Friday, March 16
Cleveland, Ohio
8:00 PM
Lehigh University
at
NCAA Championships
Cruz falls in semifinals; Parker, Kutler win to give Lehigh three All-Americans
3/16/2018 11:16:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Brackets/Team Scores | Friday morning recap
CLEVELAND – Senior Darian Cruz fell short in his bid to win his second straight NCAA title, but will be one of three Lehigh wrestlers to earn All-America honors at the NCAA Championships, as session four wrapped-up Friday evening. Junior Scott Parker and sophomore Jordan Kutler both won their round of 12 bouts to join Cruz in earning All-America honors. The Mountain Hawks had three more chances to place wrestlers on the podium but came up short in their final three blood round bouts.
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Lehigh finished session four with 34.5 points as the Mountain Hawks sit in 13th place entering the final day of competition.
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"We battled really hard, but the whole tournament we've been wrestling to win a match and not just letting it fly," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. "We've had one bonus point this whole tournament and that's just not our style. The guys fought. I'm proud of the way they fought. They battled hard. I just don't think they wrestled free. That's really important at this tournament. You have to let it fly."
(3/16/2018) NCAA Championships - Session 4
Cruz wrestled his third straight no-takedown bout but this time was shut out. No. 4 seed Nick Suriano of Rutgers scored a second period escape and added a stalling point to win 2-0, handing Cruz his first loss of the season and snapping what was a 50-bout winning streak for the three-time All-American. Cruz now drops to the consolation semifinals, where he will face No. 8 Ethan Lizak of Minnesota in a rematch from last year's NCAA finals.
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"I feel terrible for Darian," Santoro said. "He just couldn't get anything going tonight, but he needs to finish strong tomorrow with the last two matches of his career."
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Shortly after Cruz's semifinal match Parker joined him on the podium, winning a 3-1 decision over Mitch McKee of Minnesota in the blood round. Parker converted a single leg for a takedown late in the first period which proved to be the difference. In his second match Friday night, Parker was taken down twice in a 5-2 loss to Scott DelVecchio of Rutgers. He will now wrestle Montorie Bridges of Wyoming for seventh place.
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Kutler was the sharpest Mountain Hawk in Friday's evening session. He scored a first period takedown against Dylan Lydy of Purdue and then used a strong performance on top to ride out the third period in a 4-1 decision. In the consolation quarterfinals, Kutler delivered Lehigh's first bonus point win of the tournament, scoring a takedown in each period and adding 2:25 of advantage time in an 8-0 major decision over David Kocer of South Dakota State. He will next face Daniel Lewis of Missouri in the consolation semifinals.
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"Jordan's been on a mission," Santoro said. "He's wrestling on one leg right now and just keeps getting better each round."
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With three place winners, Lehigh wrestlers have now won 150 career All-America medals. Kutler's medal means that Lehigh now has had an All-American at all 10 weight classes under Pat Santoro, and 23 All-Americans in Santoro's 10 seasons.
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The last three matches in the blood round were not kind to Lehigh. At 184, junior Ryan Preisch was taken down in the first period and was never able to recover in a 5-1 loss to Emery Parker of Illinois. Preisch wraps up his junior season a 16-4.
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Freshman Chris Weiler scored the first takedown in his match against Jacob Holschlag at 197, but was reversed late in the first period and ridden out in the second period. A Holschlag third-period escape put him up 3-2 and Wiler was unable to score the necessary takedown to win. Weiler finishes his freshman campaign at 17-10.
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It was a heartbreaking end for freshman heavyweight Jordan Wood, who had to default with an injury in his round of 12 battle with Maryland's Youssif Hemida. Hemida led 2-0 in the first period, when Wood suffered an injury to his right hand and was unable to continue. Wood finishes his freshman campaign at 22-7.
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"I just want them to go out there and finish strong," Santoro said of the three wrestlers competing Saturday. "There's no pressure. Just go wrestle… We've worked too hard to finish on a stale note so we need to finish strong tomorrow."
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Cruz, Parker and Kutler will wrestle in session five, the medal round, Saturday at 11 a.m. Session five will be televised on ESPNU and WatchESPN, while audio of the Lehigh bouts will be available at Lehighsports.com/watch.
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Saturday night's finals begin at 8 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2 and WatchESPN.
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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: L by dec. No. 4 Nick Suriano (Rutgers) 2-0
Consolation semifinal: No. 8 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota)
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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: dec. No. 16 Mitch McKee (Minnesota) 3-1
Consolation quarterfinal: L by dec. Scott DelVecchio (Rutgers) 5-2
Seventh place match: No. 8 Montorie Bridges (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: L by dec. No. 5 Myles Amine (Michigan) 3-2
Fourth round consolation: dec. No. 15 Dylan Lydy (Purdue) 4-1
Consolation quarterfinal: major dec. No. 11 David Kocer (SDSU) 8-0
Consolation semifinal: No. 3 Daniel Lewis (Missouri)
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184 – No. 3 Ryan Preisch - Eliminated
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: L by dec. No. 10 Emory Parker (Illinois) 5-1
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197 – Chris Weiler - Eliminated
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: L by dec. Jacob Holschlag (UNI) 3-2
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285 – No. 10 Jordan Wood - Eliminated
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: L by injury default No. 12 Youssif Hemida (Maryland) 1:46
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CLEVELAND – Senior Darian Cruz fell short in his bid to win his second straight NCAA title, but will be one of three Lehigh wrestlers to earn All-America honors at the NCAA Championships, as session four wrapped-up Friday evening. Junior Scott Parker and sophomore Jordan Kutler both won their round of 12 bouts to join Cruz in earning All-America honors. The Mountain Hawks had three more chances to place wrestlers on the podium but came up short in their final three blood round bouts.
