Thursday, March 17
Detroit, Mich.
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
at
NCAA Championships
Photo by: Matt Hawley
Lehigh's Humphreys and Wood Punch Quarterfinal Tickets Thursday Night in Detroit
3/17/2022 11:18:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
DETROIT – Junior Josh Humphreys and senior Jordan Wood advanced to Friday morning's quarterfinals to lead the Mountain Hawks in session two of the NCAA Championships Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena. Both wrestlers will need to win once on Friday to secure All-American status.
The remaining five of Lehigh's seven qualifiers were eliminated in Thursday night's first round of consolations. The Mountain Hawks ended day one with four points and sit in 34th place.
"It was a bit of a mix today," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "Some guys fought really hard and some didn't leave it all out there. This tournament can be very unforgiving. We have two guys in the championship bracket and they're wrestling great, so we need to keep that going. We've been leaning on those guys all year so hopefully they can punch their tickets to the semifinals and then the finals."
Lehigh returned to wrestlers to the quarterfinals after having zero quarterfinalists last year. The Mountain Hawks had three in 2019 in Pittsburgh.
Humphreys rallied from an early deficit to defeat Nebraska's Peyton Robb 8-5 in the round of 16 at 157. Robb scored the first takedown and led Humphreys 5-4 after one period. Humphreys rode Robb out in the second period, then picked up an escape and a takedown in the third and rode out to secure riding time advantage. Next up for Humphreys, the No. 7 seed, is second seed Ryan Deakin of Northwestern.
Wood advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-0 decision over Oregon State's Gary Traub, Wood's third victory this season over the Beaver. This time around Wood rode out the second period after a scoreless first and used a bow-and-arrow to turn Traub for four near fall points. He added a third period escape and riding time as he returns to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2019. Wood, the No. 6 seed, will face No. 3 Tony Cassioppi of Iowa, looking to avenge a 3-2 loss to the Hawkeye in December at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals.
"(Josh and Jordan) both have guys they've wrestled in the past so we'll have to make some adjustments," Santoro said. "We have to wrestle our styles. Josh has been wrestling well and making good adjustments during his matches. Jordan had a tight match with Cassioppi during the season so we're looking to get that one takedown and then try to build the lead. You can't hang on in this tournament. You can't hope to win, you have to go win."
Lehigh's five wrestlers in the consolation bracket were unable to get the necessary victories to keep their respective seasons alive. At 133, Malyke Hines fell 7-3 to Rutgers' Joey Olivieri as he finishes his campaign at 9-10. Connor McGonagle was eliminated with a 6-1 loss to Ian Parker of Iowa State and finishes at 10-11.
True first-year Max Brignola came up one point short in the consolations at 149 against Cory Crooks of Oregon State. Both wrestlers had two takedowns in the bout, but Brignola was unable to escape after Crooks' late second period takedown and a third period escape gave Crooks the 7-6 decision. Brignola finishes his first year at 18-8.
Sophomores Brian Meyer (165) and AJ Burkhart (184) were also eliminated Thursday night. Meyer dropped a 2-1 decision to Oregon State's Matthew Olguin in the tiebreakers, when Meyer was unable to escape in the second half of the tiebreaker period. He finishes his season at 14-12. Burkhart was eliminated with a 9-3 loss to Iowa's Abe Assad at 184 and finishes his season at 14-15.
"I always say this tournament is a lot of weddings and funerals," Santoro said. "We had a couple weddings and this will all be worth it if we can get these guys through to the finals and maybe crown a champion here."
Gallery: (3-17-2022) Wrestling NCAA Session 2, 3/17/22
Penn State leads the team race with 27.5 points, while Arizona State is second with 22 and NC State is third with 21.5.
The 2022 NCAA Championships continue Friday morning with session three, featuring the quarterfinals and two rounds of consolations, beginning at 11 a.m. Session three will be televised on ESPNU with streaming video of every mat available on ESPN3 and the ESPN app.
The 2021-22 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
133 – No. 27 Malyke Hines - eliminated
Round of 32: L by dec. No. 6 Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) 8-5
First round consolation: L by dec. No. 22 Joe Olivieri (Rutgers) 7-3
141 – No. 29 Connor McGonagle - eliminated
Round of 32: L by major dec. No. 4 Real Woods (Stanford) 8-0
First round consolation: L by dec. No. 13 Ian Parker (Iowa State) 6-1
149 – No. 22 Max Brignola - eliminated
Round of 32: L by dec. No. 11 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) 9-7
First round consolation: L by dec. No. 27 Cory Crooks (Oregon State) 7-6
157 – No. 7 Josh Humphreys
Round of 32: dec. No. 26 Ben Barton (Lock Haven) 4-0
Round of 16: dec. No. 10 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) 8-5
Quarterfinal: No. 2 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern)
165 – No. 17 Brian Meyer - eliminated
Round of 32: L by dec. No. 16 Luke Weber (NDSU) 3-0
First round consolation: L by dec. No. 33 Matthew Olguin (Oregon State) 2-1, tb
184 – No. 31 AJ Burkhart – eliminated
Round of 32: L by major dec. No. 2 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) 21-7
First round consolation: L by dec. No. 18 Abe Assad (Iowa) 9-3
285 – No. 6 Jordan Wood
Round of 32: dec. No. 27 Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia) 1-0
Round of 16: dec. No. 11 Gary Traub (Oregon State) 6-0
Quarterfinal: No. 3 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa)
Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
The remaining five of Lehigh's seven qualifiers were eliminated in Thursday night's first round of consolations. The Mountain Hawks ended day one with four points and sit in 34th place.
