Photo by: Rich Warnke
Cruz in control of his destiny for strong finish
2/22/2017 4:49:00 PM | Men's Wrestling, Student Athlete, Features
By Austin Vitelli '17, Lehigh Sports Communications
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As Randy Cruz gets ready for every match, the same feeling of nervousness rushes through him.
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Butterflies bounce around in his stomach like pinballs, reminding him of how much he wants to win. Every match to him is huge.
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Cruz is calm and soft-spoken at times, especially around new people. But while he can be quiet outside of wrestling, his Lehigh career on the mat is anything but that.
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Of Lehigh's three All-Americans from last season, Cruz is the only returnee. Now, he nears the end of his fifth year on the team and his final year of eligibility. After 18 years of wrestling, Cruz is poised to make his final season at Lehigh end on a positive note.
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Last year, in front of a packed crowd at Madison Square Garden in New York, Cruz upended Ohio State's then-freshman Micah Jordan in the Round of 12 at the NCAA Championships before eventually finishing eighth at 141 and earning an All-American medal.
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At 97 career wins, he ranks among some of the best Lehigh wrestlers in school history. His 18-6 record this year has him at 16th in his weight class, according to InterMat Wrestling.
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Cruz's wrestling career began all the way back at the age of five, as his father encouraged him and his brother, Darian, to wrestle.
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"He got me and Darian into wrestling, and he was just a great instructor," Randy Cruz said. "He helped me and Darian, and even if he didn't know something he'd get someone who would."
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Cruz's father helped in any way he could, even though he didn't wrestle in college. This ultimately led to both Randy and Darian Cruz going to Bethlehem Catholic High School, where they won a state championship together in 2011-12.
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Randy Cruz said he didn't really watch college wrestling until later in high school, but he went to a couple of Lehigh matches and decided it would be a good fit. And with the school being about 10 minutes away from his house, it was an added bonus.
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When Randy got to Lehigh, though, he found himself staring across the mat at one of the two people who beat him his senior year of high school: Laike Gardner.
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They didn't really know each other at the time, but the loss to Gardner always stayed in the back of his mind as they battled for the starting spot at 133. Gardner began the season as the starter, but Cruz eventually beat him out at the Midlands Championships in December 2012.
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Gardner joked that they didn't really like each other at the beginning.
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"It was one of those conversations where he used a little bit of humor to play it off, but he was like 'I didn't really like you when we first got here, but now you're one of my best friends,'" Gardner said. "It was a really touching moment for us."
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Gardner said how much the rest of the team loves him. He added that Randy Cruz is always modest about winning and his accomplishments.
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"With our sport, it's so easy to be humbled because it's just you and one other guy out there," Gardner said. "You don't have anyone else to fall back on."
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While Randy Cruz was going through all this, he had the support system of his family, who was so close by. His parents get to come to all his matches, where his father, the one who got him into wrestling in the first place, can see his son shine at the biggest stage.
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"My mom, dad, grandparents, my coach from high school, we all live in like a 10 to 15 minute radius," Randy Cruz said. "It's just so easy for them to come support. It's very convenient and nice when all my friends are there."
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Family is an important part of Randy Cruz's upbringing, both in and out of wrestling. And the competitiveness that bred from being just one year older than Darian helped that.
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Darian Cruz said always having a brother to compete with — regardless of what it is — made growing up that much more fun. Whether it was racing to the car or seeing who can do more push-ups, the competition was always there.
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The competition has helped both succeed at Lehigh. After winning the starting spot at 133 as a freshman, Randy went on to become Lehigh's first true freshman EIWA Champion since 1980. The following year Darian stepped in at 125 and earned All-America honors, the first for a Lehigh true freshman also since 1980.
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Randy Cruz said he always watches his brother before him, who competes at the 125-pound weight class. Darian Cruz said he owes all that he's achieved to his brother for always helping and supporting him.
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"I put all my accomplishments on him," Darian Cruz said. "I got to see first-hand what it was like to go to the next level, whether it was elementary school to high school or high school to college.
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"Wrestling on the same team was awesome, you always have someone for support, especially here in college. Kids come from all over, and us being so family-oriented, it's really easy for us to get along, and you always have someone to rely on and depend on in any situation."
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He said this closeness has multiplied since coming to college. He said their relationship in high school was more just brothers that happened to wrestle on the same team, but in college it's transformed into a closer bond. Darian Cruz credits going to the same college as the biggest factor in their close relationship.
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Randy Cruz is planning to graduate with a degree in industrial systems engineering this spring. He said he's not sure what he wants to do, but he thought engineering sounded interesting and didn't want to do what his parents did. His father is a teacher and his mom was a biology major.
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He started out in the College of Arts and Sciences, saying he enjoys his English and Spanish classes, but decided to switch midway through. He also applied to Lehigh's technical entrepreneurship graduate program.
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Randy said it is bittersweet being at the end of his competitive wrestling career, but he thinks he'll enjoy some time off from the grind of a wrestling season. He said he still hopes to work out with the team and help them out next year.
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"I'm excited for the end of the season because I think I'm going to make some noise at NCAAs, but it's also kind of sad that it's going to be my last time in a Lehigh singlet," Randy Cruz said. "I've always thought of Lehigh as something that I could be a part of since I was little or before high school. So it's crazy that it could be coming to an end."
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As Randy Cruz gets ready for every match, the same feeling of nervousness rushes through him.
