Four Lehigh seniors won on senior day, with Mason Beckman winning by major decision at 133 and the trio of Nathaniel Brown, John Bolich and Max Wessell capping the win with back-to-back-to-back pins at the final three weights.
The 54 team points scored set a new school record for a dual meet, surpassing Lehigh's 51-0 win over Cornell on February 21, 1986. The shutout was the first for the Mountain Hawks (13-2) since a 45-0 blanking of Drexel on November 5, 2010.
"I thought we wrestled hard on Friday night, we just ran into a buzz saw team," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "They didn't look past Bloomsburg at all. They came in excited to wrestle and that's all I can ask of them. It was great to see the seniors go out on this note."
In addition to the five falls, the Mountain Hawks posted two technical falls and two major decisions. The Huskies also forfeited to sophomore Darian Cruz, giving Lehigh a 6-0 lead right off the bat.
Beckman led just 2-0 over Andy Schutz at 133 but continued piling on the points with two takedowns in the second period and three more in the third. With 2:14 of riding, Beckman picked up career win No. 97 with a 14-4 major decision.
At 141, junior Randy Cruz extended Lehigh's lead to 15-0 with an 18-3 technical fall over Sam Holandez. Cruz scored four takedowns and a four point near fall to lead 12-3 after one. He then rode out the second, scoring a two point near fall and then a four point near fall in the final seconds to end the match at the five minute mark.
Freshman Cortlandt Schuyler followed with the first of Lehigh's five falls. Subbing for junior Laike Gardner, Schuyler led Ryan Snow 11-3 after two periods and picked up an early third period takedown before nabbing his seventh fall of the season in 5:47.
After a near-miss against 17th-ranked Shakur Rasheed of Penn State at 165 on Friday night, sophomore Drew Longo was back down at 157 on Sunday and gave the Mountain Hawks a 26-0 lead at intermission with a 25-10 technical fall over Ryan Dougherty in 6:13. Longo conceded one of just two Bloomsburg takedowns on the afternoon in the first period but controlled the final two periods with four second period takedowns plus a reversal and big four point near fall in the third.
Junior Matthew Bonshak make his second career dual appearance at 165, taking on Mathew Carr. Bonshak gave up the first takedown of the bout but bounced back with one of his own to lead 3-2 after one period. In the second, Bonshak used a strong ride before turning Carr for a fall in 4:07, which gave Lehigh a commanding 32-0 lead with four bouts remaining.
"He has been putting so much hard work in the last two years," Santoro said of Bonshak. "It was great for him to get another opportunity. Last time, I think the nerves got him but I thought today he was very relaxed. He got taken down but that didn't bother him. He got out, got his takedown and just worked for the fall and got it."
Freshman Gordon Wolf continued the run with a 13-4 major decision over Casey Glunt at 174. Wolf scored four points in each period behind two first period takedowns, a takedown and two point near fall in the second and a reversal and takedown in the third, while amassing 3:15 of advantage time.
The dual was capped with the three consecutive falls from Lehigh seniors. Brown delivered the fastest of Lehigh's five falls on the day, building an early 4-0 lead before pinning Kyle Wojtaszek in 1:39. Bolich then followed with his first fall of the season. He led 11-2 after one and 13-3 after two before pinning Dominic Carfagno at 5:32. Wessell also put 13 points on the board before getting his fourth fall of the season with the pin of Saul Wilkins in 4:36.
"It was really nice to see all the bonus points put up by our seniors," Santoro said. "It was a great way for them to leave Grace Hall. We're going to miss them. It has been a great run, but we have a busy weekend next weekend and then EIWAs and NCAAs."
In addition to the four senior starters, the Mountain Hawks recognized seniors Cody Kievman, Dave Quackenbos, Mike Stepien and Will Sullivan along with former wrestler Eric Hess who has served the program in a variety of administrative roles after his wrestling career came to an end.
The Mountain Hawks will close out the dual season next weekend when they compete against a Big Ten opponent still to be determined in the NWCA National Championship Dual Meet Series. Lehigh will represent the EIWA based on its 7-0 record in conference duals. Matchups and match times should be announced by the NWCA early this week.
Results:
125 - Darian Cruz (Lehigh) won by forfeit
133 - Mason Beckman (Lehigh) major dec. Andy Schutz (BU) 14-4
141 - Randy Cruz (Lehigh) tech fall Sam Holandez (BU) 18-3, 5:00
149 - Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh) Fall Ryan Snow (BU) 5:47
157 - Drew Longo (Lehigh) tech fall Ryan Dougherty (BU) 25-10, 6:13
165 - Matt Bonshak (Lehigh) fall Mathew Carr (BU) 4:07
174 - Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) major dec. Casey Glunt (BU) 13-4
184 - Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) Fall Kyle Wojtaszek (BU) 1:39
197 - John Bolich (Lehigh) Fall Dominic Carfagno (BU) 5:32
285 - Max Wessell (Lehigh) Fall Saul Wilkins (BU) 4:36
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now