Saturday, February 6
Bethlehem, Pa.
2:00 PM
Lehigh University
vs
Army West Point
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Mountain Hawks To Open February With Three Home Duals
2/4/2021 2:51:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - On the heels of a 2-0 home showing last weekend, Lehigh opens February with three home duals over two days inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. On Saturday, the Mountain Hawks will host EIWA rival Army West Point and No. 14 North Carolina, before welcoming Rider on Sunday. Lehigh finally opened its home schedule last weekend with wins over Binghamton and LIU to re-enter the NWCA Top 25 at No. 25. The Mountain Hawks erased a 16-9 deficit with back-to-back bonus wins to rally past Binghamton 19-16 last Saturday, then routed LIU 46-0 on Sunday for Lehigh's first shutout victory since 2016.
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Lehigh Probable Starters
125 Jaret Lane (Jr., Catawissa, Pa.)
OR Sheldon Seymour (Fr., Troy, Pa.)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
133 Malyke Hines (Fr., Kissimmee, Fla.)
OR Mitchell Polito (So., East Brunswick, N.J.)
141 Connor McGonagle (Fr., Danville, N.H.)
OR Joe Lobeck (Sr., Lancaster, Pa.)
149 Jimmy Hoffman (Jr., Drums, Pa.)Â Â Â Â
OR Paul Watkins (Fr., Cumming, Ga.)Â Â Â
157 Luca Frinzi (Fr., Quakertown, Pa.)
OR AJ Burkhart (So., Athens, Pa.)
OR Manzona Bryant IV (Fr., Columbus, Ohio)
OR Nathan Haubert (Fr., Upper Black Eddy, Pa.)Â Â Â
165Â Brian Meyer (So., Phillipsburg, N.J.)
ORÂ Thayne Lawrence (Fr., Perryopolis, Pa.)
174Â Jake Logan (Fr., New Rochelle, N.Y.)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
OR Connor Herceg (Fr., Nazareth, Pa.)Â
184 JT Davis (Fr., Smyrna, Del.)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
OR Caden Wright (Fr., Emmaus, Pa.)Â Â Â Â
OR Andrew Shedleski (So., Selinsgrove, Pa.)
197 Jake Jakobsen (Sr., Sciota, Pa.)Â Â Â Â Â
285 Jordan Wood (Sr., Gilbertsville, Pa.)
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Lehigh was finally able to compete on its home mats and the Mountain Hawks responded to several challenges to post victories over Binghamton and LIU last weekend. The Mountain Hawks' lineup for both duals featured seven first or second-year wrestlers and an eighth third-year wrestler making his dual debut, but fifth-year seniors Jake Jakobsen and Jordan Wood combined to go 4-0 with four bonus wins against the Bearcats and Sharks. Down 16-9, Jakobsen posted a major decision and Wood a third period fall to lift Lehigh past Binghamton 19-16. The duo posted back-to-back falls in 1:07 and 31 seconds, respectively as part of a four-pin, seven-bonus win effort in Lehigh's 46-0 win over LIU, the Mountain Hawks' first shutout since a 54-0 blanking of Bloomsburg on Feb. 14, 2016.
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Lehigh received a boost with the return of heavyweight Jordan Wood to the lineup last weekend. Wood went 2-0 with two falls, the first of which clinched the Mountain Hawks' come-from-behind win over Binghamton. Wood re-entered the national rankings at No. 5 and has a chance this year to become Lehigh's fifth four-time EIWA champion. Wood went 17-5 last season and was a second team NWCA All-American. The two-time All-American owns a 66-17 career record. Wood originally planned on an Olympic redshirt and spent his fall semester active in freestyle. He was eligible for the Olympic redshirt by way of winning a Cadet world silver medal in 2014.