Â
Butterflies bounce around in his stomach like pinballs, reminding him of how much he wants to win. Every match to him is huge.
Â
Cruz is calm and soft-spoken at times, especially around new people. But while he can be quiet outside of wrestling, his Lehigh career on the mat is anything but that.
Â
Of Lehigh's three All-Americans from last season, Cruz is the only returnee. Now, he nears the end of his fifth year on the team and his final year of eligibility. After 18 years of wrestling, Cruz is poised to make his final season at Lehigh end on a positive note.
Â
Last year, in front of a packed crowd at Madison Square Garden in New York, Cruz upended Ohio State's then-freshman Micah Jordan in the Round of 12 at the NCAA Championships before eventually finishing eighth at 141 and earning an All-American medal.
Â
At 97 career wins, he ranks among some of the best Lehigh wrestlers in school history. His 18-6 record this year has him at 16th in his weight class, according to InterMat Wrestling.
Â
Cruz's wrestling career began all the way back at the age of five, as his father encouraged him and his brother, Darian, to wrestle.
Â
"He got me and Darian into wrestling, and he was just a great instructor," Randy Cruz said. "He helped me and Darian, and even if he didn't know something he'd get someone who would."
Â
Cruz's father helped in any way he could, even though he didn't wrestle in college. This ultimately led to both Randy and Darian Cruz going to Bethlehem Catholic High School, where they won a state championship together in 2011-12.
Â
Randy Cruz said he didn't really watch college wrestling until later in high school, but he went to a couple of Lehigh matches and decided it would be a good fit. And with the school being about 10 minutes away from his house, it was an added bonus.
Â
When Randy got to Lehigh, though, he found himself staring across the mat at one of the two people who beat him his senior year of high school: Laike Gardner.
Â
They didn't really know each other at the time, but the loss to Gardner always stayed in the back of his mind as they battled for the starting spot at 133. Gardner began the season as the starter, but Cruz eventually beat him out at the Midlands Championships in December 2012.
Â
Gardner joked that they didn't really like each other at the beginning.
Â
"It was one of those conversations where he used a little bit of humor to play it off, but he was like 'I didn't really like you when we first got here, but now you're one of my best friends,'" Gardner said. "It was a really touching moment for us."
Â
Gardner said how much the rest of the team loves him. He added that Randy Cruz is always modest about winning and his accomplishments.
Â
"With our sport, it's so easy to be humbled because it's just you and one other guy out there," Gardner said. "You don't have anyone else to fall back on."
Â
While Randy Cruz was going through all this, he had the support system of his family, who was so close by. His parents get to come to all his matches, where his father, the one who got him into wrestling in the first place, can see his son shine at the biggest stage.
Â
"My mom, dad, grandparents, my coach from high school, we all live in like a 10 to 15 minute radius," Randy Cruz said. "It's just so easy for them to come support. It's very convenient and nice when all my friends are there."
Â
Family is an important part of Randy Cruz's upbringing, both in and out of wrestling. And the competitiveness that bred from being just one year older than Darian helped that.
Â
Darian Cruz said always having a brother to compete with — regardless of what it is — made growing up that much more fun. Whether it was racing to the car or seeing who can do more push-ups, the competition was always there.
Â
The competition has helped both succeed at Lehigh. After winning the starting spot at 133 as a freshman, Randy went on to become Lehigh's first true freshman EIWA Champion since 1980. The following year Darian stepped in at 125 and earned All-America honors, the first for a Lehigh true freshman also since 1980.
Â
Randy Cruz said he always watches his brother before him, who competes at the 125-pound weight class. Darian Cruz said he owes all that he's achieved to his brother for always helping and supporting him.
Â
"I put all my accomplishments on him," Darian Cruz said. "I got to see first-hand what it was like to go to the next level, whether it was elementary school to high school or high school to college.
Â
"Wrestling on the same team was awesome, you always have someone for support, especially here in college. Kids come from all over, and us being so family-oriented, it's really easy for us to get along, and you always have someone to rely on and depend on in any situation."
Â
He said this closeness has multiplied since coming to college. He said their relationship in high school was more just brothers that happened to wrestle on the same team, but in college it's transformed into a closer bond. Darian Cruz credits going to the same college as the biggest factor in their close relationship.
Â
Randy Cruz is planning to graduate with a degree in industrial systems engineering this spring. He said he's not sure what he wants to do, but he thought engineering sounded interesting and didn't want to do what his parents did. His father is a teacher and his mom was a biology major.
Â
He started out in the College of Arts and Sciences, saying he enjoys his English and Spanish classes, but decided to switch midway through. He also applied to Lehigh's technical entrepreneurship graduate program.
Â
Randy said it is bittersweet being at the end of his competitive wrestling career, but he thinks he'll enjoy some time off from the grind of a wrestling season. He said he still hopes to work out with the team and help them out next year.
Â
"I'm excited for the end of the season because I think I'm going to make some noise at NCAAs, but it's also kind of sad that it's going to be my last time in a Lehigh singlet," Randy Cruz said. "I've always thought of Lehigh as something that I could be a part of since I was little or before high school. So it's crazy that it could be coming to an end."
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Players Mentioned
Lehigh Sports Central: Wrestling
Wednesday, March 12
Lehigh Sports Central: Wrestling
Thursday, February 20
Lehigh Sports Central: Wrestling
Wednesday, December 04
Season Preview: Wrestling
Wednesday, October 30
