Lehigh Wrestling Announces Team Award Winners
4/28/2020 12:05:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The 2019-20 season was another great one for the Lehigh wrestling program. The Mountain Hawks went 12-3 in duals, with a pair of wins over top five-ranked opponents, and finished the year ranked 10th in the NWCA dual meet poll. In March, Lehigh claimed its third straight EIWA team championship and league-leading 37th overall, crowning three individual champions and nine place winners at Stabler Arena.
The COVID-19 pandemic cost nine Mountain Hawks a chance to compete at the NCAA Championships in Minnesota, but five Lehigh wrestlers were recognized as All-Americans by the NWCA.
The annual Lewis Wrestling Dinner was another casualty of the pandemic, but head coach Pat Santoro has announced the program award winners for the 2019-20 season.
Fifth-year senior Jordan Kutler captured a pair of awards: the Outstanding Athlete Award, which recognizes the wrestler who has made the most significant athletic contribution to the team; and the Scholar-Athlete Award, which is awarded to the wrestler who in the eyes of his teammates best exemplifies the ideal of the scholar-athlete.
Kutler was Lehigh's top wrestler throughout the 2019-20 season, finishing with a 21-1 record. He was ranked in the top five nationally for the entire season and went on to win his third consecutive EIWA title at 174, while adding first team All-America honors from the NWCA for his third career All-America award. Kutler won his final 14 bouts this season and was slated to be the No. 3 seed at 174 at the NCAA Championships.
In addition, Kutler earned his bachelor's degree in behavioral neuroscience last May, and currently maintains a 3.80 GPA in Lehigh's technical entrepreneurship graduate program.
Junior Jordan Wood won the Coaches Award, given to the individual who made significant contributions to the well-being of his team in terms of attitude, improvement, or special leadership as evidenced by growth or presence of strong self-awareness, integrity, competitiveness, team-first mentality, and toughness. Wood battled injury and illness in the early part of the season but rebounded to win his third consecutive EIWA title at 285. His 17-5 final record included wins in 13 of his final 14 bouts, including the dual-clinching victory in Lehigh's win at Cornell in January. Wood was a second team NWCA All-American and the No. 9 seed at the NCAA Championships.
Lehigh's third repeat EIWA champion, sophomore Josh Humphreys, was awarded the Gerald G. Leeman Award. The honor is intended to highlight the accomplishments of an athlete who has displayed strong perseverance through the year and not necessarily the highest level of skill or success on the mat. Humphreys also saved his best for the end of the year, which culminated in a second consecutive EIWA title and the Coaches' Trophy as the Outstanding Wrestler at the EIWA Tournament. The No. 7 seed at 157 at the NCAA Championships, Humphreys went 19-5 and won 14 of his final 15 bouts.
There were a number of true freshmen who performed well while competing unattached this season, but Jake Logan was named the Deferred Eligibility Wrestler of the Year, which recognizes a student-athlete who either was not a starter on the team or who deferred eligibility for the year. Logan went 11-7 on the season and was the lone Lehigh wrestler to place at the Southern Scuffle in early January, claiming eighth place at 174. The New Rochelle, N.Y. native also placed fourth at the Princeton Open, shared third/fourth place at the Wilkes Open and closed the season with a third place finish at the Mat Town Invitational II.
Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
The COVID-19 pandemic cost nine Mountain Hawks a chance to compete at the NCAA Championships in Minnesota, but five Lehigh wrestlers were recognized as All-Americans by the NWCA.
The annual Lewis Wrestling Dinner was another casualty of the pandemic, but head coach Pat Santoro has announced the program award winners for the 2019-20 season.
Fifth-year senior Jordan Kutler captured a pair of awards: the Outstanding Athlete Award, which recognizes the wrestler who has made the most significant athletic contribution to the team; and the Scholar-Athlete Award, which is awarded to the wrestler who in the eyes of his teammates best exemplifies the ideal of the scholar-athlete.
Kutler was Lehigh's top wrestler throughout the 2019-20 season, finishing with a 21-1 record. He was ranked in the top five nationally for the entire season and went on to win his third consecutive EIWA title at 174, while adding first team All-America honors from the NWCA for his third career All-America award. Kutler won his final 14 bouts this season and was slated to be the No. 3 seed at 174 at the NCAA Championships.
In addition, Kutler earned his bachelor's degree in behavioral neuroscience last May, and currently maintains a 3.80 GPA in Lehigh's technical entrepreneurship graduate program.
Junior Jordan Wood won the Coaches Award, given to the individual who made significant contributions to the well-being of his team in terms of attitude, improvement, or special leadership as evidenced by growth or presence of strong self-awareness, integrity, competitiveness, team-first mentality, and toughness. Wood battled injury and illness in the early part of the season but rebounded to win his third consecutive EIWA title at 285. His 17-5 final record included wins in 13 of his final 14 bouts, including the dual-clinching victory in Lehigh's win at Cornell in January. Wood was a second team NWCA All-American and the No. 9 seed at the NCAA Championships.
Lehigh's third repeat EIWA champion, sophomore Josh Humphreys, was awarded the Gerald G. Leeman Award. The honor is intended to highlight the accomplishments of an athlete who has displayed strong perseverance through the year and not necessarily the highest level of skill or success on the mat. Humphreys also saved his best for the end of the year, which culminated in a second consecutive EIWA title and the Coaches' Trophy as the Outstanding Wrestler at the EIWA Tournament. The No. 7 seed at 157 at the NCAA Championships, Humphreys went 19-5 and won 14 of his final 15 bouts.
There were a number of true freshmen who performed well while competing unattached this season, but Jake Logan was named the Deferred Eligibility Wrestler of the Year, which recognizes a student-athlete who either was not a starter on the team or who deferred eligibility for the year. Logan went 11-7 on the season and was the lone Lehigh wrestler to place at the Southern Scuffle in early January, claiming eighth place at 174. The New Rochelle, N.Y. native also placed fourth at the Princeton Open, shared third/fourth place at the Wilkes Open and closed the season with a third place finish at the Mat Town Invitational II.
Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Players Mentioned
157
/ Men's Wrestling
174
/ Men's Wrestling
174/184
/ Men's Wrestling
285
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