Photo by: United World Wrestling
Lehigh Experience Has Cruz Ready To Shine In Paris
7/24/2024 3:56:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – In two weeks, Darian Cruz '18 will compete on the world's biggest stage. His time at Lehigh has prepared him well for this moment. The 2017 NCAA Champion and three-time All-American will represent Puerto Rico at the Paris Olympics, which begin this weekend.
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Cruz punched his ticket to Paris in early March by reaching the finals at the Pan American Olympic Qualifier in Acapulco, Mexico. He will be one of the 16 wrestlers in the field at 57 kg.
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This will mark the third consecutive year that Cruz will compete for Puerto Rico at a World Championships or Olympics.
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"It's exciting, being able to represent everything I've worked for over the last 25 years," Cruz said. More importantly the first thing that comes to mind is being able to represent Lehigh University and where Lehigh has taken me and where it continues to develop me. Being able to set the example for the younger guys in this program is pretty exciting as well."
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Cruz will be the second Lehigh wrestler to compete in the Olympics, joining Bobby Weaver '83, who won a gold medal 40 years ago in Los Angeles. Ironically, Cruz trained regularly at Weaver's club as a youth wrestler.
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"There's only one other Lehigh Olympian when it comes to wrestling and it just happens to be a guy I was trained by at a very young age," Cruz said. "I don't know if that's coincidental, but there's a lot of pride in being a Lehigh Olympian.
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"The community that we have around here," he continued. "Young guys, older guys, coaches, have been great and helped me grow in a lot of areas: mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally. Both on and off the mat. We're constantly pouring into each other, whether it's me pouring into the college guys or the college guys pouring into us. It shows the quality of being a Lehigh Olympian."
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In addition to his 2017 NCAA title, Cruz was a three-time All-American for the Mountain Hawks, adding a seventh place finish as a true first-year in 2014 and a fifth place finish in 2018. A career 125-pounder, Cruz also won EIWA titles in each of his final three seasons and finished with a 120-20 career record for the Brown and White.
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After graduating in 2018 with a degree in English, Cruz continued training with the Lehigh Valley Wrestling Club. Cruz made the U.S. National Team in 2019 and worked as a volunteer assistant coach with the Mountain Hawks while continuing to train with the LVWC. He eventually switched allegiances over to Puerto Rico in 2022.
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When he takes the mat in Paris, Cruz will have a large support system in his corner. In addition to family members, a contingent of Cruz's former Lehigh teammates are making the trip to watch him compete.
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"It shows how special this community and family are," Cruz said. "A ton of alumni and teammates, family members. We're going to have a really big group out there which is exciting. It's going to be great to be able to perform on the world's biggest stage of wrestling and have this big of a community come out and support, just goes back to what I've said about the community of Lehigh University, Lehigh wrestling and the Lehigh Valley in general."
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The men's freestyle 57 kg bracket at the 2024 Paris Olympics will be contested Aug. 8-9. Streaming video of Olympic wrestling competition will be available on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com along with the NBC Olympics app.
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Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on X/Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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Cruz punched his ticket to Paris in early March by reaching the finals at the Pan American Olympic Qualifier in Acapulco, Mexico. He will be one of the 16 wrestlers in the field at 57 kg.
Â
This will mark the third consecutive year that Cruz will compete for Puerto Rico at a World Championships or Olympics.
Â
"It's exciting, being able to represent everything I've worked for over the last 25 years," Cruz said. More importantly the first thing that comes to mind is being able to represent Lehigh University and where Lehigh has taken me and where it continues to develop me. Being able to set the example for the younger guys in this program is pretty exciting as well."
Â
Cruz will be the second Lehigh wrestler to compete in the Olympics, joining Bobby Weaver '83, who won a gold medal 40 years ago in Los Angeles. Ironically, Cruz trained regularly at Weaver's club as a youth wrestler.
Â
"There's only one other Lehigh Olympian when it comes to wrestling and it just happens to be a guy I was trained by at a very young age," Cruz said. "I don't know if that's coincidental, but there's a lot of pride in being a Lehigh Olympian.
Â
"The community that we have around here," he continued. "Young guys, older guys, coaches, have been great and helped me grow in a lot of areas: mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally. Both on and off the mat. We're constantly pouring into each other, whether it's me pouring into the college guys or the college guys pouring into us. It shows the quality of being a Lehigh Olympian."
Â
In addition to his 2017 NCAA title, Cruz was a three-time All-American for the Mountain Hawks, adding a seventh place finish as a true first-year in 2014 and a fifth place finish in 2018. A career 125-pounder, Cruz also won EIWA titles in each of his final three seasons and finished with a 120-20 career record for the Brown and White.
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After graduating in 2018 with a degree in English, Cruz continued training with the Lehigh Valley Wrestling Club. Cruz made the U.S. National Team in 2019 and worked as a volunteer assistant coach with the Mountain Hawks while continuing to train with the LVWC. He eventually switched allegiances over to Puerto Rico in 2022.
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When he takes the mat in Paris, Cruz will have a large support system in his corner. In addition to family members, a contingent of Cruz's former Lehigh teammates are making the trip to watch him compete.
Â
"It shows how special this community and family are," Cruz said. "A ton of alumni and teammates, family members. We're going to have a really big group out there which is exciting. It's going to be great to be able to perform on the world's biggest stage of wrestling and have this big of a community come out and support, just goes back to what I've said about the community of Lehigh University, Lehigh wrestling and the Lehigh Valley in general."
Â
The men's freestyle 57 kg bracket at the 2024 Paris Olympics will be contested Aug. 8-9. Streaming video of Olympic wrestling competition will be available on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com along with the NBC Olympics app.
Â
Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on X/Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Â
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