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The Mountain Hawks have relied on many members of both their true and deferred freshman class so far during the dual season. Five true or deferred freshmen wrestled in Lehigh's season-opening dual at Pitt and four more competed at Navy. Both of last weekend's duals featured seven freshmen in the lineup. JT Davis is the only Lehigh freshman to wrestle in all four duals. Malyke Hines and Thayne Lawrence have each appeared in three. Nearly half of Lehigh's roster consists of wrestlers in their first season of eligibility, a group that includes 12 true freshmen and seven deferred freshmen. Jake Logan placed eighth at last year's Southern Scuffle competing unattached at 174. Lehigh's true freshmen class combined for eight state championships and one National Prep title in their high school careers.
After posting wins by fall in his first two matches of the season, senior Jordan Wood entered four of the five national rankings listed below. Wood is ranked sixth by Amateur Wrestling News and fifth by InterMat, The Open Mat and Track Wrestling. Six Mountain Hawks are ranked in the top 33 by Trackwrestling and five are ranked by The Open Mat. Three Mountain Hawks appear in rankings by both FloWrestling and AWN. Just two Lehigh wrestlers are ranked by InterMat, with senior Brandon Paetzell ranked at 133 but is yet to compete this season. Paetzell, senior Jake Jakobsen, junior Jaret Lane and freshman Malyke Hines are ranked by three of the five outlets. Hines is ranked at 133 by The Open Mat and at 141 by AWN and Trackwrestling. Junior Jimmy Hoffman appears in two polls, while freshman Jake Logan is ranked by Trackwrestling at 174.
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Army West Point is 2-1 on the dual season. The Black Knights bounced back from a 23-10 loss to Binghamton on Jan. 23 by defeating Bucknell 26-8 on Jan. 31. Army also owns a win over Hofstra and wrestled matches against LIU.
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Two Black Knights appear in the InterMat rankings: Markus Hartman (No. 17 at 157) and JT Brown (No. 15 at 197). Lane Peters, Corey Shie and PJ Ogunsanya all appear in other polls, as does heavyweight Ben Sullivan. Army finished third at last year's EIWA championships. Hartman, JT Brown and Sullivan are all returning NCAA qualifiers. Kevin Ward is in his seventh season as Army's head coach.
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Army is Lehigh's fifth most-often wrestled opponent, trailing only Penn State, Navy, Cornell and Syracuse. Saturday's dual will be the 69th in the series, with Lehigh leading 56-9-3. Lehigh is 19-1-1 in its last 21 duals with Army, with the Black Knights' lone win coming at West Point in 2008. Lehigh and Army are meeting for the fifth consecutive season following a break in the series from 2010 through 2017.
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North Carolina is 2-2 on the season and will visit Pitt Friday night prior to coming to Lehigh. The Tar Heels own wins over Gardner-Webb and Duke but are coming off losses to top 10 ACC foes NC State and Virginia last weekend.
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The Tar Heels are ranked 14th in the NWCA poll and feature five wrestlers ranked in the top 20 by InterMat, led by junior Austin O'Connor who is ranked No. 1 at 149. Kennedy Monday is ranked ninth at 165. Jaime Hernandez and Zach Sherman are ranked 11th at 133 and 141, respectively. Clay Lautt is ranked 19th at 184, but could swap positions with Devin Kane. Coleman Scott is in his seventh season as North Carolina's head coach.
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Lehigh and North Carolina meet for the ninth time with the Mountain Hawks holding a 5-3 lead. Five of the first eight meetings have been neutral site duals as North Carolina visits Bethlehem for the first time since 2002.
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Rider returns to the mats for the first time since Jan. 24 when the Broncs visit Lehigh on Sunday. The Broncs dropped their season opener to Binghamton 27-20 but rebounded with wins over Clarion and most recently George Mason to move to 2-1 on the season. Rider is ranked 25th in this week's InterMat Tournament Power Index.
