Mountain Hawks Advance Four In Championship Brackets As NCAAs Open In Kansas City

KANSAS CITY – Four Lehigh wrestlers advanced to the championship round of 16 as the NCAA Championships got underway Thursday afternoon at T-Mobile Center. All four of Lehigh's EIWA champions, who are all seeded in the top five at their respective weights, all won Thursday, while the Mountain Hawks' other four qualifiers dropped their opening round bouts.

With junior Michael Beard's NCAA-leading 17th technical fall of the season and a major decision by first-year Luke Stanich, the Mountain Hawks totaled 6.5 points in session one and sit in a tie for 16th place.

Stanich provided Lehigh's first win of the tournament with an 11-2 major decision over Rider's Tyler Klinsky at 125. He scored takedowns in the second and third periods and added a three-point near fall in the second, plus an escape and riding time. Next up for Stanich is the No. 15 seed Caleb Smith of Nebraska.

First-year Ryan Crookham won a 4-3 decision over American's Maximillian Leete to advance at 133. Crookham scored the only takedown of the match in the second period and added a third period escape. Leete, who is legally blind, mustered a second period escape and was able to earn a pair of late stalling points. Crookham will next face No. 15 Brody Teske of Iowa.

Beard piled up the points in a 26-10 technical fall over Oregon State's Justin Rademacher at 197. He totaled eight takedowns, including five in the first period. Rademacher opened the second period with a takedown but Beard reversed and scored three more takedowns, the final of which ended the bout at the 4:02 mark. Beard will next face No. 20 seed Evan Bockman of Utah Valley.

Taylor was strong on top in his 11-4 decision over Trevor Tinker of Utah Valley. He conceded the first takedown but scored a reversal and four-point near fall to lead 6-4 after one. Leading by that same score in the third period, Taylor scored a takedown and added two near fall points to account for the final margin. He will next face Oklahoma State's Konner Doucet, the No. 12 seed, Thursday evening.

Senior Jake Logan was the first Mountain Hawks on the mats in session one, but Logan dropped a 14-3 major decision to Jack Thomsen of Northern Iowa in the pigtail round. He will next face No. 30 Nick Hamilton of Virginia in a consolation pigtail match.

Junior Malyke Hines (141), first-year Kelvin Griffin (149) and junior Max Brignola (157) all suffered losses by decision in Thursday's afternoon session. Hines could not overcome a first-period takedown in a 5-2 loss to Jesse Vasquez of Arizona State. Griffin scored the first takedown against Indiana's Graham Rooks but was unable to turn Rooks from top. Rooks rallied for a 12-5 decision, dropping Griffin to the consolations. Brignola gave up a takedown late in the first period to Minnesota's Michael Blockhus and despite a takedown of his own in the second period, came up short in a 6-4 setback.

Gallery: (3-21-2024) 2024 NCAA Wrestling Session 1

The 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships continue Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT with the championship round of 16 and first round consolations. The session will be televised on ESPN with streaming of every match on ESPN+.

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

125 – No. 2 Luke Stanich
Rd. of 32: major dec. No. 31 Tyler Klinsky (Rider) 11-2
Rd. of 16: No. 15 Caleb Smith (Nebraska)

133 – No. 2 Ryan Crookham
Rd. of 32: dec. No. 31 Maximillian Leete (American) 4-3
Rd. of 16: No. 15 Brody Teske (Iowa)

141 – No. 19 Malyke Hines
Rd. of 32: L by dec. No. 14 Jesse Vasquez (Arizona State) 5-2
First round consolation: No. 30 Kai Owen (Columbia)

149 – No. 16 Kelvin Griffin
Rd. of 32: L by dec. No. 17 Graham Rooks (Indiana) 12-5
First round consolation: No. 33 Michael Cetta (Rutgers)

157 – No. 20 Max Brignola
Rd. of 32: L by dec. No. 13 Michael Blockhus (Minnesota) 6-4
First round consolation: No. 26 Legend Lamer (Cal Poly)

165 – No. 32 Jake Logan
Pigtail: L by major dec. No. 33 Jack Thomsen (UNI) 14-3
Consolation pigtail: No. 30 Nick Hamilton (Virginia)

197 – No. 4 Michael Beard
Rd. of 32: tech fall No. 29 Justin Rademacher (Oregon State) 26-10, 4:02
Rd. of 16: No. 20 Evan Bockman (Utah Valley)

285 – No. 5 Nathan Taylor
Rd. of 32: dec. No. 28 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) 11-4
Rd. of 16: No. 12 Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State)

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Mountain Hawks Advance Four In Championship Brackets As NCAAs Open In Kansas City

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Players Mentioned

Michael Beard

Max Brignola

Ryan Crookham

Kelvin Griffin

Malyke Hines

Jake Logan

Luke Stanich

Nathan Taylor

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Mountain Hawks Advance Four In Championship Brackets As NCAAs Open In Kansas City

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Michael Beard

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Ryan Crookham

Kelvin Griffin

Malyke Hines

Jake Logan

Luke Stanich

Nathan Taylor

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