A Wolf in Mountain Hawk singlet rallies No. 9 Lehigh to 25-10 win over Pitt in season finale
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by Gary Blockus, Special to TheMat.com
Gordon Wolf may be No. 19 in the nation at 165, but he’s been No. 1 after the break for Lehigh the last two matches, and both time he’s inspired the upper weights to lead the Mountain Hawks to victory.
On Sunday afternoon, Wolf, a 14-7 junior from Lawrenceville, N.J., rolled up a 19-4 technical fall in 5:55 on Pitt’s Jake Wetzel in the first match after halftime to put Lehigh back on top and get the ball rolling as No. 9 Lehigh powered past Pitt 25-10 after trailing 10-6 midway through the afternoon.
“The coaches kept it simple [at the halftime break],” said returning 125-pound NCAA champion Darian Cruz, who opened with a 1-0 decision over Pitt’s L.J. Bentley. “They said they’re coming out swinging, are we going to swing back?”
Wolf hit a pair of six-point moves midway through the first period at 165 to spark life into the Lehigh bench. After Wolf’s tech fall, No. 4 Jordan Kutler put up a 14-4 major decision on Austin Bell at 174 and Preisch majored Gregg Harvey 10-1 followed by identical 3-1 decisions for 197-pound freshman Chris Weiler and No. 12 heavyweight Jordan Wood.
“When you have him go out there, you never know what you’re going to get,” Lehigh junior Ran Preisch, No. 4 at 184, said. “It’s always going to be exciting, you can count on that.”
Wolf sure did, for the second straight match as Lehigh closed its dual meet season 12-3 heading into the EIWA Championships at Hofstra March 3-4. Pitt (4-11) is heading to the ACCs at North Carolina on March 3.
The season-ending match honored Lehigh’s seniors, including Cruz, but started with a moment of silence for former Pitt coach Rande Stottlemyer, who passed away on Jan. 28. Santoro won two NCAA titles at Pitt under Stottlemyer’s tutelage, and had current Pitt head coach Keith Gavin and assistant Drew Headlee training and coaching at Lehigh over the last decade.
“I know the staff here well and I have a lot of respect for those guys,” Gavin said.
“I don’t know if I mentored them, but I was sure fortunate enough to have them both here,” Santoro said.
Gavin said the Panthers have been wrestling better over the last few meets, and it showed in the opening five bouts with Cruz (22-0) winning a one-point decision, Pitt’s No. 11 Dom Forys (15-3) upsetting No. 7 Scott Parker (14-3) by a point, Nick Zanetta (16-9) hocking No. 11 Luke Karam (16-6) with a late takedown and four-point nearfall for a 6-1 decision, and Taleb Rahmani (14-10) scoring a major decision over Ian Brown (16-7) to give Pitt a surprising 10-6 lead halfway through the match.
Bentley did an admirable job of using his height and length advantage to keep Cruz off any leg attacks. Cruz escaped to start the second period and Bentley chose neutral to start the final period.
At 133, Forys got the opening takedown on No. 7 Scott Parker, who escaped to start the second period, and then got behind Forys to score his only takedown of the match. Forys got out and scored a takedown at the edge of the mat, and Parker escaped to tie it up at 5-5. Both wrestlers got hit for simultaneous penalty points for pokes in the face.
Forys took the lead with an escape to start the final period and made it hold up for the win. He immediately got in on Parker’s right leg for a prolonged attempt to score before Parker broke free. Parker got warned for stalling as Forys got in a looping slap behind the hamstring for a single, but again Parker broke free and pursued but could only force a stall warning.
At 141, Karam earned a second-period escape on Zanetta, who chose neutral to start the final period to avoid Karam’s prowess at riding, and it worked. After a series of ties with Karam taking four shots, Zanetta countered with a takedown in the final 30 seconds and added a four-point tilt for a 6-1 decision and a 6-3 Pitt lead.
Pitt’s Robert Lee escaped to start the second period at 149 before Corltandt Schuyler (9-8) won a scramble for the bout’s first takedown. Lee (8-1) escaped to make it 2-2 heading into the final period. Schuyler (9-8) reversed to start the second period and cut Lee loose. Lee tried to work a single for the closing 15 seconds but couldn’t convert and Schuyler won 4-3 to knot the match at 6-6.