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Two Broncs appear in the latest InterMat rankings led by two-time NCAA qualifier and defending MAC champion Jesse Dellavecchia, who is ranked fourth at 157. Ethan Laird has moved up from 197 to 285 where he is ranked 14th. Rider finished fourth in the MAC last season and qualified four wrestlers for the NCAA Championships. John Hangey, a longtime assistant coach at his alma mater, in his fourth season as Rider's head coach.
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Lehigh and Rider are meeting for the 22nd time in a series that dates back to 1992. The Mountain Hawks lead the series 15-6 and have won five of the last six meetings. Lehigh and Rider have not met since December 2015.
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Action begins on Saturday with Lehigh facing Army West Point at 2 p.m. followed by North Carolina at 5 p.m. Sunday's Lehigh-Rider dual begins at 1 p.m. All three duals will be televised locally on Service Electric Network and  will also be streamed for free at Lehighsports.com/watch.
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Audio coverage of the North Carolina and Rider duals will also be available on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320 AM and 94.7 FM in Allentown and LVFoxSports.com with coverage beginning 15 minutes prior to match time.
Lehigh will close out the dual season with two more EIWA duals next weekend. The Mountain Hawks will host American, Saturday Feb. 13 at 4 p.m. and then will welcome Bucknell to Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall Feb. 14 for a 2 p.m. match. The 117th EIWA Championships were recently announced as a one-day event, Feb. 26 at a neutral site: Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Manheim, Pa.
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Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.          Â
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Lehigh Probable Starters
125 Jaret Lane (Jr., Catawissa, Pa.)
OR Sheldon Seymour (Fr., Troy, Pa.)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
133 Malyke Hines (Fr., Kissimmee, Fla.)
OR Mitchell Polito (So., East Brunswick, N.J.)
141 Connor McGonagle (Fr., Danville, N.H.)
OR Joe Lobeck (Sr., Lancaster, Pa.)
149 Jimmy Hoffman (Jr., Drums, Pa.)Â Â Â Â
OR Paul Watkins (Fr., Cumming, Ga.)Â Â Â
157 Luca Frinzi (Fr., Quakertown, Pa.)
OR AJ Burkhart (So., Athens, Pa.)
OR Manzona Bryant IV (Fr., Columbus, Ohio)
OR Nathan Haubert (Fr., Upper Black Eddy, Pa.)Â Â Â
165Â Brian Meyer (So., Phillipsburg, N.J.)
ORÂ Thayne Lawrence (Fr., Perryopolis, Pa.)
174Â Jake Logan (Fr., New Rochelle, N.Y.)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
OR Connor Herceg (Fr., Nazareth, Pa.)Â
184 JT Davis (Fr., Smyrna, Del.)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
OR Caden Wright (Fr., Emmaus, Pa.)Â Â Â Â
OR Andrew Shedleski (So., Selinsgrove, Pa.)
197 Jake Jakobsen (Sr., Sciota, Pa.)Â Â Â Â Â
285 Jordan Wood (Sr., Gilbertsville, Pa.)
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Lehigh was finally able to compete on its home mats and the Mountain Hawks responded to several challenges to post victories over Binghamton and LIU last weekend. The Mountain Hawks' lineup for both duals featured seven first or second-year wrestlers and an eighth third-year wrestler making his dual debut, but fifth-year seniors Jake Jakobsen and Jordan Wood combined to go 4-0 with four bonus wins against the Bearcats and Sharks. Down 16-9, Jakobsen posted a major decision and Wood a third period fall to lift Lehigh past Binghamton 19-16. The duo posted back-to-back falls in 1:07 and 31 seconds, respectively as part of a four-pin, seven-bonus win effort in Lehigh's 46-0 win over LIU, the Mountain Hawks' first shutout since a 54-0 blanking of Bloomsburg on Feb. 14, 2016.
