Lehigh rides fast start to 25-12 win at American

Saturday, January 19

Washington, D.C.

7:30 PM

Lehigh University

American

Match Notes

Lehigh rides fast start to 25-12 win at American

1/19/2019 10:41:00 PM | Men's Wrestling

Stadium OTA info (for Navy match)

WASHINGTON – The Lehigh wrestling team rode a fast start to pick up its fourth straight dual meet win as the Mountain Hawks won the first six bouts and seven overall in a 25-12 triumph at American Saturday at Bender Arena. The Mountain Hawks won the first three key swing bouts by decision and senior Gordon Wolf added a win by technical fall, while junior Jordan Kutler and sophomore Jordan Wood posted major decision wins as Lehigh improves to 4-7 on the dual season.

The dual started at 141 where junior Ryan Pomrinca met Jack Mutchnik. Pomrinca struck for the first takedown in the first period but when Mutchnik answered with a third period takedown on a headlock, the match went to overtime tied 4-4. After a scoreless sudden victory period, Pomrinca escaped in the first half of the tiebreaker and then rode out the second half to get Lehigh started with a 5-4 decision.

"He did a great job," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said of Pomrinca. "He's starting to figure out his offense a little better. He's trusting his shots more. That's what he needs to do to compete as we move towards March."

Senior Cortlandt Schuyler followed with a 3-2 decision over Michael Sprague at 149. Schuyler scored a second period takedown off an ankle pick and held on in the third period after a late insurance takedown was waved off as he improves to 4-0 all-time against Sprague.

Freshman Josh Humphreys topped Kizhan Clarke 8-5 at 157 to put the Mountain Hawks up 9-0 after three bouts. Humphreys scored two first period takedowns and added a second period reversal following Clarke's lone takedown.

Wolf delivered the first bonus win of the night with a 19-2 technical fall over Elijah Murphy at 165. Three first period takedowns and a two-point near fall had Wolf up 8-2 after one. He added a second period escape and takedown before securing a pair of four point near falls to end the match at 4:47.

Kutler followed with a 16-3 major decision over Conner Allshouse, collecting five takedowns and a second period four point near fall to give the Mountain Hawks an 18-0 lead at intermission.

Sophomore Chris Weiler made his third straight start at 184 and extended Lehigh's lead to 21-0 with a 9-7 decision over Tanner Harvey. Weiler scored the first takedown and nearly pinned Harvey with a first period cradle, settling for a four point near fall and holding on at the end.

An injury default allowed American to get on the board for the first time. Sophomore Jake Jakobsen had scored a takedown and led Prince Hyeamang 2-0 in the second period when he went down with an injury. Jakobsen was unable to continue and remained down on the mat for a considerable amount of time before making his way over to the Lehigh bench.

With Lehigh's lead cut to 21-6, Wood clinched the match for the Brown and White with a 12-2 major decision over Niko Camacho at 285. Wood scored two first period takedowns and added a late four point near fall to lead 8-1 after one, then wrapped up the major decision with a late third period takedown.

American (2-4) took the final two bouts as Gage Curry held off freshman Luke Resnick 6-4 at 125 and Josh Terao won a 10-5 decision over sophomore Brandon Paetzell at 133.

Resnick scored first in his match but Curry used a reversal, a takedown and two escapes to pick up his win.

Paetzell gave up a pair of two point near falls in the second period, which turned a 2-2 bout into a 6-3 deficit after two periods.

"Luke needed to get one more at the end and we thought he was going to get it," Santoro said. "He did a great job. At 133 I thought we did a great job in that match but we gave up two quick turns. He went down 6-2 and had to start chasing. He's getting better, he just needs to start winning those matches."

Lehigh wraps up its road swing on Sunday when the Mountain Hawks visit Navy. Match time is set for 2 p.m. from Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Md. The match will be broadcast on the Patriot League Network plus Stadium OTA and Facebook. Audio coverage will be available on WLVR-FM (91.3).

"It was a good performance," Santoro said. "I think we'll need to be a little sharper tomorrow. Navy's going to be really excited to wrestle us. We need to bring the fight tomorrow in a pretty hostile environment."

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

Lehigh 25, American 12
141 – Ryan Pomrinca (Lehigh) dec. Jack Mutchnik (American) 5-4, tb
149 – Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh) dec. Michael Sprague (American) 3-2
157 – Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) dec. Kizhan Clarke (American) 8-5
165 – Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) tech fall Elijah Murphy (American) 19-2, 4:47
174 – Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) major dec. Conner Allshouse (American) 16-3
184 – Chris Weiler (Lehigh) dec. Tanner Harvey (American) 9-7
197 – Prince Hyeamang (American) injury default Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh) 4:08
285 – Jordan Wood (Lehigh) major dec. Niko Camacho (American) 12-2
125 – Gage Curry (American) dec. Luke Resnick (Lehigh) 6-4
133 – Josh Terao (American) dec. Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh) 10-5

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