Lehigh hosts Hofstra on Saturday, in 16-bout event with no dual score kept but matches count
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by Steve Lomangino, Lehigh Athletics
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - For the first time since hoisting its third straight EIWA team title trophy last March, Lehigh will be back on the mats. In this most unusual of seasons, the Mountain Hawks will kick off the 2020-21 campaign at home against the Hofstra Pride, Saturday at 2 p.m.
In lieu of a traditional dual meet format Lehigh and Hofstra are expected to compete head-to-head in 16 bouts inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. There will be no team scoring, but results will count towards an individual’s season record.
Lehigh won its third consecutive EIWA team title last March before the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the NCAA Tournament. The Mountain Hawks return half their lineup from last year’s EIWA triumph but only two of the five are expected to compete on Saturday.
Lehigh Probable Starters
125 Jaret Lane (Jr., Catawissa, Pa.)
133 Malyke Hines (Fr., Kissimmee, Fla.)
133 Satoshi Abe (Jr., Putnam Valley, N.Y.)
141 Joe Lobeck (Sr., Lancaster, Pa.)
141 Drew Munch (Fr., East Stroudsburg, Pa.)
149 Jimmy Hoffman (Jr., Drums, Pa.)
157 JT Cooley (Jr., Gilbertsville, Pa.)
157 Tyler Sung (Fr., New Canaan, Conn.)
165 Thayne Lawrence (Fr., Perryopolis, Pa.)
165 Connor Herceg (Fr., Nazareth, Pa.)
OR Sean Kilrain (Fr., Washington, D.C.)
174 Jake Logan (Fr., New Rochelle, N.Y.)
174 Trey Cornish (Sr., Raleigh, N.C.)
184 JT Davis (Fr., Smyrna, Del.)
184 Caden Wright (Fr., Emmaus, Pa.)
197 No. 15 Jake Jakobsen (Sr., Sciota, Pa.)
285 TJ Moore (Fr., Lebanon, Pa.)
OR Karam Chakif (Fr., Allentown, Pa.)
As somewhat expected in this untraditional season, preseason rankings appear to be a bit all over the place. Two Mountain Hawks appear in the InterMat preseason rankings, led by senior Brandon Paetzell, who is ranked fourth at 125. Senior Jake Jakobsen is ranked 15th at 197. Three Mountain Hawks appear in rankings from both FloWrestling and Amateur Wrestling News. Lehigh has six wrestlers ranked in the top 33 by both The Open Mat and Trackwrestling. Various outlets rank two different Lehigh wrestlers at both 141 and 174.
As many as 11 Mountain Hawks could wrestle their first official bouts in the brown and white against Hofstra, a list that includes nine of Lehigh’s 13 true freshmen and a pair of deferred freshmen in Malyke Hines and Jake Logan. Of the seven remaining wrestlers listed on page one of these notes, only Satoshi Abe has not wrestled in a dual meet for Lehigh.
Half of Lehigh’s roster consists of wrestlers in their first season of eligibility, a group that includes 13 true freshmen and seven deferred freshmen. Josh Humphreys won his first of back-to-back EIWA titles as a true freshman in 2019 but none of Lehigh’s second-year freshmen competed in varsity competition in 2019-20. Jake Logan did place eighth at the prestigious Southern Scuffle competing unattached at 174. Lehigh’s true freshmen class combined for 10 state championships and one National Prep title in their high school careers.
Many Lehigh wrestlers don’t have to venture far from home to wrestle for the Brown and White. Senior Luke Karam and deferred freshman Luca Frinzi both wrestled for nearby Bethlehem Catholic High School, the same program that produced Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. Junior Dan Moran (Northampton) and freshmen Karam Chakif (Dieruff), Connor Herceg (Nazareth) and Caden Wright (Emmaus) join Karam and Frinzi in wrestling for Lehigh Valley East Penn Conference programs. Senior Jake Jakobsen (Stroudsburg) and freshman Steven Storm (Pocono Mountain East) are from programs in the EPC’s Monroe County Division. Deferred freshman Nathan Haubert wrestled in the Colonial League at Palisades. Senior Brandon Paetzell and sophomore Brian Meyer hail from Phillipsburg, N.J., just across the state line.
Hofstra also kicks off its 2020-21 campaign on Saturday. The Pride are coming off of an 11-5 season in 2019-20 that included a 7-0 mark against EIWA duals. Hofstra finished 10th out of 17 teams at last year’s EIWA Championships and had a pair of NCAA Championship qualifiers before the tournament was cancelled.
The Pride’s returning NCAA qualifiers are senior Ricky Stamm (165) and junior Zack Knighton-Ward (285).
Just one Hofstra wrestler, senior Sage Heller, appears in the InterMat preseason rankings. Heller comes in at No. 19 at 174. Two other Heller brothers compete for the Pride: junior Holden at 157 and sophomore Reece at 165. Both Stamm and Knighton-Ward both appear in several other non-InterMat preseason polls, while juniors Dylan Ryder (125) and Trey Rogers (197) also appear in at least one ranking.
Dennis Papadatos is in his seventh season as Hofstra’s head coach.
Lehigh will wrestle its only two road duals over the next two weekends. The Mountain Hawks will travel across the state to face Pittsburgh on Jan. 9 and then will visit EIWA rival Navy Jan. 16 in Annapolis, Md. Lehigh’s next scheduled home dual is against Drexel on Jan. 24.
Date: January 2, 2021
Opponent: Hofstra Pride
First match: 2:05 p.m.
Arena: Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall
Location: Bethlehem, Pa.
