With the victory, Lehigh improves to 7-2 in dual openers under Pat Santoro, while Bucknell falls to 0-2 on the young season.
"It was a good start to the season," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "Obviously we have a lot of work to do. Some guys that have been out just need more mat time, but overall the guys did a nice job."
The Mountain Hawks were aggressive early in each bout as nine of 10 Lehigh wrestlers scored at least one first period takedown. Junior Darian Cruz scored four in the first and went on to start the dual with a 16-5 major decision over Jordan Gessner at 125.
Parker returned to Lehigh's lineup at 133 after deferring his eligibility last season. He used a takedown and two two-point near falls to take a 6-0 lead on Joey Gould after one period. Parker added a takedown and four point near fall in the second and added three more takedowns in the third to secure a 20-5 technical fall that went the full 7:00.
"He's a lot bigger than he was last year and has filled the weight nicely," Santoro said of Parker. "Scottie is going to go out there and give you 100 percent every time. I'm really pleased with the way he wrestled because Joey Gould is a really good wrestler."
In the only matchup of nationally ranked wrestlers, senior Randy Cruz scored a takedown off the opening whistle and added a four point near fall with the strong first period standing up in a 9-3 win over Bucknell's Tyler Smith at 141.
Senior captain Laike Gardner made it three bonus wins in four bouts for the Mountain Hawks with a 17-5 major decision over Seth Hogue at 149.
In his varsity debut, deferred freshman Jordan Kutler gave Lehigh a 19-0 lead at intermission with an 8-2 decision over Victor Lopez at 157. Kutler scored early and proceeded to ride out the rest of the first period, yielding just a penalty point for an illegal hold. He added takedowns in the second and third periods to defeat Lopez, who posted Bucknell's lone win against No. 1 Oklahoma State last Sunday.
Coming out of intermission, Wolf and Preisch helped the Mountain Hawks keep rolling with wins by technical fall. At 165, Wolf sandwiched six point first and third periods around a three-point second stanza to defeat Logan Kerin 15-0 in 6:42.
"He really enjoys being out there," Santoro said of Wolf. "He loves to compete and he's getting better each week too. He's fun to watch."
Preisch then scored an early takedown on Chad Reese at 174 and used three consecutive four point near falls to lead 14-0 after one period. A double leg takedown early in the second period gave Preisch the 16-0 technical fall in 3:19.
Bucknell's first win came at 184 as Garrett Hoffman came back to beat freshman Kyle Gentile 7-4. It was Gentile who grabbed the early lead with a pair of first period takedowns, but Hoffman came back to take a 5-4 lead with a late second period takedown, then rode out Gentile in the third while adding a two point near fall.
Tom Sleigh gave the Bison back-to-back wins and a bonus point as the 15th-ranked Bucknell grappler posted a 13-2 major decision over senior Ben Haas at 197. Sleigh led 2-1 after one in the only bout Lehigh failed to score a first period (or any) takedown) and broke things open with a takedown and four point near fall in the second.
The final bout of the night saw senior heavyweight Doug Vollaro score a takedown in each period, including one in the final seconds of the third period, which earned him an 8-0 major decision over Tyler Greene.
The Mountain Hawks will next head to Troy, N.Y. for the Journeymen Collegiate Classic, Sunday at Hudson Valley Community College. Sixteen Mountain Hawks are expected to compete in the round robin tournament format with action beginning at 9:45 a.m. Pools were released Friday and can be found at FloWrestling.org. Streaming video will also be available on FloWrestling.org via their FloPro subscription service.
Results:
125 - Darian Cruz (Lehigh) major dec. Jordan Gessner (Bucknell) 16-5
133 - Scott Parker (Lehigh) tech fall Joey Gould (Bucknell) 20-5, 7:00
141 - Randy Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Tyler Smith (Bucknell) 9-3
149 - Laike Gardner (Lehigh) major dec. Seth Hogue (Bucknell) 17-5
157 - Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) dec. Victor Lopez (Bucknell) 8-2
165 - Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) tech fall Logan Kerin (Bucknell) 15-0, 6:42
174 - Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) tech fall Chad Reese (Bucknell) 16-0, 3:19
184 - Garrett Hoffman (Bucknell) dec. Kyle Gentile (Lehigh) 7-4
197 - Tom Sleigh (Bucknell) major dec. Ben Haas (Lehigh) 13-2
285 - Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) major dec. Tyler Greene (Bucknell) 8-0
Attendance - 1,341
Officials - Michael Millward and Craig Salvatore
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