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Lehigh received a boost with the return of heavyweight Jordan Wood to the lineup last weekend. Wood went 2-0 with two falls, the first of which clinched the Mountain Hawks' come-from-behind win over Binghamton. Wood re-entered the national rankings at No. 5 and has a chance this year to become Lehigh's fifth four-time EIWA champion. Wood went 17-5 last season and was a second team NWCA All-American. The two-time All-American owns a 66-17 career record. Wood originally planned on an Olympic redshirt and spent his fall semester active in freestyle. He was eligible for the Olympic redshirt by way of winning a Cadet world silver medal in 2014.
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The Mountain Hawks have relied on many members of both their true and deferred freshman class so far during the dual season. Five true or deferred freshmen wrestled in Lehigh's season-opening dual at Pitt and four more competed at Navy. Both of last weekend's duals featured seven freshmen in the lineup. JT Davis is the only Lehigh freshman to wrestle in all four duals. Malyke Hines and Thayne Lawrence have each appeared in three. Nearly half of Lehigh's roster consists of wrestlers in their first season of eligibility, a group that includes 12 true freshmen and seven deferred freshmen. Jake Logan placed eighth at last year's Southern Scuffle competing unattached at 174. Lehigh's true freshmen class combined for eight state championships and one National Prep title in their high school careers.
After posting wins by fall in his first two matches of the season, senior Jordan Wood entered four of the five national rankings listed below. Wood is ranked sixth by Amateur Wrestling News and fifth by InterMat, The Open Mat and Track Wrestling. Six Mountain Hawks are ranked in the top 33 by Trackwrestling and five are ranked by The Open Mat. Three Mountain Hawks appear in rankings by both FloWrestling and AWN. Just two Lehigh wrestlers are ranked by InterMat, with senior Brandon Paetzell ranked at 133 but is yet to compete this season. Paetzell, senior Jake Jakobsen, junior Jaret Lane and freshman Malyke Hines are ranked by three of the five outlets. Hines is ranked at 133 by The Open Mat and at 141 by AWN and Trackwrestling. Junior Jimmy Hoffman appears in two polls, while freshman Jake Logan is ranked by Trackwrestling at 174.
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Army West Point is 2-1 on the dual season. The Black Knights bounced back from a 23-10 loss to Binghamton on Jan. 23 by defeating Bucknell 26-8 on Jan. 31. Army also owns a win over Hofstra and wrestled matches against LIU.
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Two Black Knights appear in the InterMat rankings: Markus Hartman (No. 17 at 157) and JT Brown (No. 15 at 197). Lane Peters, Corey Shie and PJ Ogunsanya all appear in other polls, as does heavyweight Ben Sullivan. Army finished third at last year's EIWA championships. Hartman, JT Brown and Sullivan are all returning NCAA qualifiers. Kevin Ward is in his seventh season as Army's head coach.
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Army is Lehigh's fifth most-often wrestled opponent, trailing only Penn State, Navy, Cornell and Syracuse. Saturday's dual will be the 69th in the series, with Lehigh leading 56-9-3. Lehigh is 19-1-1 in its last 21 duals with Army, with the Black Knights' lone win coming at West Point in 2008. Lehigh and Army are meeting for the fifth consecutive season following a break in the series from 2010 through 2017.
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North Carolina is 2-2 on the season and will visit Pitt Friday night prior to coming to Lehigh. The Tar Heels own wins over Gardner-Webb and Duke but are coming off losses to top 10 ACC foes NC State and Virginia last weekend.
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The Tar Heels are ranked 14th in the NWCA poll and feature five wrestlers ranked in the top 20 by InterMat, led by junior Austin O'Connor who is ranked No. 1 at 149. Kennedy Monday is ranked ninth at 165. Jaime Hernandez and Zach Sherman are ranked 11th at 133 and 141, respectively. Clay Lautt is ranked 19th at 184, but could swap positions with Devin Kane. Coleman Scott is in his seventh season as North Carolina's head coach.
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Lehigh and North Carolina meet for the ninth time with the Mountain Hawks holding a 5-3 lead. Five of the first eight meetings have been neutral site duals as North Carolina visits Bethlehem for the first time since 2002.
