Thursday, March 15
Cleveland, Ohio
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
at
NCAA Championships
Lehigh places five in quarterfinals, advances all 10 wrestlers to day two of NCAA Championships
3/15/2018 10:46:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Brackets/Team Scores | Thursday afternoon recap
CLEVELAND – Five wrestlers advanced to Friday morning's quarterfinals and all 10 Lehigh wrestlers advanced to the second day of competition as the Mountain Hawks wrapped up day one of the NCAA Championships Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena. Lehigh went 8-2 in Thursday's evening session and improved to 16-5 on the opening day of action. The Mountain Hawks finished day one in a tie for ninth place with 14.5 points.
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Lehigh's five quarterfinalists are its most since 2003 (Terrence Clendenin – 125, Derek Zinck – 157, Troy Letters – 165, Brad Dillon – 174 and Jon Trenge – 197).
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"It has been a tough day with a lot of battles, but our guys have really risen up and won some close ones," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "They're getting comfortable winning matches that they're not normally comfortable winning and that's an important thing at this tournament."
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Thursday's night session began with senior Darian Cruz replicating his 1-0 win from last year's round of 16, this time downing Michigan's Drew Mattin to advance to the quarterfinals at 125 for the second straight year. The only points came by way of a second period escape for Cruz as Mattin chose neutral in the third and Cruz used solid defensive positioning to pick up the victory. Cruz will face ninth-seeded Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State in Friday's quarterfinals, needing a win to become a three-time All-American.
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(3/15/2018) Day 1 - 2018 NCAA Championships
Junior Scott Parker joined Cruz in the quarterfinals, avenging a loss last month to Pitt's Dom Forys with a 7-5 decision at 133. Parker won the takedown battle 2-1 with scores in the second and third periods plus two escapes and a penalty point for unnecessary roughness. He has a chance to become a two-time All-American with a victory on Friday. Parker will face No. 3 seed Luke Pletcher of Ohio State in the quarterfinals.
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Later in Thursday's session, sophomore Jordan Kutler became Lehigh's third quarterfinalist. Kutler defeated Oklahoma State's Jacobe Smith 4-2 at 174. A strong ride allowed Kutler to build sizeable advantage time in the second period before he added an escape and late double leg takedown in the third. Next up for the fourth-seeded Kutler is No. 5 Myles Amine of Michigan, who Kutler edged Amine 5-4 on Nov. 19.
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Junior Ryan Preisch also needed a late score to secure a quarterfinal berth. Unable to penetrate Rutgers' Nicholas Gravina, Preisch finally broke through with a takedown late in the third period and held on for a 3-2 victory. Preisch advances to the quarterfinals at 184 where he will face Zack Zavatsky of Virginia Tech in a rematch from the Journeymen Collegiate Classic won by Preisch in sudden victory.
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Freshman Chris Weiler beat his second seeded wrestler of the day at 197 to become Lehigh's fifth quarterfinalist, as he knocked off No. 7 Frank Mattiace of Penn 6-4. Weiler scored the first takedown to grab the early lead, but the match nearly turned in Mattiace's favor with a second period reversal and lengthy ride. A Weiler escape in the third gave him a 4-3 lead, but Mattiace had riding time locked up. With the match looking like it was headed to overtime, Weiler scored a late takedown on the edge to win 6-4. He will next face Cornell's Ben Darmstadt in a rematch of the EIWA semifinals, won by Darmstadt 10-6.
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"Chris just keeps getting better every time out," Santoro said. "He gets a little better, a little better and he's getting confident now. We're looking forward to a good day tomorrow for him."
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The two Mountain Hawks who fell in the round of 16 were freshmen Luke Karam (141) and Jordan Wood (285). Karam fell victim to a 15-0 technical fall against No. 4 seed Joey McKenna of Ohio State, while Wood suffered his second overtime loss of the season to Stanford's Nathan Butler, this time 3-1 in sudden victory.
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Both wrestlers will need to win two matches Friday morning to advance to Friday night's All-American round, as will the three wrestlers who won in the first round of consolations to advance to day two.
