Lehigh to open season Sunday at Journeymen Collegiate Classic

Sunday, November 11

Troy, N.Y.

9:00 AM

Lehigh University

Journeymen Collegiate Classic

Lehigh to open season Sunday at Journeymen Collegiate Classic

11/9/2018 12:01:00 PM | Men's Wrestling

Match Notes Watch on FloWrestling (Subscription Required)Lehigh Season Preview

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The 110th season of Lehigh wrestling officially begins Sunday in Troy, N.Y. as the Mountain Hawks will have 19 wrestlers competing at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic. Lehigh is coming off a 12-3 dual campaign a season ago that saw the Mountain Hawks win their league-leading 35th EIWA team title and first since 2006. The Mountain Hawks crowned five individual EIWA champions and then went on to crown three All-Americans at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland. Top returnees for the Mountain Hawks include seniors Scott Parker and Ryan Preisch, junior Jordan Kutler and sophomore Jordan Wood. The dual meet season begins Nov. 16 at No. 5 Michigan, but first Lehigh will take part in the Journeymen Collegiate Classic for the third straight year. Once again, the Journeymen Collegiate Classic will feature a tournament-style round-robin format.

The Journeymen Collegiate Classic features 16 teams, including 14 Division I squads, competing in independent modified round robin brackets. Wrestlers will compete in 6-8 man round robin brackets that will be followed by crossover matches.

Competing teams include: Appalachian State, Army West Point, Bloomsburg, the Citadel, Edinboro, Hofstra, Lehigh, Lock Haven, North Carolina State, Oklahoma, Purdue, Utah Valley, West Virginia and Wyoming plus Division II LIU-Post and Division III Ithaca.

Lehigh will be competing in Troy, N.Y. for the 10th time in the last 12 years. The Mountain Hawks went 17-5 in duals in their seven previous trips to the Northeast Duals. Eleven Mountain Hawks who competed here last year are expected to take part in this year's Journeymen Collegiate Classic. Juniors Chase Gallik and Andrew Price competed at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic two years ago and are expected back this year. Senior Ryan Preisch is a perfect 6-0 in his career at this event.

Lehigh will once again face one of the nation's toughest dual meet schedules. Ten of Lehigh's 18 scheduled duals are against teams currently ranked in the NWCA Top 25, including eight of the current top 11. Other ranked teams competing at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic are No. 8 NC State, No. 17 Purdue, No. 20 Lock Haven and No. 21 Wyoming.

The first in-season rankings by InterMat have wrestlers ranked in all 10 weight classes, led by senior Ryan Preisch, who is ranked sixth at 184. EIWA Champions Scott Parker (133), Jordan Kutler (174) and Jordan Wood (285) are all ranked seventh at their weights by InterMat. Lehigh has eight wrestlers ranked by FloWrestling, nine by The Open Mat and five by Amateur Wrestling News. In addition to Preisch, Kutler and Wood, sophomore Luke Karam and junior Cole Walter are also ranked across the board by all four outlets.

Lehigh crowned five individual EIWA champions last March on the way to its 35th EIWA team title and its first since 2006. Four of the five champions return for the Mountain Hawks this season. Senior Scott Parker has won back-to-back titles at 133 and is a two-time All-American but will not compete this weekend. Junior Jordan Kutler won his first title and earned All-America honors at 174. Senior Ryan Preisch clinched the team title for the Mountain Hawks with a fall in the finals at 184 and earned the Coaches Trophy as the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler. Sophomore heavyweight Jordan Wood became the first Lehigh freshman EIWA champion since Randy Cruz in 2013.

Two Lehigh deferred freshmen are expected to wrestle their first official varsity bouts at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic, while a third officially debuted last weekend at the Princeton Open. Luke Resnick is one of two Lehigh entries at 125, while Jimmy Hoffman is one of two Mountain Hawks expected to compete at 149. Dan Moran debuted with a 2-2 showing at 141 Nov. 4 at the Princeton Open. Sophomore Brandon Paetzell will wrestle his first official bouts for Lehigh after competing for Rutgers in 2016-17 and sitting out last season. Sophomores Kyle Gentile and Joe Lobeck wrestled official bouts as true freshmen and return after deferring eligibility last season. No members of Lehigh's 2017 recruiting class saw varsity action as true freshmen last season.

The Journeymen Collegiate Classic marks the first official competition date for Lehigh in the 2018-19 season. For Lehigh, this marks the first time since the 2013-14 season that the Mountain Hawks open their season with something other than a dual meet. That year, Lehigh sent many of its starters to compete attached in the Knight Point Clarion Open. Lehigh's Nov. 16 dual opener at Michigan will mark its latest dual opener since 2000-01 when the Mountain Hawks opened the dual season against Lock Haven on Nov. 17.

Action from the Journeymen Collegiate Classic is expected to begin at 9 a.m. Sunday from Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, N.Y. Streaming video of the Journeymen Collegiate Classic will be provided by FloWrestling as part of its FloPro subscription service.

The 2018-19 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.

Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.