Lehigh Audio
NEW YORK – Senior Max Wessell's run in the championship bracket came to an end in the quarterfinals, but Wessell is one of five Lehigh wrestlers who earned the right to wrestle for All-America honors Friday night after a strong performance in Friday's morning session at Madison Square Garden. The Mountain Hawks went 8-4 in session three with seniors Mason Beckman and Nathaniel Brown, junior Randy Cruz and sophomore Darian Cruz all winning twice in the consolation bracket to reach the round of 12.
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The five remaining Lehigh wrestlers need to win their Friday night bouts to earn All-America honors. The Mountain Hawks finished session three with 19.5 points, good for 14th place in the team race. Lehigh posted four bonus wins in the second round of consolations, for five key bonus points.
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Wessell ran into the top seed and two-time defending NCAA Champion Nick Gwiazdowski of NC State in the quarterfinals, and despite a strong fight, dropped a 9-1 major decision to the Wolfpack senior heavyweight. He will need to feat Billy Smith of Rutgers Friday night to earn All-America honors.
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Darian Cruz began his day with a convincing 13-5 major decision over Wyoming's Drew Templeman before edging Old Dominion's Brandon Jeske 2-1 in the tiebreakers. Cruz rode out the first half of the tiebreaker before scoring a late escape. He will face No. 5 seed Ryan Millhof of Oklahoma in the All-America round at 125. Cruz beat Millhof 6-2 on December 20.
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Beckman won two more matches Friday and will appear in the round of 12 at 133 for the third straight year. First, the two-time All-American posted a 14-2 major decision over Northern Iowa's Josh Alber; then Beckman downed Josh Martinez of Air Force 7-3. To earn his third All-America medal, Beckman will have to defeat No. 5 seed Jordan Conaway of Penn State, who beat Beckman 8-2 in February.
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Randy Cruz posted the first fall of the tournament for the Mountain Hawks, locking up a cradle to deck Bucknell's Tyler Smith in 2:31. He then avenged a January loss to Franklin & Marshall's Rick Durso, beating the Diplomat 4-0. Cruz won a scramble for a first period takedown and proceeded to build more than four minutes of riding time while adding a third period escape. Cruz is appearing in the round of 12 at 141 for the second straight year. This time he will face No. 6 seed Micah Jordan of Ohio State.
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Brown will bid for his second straight medal at 184 when he meets No. 5 seed Zach Zavatsky of Virginia Tech Friday night. In the afternoon session, Brown won a 15-4 major decision over North Carolina's Alex Utley, then edged Jack Dechow of Old Dominion 2-1 thanks to a 1:41 riding time advantage.
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Three Mountain Hawks were eliminated in the morning session.
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At 149, junior Laike Gardner dropped a 3-1 decision to 2014 national champion Jason Tsirtsis of Northwestern. Gardner finishes his junior season at 21-11.
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Freshman Ryan Preisch gave up a late four point reversal in his match with Harvard's Devin Gobbo at 165. Preisch scored the first takedown of the match and when he scored late in the third could have forced overtime. The freshman was attempting to tilt Gobbo for near fall points but only got a one count before Gobbo reversed for two-and-two to claim a 9-5 win. Preisch ends his freshman campaign at 17-10.
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One day after his upset win over No. 13 Alex Meyer at 174, freshman Gordon Wolf was eliminated by Missouri's No. 3 seed Blaise Butler in a 17-8 major decision. Wolf's debut campaign ends at 14-12.
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Penn State has opened up a 14.5 point lead in the team race. The Nittany Lions lead Ohio State by a 68.5-54 margin with Iowa third at 48.5.
