UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 22 Lehigh won three of the first five bouts to take a 10-7 lead halfway, but No. 2 Penn State won the first four bouts coming out of intermission to take a 23-16 victory Sunday in the 109th meeting of the longtime rivals at Rec Hall.
 
Junior Jaret Lane opened the dual with a major decision victory and first year Manzona Bryant IV and junior Josh Humphreys added decisions, but the four top five-ranked Nittany Lions that wrestled combined to go 4-0 with two major decisions and a fall.
 
Lehigh falls to 3-2 on the dual season, while Penn State is now 5-0.
 
"We needed to compete and keep ourselves in matches," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "We did it in the first five. We actually did it in the last five, we just didn't win those tight matches. We knew 165 and 184 would be crucial. We knew they would be great matchups.
 
"Our guys fought, but at the end of the day its about going out and competing to win," Santoro continued. "I'm proud of the way we wrestled. I'm disappointed we didn't get the win. We have to get better from here."
 
Lane opened the dual with an impressive 11-3 major decision over Jake Campbell at 125, highlighted by a second period takedown and four point near fall.
 
Penn State claimed the next two bouts behind No. 1-ranked wrestlers as Roman Bravo-Young bested first year Sheldon Seymour in a 19-7 major decision at 133 and Nick Lee won a 13-6 decision over first year Connor McGonigle at 141. Seymour was subbing for Malyke Hines, who was injured in Saturday's 37-3 win at Lock Haven. McGonigle battled against the defending national champion, scoring a second period reversal and a late takedown to avoid the major decision.
 
A pair of one-point decisions gave Lehigh a 10-7 lead at the halfway point. At 149, Bryant needed a third period rally to defeat Beau Bartlett 6-5. Bryant trailed 5-4 in the third period when he underhooked Bartlett and took him down to go ahead 6-5. After a restart from center with nine seconds left, Bryant was able to avoid giving up the match-tying escape as he held on for the victory.
 
In a bout that saw three video reviews, Humphreys was locked in a battle with Tony Negron at 157. Negron surprised Humphreys by scoring the first takedown and had a second waved off at the end of the first period. Humphreys came back with an escape and takedown to take a 4-2 lead after two. Video review awarded Negron a tying takedown in the third and he granted Humphreys an escape as Humphreys led 5-4. The Lehigh coaches challenged an apparent go-ahead takedown for Negron late and review wiped away the takedown. Humphreys held on over the final 10 seconds to earn the 5-4 decision.
 
The first bout out of intermission was a tight one and was decided by 1:23 of riding time advantage. Creighton Edsell escaped early in the second period and rode sophomore Brian Meyer enough in the third to win 2-1 thanks to the riding time point.
 
Top-ranked Carter Starocci gave Penn State the lead for good with a 13-3 major decision over Jake Logan at 174. The Nittany Lions clinched the match with a 5-3 decision by Donovan Ball over sophomore AJ Burkhart at 184. Fourth-ranked Max Dean pinned first year JT Davis at the end of the first period to wrap things up.

Penn State forfeited to senior Jordan Wood at 285.
 
The Nittany Lions now lead the series 72-34-3 and have won the last 11 duals in the series.
 
The Mountain Hawks will now pause for final exams and will return to action at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals in Niceville, Fla., Dec. 20-21. Lehigh will face Central Michigan (4 p.m. ET) and No. 1 Iowa (8 p.m. ET) on Dec. 20 and will face an opponent to be determined on Dec. 21.
 
The 2021-22 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
 
No. 2 Penn State 23, No. 22 Lehigh 16
125 – Jaret Lane (Lehigh) major dec. Jake Campbell (PSU) 11-3
133 – Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) major dec. Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) 19-7
141 – Nick Lee (PSU) dec. Connor McGonagle (Lehigh) 13-6
149 – Manzona Bryant IV (Lehigh) dec. Beau Bartlett (PSU) 6-5
157 – Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) dec. Tony Negron (PSU) 5-4
165 – Creighton Edsell (PSU) dec. Brian Meyer (Lehigh) 2-1
174 – Carter Starocci (PSU) major dec. Jake Logan (Lehigh) 13-3
184 – Donovan Ball (PSU) dec. AJ Burkhart (Lehigh) 5-3
197 – Max Dean (PSU) Fall JT Davis (Lehigh) 2:58
285 – Jordan Wood (Lehigh) won by forfeit
Attendance – 6,496
 
Extra matches
149 – Joey Blumer (PSU) dec. Steven Storm (Lehigh) 5-1
157 – Terrell Barraclough (PSU) dec. Luca Frinzi (Lehigh) 7-2
 
Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.