"Edinboro is always going to come after you and wrestle hard," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "They're going to be a lot better come March when they get some guys back in the lineup. They're going to be a different team, but our guys wrestled hard. We moved forward and took a lot of shots. Hopefully we start getting rewarded for that."
The only bout of the dual that matched ranked wrestlers was the first one as 14th-ranked sophomore edged No. 20 Sean Russell 3-1 in sudden victory at 125. The match was 1-1 through regulation, when Cruz scored off a low double leg shot from behind Russell for the winning points.
Lehigh then turned to its third 133-pounder of the season, as sophomore Dean Somers stepped in for classmate Jonathan Mele and posted a 12-0 major decision over Tony Recco. Somers came out of an early scramble with a takedown and four point near fall to lead 6-0 after one and added a takedown in each of the final two periods to win his first career dual match.
"He kept wrestling," Santoro said of Somers. "He didn't try to sit on a lead. He kept wrestling and ended up getting the major for us and winning pretty big. It was a nice win for him."
Randy Cruz then made it three straight Mountain Hawk wins with the first of three falls on the day. Up 2-0 in the first period, Cruz used a half nelson-arm bar combination to deck Nate Hagan in 2:05.
Edinboro's first win came at 149 as Patricio Lugo improved to 10-0 after holding off a late charge from junior Laike Gardner to win 6-4. Lugo led 4-1 after one period behind two takedowns. A third period score got Gardner back within two but he couldn't convert a tying takedown in the final period.
Minotti led 3-0 in the second period at 157 when he used a cement mixer to pin Spencer Nagy at 3:29 to give the Mountain Hawks a 19-3 lead at intermission.
The Fighting Scots (3-2) posted their only other win at 165 as Casey Fuller edged freshman Ryan Preisch 3-2, with the only takedown coming from Fuller in the first period off a Preisch shot. Fuller joined Lugo at moving to 10-0 on the season.
"I'll take a few losses early for being overly aggressive," Santoro said. "We'll start finishing those and next time we'll be better."
Lehigh went on to capture the final four bouts, starting with a 10-4 win from junior Elliot Riddick over Patrick Jennings at 174. Riddick scored a takedown in each period and added a two point near fall in the second plus a pair of escapes.
Senior Nathaniel Brown posted his third technical fall win in five bouts, defeating Chris Laird 16-0 in 2:13 at 184. After an early takedown, Brown scored three four point near falls off tilts and then ended the match with a two point near fall.
At 197 senior John Bolich won an 8-3 decision over Vince Pickett. Bolich built a 7-1 lead in the third period and was looking for a major when he was taken down late.
The final bout of the dual went to senior Max Wessell who handed Billy Miller his first loss of the season. Tied at 1-1 in the third period, Wessell countered a Miller shot by throwing him to his back for the fall in 5:35.
The Mountain Hawks will be off from competition next weekend and will return to action with two duals in New Jersey on Saturday, December 5. Lehigh will visit Rider at 11 a.m. and then will make the trek to Princeton to visit the Tigers at 2 p.m.
Results:
125 - Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Sean Russell (Edinboro) 3-1, sv
133 - Dean Somers (Lehigh) major dec. Tony Recco (Edinboro) 12-0
141 - Randy Cruz (Lehigh) Fall Nate Hagan (Edinboro) 2:05
149 - Patricio Lugo (Edinboro) dec. Laike Gardner (Lehigh) 6-4
157 - Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) Fall Spencer Nagy (Edinboro) 3:29
165 - Casey Fuller (Edinboro) dec. Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) 3-2
174 - Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) dec. Patrick Jennings (Edinboro) 10-4
184 - Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) tech fall Chris Laird (Edinboro) 16-0, 2:13
197 - John Bolich (Lehigh) dec. Vince Pickett (Edinboro) 8-3
285 - Max Wessell (Lehigh) Fall Billy Miller (Edinboro) 5:35
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