FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Steve Lomangino (Media Relations Director)
Email – sjl304@lehigh.edu
Story on Lehighsports.com
http://www.lehighsports.com/sports/wrestling/lehigh_pounds_american_30-12_to_complete_2-0_weekend_trip.aspx
Steve Lomangino (Media Relations Director)
Email – sjl304@lehigh.edu
Story on Lehighsports.com
http://www.lehighsports.com/sports/wrestling/lehigh_pounds_american_30-12_to_complete_2-0_weekend_trip.aspx
Lehigh pounds American 30-12 to complete 2-0 weekend trip
Posted: 01/13/2013
WASHINGTON –
Senior Robert Hamlin and freshman John Bolich posted pins as
the Lehigh wrestling team completed a 2-0 weekend versus EIWA
foes with a 30-12 triumph over American Sunday at Bender
Arena. The Mountain Hawks won seven of ten bouts, scoring
bonus points in four of those wins to improve to 5-4 in duals,
and 2-2 against EIWA opponents.
The dual began at
165 where freshman Ben Haas scored the first takedown in his
match against Phillip Barreiro before the Eagle senior rallied
for a 5-3 win. From there Lehigh posted three consecutive
bonus wins to build a 16-3 advantage after four bouts.
At 174, sophomore
Nathaniel Brown secured five takedowns en route to a 12-2
major decision over Keithen Cast. Hamlin then followed with a
first period pin over Thomas Barreiro, the 93rd win of
Hamlin’s career to extend Lehigh’s lead. Bolich then followed
with his first career win by fall, taking down Devon Bradley
early before using an arm bar to secure the pin in 1:11.
“Any time you
wrestle a conference rival, bonus points are huge,” said
Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. “We needed those today. Both
teams had some (bonus wins) today, but to get those two falls
right off the bat was nice.”
American (3-3, 1-1
EIWA), which knocked off Stanford 24-14 earlier in the day,
made things close with consecutive wins at 285 and 125 to cut
Lehigh’s lead to 16-12.
The Mountain Hawks
took over from there, winning the final four bouts of the
dual. At 133, a first period takedown proved to be the
difference as freshman Randy Cruz held off Esteban
Gomez-Rivera 3-2.
Freshman Laike
Gardner fell behind early in his match against John Boyle at
141 before battling back. Down 2-1 after one period, Gardner
rode out the second period then scored an escape and a
takedown in the third to win 5-3, giving Lehigh a ten point
advantage.
“The freshmen have
stepped up and done a really nice job,” Santoro explained.
“They’re getting better each week and gaining more confidence
now. I’m excited about where they’re going. They’ve got a lot
of work to do before March but they’re going in the right
direction.”
At 149, senior
Shane Welsh met Kevin Tao in a rematch of last year’s EIWA
finals at 149. Tao scored the first takedown, but Welsh
methodically battled back, using a throw for a takedown to
take a 3-2 lead after one period. After a scoreless second
period in neutral, Welsh reversed Tao in the third and added a
second takedown en route to a 7-4 decision.
The final bout of
the dual saw junior Joey Napoli dominate Mark Cirello in a
21-4 technical fall. Napoli scored a late takedown to go up by
14, and then turned Cirello for two near fall points in the
final seconds to complete the technical fall in 7:00.
“These were two
big wins this weekend,” Santoro said. “Conference meets are
doubly important, but at the end of the day you’re not
wrestling just for seeds. It’s hard to assess everything right
now because there’s still a lot of work to do. We had two good
wins this weekend but our eyes are always on March.”
The Mountain Hawks
will conclude their three dual road swing on Friday when they
travel to Piscataway, N.J. to face EIWA rival Rutgers. The
match is set for a 7 p.m. start from the Louis Brown Athletic
Center. The match will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 1230 and
1320 as well as Lehighsports.com, with pre-match coverage
beginning at 6:45.
Lehigh 30 American
12
165 – Phillip
Barreiro (AU) dec. Ben Haas (Lehigh) 5-3
174 – Nathaniel
Brown (Lehigh) major dec. Keithen Cast (AU) 12-2
184 – Robert
Hamlin (Lehigh) Fall Thomas Barreiro (AU) 1:36
197 – John Bolich
(Lehigh) Fall Devon Bradley (AU) 1:11
285 – Blake Herrin
(AU) dec. Jack Delia (Lehigh) 4-2
125 – David Terao
(AU) Fall Alex Abreu (Lehigh) 0:54
133 – Randy Cruz
(Lehigh) dec. Esteban Gomez-Rivera (AU) 3-2
141 – Laike
Gardner (Lehigh) dec. John Boyle (AU) 5-3
149 – Shane Welsh
(Lehigh) dec. Kevin Tao (AU) 7-4
157 – Joey Napoli
(Lehigh) tech fall Mark Cirello (AU) 21-4, 7:00
Referee – Joe
Bartell