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Rider returns to the mats for the first time since Jan. 24 when the Broncs visit Lehigh on Sunday. The Broncs dropped their season opener to Binghamton 27-20 but rebounded with wins over Clarion and most recently George Mason to move to 2-1 on the season. Rider is ranked 25th in this week's InterMat Tournament Power Index.
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Two Broncs appear in the latest InterMat rankings led by two-time NCAA qualifier and defending MAC champion Jesse Dellavecchia, who is ranked fourth at 157. Ethan Laird has moved up from 197 to 285 where he is ranked 14th. Rider finished fourth in the MAC last season and qualified four wrestlers for the NCAA Championships. John Hangey, a longtime assistant coach at his alma mater, in his fourth season as Rider's head coach.
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Lehigh and Rider are meeting for the 22nd time in a series that dates back to 1992. The Mountain Hawks lead the series 15-6 and have won five of the last six meetings. Lehigh and Rider have not met since December 2015.
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Action begins on Saturday with Lehigh facing Army West Point at 2 p.m. followed by North Carolina at 5 p.m. Sunday's Lehigh-Rider dual begins at 1 p.m. All three duals will be televised locally on Service Electric Network and  will also be streamed for free at Lehighsports.com/watch.
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Audio coverage of the North Carolina and Rider duals will also be available on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320 AM and 94.7 FM in Allentown and LVFoxSports.com with coverage beginning 15 minutes prior to match time.
Lehigh will close out the dual season with two more EIWA duals next weekend. The Mountain Hawks will host American, Saturday Feb. 13 at 4 p.m. and then will welcome Bucknell to Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall Feb. 14 for a 2 p.m. match. The 117th EIWA Championships were recently announced as a one-day event, Feb. 26 at a neutral site: Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Manheim, Pa.
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| Date: | February 6, 2021 |
| Opponent: | Army West Point Black Knights |
| First match: | 2:05 p.m. |
| Arena: | Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lehigh's record: | 2-2 overall, 2-1 EIWA |
| Army's record: | 2-1 overall, 2-1 EIWA |
| Series: | Lehigh leads 56-9-3 |
| Television: | Service Electric Network 2/502 |
| Radio: | None |
| Internet broadcast: | Video at Lehighsports.com/watch |
| Date: | February 6, 2021 |
| Opponent: | No. 14 North Carolina Tar Heels |
| First match: | 5:05 p.m. |
| Arena: | Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lehigh's record: | 2-2 overall, 2-1 EIWA |
| UNC's record: | 2-2 overall, 1-2 ACC |
| Series: | Lehigh leads 5-3 |
| Television: | Service Electric Network 2/502 |
| Radio: | Fox Sports Radio 1230/1320 AM and 94.7 FM Allentown beginning at 4:45 p.m. |
| Internet broadcast: | Video at Lehighsports.com/watch |
| Date: | February 7, 2021 |
| Opponent: | Rider Broncs |
| First match: | 1:05 p.m. |
| Arena: | Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lehigh's record: | 2-2 overall, 2-1 EIWA |
| Rider's record: | 2-1 overall, 2-0 MAC |
| Series: | Lehigh leads 15-6 |
| Television: | Service Electric Network 2/502 |
| Radio: | Fox Sports Radio 1230/1320 AM and 94.7 FM Allentown beginning at 12:45 p.m. |
| Internet broadcast: | Video at Lehighsports.com/watch |
Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.          Â
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Players Mentioned
149/157
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
157/165
/ Men's Wrestling
141/149
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
133
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
197
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
174
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
157/165
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
125/133
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
184/197
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
285
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's WrestlingLehigh Sports Central: Wrestling
Wednesday, March 12
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Thursday, February 20
Lehigh Sports Central: Wrestling
Wednesday, December 04
Season Preview: Wrestling
Wednesday, October 30