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Lehigh finished session four with 34.5 points as the Mountain Hawks sit in 13th place entering the final day of competition.
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"We battled really hard, but the whole tournament we've been wrestling to win a match and not just letting it fly," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. "We've had one bonus point this whole tournament and that's just not our style. The guys fought. I'm proud of the way they fought. They battled hard. I just don't think they wrestled free. That's really important at this tournament. You have to let it fly."
Cruz wrestled his third straight no-takedown bout but this time was shut out. No. 4 seed Nick Suriano of Rutgers scored a second period escape and added a stalling point to win 2-0, handing Cruz his first loss of the season and snapping what was a 50-bout winning streak for the three-time All-American. Cruz now drops to the consolation semifinals, where he will face No. 8 Ethan Lizak of Minnesota in a rematch from last year's NCAA finals.
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"I feel terrible for Darian," Santoro said. "He just couldn't get anything going tonight, but he needs to finish strong tomorrow with the last two matches of his career."
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Shortly after Cruz's semifinal match Parker joined him on the podium, winning a 3-1 decision over Mitch McKee of Minnesota in the blood round. Parker converted a single leg for a takedown late in the first period which proved to be the difference. In his second match Friday night, Parker was taken down twice in a 5-2 loss to Scott DelVecchio of Rutgers. He will now wrestle Montorie Bridges of Wyoming for seventh place.
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Kutler was the sharpest Mountain Hawk in Friday's evening session. He scored a first period takedown against Dylan Lydy of Purdue and then used a strong performance on top to ride out the third period in a 4-1 decision. In the consolation quarterfinals, Kutler delivered Lehigh's first bonus point win of the tournament, scoring a takedown in each period and adding 2:25 of advantage time in an 8-0 major decision over David Kocer of South Dakota State. He will next face Daniel Lewis of Missouri in the consolation semifinals.
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"Jordan's been on a mission," Santoro said. "He's wrestling on one leg right now and just keeps getting better each round."
Â
With three place winners, Lehigh wrestlers have now won 150 career All-America medals. Kutler's medal means that Lehigh now has had an All-American at all 10 weight classes under Pat Santoro, and 23 All-Americans in Santoro's 10 seasons.
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The last three matches in the blood round were not kind to Lehigh. At 184, junior Ryan Preisch was taken down in the first period and was never able to recover in a 5-1 loss to Emery Parker of Illinois. Preisch wraps up his junior season a 16-4.
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Freshman Chris Weiler scored the first takedown in his match against Jacob Holschlag at 197, but was reversed late in the first period and ridden out in the second period. A Holschlag third-period escape put him up 3-2 and Wiler was unable to score the necessary takedown to win. Weiler finishes his freshman campaign at 17-10.
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It was a heartbreaking end for freshman heavyweight Jordan Wood, who had to default with an injury in his round of 12 battle with Maryland's Youssif Hemida. Hemida led 2-0 in the first period, when Wood suffered an injury to his right hand and was unable to continue. Wood finishes his freshman campaign at 22-7.
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"I just want them to go out there and finish strong," Santoro said of the three wrestlers competing Saturday. "There's no pressure. Just go wrestle… We've worked too hard to finish on a stale note so we need to finish strong tomorrow."
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Cruz, Parker and Kutler will wrestle in session five, the medal round, Saturday at 11 a.m. Session five will be televised on ESPNU and WatchESPN, while audio of the Lehigh bouts will be available at Lehighsports.com/watch.
Â
Saturday night's finals begin at 8 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2 and WatchESPN.
Â
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: L by dec. No. 4 Nick Suriano (Rutgers) 2-0
Consolation semifinal: No. 8 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota)
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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: dec. No. 16 Mitch McKee (Minnesota) 3-1
Consolation quarterfinal: L by dec. Scott DelVecchio (Rutgers) 5-2
Seventh place match: No. 8 Montorie Bridges (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: L by dec. No. 5 Myles Amine (Michigan) 3-2
Fourth round consolation: dec. No. 15 Dylan Lydy (Purdue) 4-1
Consolation quarterfinal: major dec. No. 11 David Kocer (SDSU) 8-0
Consolation semifinal: No. 3 Daniel Lewis (Missouri)
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184 – No. 3 Ryan Preisch - Eliminated
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: L by dec. No. 10 Emory Parker (Illinois) 5-1
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197 – Chris Weiler - Eliminated
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: L by dec. Jacob Holschlag (UNI) 3-2
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285 – No. 10 Jordan Wood - Eliminated
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: L by injury default No. 12 Youssif Hemida (Maryland) 1:46
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Players Mentioned
125
/ Men's Wrestling
174
/ Men's Wrestling
133
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
184/197
/ Men's Wrestling
285
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