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At 149, junior Cortlandt Schuyler won his rubber match against Navy's Jared Prince, 4-3. Prince scored the first takedown, but Schuyler broke a 2-2 tie with a late second period takedown and held on from there.
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Junior Ian Brown needed overtime to pick up his first career NCAA win, using a nifty arm spin to score on Kent State's Casey Sparkman and claim a 3-1 win to stay alive at 157.
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Junior Gordon Wolf closed out the session for Lehigh with a 7-3 decision over Oklahoma's Dawaylon Barnes. Wolf scored reversals in the first two periods and added a takedown in the third plus more than three minutes of riding time advantage.
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"All 10 guys can still get on the podium, that's important," Santoro said. "They can all score team points. That's important. They're wrestling for each other and for themselves and for their families. It's a good group. I'm glad they're all on to day two, now we need to get them all to day three.
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"We just have to keep wrestling," Santoro continued. "Bonus points are a little tougher at the NCAA Tournament. We didn't get any today. We'd like to get some and we'd like our guys to keep looking for them. We keep stressing 'score more points.' It's important for our guys to do that. Go for pins, put some guys in danger. I think that will open up our offense."
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Ohio State capped a 19-1 day by placing nine wrestlers in the quarterfinals to take the team lead with 36 points. Penn State went 9-0 in Thursday's night session to move into second place with 28.5, while Iowa sits in third with 27 at the end of day one.
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The NCAA Championships continue Friday morning with session three, featuring the championship quarterfinals and two rounds of consolations, beginning at 11 a.m. Session three will be televised on ESPNU with streaming on WatchESPN. Once again audio for all Lehigh bouts will be available on Lehighsports.com/watch.
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125 – No. 1 Darian Cruz
Round of 32: dec. RayVon Foley (Michigan State) 7-4
Round of 16: dec. Drew Mattin (Michigan) 1-0
Quarterfinals: No. 9 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon St.)
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133 – No. 6 Scott Parker
Round of 32: dec. Cam Sykora (NDSU) 2-1, tb
Round of 16: dec. No. 11 Dom Forys (Pitt) 7-5
Quarterfinals: No. 3 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State)
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141 – No. 13 Luke Karam
Round of 32: dec. Tejon Anthony (George Mason) 5-4
Round of 16: L by tech fall No. 4 Joey McKenna (Ohio State) 15-0, 5:18
Second round consolation: Nick Zanetta (Pitt)
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149 – Cortlandt Schuyler
Round of 32: L by major dec. No. 15 Ronald Perry (Lock Haven) 11-3
First round consolation: dec. Jared Prince (Navy) 4-3
Second round consolation: No. 16 Alfred Bannister (Maryland)
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157 – Ian Brown
Round of 32: L by major dec. No. 5 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) 12-4
First round consolation: dec. Casey Sparkman (Kent State) 3-1, sv
Second round consolation: Paul Fox (Stanford)
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165 – Gordon Wolf
Pigtail: dec. May Bethea (Penn) 13-8
Round of 32: L by major dec. No. 4 Chad Walsh (Rider) 17-6
First round consolation: dec. Dawaylon Barnes (Oklahoma) 7-3
Second round consolation: No. 14 Branson Ashworth (Wyoming)
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174 – No. 4 Jordan Kutler
Round of 32: dec. Josef Johnson (Harvard) 2-0
Round of 16: dec. No. 13 Jacobe Smith (Okla. St.) 4-2
Quarterfinals: No. 5 Myles Amine (Michigan)
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184 – No. 3 Ryan Preisch
Round of 32: dec. Greg Bulsak (Clarion) 5-1
Round of 16: dec. No. 14 Nicholas Gravina (Rutgers) 3-2
Quarterfinals: No. 6 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech)
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197 – Chris Weiler
Round of 32: dec. No. 10 Scottie Boykin (Chattanooga) 4-1
Round of 16: dec. No. 7 Frank Mattiace (Penn) 6-4
Quarterfinals: No. 2 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell)
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285 – No. 10 Jordan Wood
Round of 32: dec. Cory Gilliland-Daniel (North Carolina) 2-0
Round of 16: L by dec. No. 7 Nathan Butler (Stanford) 3-1, sv
Second round consolation: Garrett Ryan (Columbia)
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CLEVELAND – Five wrestlers advanced to Friday morning's quarterfinals and all 10 Lehigh wrestlers advanced to the second day of competition as the Mountain Hawks wrapped up day one of the NCAA Championships Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena. Lehigh went 8-2 in Thursday's evening session and improved to 16-5 on the opening day of action. The Mountain Hawks finished day one in a tie for ninth place with 14.5 points.
