LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – No. 22 Lehigh opened its road swing through central Pennsylvania with a 37-3 victory over Lock Haven Saturday at Thomas Fieldhouse. The Mountain Hawks won seven of the eight contested bouts on the afternoon to with their third straight dual, improving to 3-1 on the dual season.
 
"Every time we attacked, we scored," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "We did a nice job on top. There were a few times we shut down early in those first few weights. We were trying to coast a little bit but we made good adjustments later on. You can't coast in this sport. We train to wrestle seven minutes and we need to wrestle for seven minutes. Overall, the guys did a really nice job."
 
The first half of the dual was highlighted by strong Lehigh work from the top position. After a forfeit to junior Jaret Lane at 125, first-year Malyke Hines opened his bout against Gable Strickland at 133 with a first period takedown and then a cradle for four near fall points to lead 6-1. Two penalty points and an escape brought Strickland within 6-4 after two periods. Strickland came back with two takedowns in the third period, the second of which came with four late back points which proved to be the difference in a 13-12 decision for the Bald Eagle, which put Lock Haven on the board. Hines had collected more than four minutes of advantage time even after giving up the late six point move.
 
It would be the only win of the day for Lock Haven (0-2).
 
First-year Connor McGonagle made his season debut at 141 against Nick Stonecheck. McGonagle scored a first period takedown and second period reversal and finished with nearly three minutes of advantage time in a 6-3 decision.
 
"Nerves may have gotten him a bit early on but he did a really nice job," Santoro said of McGonagle. "He just kept wrestling. There where times where he knew he had to fight through it, and he picked it up and started feeling better as the match went on."
 
At 149, first-year Manzona Bryant IV continued the strong work on top and added a bonus point with a 15-4 decision over DaShawn Farber. Bryant totaled two takedowns in both the first and third periods, sandwiched around a second period reversal and four point near fall. He also showed prowess on top, finishing with 3:45 of riding time advantage.
 
Junior Josh Humphreys followed Bryant's bonus win with a fall, building a 6-0 lead before pinning Ben Barton at 2:06 to give Lehigh a 19-3 lead at intermission.
 
"Josh has always been good on top and he has been working on some new things," Santoro said. "That first takedown was as clean as you can get. He turned (Barton) twice. He was almost pinned the first time. The second time he was able to secure it, which gave us a lot of breathing room."
 
The second half of the dual began with back-to-back one-point victories for sophomore Brian Meyer (165) and first-year Jake Logan (174). Meyer held a 3-0 edge in takedowns and despite being ridden the entire third period held off Ashton Eyler 6-5. A stalling point had Logan trailing Tyler Stoltzfus 4-3 late before Logan converted a shot into a takedown to win 5-4.
 
Sophomore AJ Burkhart racked up four takedowns in a 9-3 decision over Thomas Dressler at 184. Only a late Dressler reversal prevented a major decision.
 
First-year JT Davis scored takedowns in the first and third periods to blank Parker McClellan 5-0 at 197.
 
Lock Haven forfeited to senior Jordan Wood to close out the dual.
 
The Mountain Hawks head to No. 2 Penn State on Sunday for the 109th meeting in Lehigh's most-contested dual series. The match is set for a 2 p.m. from Rec Hall in University Park, Pa. The match will be streamed on B1G+.
 
The 2021-22 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
 
No. 22 Lehigh 37, Lock Haven 3
125 – Jaret Lane (Lehigh) won by forfeit
133 – Gable Strickland (LHU) dec. Malyke Hines (Lehigh) 13-12
141 – Connor McGonagle (Lehigh) dec. Nick Stonecheck (LHU) 6-3
149 – Manzona Bryant IV (Lehigh) major dec. DaShawn Farber (LHU) 15-4
157 – Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) Fall Ben Barton (LHU) 2:06
165 – Brian Meyer (Lehigh) dec. Ashton Eyler (LHU) 6-5
174 – Jake Logan (Lehigh) dec. Tyler Stoltzfus (LHU) 5-4
184 – AJ Burkhart (Lehigh) dec. Thomas Dressler (LHU) 9-3
197 – JT Davis (Lehigh) dec. Parker McClellan (LHU) 5-0
285 – Jordan Wood (Lehigh) won by forfeit
Attendance – 1,089
 
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