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The NCAA Championships continue Friday night with the semifinals and All-America round of 12 beginning at 8 p.m. 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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125 – No. 7 Darian Cruz
Rd. of 32: major dec. Johnny Jimenez (Wisconsin) 11-3
Rd. of 16: L by dec. No. 10 Connor Schram (Stanford) 3-1
Second round consolation: major dec. Drew Templeman (Wyoming) 13-5
Third round consolation: dec. Brandon Jeske (Old Dominion) 2-1, tb
Fourth round consolation: vs. No. 5 Ryan Millhof (Oklahoma)
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133 – Mason Beckman
Rd. of 32: L by dec. No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) 10-3
First round consolation: major dec. No. 16 Anthony Giraldo (Rutgers) 13-3
Second round consolation: major dec. No. 15 Josh Alber (UNI) 14-2
Third round consolation: dec. Josh Martinez (Air Force) 7-3
Fourth round consolation: vs. No. 5 Jordan Conaway (Penn State)
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141 – No. 16 Randy Cruz
Rd. of 32: dec. Jordan Laster (Princeton) 3-0
Rd. of 16: L by dec. No. 1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma St.) 4-1
Second round consolation: Fall Tyler Smith (Bucknell) 2:31
Third round consolation: dec. No. 9 Ricky Durso (F&M) 4-0
Fourth round consolation: vs. No. 6 Micah Jordan (Ohio State)
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149 – Laike Gardner - Eliminated
Rd. of 32: L by dec. No. 12 Geo Martinez (Boise St.) 8-3
First round consolation: dec. Jake Short (Minnesota) 4-1
Second round consolation: L by dec. No. 6 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) 3-1
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165 – Ryan Preisch - Eliminated
Rd. of 32: L by dec. No. 15 Clark Glass (Oklahoma) 2-1
First round consolation: dec. Adam Fierro (CSU Bakersfield) 3-1
Second round consolation: L by dec. No. 16 Devon Gobbo (Harvard) 9-5
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174 – Gordon Wolf - Eliminated
Rd. of 32: dec. No. 13 Alex Meyer (Iowa) 10-9
Rd. of 16: L by major dec. Jadaen Bernstein (Navy) 15-4
Second round consolation: L by major dec. No. 3 Blaise Butler (Missouri) 17-8
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184 – No. 10 Nathaniel Brown
Rd. of 32: dec. Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin) 7-4
Rd. of 16: L by dec. No. 7 TJ Dudley (Nebraska) 7-3
Second round consolation: major dec. Alex Utley (North Carolina) 15-4
Third round consolation: dec. Jack Dechow (ODU) 2-1
Fourth round consolation: vs. No. 5 Zach Zavatsky (Virginia Tech)
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285 – No. 8 Max Wessell
Rd. of 32: dec. Mike Hughes (Hofstra) 6-3
Rd. of 16: major dec. No. 9 Michael Kroells (Minnesota) 15-7
Quarterfinals: L by major dec. No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) 9-1
Fourth round consolation: vs. No. 12 Billy Smith (Rutgers)
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NEW YORK – Senior Max Wessell's run in the championship bracket came to an end in the quarterfinals, but Wessell is one of five Lehigh wrestlers who earned the right to wrestle for All-America honors Friday night after a strong performance in Friday's morning session at Madison Square Garden. The Mountain Hawks went 8-4 in session three with seniors Mason Beckman and Nathaniel Brown, junior Randy Cruz and sophomore Darian Cruz all winning twice in the consolation bracket to reach the round of 12.
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The five remaining Lehigh wrestlers need to win their Friday night bouts to earn All-America honors. The Mountain Hawks finished session three with 19.5 points, good for 14th place in the team race. Lehigh posted four bonus wins in the second round of consolations, for five key bonus points.
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Wessell ran into the top seed and two-time defending NCAA Champion Nick Gwiazdowski of NC State in the quarterfinals, and despite a strong fight, dropped a 9-1 major decision to the Wolfpack senior heavyweight. He will need to feat Billy Smith of Rutgers Friday night to earn All-America honors.
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Darian Cruz began his day with a convincing 13-5 major decision over Wyoming's Drew Templeman before edging Old Dominion's Brandon Jeske 2-1 in the tiebreakers. Cruz rode out the first half of the tiebreaker before scoring a late escape. He will face No. 5 seed Ryan Millhof of Oklahoma in the All-America round at 125. Cruz beat Millhof 6-2 on December 20.
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Beckman won two more matches Friday and will appear in the round of 12 at 133 for the third straight year. First, the two-time All-American posted a 14-2 major decision over Northern Iowa's Josh Alber; then Beckman downed Josh Martinez of Air Force 7-3. To earn his third All-America medal, Beckman will have to defeat No. 5 seed Jordan Conaway of Penn State, who beat Beckman 8-2 in February.
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Randy Cruz posted the first fall of the tournament for the Mountain Hawks, locking up a cradle to deck Bucknell's Tyler Smith in 2:31. He then avenged a January loss to Franklin & Marshall's Rick Durso, beating the Diplomat 4-0. Cruz won a scramble for a first period takedown and proceeded to build more than four minutes of riding time while adding a third period escape. Cruz is appearing in the round of 12 at 141 for the second straight year. This time he will face No. 6 seed Micah Jordan of Ohio State.