At 157, Lehigh’s Brown worked a shrug at the edge of the mat for a takedown on Pitt sophomore as both wrestlers went out of bounds, but Rahmani chalked up three second-period takedowns and added two more in the final period, plus riding time, for the first bonus points of the afternoon as Pitt took a 10-6 lead at the break.
Wolf sandwiched two six-point moves between a Jake Wentzel escape, but Gavin threw the challenge out on the first score while Wolf was working for a pin on the second. The call on the mat was confirmed and the match restarted with Wolf up 12-1 just 1:36 into the bout. Wentzel (12-11) reversed to start the second period, and Wolf followed suit before wrapping up a technical fall 19-4 in the third period to give Lehigh an 11-10 lead.
Kutler scored five takedowns en route the 14-4 major over Bell and a 15-10 lead for the Mountain Hawks.
Preisch followed by taking down Pitt freshman Harvey three times along with backpoints for a 10-1 major as Lehigh’s team lead went to nine points.
Weiler built up 1:36 in riding time in the first period, but sophomore Kellan Stout erased it all with a second-period rideout. Weiler also got a rideout in the third period for a 3-1 decision and clinch the Lehigh win.
At heavyweight, Pitt senior Ryan Solomon picked up 1:23 riding time in the second period but Wood hit a single leg for a takedown with 25 seconds to go, bringing the crowd to its feet in applause.
No. 9 LEHIGH 25, PITT 10
at Bethlehem, Pa., February 18
125: No. 2 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec. L.J. Bentley (Pitt) 1-0.
133: No. 11 Dom Forys (Pitt) dec. No. 7 Scott Parker (Lehigh) 7-6.
141: Nick Zanetta (Pitt) dec. No. 11 Luke Karam (Lehigh) 6-1.
149: No 19 Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh) dec. Robert Lee (Pitt) 4-3.
157: Taleb Rahmani (Pitt) maj dec. Ian Brown (Lehigh) 15-7.
165: No. 19 Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) tech. fall Jake Wentzel (Pitt) 19-4, 5:55.
174: No. 4 Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) maj. dec. Austin Bell (Pitt) 14-4
184: No. 4 Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) maj. dec. Gregg Harvey (Pitt) 10-1.
197: Chris Weiler (Lehigh) dec. Kellan Stout (Pitt) 3-1.
285: No. 12 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) dec. Ryan Solomon (Pitt) 3-1.
Attendance: 1,669.
On Sunday afternoon, Wolf, a 14-7 junior from Lawrenceville, N.J., rolled up a 19-4 technical fall in 5:55 on Pitt’s Jake Wetzel in the first match after halftime to put Lehigh back on top and get the ball rolling as No. 9 Lehigh powered past Pitt 25-10 after trailing 10-6 midway through the afternoon.
“The coaches kept it simple [at the halftime break],” said returning 125-pound NCAA champion Darian Cruz, who opened with a 1-0 decision over Pitt’s L.J. Bentley. “They said they’re coming out swinging, are we going to swing back?”
Wolf hit a pair of six-point moves midway through the first period at 165 to spark life into the Lehigh bench. After Wolf’s tech fall, No. 4 Jordan Kutler put up a 14-4 major decision on Austin Bell at 174 and Preisch majored Gregg Harvey 10-1 followed by identical 3-1 decisions for 197-pound freshman Chris Weiler and No. 12 heavyweight Jordan Wood.
“When you have him go out there, you never know what you’re going to get,” Lehigh junior Ran Preisch, No. 4 at 184, said. “It’s always going to be exciting, you can count on that.”
Wolf sure did, for the second straight match as Lehigh closed its dual meet season 12-3 heading into the EIWA Championships at Hofstra March 3-4. Pitt (4-11) is heading to the ACCs at North Carolina on March 3.
The season-ending match honored Lehigh’s seniors, including Cruz, but started with a moment of silence for former Pitt coach Rande Stottlemyer, who passed away on Jan. 28. Santoro won two NCAA titles at Pitt under Stottlemyer’s tutelage, and had current Pitt head coach Keith Gavin and assistant Drew Headlee training and coaching at Lehigh over the last decade.
“I know the staff here well and I have a lot of respect for those guys,” Gavin said.
“I don’t know if I mentored them, but I was sure fortunate enough to have them both here,” Santoro said.
