BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Trailing 14-13 with two bouts remaining, bonus point wins from junior
Michael Beard and sophomore
Nathan Taylor lifted No. 17 Lehigh to a 24-14 win over Penn Friday night at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall on Take Down Cancer Night presented by Red Robin in partnership with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Beard pinned Martin Cosgrove in the second period to give Lehigh the lead for good before Taylor closed out the Mountain Hawks' third straight dual win with a technical fall over John Stout.
The Mountain Hawks won six bouts from the Quakers to improve to 3-3 on the dual season.
"Penn is a well-coached team. It's always a battle because they're a well-coached program," Lehigh head coach
Pat Santoro said. "It's always a battle. We look forward to the competition. Our last two guys came through and they've continued doing that. We're getting closer. We'd like to get seven or eight wins in a dual or even nine or 10, but facing great competition that's going to happen sometimes."
Lehigh led 10-5 at intermission and 13-5 after six bouts before a pin and a decision temporarily put Penn back in front with two bouts remaining.
Beard built a 15-5 lead behind five takedowns before using a cement job to bring Cosgrove to his back for the fall in 3:47. The fall was Beard's second of the season as he moved to 17-1 at 197.
Taylor broke open a 7-1 match with 12 third period points, securing the 19-4 technical fall in 6:48 to end the dual.
The first three bouts of the night were all one-takedown affairs, with two of the three being decided in sudden victory.
Penn (1-3) claimed the opening bout of the night as Max Gallagher won a 4-1 sudden victory decision over sophomore
Sheldon Seymour at 125.
Top-ranked
Ryan Crookham then faced a tough test in No. 10 Michael Colaiocco at 133. Tied 1-1 in the third period, Crookham finally secured the lone takedown of the bout in a 4-2 decision to tie the dual at 3-3. Crookham improved to 12-0 on the season.
Junior
Malyke Hines then gave Lehigh its first lead, scoring a takedown 23 seconds into sudden victory to defeat CJ Composto 4-1 in a battle of ranked wrestlers at 141. The victory was Hines' second of the season over Composto.
"We hand-fought well but they do such a great job controlling your hand," Santoro said. "We knew that going in. We just have to make better adjustments during the match."
Deferred first-year
Owen Reinsel made his season dual debut at 149 and delivered a 12-2 major decision over Andy Troczynski to put the Mountain Hawks up 10-3. Reinsel emerged from a lengthy early scramble with a takedown and two near fall points and added two more sets of two point near falls to lead 9-0 after one. A second period takedown put Reinsel up 12-0 after two before Troczynski scored his only two points in the final period on stalling calls.
"Owen did a great job," Santoro said. "He was excited to be out there. That first scramble was amazing and then he got some turns. I'm really happy for him."
The Quakers' Lucas Revano won the first period takedown battle over junior
Max Brignola 2-1 and claimed an 8-6 decision at 157, avenging a loss to Brignola earlier this season. Penn was deducted a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct following the bout as Lehigh led 10-5 at the midway point.
Coming out of the break, junior
Jake Logan picked up his first dual win of the season, scoring a takedown in the first period and two in the second in a 10-7 win over Kaya Sement at 165.
Penn claimed the next two bouts with seventh-ranked Nick Incontrera pinning sophomore
Connor Herceg in the first period at 174 and Maximus Hale winning a 4-0 decision over
Jack Wilt at 184. Herceg did score the first takedown in his bout and trailed 4-3 at the time of the fall.
Lehigh's victory snapped a two-match winning streak for Penn in the series. The Brown and White now leads the all-time series 49-12-1.
The Mountain Hawks are back at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall on Saturday to host No. 18 Navy on Salute to Service, presented by Weis Markets. Match time is set for 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at LehighTickets.com.
The 2023-24 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
No. 17 Lehigh 24, Penn 14
125 – Max Gallagher (Penn) dec.
Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) 4-1, sv
133 –
Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) dec. Michael Colaiocco (Penn) 4-2
141 –
Malyke Hines (Lehigh) dec. CJ Composto (Penn) 4-1, sv
149 –
Owen Reinsel (Lehigh) major dec. Andy Troczynski (Penn) 12-2
157 – Lucas Revano (Penn) dec.
Max Brignola (Lehigh) 8-6*
165 –
Jake Logan (Lehigh) dec. Kaya Sement (Penn) 10-7
174 – Nick Incontrera (Penn) Fall
Connor Herceg (Lehigh) 2:36
184 – Maximus Hale (Penn) dec.
Jack Wilt (Lehigh) 4-0
197 –
Michael Beard (Lehigh) Fall Martin Cosgrove (Penn) 3:47
285 –
Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) tech fall John Stout (Penn) 19-4, 6:48
Attendance – 1,411
* - Penn was deducted a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct following the bout at 157
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