Sophomore Mason Beckman added Lehigh's other bonus point win, a major decision at 133 as the Mountain Hawks improve to 6-4 on the dual season while handing Navy (2-1) its first loss. Lehigh also successfully bounced back from a tough loss at Cornell last Sunday where the Mountain Hawks only managed to win two bouts."
"Navy's a really good team," said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. "We knew they were going to come in and fight really hard. I'm just really pleased with the way we fought, coming back after a match like last week. It's tough because you don't know what to expect, but you need to have a short memory in this sport. Our guys responded pretty well tonight."
Wessell had been sidelined since injuring his lower leg in Lehigh's season-opening dual loss to Bucknell but came back with an impressive 19-6 major decision over Colynn Cook at heavyweight. Wessell used a pair of low double-leg takedowns to build an early 4-2 lead and added two more takedowns plus a two point near fall after tripping Cook down to his back to take a 10-3 lead after one period. In the second period Wessell added a penalty point for stalling against Cook and added three more takedowns in the third period to secure the win and give Lehigh a 10-6 lead at intermission.
"Max just needed some match time," Santoro said. "He's an aggressive heavyweight. We like that. He went out and didn't disappoint and kept scoring points."
Navy captured the first bout of the night as Peyton Walsh won a 9-3 decision over sophomore Ben Haas at 165, but Lehigh answered back as freshman Elliot Riddick defeated Mathew Miller 2-1 in a battle of ranked wrestlers at 174. The only scoring in the bout came in the second period as Miller opened with an escape and Riddick scored a late takedown and was able to ride out the remainder of the period.
"Elliot's match was a key match," Santoro said. "We knew it would probably be a one point match. Miller's very talented and Elliot is too. They're going to go back-and-forth a lot in their careers."
Freshman Zach Diekel made it two straight wins for the Mountain Hawks with a 6-4 decision over James Mannier at 184 but the Mids evened things up as Paul Rands won a 7-1 decision over sophomore John Bolich at 197.
Lehigh added on to its lead with wins in the final five bouts. Freshman Darian Cruz opened the second half of the dual with an 8-3 decision over Brenden Campbell at 125. Following a scoreless first period, Cruz tilted Campbell for three near fall points in the second and added a reversal, an escape and a late takedown in the final period.
At 133, Beckman improved to 15-2 on the season and 10-0 in duals with his 8-0 win over Colton Rasche. Beckman scored takedowns in the first and third periods and used his two-on-one tilt for a two point near fall in the second. He added a third period escape and 2:58 of riding time.
Sophomore Laike Gardner returned to Lehigh's lineup at 141 after missing the Cornell dual and overcame a slow start to defeat Joe Locksmith 9-3. Gardner scored the first takedown of the match in the second period and added a takedown and three point near fall in the third.
Lehigh closed the dual with a pair of tight victories as freshman Mitch Minotti defeated Ray Borja 7-5 at 149 and Joey Napoli won 10-7 over Zach Johnson at 157. Minotti gave up the first and last takedowns of his match but in between recorded two takedowns and two escapes to go along with riding time advantage. Napoli started strong against Johnson with two first period takedowns but Johnson battled back and took a 7-6 lead on a third period reversal. A Napoli escape knotted the score at 7-7 but Napoli secured a late takedown and re-established advantage time to win by three.
With the win Lehigh has now evened the all-time series against its longtime EIWA rival at 47-47. The Mountain Hawks have won the last three duals in the series.
The Mountain Hawks will head to the Pacific Northwest for two duals. Lehigh will visit No. 20 Oregon State Thursday at 10 p.m. (ET)
Results:
165 – Peyton Walsh (Navy) dec. Ben Haas (Lehigh) 9-5
174 – Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) dec. Mathew Miller (Navy) 2-1
184 – Zach Diekel (Lehigh) dec. James Mannier (Navy) 6-4
197 – Paul Rands (Navy) dec. John Bolich (Lehigh) 7-1
285 – Max Wessell (Lehigh) major dec. Colynn Cook (Navy) 19-6
125 – Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Brenden Campbell (Navy) 8-3
133 – Mason Beckman (Lehigh) major dec. Colton Rasche (Navy) 8-0
141 – Laike Gardner (Lehigh) dec. Joe Locksmith (Navy) 9-3
149 – Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. Ray Borja (Navy) 7-5
157 – Joey Napoli (Lehigh) dec. Zach Johnson (Navy) 10-7
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