Friday, March 16
Cleveland, Ohio
11:00 AM
Lehigh University
at
NCAA Championships
Cruz becomes three-time All-American, five Mountain Hawks to wrestle for podium place Friday night
3/16/2018 3:40:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Brackets/Team Scores
CLEVELAND – Senior Darian Cruz became the 19th Lehigh wrestler to win at least three All-America medals and advanced to the national semifinals for the second straight year to highlight session three for Lehigh Friday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena. Cruz moved to 29-0 on the season and picked up his 50th consecutive victory with a 2-0 decision over Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State.
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The win by Cruz was the only one in five quarterfinal matches Friday for Lehigh. Five other Mountain Hawks will wrestle for All-America honors in the round of 12, Lehigh's four quarterfinal losers plus freshman Jordan Wood, who won twice on Friday to stay alive in consolations.
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Lehigh finishes session three tied for 10th place with Arizona State with 23 points.
(3/16/2018) NCAA Wrestling Championships - Session 3
Cruz won his second consecutive match without the aid of a takedown. Against the ninth-seeded Bresser, Cruz rode out the second period then escaped in the third while maintaining a 1:02 riding time advantage. He became the first three-time All-American for Lehigh since Robert Hamlin in 2013. He will face No. 4 seed Nick Suriano of Rutgers in the semifinals. Suriano beat Cruz 7-0 in a dual last season when Suriano wrestled for Penn State.
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The trio of junior Scott Parker (133), sophomore Jordan Kutler (174) and junior Ryan Preisch (184) all dropped one-takedown bouts that went their opponents' way. In Kutler and Preisch's cases, opponents reversed results from Lehigh wins in November.
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A takedown in the final seconds of the first period was the difference as Parker fell 3-1 to Luke Pletcher of Ohio State. He will now face No. 16 seed Mitch McKee of Minnesota, needing a win to secure his second straight All-America honor.
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Kutler was also victimized by a first period takedown in a 3-2 loss to Michigan's Myles Amine. Kutler couldn't convert several third period attempts and will need to beat No. 15 Dylan Lydy of Purdue in the blood round to make the podium.
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After winning a sudden victory match in November, Preisch came up on the short end against Zack Zavatsky of Virginia Tech. Tied 1-1 in overtime, Zavatsky won a wild scramble for the winning takedown to claim a 3-1 decision. Next up for Preisch will be No. 10 Emory Parker of Illinois.
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Unseeded freshman Chris Weiler came up just short of an upset over number two seed Ben Darmstadt of Cornell. Weiler trailed 2-0 after one period but a pair of third period takedowns tied the match at 4-4 and eliminated Darmstadt's riding time. Lehigh opted to put Darmstadt on his feet and Weiler was unable to come up with the potential go-ahead takedown in the final 30 seconds as Darmstadt claimed a 5-4 decision. In the round of 12, Weiler will face unseeded Jacob Holschlag of Northern Iowa.
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The Mountain Hawks went 3-4 in seven consolation bouts in the afternoon session. Wood went 2-0 to join Parker, Kutler, Preisch and Weiler in the blood round. He opened with a 3-2 decision over Columbia's Garrett Ryan, reversing and riding out for the win after being reversed early in the period. Wood then scored a late third period double leg takedown to defeat Lock Haven's Thomas Haines 3-1. He will next face No. 12 Youssif Hemida of Maryland in the All-America round.
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Junior Cortlandt Schuyler battled back from an early 4-1 hole to knock off Alfred Bannister of Maryland 7-6 in the second round consolations, but was eliminated by UNI's Alex Thomsen 11-8, one win shy of the blood round.
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Freshman Luke Karam (141) and juniors Ian Brown (157) and Gordon Wolf (165) were all eliminated with losses in their first bouts Friday. Karam gave up a reversal in the second half of the tiebreaker to fall 3-2 to Pitt's Nick Zanetta. Brown dropped a 10-4 match to Paul Fox of Stanford, while Wolf, after a wild first period that featured four reversals, fell 8-5 to Branson Ashworth of Wyoming.
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Ohio State has opened up an 80.5-67 lead over Penn State in the team race. The Buckeyes have six semifinalists, while the Nittany Lions have five.
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The NCAA Championships continue Friday evening with the championship semifinals and Lehigh's five round of 12 matches, beginning at 8 p.m. The session will be televised on ESPN and WatchESPN, while audio coverage for all Lehigh matches will be available at 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: dec. No. 9 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon St.) 2-0
Semifinals: No. 4 Nick Suriano (Rutgers)
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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: L by dec. No. 3 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) 3-1
Fourth round consolation: No. 16 Mitch McKee (Minnesota)
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141 – No. 13 Luke Karam - Eliminated
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: L by dec. Nick Zanetta (Pitt) 3-2, tb
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149 – Cortlandt Schuyler - Eliminated
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: dec. No. 16 Alfred Bannister (Maryland) 7-6
Third round consolation: L by dec. No. 9 Max Thomsen (UNI) 11-8
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157 – Ian Brown - Eliminated
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: L by dec. Paul Fox (Stanford) 10-4
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165 – Gordon Wolf – Eliminated
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: L by dec. No. 14 Branson Ashworth (Wyoming) 8-5
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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: L by dec. No. 5 Myles Amine (Michigan) 3-2
Fourth round consolation: No. 15 Dylan Lydy (Purdue)
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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: L by dec. No. 6 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) 3-1, sv
Fourth round consolation: No. 10 Emory Parker (Illinois)
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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: L by dec. No. 2 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) 5-4
Fourth round consolation: Jacob Holschlag (UNI)
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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: dec. Garrett Ryan (Columbia) 3-2
Third round consolation: dec. No. 15 Thomas Haines (Lock Haven) 3-1
Fourth round consolation: No. 12 Youssif Hemida (Maryland)
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CLEVELAND – Senior Darian Cruz became the 19th Lehigh wrestler to win at least three All-America medals and advanced to the national semifinals for the second straight year to highlight session three for Lehigh Friday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena. Cruz moved to 29-0 on the season and picked up his 50th consecutive victory with a 2-0 decision over Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State.