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Lehigh's five quarterfinalists are its most since 2003 (Terrence Clendenin – 125, Derek Zinck – 157, Troy Letters – 165, Brad Dillon – 174 and Jon Trenge – 197).
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"It has been a tough day with a lot of battles, but our guys have really risen up and won some close ones," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "They're getting comfortable winning matches that they're not normally comfortable winning and that's an important thing at this tournament."
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Thursday's night session began with senior Darian Cruz replicating his 1-0 win from last year's round of 16, this time downing Michigan's Drew Mattin to advance to the quarterfinals at 125 for the second straight year. The only points came by way of a second period escape for Cruz as Mattin chose neutral in the third and Cruz used solid defensive positioning to pick up the victory. Cruz will face ninth-seeded Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State in Friday's quarterfinals, needing a win to become a three-time All-American.
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Junior Scott Parker joined Cruz in the quarterfinals, avenging a loss last month to Pitt's Dom Forys with a 7-5 decision at 133. Parker won the takedown battle 2-1 with scores in the second and third periods plus two escapes and a penalty point for unnecessary roughness. He has a chance to become a two-time All-American with a victory on Friday. Parker will face No. 3 seed Luke Pletcher of Ohio State in the quarterfinals.
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Later in Thursday's session, sophomore Jordan Kutler became Lehigh's third quarterfinalist. Kutler defeated Oklahoma State's Jacobe Smith 4-2 at 174. A strong ride allowed Kutler to build sizeable advantage time in the second period before he added an escape and late double leg takedown in the third. Next up for the fourth-seeded Kutler is No. 5 Myles Amine of Michigan, who Kutler edged Amine 5-4 on Nov. 19.
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Junior Ryan Preisch also needed a late score to secure a quarterfinal berth. Unable to penetrate Rutgers' Nicholas Gravina, Preisch finally broke through with a takedown late in the third period and held on for a 3-2 victory. Preisch advances to the quarterfinals at 184 where he will face Zack Zavatsky of Virginia Tech in a rematch from the Journeymen Collegiate Classic won by Preisch in sudden victory.
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Freshman Chris Weiler beat his second seeded wrestler of the day at 197 to become Lehigh's fifth quarterfinalist, as he knocked off No. 7 Frank Mattiace of Penn 6-4. Weiler scored the first takedown to grab the early lead, but the match nearly turned in Mattiace's favor with a second period reversal and lengthy ride. A Weiler escape in the third gave him a 4-3 lead, but Mattiace had riding time locked up. With the match looking like it was headed to overtime, Weiler scored a late takedown on the edge to win 6-4. He will next face Cornell's Ben Darmstadt in a rematch of the EIWA semifinals, won by Darmstadt 10-6.
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"Chris just keeps getting better every time out," Santoro said. "He gets a little better, a little better and he's getting confident now. We're looking forward to a good day tomorrow for him."
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The two Mountain Hawks who fell in the round of 16 were freshmen Luke Karam (141) and Jordan Wood (285). Karam fell victim to a 15-0 technical fall against No. 4 seed Joey McKenna of Ohio State, while Wood suffered his second overtime loss of the season to Stanford's Nathan Butler, this time 3-1 in sudden victory.
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Both wrestlers will need to win two matches Friday morning to advance to Friday night's All-American round, as will the three wrestlers who won in the first round of consolations to advance to day two.
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At 149, junior Cortlandt Schuyler won his rubber match against Navy's Jared Prince, 4-3. Prince scored the first takedown, but Schuyler broke a 2-2 tie with a late second period takedown and held on from there.
