No. 11 Lehigh 23, No. 12 Rutgers 10 – NWCA National Duals Series wrestling – Rapid Recap
Lehigh jumped out to a 13-3 lead at intermission and never looked back to dispatch Rutgers in a rematch of last year’s National Duals series match between the two old rivals in front of 1,553 fans at Grace Hall Friday night.
The Mountain Hawks (10-4) avenged last year’s 18-15 loss at Rutgers (12-5) and improved to 26-0 all-time against the Scarlet Knights in Bethlehem. Lehigh leads the overall series 43-3.
“We don’t like losing any match, especially to Rutgers, a border war,” said Lehigh junior 125-pounder and Bethlehem Catholic graduate Darian Cruz. “We knew we had to be ready to come in and take it to them this year.”
Cruz got Lehigh off to a strong start with a 17-4 major decision at 125 over Phillipsburg alum Brandon Paetzell in their first competitive meeting. Lehigh’s Scott Parker followed with a 4-2 decision at 133 over Scott DelVecchio.
“I always want to be scoring points for the team,” said Cruz, now 22-2 on the season and ranked No. 5 by Intermat. “I knew Brandon would be a tough kid to score points and I had to be ready to to face such a really good kid.”
“I was excited to wrestle in Grace Hall, I’d been here a lot but never wrestled here,” said Paetzell, now 14-8 on the season. “It was great to see all the Phillipsburg fans come here and support me.”
After Rutgers’ Anthony Ashnault, ranked No. 5 by Intermat handled Lehigh All-American and Becahi graduate Randy Cruz (ranked #16) 4-0 at 141 in an entertaining match featuring some terrific scrambling and physical wrestling, Lehigh posted huge wins from Laike Gardner (149) and Drew Longo (157) to put themselves in strong position to secure a win.
Easton graduate and two-time All-American Mitch Minotti then secured the triumph with a 13-5 major over Willie Scott at 165; Minotti, ranked #15, improved to 16-3 on the season and looked strong and healthy.
The only jarring note for Lehigh on the night came at 174, where Rutgers sophomore Jordan Pagano, ranked No. 19 by Intermat, handed Ryan Preisch, ranked No. 4, a 10-4 loss.
Leaving that aside, Lehigh coach Pat Santoro said he liked the way his team wrestled in third periods and ranked the win as one of the best of the season. “You always want to see your team wrestle wire to wire and end to end,” he said, “But we still have to get a lot better.”
Turning point: Lehigh junior Drew Longo, trailing Rutgers’ No. 17-ranked John Van Brill 1-0 late in third period and with riding time against him, scored a reversal and then rode to bring the riding time under a minute and post an enormous 2-1 win. The Scarlet Knights’ chances of leaving Grace Hall with a win were slim after Longo’s win. “I can’t think like that,” said Longo, subbing for injured freshman Jordan Kutler for the night. “I lost in this match last year. Every one of us had to go out and go the job today to beat Rutgers.” Santoro said. “Drew is one of the hardest workers we have and he made a tough cut today to help the team. He has an endless gas tank and will do anything to help the team.”
Top performers: Lehigh senior Laike Gardner, ranked No. 12, delivered a strong third period in a 7-3 defeat of No. 14 Ken Theobold at 149. Gardner scored a reversal and rode well to clinch a critical win. For Rutgers, sophomore Jordan Pagano looked a lot better than his No. 19 ranking in a 10-4 thumping of No. 4 Ryan Preisch for Lehigh.
What it means: Local bragging rights for Lehigh in a dual meet that should happen every season judging from the packed house. A nice feather in the EIWA’s cap against the 800-pound gorilla of collegiate wrestling, the Big 10. For wrestlers such as Paetzell and Preisch, tough losses coming at a good time to show where they need to improve for the postseason to reach St. Louis. The end of the dual meet season for Lehigh. You wish “National Duals” meant something more than that, but, as it stands, it’s just one good night for wrestling. Ah well.
No. 11 Lehigh 23, No. 12 Rutgers 10
(all rankings Intermat)
125 pounds: Jr. No. 5 Darian Cruz (22-2), L, md. Fr. Brandon Paetzell (14-8), 18-4
133: So. No. 9 Scott Parker (12-2), L, d. Jr. Scott DelVecchio (17-11), 4-2
141: Jr. No. 5 Anthony Ashnault (24-3), R, d. Sr. No. 16 Randy Cruz (18-6), 4-0
149: Sr. No. 12 Laike Gardner (17-7), L, d. Sr. No. 14 Ken Theobald (18-7), 7-3
157: Jr. Drew Longo (10-6), L. d. So. No. 17 John Van Brill (20-9), 2-1
165: Sr. No. 15 Mitch Minotti (16-3), L, md. Fr. Willie Scott (12-9), 13-5
174: So. No. 19 Jordan Pagano (24-7), R, d. So. No. 4 Ryan Preisch (19-3), 10-4
184: Fr. Andrew Price (9-9), L, d. Sr. Philip Bakuckas (12-7), 2-1 TB2
197: Jr. Nicholas Gravina (18-7), R, md. So. Thomas Murray (7-11), 11-2
285: Sr. Doug Vollaro (15-6), L, d. Jr. Razohnn Gross (11-9), 3-1 OT
Referees: Gary Kessel and Jim Rivello
Brad Wilson may be reached at bwilson@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradwsports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.
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