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Brown will bid for his second straight medal at 184 when he meets No. 5 seed Zach Zavatsky of Virginia Tech Friday night. In the afternoon session, Brown won a 15-4 major decision over North Carolina's Alex Utley, then edged Jack Dechow of Old Dominion 2-1 thanks to a 1:41 riding time advantage.
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Three Mountain Hawks were eliminated in the morning session.
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At 149, junior Laike Gardner dropped a 3-1 decision to 2014 national champion Jason Tsirtsis of Northwestern. Gardner finishes his junior season at 21-11.
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Freshman Ryan Preisch gave up a late four point reversal in his match with Harvard's Devin Gobbo at 165. Preisch scored the first takedown of the match and when he scored late in the third could have forced overtime. The freshman was attempting to tilt Gobbo for near fall points but only got a one count before Gobbo reversed for two-and-two to claim a 9-5 win. Preisch ends his freshman campaign at 17-10.
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One day after his upset win over No. 13 Alex Meyer at 174, freshman Gordon Wolf was eliminated by Missouri's No. 3 seed Blaise Butler in a 17-8 major decision. Wolf's debut campaign ends at 14-12.
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Penn State has opened up a 14.5 point lead in the team race. The Nittany Lions lead Ohio State by a 68.5-54 margin with Iowa third at 48.5.
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The NCAA Championships continue Friday night with the semifinals and All-America round of 12 beginning at 8 p.m. 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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125 – No. 7 Darian Cruz
Rd. of 32: major dec. Johnny Jimenez (Wisconsin) 11-3
Rd. of 16: L by dec. No. 10 Connor Schram (Stanford) 3-1
Second round consolation: major dec. Drew Templeman (Wyoming) 13-5
Third round consolation: dec. Brandon Jeske (Old Dominion) 2-1, tb
Fourth round consolation: vs. No. 5 Ryan Millhof (Oklahoma)
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133 – Mason Beckman
Rd. of 32: L by dec. No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) 10-3
First round consolation: major dec. No. 16 Anthony Giraldo (Rutgers) 13-3
Second round consolation: major dec. No. 15 Josh Alber (UNI) 14-2
Third round consolation: dec. Josh Martinez (Air Force) 7-3
Fourth round consolation: vs. No. 5 Jordan Conaway (Penn State)
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141 – No. 16 Randy Cruz
Rd. of 32: dec. Jordan Laster (Princeton) 3-0
Rd. of 16: L by dec. No. 1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma St.) 4-1
Second round consolation: Fall Tyler Smith (Bucknell) 2:31
Third round consolation: dec. No. 9 Ricky Durso (F&M) 4-0
Fourth round consolation: vs. No. 6 Micah Jordan (Ohio State)
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149 – Laike Gardner - Eliminated
Rd. of 32: L by dec. No. 12 Geo Martinez (Boise St.) 8-3
First round consolation: dec. Jake Short (Minnesota) 4-1
Second round consolation: L by dec. No. 6 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) 3-1
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165 – Ryan Preisch - Eliminated
Rd. of 32: L by dec. No. 15 Clark Glass (Oklahoma) 2-1
First round consolation: dec. Adam Fierro (CSU Bakersfield) 3-1
Second round consolation: L by dec. No. 16 Devon Gobbo (Harvard) 9-5
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174 – Gordon Wolf - Eliminated
Rd. of 32: dec. No. 13 Alex Meyer (Iowa) 10-9
Rd. of 16: L by major dec. Jadaen Bernstein (Navy) 15-4
Second round consolation: L by major dec. No. 3 Blaise Butler (Missouri) 17-8
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184 – No. 10 Nathaniel Brown
Rd. of 32: dec. Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin) 7-4
Rd. of 16: L by dec. No. 7 TJ Dudley (Nebraska) 7-3
Second round consolation: major dec. Alex Utley (North Carolina) 15-4
Third round consolation: dec. Jack Dechow (ODU) 2-1
Fourth round consolation: vs. No. 5 Zach Zavatsky (Virginia Tech)
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285 – No. 8 Max Wessell
Rd. of 32: dec. Mike Hughes (Hofstra) 6-3
Rd. of 16: major dec. No. 9 Michael Kroells (Minnesota) 15-7
Quarterfinals: L by major dec. No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) 9-1
Fourth round consolation: vs. No. 12 Billy Smith (Rutgers)
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Players Mentioned
133
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
285
/ Men's Wrestling
174
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