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The win by Cruz was the only one in five quarterfinal matches Friday for Lehigh. Five other Mountain Hawks will wrestle for All-America honors in the round of 12, Lehigh's four quarterfinal losers plus freshman Jordan Wood, who won twice on Friday to stay alive in consolations.
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Lehigh finishes session three tied for 10th place with Arizona State with 23 points.
Cruz won his second consecutive match without the aid of a takedown. Against the ninth-seeded Bresser, Cruz rode out the second period then escaped in the third while maintaining a 1:02 riding time advantage. He became the first three-time All-American for Lehigh since Robert Hamlin in 2013. He will face No. 4 seed Nick Suriano of Rutgers in the semifinals. Suriano beat Cruz 7-0 in a dual last season when Suriano wrestled for Penn State.
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The trio of junior Scott Parker (133), sophomore Jordan Kutler (174) and junior Ryan Preisch (184) all dropped one-takedown bouts that went their opponents' way. In Kutler and Preisch's cases, opponents reversed results from Lehigh wins in November.
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A takedown in the final seconds of the first period was the difference as Parker fell 3-1 to Luke Pletcher of Ohio State. He will now face No. 16 seed Mitch McKee of Minnesota, needing a win to secure his second straight All-America honor.
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Kutler was also victimized by a first period takedown in a 3-2 loss to Michigan's Myles Amine. Kutler couldn't convert several third period attempts and will need to beat No. 15 Dylan Lydy of Purdue in the blood round to make the podium.
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After winning a sudden victory match in November, Preisch came up on the short end against Zack Zavatsky of Virginia Tech. Tied 1-1 in overtime, Zavatsky won a wild scramble for the winning takedown to claim a 3-1 decision. Next up for Preisch will be No. 10 Emory Parker of Illinois.
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Unseeded freshman Chris Weiler came up just short of an upset over number two seed Ben Darmstadt of Cornell. Weiler trailed 2-0 after one period but a pair of third period takedowns tied the match at 4-4 and eliminated Darmstadt's riding time. Lehigh opted to put Darmstadt on his feet and Weiler was unable to come up with the potential go-ahead takedown in the final 30 seconds as Darmstadt claimed a 5-4 decision. In the round of 12, Weiler will face unseeded Jacob Holschlag of Northern Iowa.
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The Mountain Hawks went 3-4 in seven consolation bouts in the afternoon session. Wood went 2-0 to join Parker, Kutler, Preisch and Weiler in the blood round. He opened with a 3-2 decision over Columbia's Garrett Ryan, reversing and riding out for the win after being reversed early in the period. Wood then scored a late third period double leg takedown to defeat Lock Haven's Thomas Haines 3-1. He will next face No. 12 Youssif Hemida of Maryland in the All-America round.
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Junior Cortlandt Schuyler battled back from an early 4-1 hole to knock off Alfred Bannister of Maryland 7-6 in the second round consolations, but was eliminated by UNI's Alex Thomsen 11-8, one win shy of the blood round.
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Freshman Luke Karam (141) and juniors Ian Brown (157) and Gordon Wolf (165) were all eliminated with losses in their first bouts Friday. Karam gave up a reversal in the second half of the tiebreaker to fall 3-2 to Pitt's Nick Zanetta. Brown dropped a 10-4 match to Paul Fox of Stanford, while Wolf, after a wild first period that featured four reversals, fell 8-5 to Branson Ashworth of Wyoming.
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Ohio State has opened up an 80.5-67 lead over Penn State in the team race. The Buckeyes have six semifinalists, while the Nittany Lions have five.
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The NCAA Championships continue Friday evening with the championship semifinals and Lehigh's five round of 12 matches, beginning at 8 p.m. The session will be televised on ESPN and WatchESPN, while audio coverage for all Lehigh matches will be available at 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: dec. No. 9 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon St.) 2-0
Semifinals: No. 4 Nick Suriano (Rutgers)
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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: L by dec. No. 3 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) 3-1
Fourth round consolation: No. 16 Mitch McKee (Minnesota)
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141 – No. 13 Luke Karam - Eliminated
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: L by dec. Nick Zanetta (Pitt) 3-2, tb
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149 – Cortlandt Schuyler - Eliminated
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: dec. No. 16 Alfred Bannister (Maryland) 7-6
Third round consolation: L by dec. No. 9 Max Thomsen (UNI) 11-8
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157 – Ian Brown - Eliminated
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: L by dec. Paul Fox (Stanford) 10-4
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165 – Gordon Wolf – Eliminated
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: L by dec. No. 14 Branson Ashworth (Wyoming) 8-5
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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: L by dec. No. 5 Myles Amine (Michigan) 3-2
Fourth round consolation: No. 15 Dylan Lydy (Purdue)
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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: L by dec. No. 6 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) 3-1, sv
Fourth round consolation: No. 10 Emory Parker (Illinois)
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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: L by dec. No. 2 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) 5-4
Fourth round consolation: Jacob Holschlag (UNI)
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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: dec. Garrett Ryan (Columbia) 3-2
Third round consolation: dec. No. 15 Thomas Haines (Lock Haven) 3-1
Fourth round consolation: No. 12 Youssif Hemida (Maryland)
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Players Mentioned
157
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
174
/ 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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