BETHLEHEM, Pa. – No. 17 Lehigh completed a 4-0 homestand to open the new year with a 23-15 victory over No. 18 Navy inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall on Salute to Service, presented by Weis Markets      . The teams split the 10 bouts 5-5 but a 3-0 edge in bonus point wins, including two falls and a technical fall lifted the Mountain Hawks to their fourth consecutive dual victory.
 
Sophomore Sheldon Seymour (125) and junior Max Brignola (157) delivered Lehigh's two falls, while junior Michael Beard (197) came through with his NCAA Division I-leading 11th technical fall of the season.
 
Lehigh is now 4-3 on the dual season and has won three straight duals against its second most-contested rival to take a 56-48 lead in the all-time series.
 
"Bonus points are always big," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "That's our team. All these matches the rest of the year are probably going to be 5-5 or 6-4 so we have to win when we can. We left some matches out there that we could have won. We need to change that and get better in some positions.
 
Navy (6-3) claimed the first bout of the dual at 184 as David Key won a 4-3 decision over sophomore Jack Wilt. It was Wilt scoring the first and only takedown of the bout with Key escaping, riding out the second period and then reversing in the third period and riding out to claim the decisive point.
 
Beard put Lehigh in front and began a run of four consecutive Mountain Hawk victories with a 21-5 technical fall over Daniel Williams at 197. Beard scored seven takedowns to improve to 18-1 on the season, securing the technical fall at the 4:05 mark.
 
Sophomore Nathan Taylor followed with an 11-4 decision over Grady Greiss in a battle of ranked heavyweights. Taylor scored a takedown early in the first period and added two more in the third. Only a late Greiss reversal prevented Taylor from a major decision as Taylor avenged two losses to Greiss last season including the EIWA finals.
 
"The upperweights are just crushing it right now," Santoro said. "So are our lightweights. Nate just does everything right. He's working hard. If he gets beat in a position, the next week, he's working on it. He's trying to get better. You see it out there. He's taking great shots. The last two times he got scored on off of our shots. This time that didn't happen. He's making great adjustments."
 
Seymour made his second straight start at 125 and locked up a cradle off a restart, putting Dayton DelViscio on his back and recording his first fall of the season at the 1:00 mark to put Lehigh up 14-3 after four bouts.

A first period 📌for Sheldon Seymour!#GoLehigh #PackThePit pic.twitter.com/hpFYfdpESe

— Lehigh Wrestling (@LehighWrestling) January 20, 2024

 
"Sheldon set a tone and we needed that," Santoro said. "We knew it could possibly come down to bonus points so that was massive."
 
Top-ranked Ryan Crookham (133) capped the first half of the dual with a 10-3 decision over Brendan Ferretti on the strength of a pair of first period takedowns as Lehigh led 17-3 halfway through.
 
Navy came out of the break with a pair of wins to get within 17-9 after seven bouts. Josh Koderhandt defeated junior Malyke Hines 7-3 at 141 thanks in part to a second period takedown and a second score in the final seconds. At 149, first-year Owen Reinsel fell 6-5 to Kaemen Smith. Reinsel scored the first takedown but Smith reversed and added a takedown in the second period. With the match tied 5-5 in the third, Reinsel needed to ride out but Smith was able to muster a late escape and the defend the final 30 seconds.
 
Brignola provided a needed boost with his third period pin over Jonathan Ley to clinch the dual for the Mountain Hawks. The bout was tied 1-1 in the third when Brignola was able to score a takedown and then put Ley on his back for the fall at the 6:22 mark.

Brignola comes through in the third with the fall to put Lehigh up 14!

Watch: https://t.co/ae4HHri0XU#GoLehigh #PackThePit pic.twitter.com/FdoVeFJ0L7

— Lehigh Wrestling (@LehighWrestling) January 20, 2024

 
"Max looked pretty good," Santoro said. "Ley is really good. He was a big recruit for Navy. Very strong and very athletic. Max had to wear him down a little bit but he made the adjustments and got to his strengths. He ended up scoring.
 
"What I love about it was he wasn't content to win. He smelled blood and went for the back points and the pin. That's what we want everyone on our team to do. If there's an opportunity to put a guy away you have to put him away."
 
The Midshipmen won two-point decisions in the final two bouts to account for the final score. At 165 junior Jake Logan scored the first takedown against Andrew Cerniglia, but a third period takedown gave Cerniglia a 6-4 decision. Danny Wask closed the dual with a 2-0 win over sophomore Connor Herceg at 174 with a second period escape and third period rideout.
 
Lehigh finished with a 17-4 advantage in takedowns while Navy had a 3-0 edge in reversals.
 
As part of Salute to Service, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy, Retired, Colin Kilrain '82, a four-time EIWA champion and three-time All-American, served as Lehigh's honorary captain on Saturday. Kilrain's son Sean is a fourth-year Lehigh wrestler while his younger son Liam is a first-year wrestler for Navy.
 
The Mountain Hawks will be off from competition next weekend and will return to action at EIWA rival Army West Point on Sunday, Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. The match will be broadcast on Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM and LVFoxSports.com.
 
The 2023-24 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
 
No. 17 Lehigh 23, No. 18 Navy 15
184 – David Key (Navy) dec. Jack Wilt (Lehigh) 4-3
197 – Michael Beard (Lehigh) tech fall Daniel Williams (Navy) 21-5, 4:05
285 – Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) dec. Grady Greiss (Navy) 11-4
125 – Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) Fall Dayton DelViscio (Navy) 1:00
133 – Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) dec. Brendan Ferretti (Navy) 10-3
141 – Josh Koderhandt (Navy) dec. Malyke Hines (Lehigh) 7-3
149 – Kaemen Smith (Navy) dec. Owen Reinsel (Lehigh) 6-5
157 – Max Brignola (Lehigh) Fall Jonathan Ley (Navy) 6:22
165 – Andrew Cerniglia (Navy) dec. Jake Logan (Lehigh) 6-4
174 – Danny Wask (Navy) dec. Connor Herceg (Lehigh) 2-0
Attendance – 1,522
 
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