story links
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Following a two-year hiatus, the annual Lewis Wrestling Dinner returned Friday night for its 97th edition. More than 125 wrestlers, staff, family, alumni and fans were in attendance at the Wood Dining Room in Iacocca Hall to celebrate the accomplishments of the 2021-22 season.
This year’s dinner was hosted by two-time All-American Mario Stuart ’04. The program featured dinner, comments from the coaching staff, a season highlight video, reflections from Lehigh’s eight departing seniors and the presentation of team awards for the recently completed campaign.
Senior Jordan Wood won two of the five program awards: the Outstanding Athlete award, which recognizes the wrestler who has made the most significant athletic contribution to the team; and the Scholar-Athlete award, which is awarded to the wrestler who in the eyes of his teammates best exemplifies the ideal of the scholar-athlete.
Wood capped his Lehigh career by winning his fifth EIWA heavyweight title, the first wrestler in conference history to accomplish the feat. Two weeks later he earned the third All-America honor of his career with his third place finish at the NCAA Championships in Detroit. Wood went 27-3 in 2021-22 and capped his career with a 100-23 record, earning his milestone 100th career victory in the NCAA third place bout.
Off the mat, Wood holds a 3.39 GPA as a management major and his been active throughout his six years on campus at Flight45, Lehigh Athletics’ Leadership Academy.
The Coaches Award, given to the individual who made significant contributions to the well-being of his team in terms of attitude, improvement, or special leadership as evidenced by growth or presence of strong self-awareness, integrity, competitiveness, team-first mentality , and toughness, was presented to sophomore Brian Meyer. In his third season as the starter at 165, Meyer went 14-12 and qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second time. In addition to his leadership off the mat, Meyer had two impressive victories over top 10-ranked opponents during the regular season.
Senior Dan Moran was awarded the Gerald G. Leeman Award. The honor is intended to highlight the accomplishments of an athlete who has displayed strong perseverance through the year and not necessarily the highest level of skill or success on the mat. Moran provided a veteran presence in the wrestling room and went 7-6 in 2021-22. He worked his way back from an injury that cost him the 2020-21 season to wrestle in four duals for the Mountain Hawks, including a win in his final bout of the season at Arizona State.
First-year heavyweight Nathan Taylor was named Deferred Eligibility Wrestler of the Year which recognizes a student-athlete who either was not a starter on the team or who deferred eligibility for the year. Taylor went 27-10 competing unattached in open tournaments, placing in five different opens. His season was capped with a heavyweight championship at the Feb. 6 Edinboro Open.
Departing seniors who spoke Friday included Wood, Moran, Satoshi Abe, JT Cooley, Eli Grape, Brock Herring, Jimmy Hoffman and Victor Lacombe.
Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Comments are closed.