No. 15 Lehigh Welcomes Bucknell Friday On Legacy Of Champions Night

Friday, February 9

Bethlehem, Pa.

7:00 PM

Lehigh University

Bucknell

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Mady Salvani/Army West Point Athletics

No. 15 Lehigh Welcomes Bucknell Friday On Legacy Of Champions Night

2/7/2024 5:07:00 PM | Men's Wrestling

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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Winners of their last five duals. the 15th-ranked Mountain Hawks return to Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall to host Bucknell Friday on Legacy of Champions Night. Lehigh will recognize its rich history of champion wrestlers, highlighted by appearances by Mike Caruso '67, Darian Cruz '18 and Jordan Wood '22. In a match that came down to the final seconds of the final bout, Lehigh came away with a 21-16 win at Army West Point on Feb. 4. Leading 7-6 late in a winner-take-all final bout at 157, junior Max Brignola successfully defended a Nate Lukez shot for the final 30 seconds without conceding a takedown. Brignola was one of six Mountain Hawks to win against the Black Knights. Lehigh welcomes a Bucknell team that is 7-6 overall and is coming off losses to Navy and Columbia last weekend.

Lehigh Probable Starters (Rankings FloWrestling/InterMat 2/6/24)
125 Sheldon Seymour (So., Troy, Pa.)
       No. 3/3 Luke Stanich (Fy., Roxbury, N.J.)
133 No. 1/1 Ryan Crookham (Fy., Hellertown, Pa.)
141 No. 15/15 Malyke Hines (Jr., Kissimmee, Fla.)
149 Kelvin Griffin (Fy., Berwick, Maine)
       Owen Reinsel (Fy., Summerville, Pa.)
157 No. 25/24 Max Brignola (Jr., Fair Haven, N.J.)
165 No. 27/MR Jake Logan (Jr., New Rochelle, N.Y.)
174 Connor Herceg (So., Nazareth, Pa.)
184 Jack Wilt (So., Madison, N.J.)
197 No. 6/4 Michael Beard (Jr., Reading, Pa.)
285 No. 7/9 Nathan Taylor (So., Brookville, Pa.)

Lehigh is hosting Legacy of Champions Night Friday with three of its all-time greats signing autographs pre-match and being recognized during the intermission. The three Lehigh legends on hand will be three-time NCAA Champion Mike Caruso '67, 2017 NCAA Champion and three-time All-American Darian Cruz '18, and Jordan Wood '22, the only five-time EIWA champion in conference history.

Another Lehigh wrestling dual came down to the final bout. This time around, junior Max Brignola successfully defended a Nate Lukez shot for the final 30 seconds of the third period to pick up a 7-6 decision, securing a 21-16 win for the 15th-ranked Mountain Hawks over Army West Point Feb. 4 at Christl Arena. The Mountain Hawks won six bouts, but three of Army's four wins produced bonus points, leaving the final result in doubt until the final bout at 157. Lehigh dropped the first two bouts but won the next four, including a technical fall by junior Michael Beard (197), a major decision by Nathan Taylor (285) and a ranked win for Sheldon Seymour (125) over Ethan Berginc. Sophomore Jack Wilt (184) and junior Malyke Hines (141) also picked up wins by decision to pace the Brown and White.

Seven Lehigh wrestlers appear in the latest rankings from FloWrestling and WrestleStat, while six are ranked by InterMat. Five Mountain Hawks are ranked by Amateur Wrestling News and four appear in the Open Mat's rankings. First-year Ryan Crookham is ranked No. 1 at 133 according to InterMat, FloWrestling and Amateur Wrestling News and is one of four Mountain Hawks ranked in the top 10 by four outlets. First-year Luke Stanich (125), junior Michael Beard (197) and sophomore Nathan Taylor (285) are all in the top 10 in four outlets as well. Junior Malyke Hines is ranked by four of the five outlets at 141, while junior Max Brignola appears in three of the five at 157. At 165, junior Jake Logan is ranked solely by FloWrestling. Sophomore Sheldon Seymour (125) and first-year Kelvin Griffin (149) appear in WrestleStat's Top 33.

Bucknell carries a 7-6 dual mark into Friday night's dual. The Bison are 3-3 in EIWA duals and have lost two straight, with road setbacks at Navy (34-7) and Columbia (25-13). The new year, the Bison own EIWA wins over LIU, American and Drexel. Three Bucknell wrestlers appear in the latest rankings, led by first-year Noah Mulvaney at 165. Kurt Phipps (133) and Dorian Crosby (285) are also nationally ranked. Dan Wirnsberger is in his 19th season as Bucknell's head coach.

Lehigh and Bucknell will meet for the 18th time. The Mountain Hawks won the first nine duals in the series and the last seven. Bucknell's only win in the series came in the 2013-14 season-opener. Lehigh welcomes Bucknell to Grace Hall for the seventh time since the Bison program returned in the mid-2000s.

Friday's dual begins just after 7 p.m. from Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Tickets can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-758-4263 during business hours.

Lehigh will close out the home schedule next Saturday, Feb. 17 when the Mountain Hawks host EIWA rival Princeton. Legendary former coach Thad Turner will be recognized at the match along with wrestling alumni and members of Lehigh's graduating senior class. Match time is set for 7 p.m. from Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.

The 2023-24 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.

Date:	February 9, 2024
Opponent:	Bucknell Bison
First match:	7:05 p.m.
Arena:	Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall
Location:	Bethlehem, Pa.
Lehigh's record:	5-3 overall, 5-0 EIWA
Bucknell's record:	7-6 overall, 3-3 EIWA
Series:	Lehigh leads 16-1
Streak:	Lehigh has won seven straight duals
Television:	Service Electric Network 902
Radio:	Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM in Easton beginning at 6:45 p.m.
Internet broadcast:	Video on FloWrestling.org Audio at LVFoxSports.com