"It was a bit of a mix today," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "Some guys fought really hard and some didn't leave it all out there. This tournament can be very unforgiving. We have two guys in the championship bracket and they're wrestling great, so we need to keep that going. We've been leaning on those guys all year so hopefully they can punch their tickets to the semifinals and then the finals."
Lehigh returned to wrestlers to the quarterfinals after having zero quarterfinalists last year. The Mountain Hawks had three in 2019 in Pittsburgh.
Humphreys rallied from an early deficit to defeat Nebraska's Peyton Robb 8-5 in the round of 16 at 157. Robb scored the first takedown and led Humphreys 5-4 after one period. Humphreys rode Robb out in the second period, then picked up an escape and a takedown in the third and rode out to secure riding time advantage. Next up for Humphreys, the No. 7 seed, is second seed Ryan Deakin of Northwestern.
Wood advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-0 decision over Oregon State's Gary Traub, Wood's third victory this season over the Beaver. This time around Wood rode out the second period after a scoreless first and used a bow-and-arrow to turn Traub for four near fall points. He added a third period escape and riding time as he returns to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2019. Wood, the No. 6 seed, will face No. 3 Tony Cassioppi of Iowa, looking to avenge a 3-2 loss to the Hawkeye in December at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals.
"(Josh and Jordan) both have guys they've wrestled in the past so we'll have to make some adjustments," Santoro said. "We have to wrestle our styles. Josh has been wrestling well and making good adjustments during his matches. Jordan had a tight match with Cassioppi during the season so we're looking to get that one takedown and then try to build the lead. You can't hang on in this tournament. You can't hope to win, you have to go win."
Lehigh's five wrestlers in the consolation bracket were unable to get the necessary victories to keep their respective seasons alive. At 133, Malyke Hines fell 7-3 to Rutgers' Joey Olivieri as he finishes his campaign at 9-10. Connor McGonagle was eliminated with a 6-1 loss to Ian Parker of Iowa State and finishes at 10-11.
True first-year Max Brignola came up one point short in the consolations at 149 against Cory Crooks of Oregon State. Both wrestlers had two takedowns in the bout, but Brignola was unable to escape after Crooks' late second period takedown and a third period escape gave Crooks the 7-6 decision. Brignola finishes his first year at 18-8.
Sophomores Brian Meyer (165) and AJ Burkhart (184) were also eliminated Thursday night. Meyer dropped a 2-1 decision to Oregon State's Matthew Olguin in the tiebreakers, when Meyer was unable to escape in the second half of the tiebreaker period. He finishes his season at 14-12. Burkhart was eliminated with a 9-3 loss to Iowa's Abe Assad at 184 and finishes his season at 14-15.
"I always say this tournament is a lot of weddings and funerals," Santoro said. "We had a couple weddings and this will all be worth it if we can get these guys through to the finals and maybe crown a champion here."
Penn State leads the team race with 27.5 points, while Arizona State is second with 22 and NC State is third with 21.5.
The 2022 NCAA Championships continue Friday morning with session three, featuring the quarterfinals and two rounds of consolations, beginning at 11 a.m. Session three will be televised on ESPNU with streaming video of every mat available on ESPN3 and the ESPN app.
The 2021-22 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
133 – No. 27 Malyke Hines - eliminated
Round of 32: L by dec. No. 6 Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) 8-5
First round consolation: L by dec. No. 22 Joe Olivieri (Rutgers) 7-3
141 – No. 29 Connor McGonagle - eliminated
Round of 32: L by major dec. No. 4 Real Woods (Stanford) 8-0
First round consolation: L by dec. No. 13 Ian Parker (Iowa State) 6-1
149 – No. 22 Max Brignola - eliminated
Round of 32: L by dec. No. 11 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) 9-7
First round consolation: L by dec. No. 27 Cory Crooks (Oregon State) 7-6
157 – No. 7 Josh Humphreys
Round of 32: dec. No. 26 Ben Barton (Lock Haven) 4-0
Round of 16: dec. No. 10 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) 8-5
Quarterfinal: No. 2 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern)
165 – No. 17 Brian Meyer - eliminated
Round of 32: L by dec. No. 16 Luke Weber (NDSU) 3-0
First round consolation: L by dec. No. 33 Matthew Olguin (Oregon State) 2-1, tb
184 – No. 31 AJ Burkhart – eliminated
Round of 32: L by major dec. No. 2 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) 21-7
First round consolation: L by dec. No. 18 Abe Assad (Iowa) 9-3
285 – No. 6 Jordan Wood
Round of 32: dec. No. 27 Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia) 1-0
Round of 16: dec. No. 11 Gary Traub (Oregon State) 6-0
Quarterfinal: No. 3 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa)
Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Players Mentioned
149
/ Men's Wrestling
184
/ Men's Wrestling
133
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
285
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