Lehigh's 2019-20 record: 12-3 overall, 7-1 EIWA
Hofstra’s 2019-20 record: 11-5 overall, 7-0 EIWA
Television: Service Electric Network 2/502
Radio: None
Internet broadcast: Video at Lehighsports.com/watch
In lieu of a traditional dual meet format Lehigh and Hofstra are expected to compete head-to-head in 16 bouts inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. There will be no team scoring, but results will count towards an individual’s season record.
Lehigh won its third consecutive EIWA team title last March before the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the NCAA Tournament. The Mountain Hawks return half their lineup from last year’s EIWA triumph but only two of the five are expected to compete on Saturday.
Lehigh Probable Starters
125 Jaret Lane (Jr., Catawissa, Pa.)
133 Malyke Hines (Fr., Kissimmee, Fla.)
133 Satoshi Abe (Jr., Putnam Valley, N.Y.)
141 Joe Lobeck (Sr., Lancaster, Pa.)
141 Drew Munch (Fr., East Stroudsburg, Pa.)
149 Jimmy Hoffman (Jr., Drums, Pa.)
157 JT Cooley (Jr., Gilbertsville, Pa.)
157 Tyler Sung (Fr., New Canaan, Conn.)
165 Thayne Lawrence (Fr., Perryopolis, Pa.)
165 Connor Herceg (Fr., Nazareth, Pa.)
OR Sean Kilrain (Fr., Washington, D.C.)
174 Jake Logan (Fr., New Rochelle, N.Y.)
174 Trey Cornish (Sr., Raleigh, N.C.)
184 JT Davis (Fr., Smyrna, Del.)
184 Caden Wright (Fr., Emmaus, Pa.)
197 No. 15 Jake Jakobsen (Sr., Sciota, Pa.)
285 TJ Moore (Fr., Lebanon, Pa.)
OR Karam Chakif (Fr., Allentown, Pa.)
As somewhat expected in this untraditional season, preseason rankings appear to be a bit all over the place. Two Mountain Hawks appear in the InterMat preseason rankings, led by senior Brandon Paetzell, who is ranked fourth at 125. Senior Jake Jakobsen is ranked 15th at 197. Three Mountain Hawks appear in rankings from both FloWrestling and Amateur Wrestling News. Lehigh has six wrestlers ranked in the top 33 by both The Open Mat and Trackwrestling. Various outlets rank two different Lehigh wrestlers at both 141 and 174.
As many as 11 Mountain Hawks could wrestle their first official bouts in the brown and white against Hofstra, a list that includes nine of Lehigh’s 13 true freshmen and a pair of deferred freshmen in Malyke Hines and Jake Logan. Of the seven remaining wrestlers listed on page one of these notes, only Satoshi Abe has not wrestled in a dual meet for Lehigh.
Half of Lehigh’s roster consists of wrestlers in their first season of eligibility, a group that includes 13 true freshmen and seven deferred freshmen. Josh Humphreys won his first of back-to-back EIWA titles as a true freshman in 2019 but none of Lehigh’s second-year freshmen competed in varsity competition in 2019-20. Jake Logan did place eighth at the prestigious Southern Scuffle competing unattached at 174. Lehigh’s true freshmen class combined for 10 state championships and one National Prep title in their high school careers.
Many Lehigh wrestlers don’t have to venture far from home to wrestle for the Brown and White. Senior Luke Karam and deferred freshman Luca Frinzi both wrestled for nearby Bethlehem Catholic High School, the same program that produced Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. Junior Dan Moran (Northampton) and freshmen Karam Chakif (Dieruff), Connor Herceg (Nazareth) and Caden Wright (Emmaus) join Karam and Frinzi in wrestling for Lehigh Valley East Penn Conference programs. Senior Jake Jakobsen (Stroudsburg) and freshman Steven Storm (Pocono Mountain East) are from programs in the EPC’s Monroe County Division. Deferred freshman Nathan Haubert wrestled in the Colonial League at Palisades. Senior Brandon Paetzell and sophomore Brian Meyer hail from Phillipsburg, N.J., just across the state line.
Hofstra also kicks off its 2020-21 campaign on Saturday. The Pride are coming off of an 11-5 season in 2019-20 that included a 7-0 mark against EIWA duals. Hofstra finished 10th out of 17 teams at last year’s EIWA Championships and had a pair of NCAA Championship qualifiers before the tournament was cancelled.
The Pride’s returning NCAA qualifiers are senior Ricky Stamm (165) and junior Zack Knighton-Ward (285).
Just one Hofstra wrestler, senior Sage Heller, appears in the InterMat preseason rankings. Heller comes in at No. 19 at 174. Two other Heller brothers compete for the Pride: junior Holden at 157 and sophomore Reece at 165. Both Stamm and Knighton-Ward both appear in several other non-InterMat preseason polls, while juniors Dylan Ryder (125) and Trey Rogers (197) also appear in at least one ranking.
Dennis Papadatos is in his seventh season as Hofstra’s head coach.
Lehigh will wrestle its only two road duals over the next two weekends. The Mountain Hawks will travel across the state to face Pittsburgh on Jan. 9 and then will visit EIWA rival Navy Jan. 16 in Annapolis, Md. Lehigh’s next scheduled home dual is against Drexel on Jan. 24.
Date: January 2, 2021
Opponent: Hofstra Pride
First match: 2:05 p.m.
Arena: Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall
Location: Bethlehem, Pa.
Lehigh's 2019-20 record: 12-3 overall, 7-1 EIWA
Hofstra’s 2019-20 record: 11-5 overall, 7-0 EIWA
Television: Service Electric Network 2/502
Radio: None
Internet broadcast: Video at Lehighsports.com/watch
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