Gavin said the Panthers have been wrestling better over the last few meets, and it showed in the opening five bouts with Cruz (22-0) winning a one-point decision, Pitt’s No. 11 Dom Forys (15-3) upsetting No. 7 Scott Parker (14-3) by a point, Nick Zanetta (16-9) hocking No. 11 Luke Karam (16-6) with a late takedown and four-point nearfall for a 6-1 decision, and Taleb Rahmani (14-10) scoring a major decision over Ian Brown (16-7) to give Pitt a surprising 10-6 lead halfway through the match.
Bentley did an admirable job of using his height and length advantage to keep Cruz off any leg attacks. Cruz escaped to start the second period and Bentley chose neutral to start the final period.
At 133, Forys got the opening takedown on No. 7 Scott Parker, who escaped to start the second period, and then got behind Forys to score his only takedown of the match. Forys got out and scored a takedown at the edge of the mat, and Parker escaped to tie it up at 5-5. Both wrestlers got hit for simultaneous penalty points for pokes in the face.
Forys took the lead with an escape to start the final period and made it hold up for the win. He immediately got in on Parker’s right leg for a prolonged attempt to score before Parker broke free. Parker got warned for stalling as Forys got in a looping slap behind the hamstring for a single, but again Parker broke free and pursued but could only force a stall warning.
At 141, Karam earned a second-period escape on Zanetta, who chose neutral to start the final period to avoid Karam’s prowess at riding, and it worked. After a series of ties with Karam taking four shots, Zanetta countered with a takedown in the final 30 seconds and added a four-point tilt for a 6-1 decision and a 6-3 Pitt lead.
Pitt’s Robert Lee escaped to start the second period at 149 before Corltandt Schuyler (9-8) won a scramble for the bout’s first takedown. Lee (8-1) escaped to make it 2-2 heading into the final period. Schuyler (9-8) reversed to start the second period and cut Lee loose. Lee tried to work a single for the closing 15 seconds but couldn’t convert and Schuyler won 4-3 to knot the match at 6-6.
At 157, Lehigh’s Brown worked a shrug at the edge of the mat for a takedown on Pitt sophomore as both wrestlers went out of bounds, but Rahmani chalked up three second-period takedowns and added two more in the final period, plus riding time, for the first bonus points of the afternoon as Pitt took a 10-6 lead at the break.
Wolf sandwiched two six-point moves between a Jake Wentzel escape, but Gavin threw the challenge out on the first score while Wolf was working for a pin on the second. The call on the mat was confirmed and the match restarted with Wolf up 12-1 just 1:36 into the bout. Wentzel (12-11) reversed to start the second period, and Wolf followed suit before wrapping up a technical fall 19-4 in the third period to give Lehigh an 11-10 lead.
Kutler scored five takedowns en route the 14-4 major over Bell and a 15-10 lead for the Mountain Hawks.
Preisch followed by taking down Pitt freshman Harvey three times along with backpoints for a 10-1 major as Lehigh’s team lead went to nine points.
Weiler built up 1:36 in riding time in the first period, but sophomore Kellan Stout erased it all with a second-period rideout. Weiler also got a rideout in the third period for a 3-1 decision and clinch the Lehigh win.
At heavyweight, Pitt senior Ryan Solomon picked up 1:23 riding time in the second period but Wood hit a single leg for a takedown with 25 seconds to go, bringing the crowd to its feet in applause.
No. 9 LEHIGH 25, PITT 10
at Bethlehem, Pa., February 18
125: No. 2 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec. L.J. Bentley (Pitt) 1-0.
133: No. 11 Dom Forys (Pitt) dec. No. 7 Scott Parker (Lehigh) 7-6.
141: Nick Zanetta (Pitt) dec. No. 11 Luke Karam (Lehigh) 6-1.
149: No 19 Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh) dec. Robert Lee (Pitt) 4-3.
157: Taleb Rahmani (Pitt) maj dec. Ian Brown (Lehigh) 15-7.
165: No. 19 Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) tech. fall Jake Wentzel (Pitt) 19-4, 5:55.
174: No. 4 Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) maj. dec. Austin Bell (Pitt) 14-4
184: No. 4 Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) maj. dec. Gregg Harvey (Pitt) 10-1.
197: Chris Weiler (Lehigh) dec. Kellan Stout (Pitt) 3-1.
285: No. 12 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) dec. Ryan Solomon (Pitt) 3-1.
Attendance: 1,669.
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