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Junior Ian Brown needed overtime to pick up his first career NCAA win, using a nifty arm spin to score on Kent State's Casey Sparkman and claim a 3-1 win to stay alive at 157.
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Junior Gordon Wolf closed out the session for Lehigh with a 7-3 decision over Oklahoma's Dawaylon Barnes. Wolf scored reversals in the first two periods and added a takedown in the third plus more than three minutes of riding time advantage.
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"All 10 guys can still get on the podium, that's important," Santoro said. "They can all score team points. That's important. They're wrestling for each other and for themselves and for their families. It's a good group. I'm glad they're all on to day two, now we need to get them all to day three.
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"We just have to keep wrestling," Santoro continued. "Bonus points are a little tougher at the NCAA Tournament. We didn't get any today. We'd like to get some and we'd like our guys to keep looking for them. We keep stressing 'score more points.' It's important for our guys to do that. Go for pins, put some guys in danger. I think that will open up our offense."
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Ohio State capped a 19-1 day by placing nine wrestlers in the quarterfinals to take the team lead with 36 points. Penn State went 9-0 in Thursday's night session to move into second place with 28.5, while Iowa sits in third with 27 at the end of day one.
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The NCAA Championships continue Friday morning with session three, featuring the championship quarterfinals and two rounds of consolations, beginning at 11 a.m. Session three will be televised on ESPNU with streaming on WatchESPN. Once again audio for all Lehigh bouts will be available on Lehighsports.com/watch.
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125 – No. 1 Darian Cruz
Round of 32: dec. RayVon Foley (Michigan State) 7-4
Round of 16: dec. Drew Mattin (Michigan) 1-0
Quarterfinals: No. 9 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon St.)
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133 – No. 6 Scott Parker
Round of 32: dec. Cam Sykora (NDSU) 2-1, tb
Round of 16: dec. No. 11 Dom Forys (Pitt) 7-5
Quarterfinals: No. 3 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State)
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141 – No. 13 Luke Karam
Round of 32: dec. Tejon Anthony (George Mason) 5-4
Round of 16: L by tech fall No. 4 Joey McKenna (Ohio State) 15-0, 5:18
Second round consolation: Nick Zanetta (Pitt)
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149 – Cortlandt Schuyler
Round of 32: L by major dec. No. 15 Ronald Perry (Lock Haven) 11-3
First round consolation: dec. Jared Prince (Navy) 4-3
Second round consolation: No. 16 Alfred Bannister (Maryland)
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157 – Ian Brown
Round of 32: L by major dec. No. 5 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) 12-4
First round consolation: dec. Casey Sparkman (Kent State) 3-1, sv
Second round consolation: Paul Fox (Stanford)
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165 – Gordon Wolf
Pigtail: dec. May Bethea (Penn) 13-8
Round of 32: L by major dec. No. 4 Chad Walsh (Rider) 17-6
First round consolation: dec. Dawaylon Barnes (Oklahoma) 7-3
Second round consolation: No. 14 Branson Ashworth (Wyoming)
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174 – No. 4 Jordan Kutler
Round of 32: dec. Josef Johnson (Harvard) 2-0
Round of 16: dec. No. 13 Jacobe Smith (Okla. St.) 4-2
Quarterfinals: No. 5 Myles Amine (Michigan)
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184 – No. 3 Ryan Preisch
Round of 32: dec. Greg Bulsak (Clarion) 5-1
Round of 16: dec. No. 14 Nicholas Gravina (Rutgers) 3-2
Quarterfinals: No. 6 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech)
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197 – Chris Weiler
Round of 32: dec. No. 10 Scottie Boykin (Chattanooga) 4-1
Round of 16: dec. No. 7 Frank Mattiace (Penn) 6-4
Quarterfinals: No. 2 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell)
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285 – No. 10 Jordan Wood
Round of 32: dec. Cory Gilliland-Daniel (North Carolina) 2-0
Round of 16: L by dec. No. 7 Nathan Butler (Stanford) 3-1, sv
Second round consolation: Garrett Ryan (Columbia)
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Players Mentioned
157
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
174
/ Men's Wrestling
133
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
184/197
/ Men's Wrestling
165/174
/ Men's Wrestling
285
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