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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the first time since February 2020, Lehigh will host a dual meet with fans in the stands as the Mountain Hawks welcome in-state rival and 15th-ranked Pitt Sunday to Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The dual will be the first of eight on Lehigh’s home schedule, but the only one slated for the fall semester. The Mountain Hawks had 22 wrestlers compete at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic, with junior Jaret Lane (125), sophomore Brian Meyer (165) and senior Jordan Wood (285) winning “A” bracket titles. Lehigh is 1-1 in duals with a win at Oregon State and a loss to Campbell. Pat Santoro faces off against his alma mater for the 13th time. Pitt opened his dual season with road wins at Buffalo and Edinboro last weekend.
Lehigh Probable Starters
125 no. 16 Jaret Lane (Jr., Catawissa, Pa.)
133 no. 24 Malyke Hines (Fr., Kissimmee, Fla.)
141 Dan Moran (Jr., Bethlehem, Pa.)
149 Manzona Bryant IV (Fr., Columbus, Ohio)
OR Jimmy Hoffman (Jr., drums, Pa.)
157 no. 9 Josh Humphreys (Jr., Parkersburg, W.Va.)
165 no. 30 Brian Meyer (Sun., Phillipsburg, NJ)
174 Jake Logan (Mrs., New Rochelle, NY)
184 AJ Burkhart (Sun., Athens, Pa.)
197 JT Davis (Fr., Middletown, Del.)
285 no. 10 Jordan Wood (Sr., Gilbertsville, Pa.)
Three Lehigh wrestlers captured Hammer Awards for winning “A” brackets as the Mountain Hawks competed at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic at Spooky Nook Sports Complex. Senior Jordan Wood (285A), junior Jaret Lane (125A) and sophomore Brian Meyer (165A) were Lehigh’s Hammer Award winners. For Wood, it was his second career Hammer after winning in 2018. The Mountain Hawks had a total of 22 entrants Sunday with 18 wrestlers competing attached and four unattached. In addition to the three Hammer Award winners, freshman Caden Wright won his bracket at 184. Junior Satoshi Abe (133B) and freshman Luca Frinzi (157C) were runners-up in their respective brackets.
Many Lehigh wrestlers don’t have to venture far from home to wrestle for the Brown and White. Third-year freshman Luca Frinzi 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 Frinzi in wrestling for Lehigh Valley East Penn Conference programs. Freshman Steven Storm (Pocono Mountain East) hails from a program in the EPC’s Monroe County Division. Senior Brandon Paetzell and sophomore Brian Meyer hail from Phillipsburg, NJ, just across the state line.
With the eligibility rules stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, 26 of Lehigh’s 40 wrestlers currently have freshman eligibility, a group that includes five third-year wrestlers, 13 second-year wrestlers and eight true freshmen. Four of the five third-year freshman wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships last season. Six of the current second-year wrestlers competed in duals for Lehigh last season, but none wrestled in the postseason.
Six Lehigh wrestlers appear in the latest InterMat rankings, led by junior Josh Humphreys who comes in at No. 9 at 157. Four Mountain Hawks are ranked by FloWrestling, while three appear in rankings by both Amateur Wrestling News and The Open Mat. Senior Jordan Wood and junior Jaret Lane join Humphreys as Lehigh wrestlers ranked across all four outlets. Wood is ranked in the top 10 by all four outlets at 285, while Humphreys comes in between nine and 13 at 157. Returning EIWA champion Malyke Hines (133) is ranked by InterMat and FloWrestling. Sophomore Brian Meyer and freshman Connor McGonagle are ranked only by InterMat, which now ranks wrestlers 1-33.
Pittsburgh carries a 2-0 record into Sunday’s dual with the Mountain Hawks. The Panthers opened their dual season with a 21-12 win at Buffalo on Nov. 13 and then won 28-20 at Edinboro the following day. Heavyweight Jake Slinger is the ACC Wrestler of the Week after picking up a match-clinching pin at Edinboro. Eight Pitt wrestlers appear in the latest InterMat rankings, led by returning NCAA finalists Jake Wentzel (165) and Nino Bonaccorsi (197). Wentzel and Bonaccorsi are both ranked in the top five along with two-time ACC Champion and 2020 NWCA All-American Micky Phillippi (133). Keith Gavin is in his fifth season as head coach at his alma mater.
Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro wrestled for the Panthers from 1985-1989, under the guidance of the late Rande Stottlemyer, who retired following the 2012-13 season. Pittsburgh’s only four-time All-American, Santoro amassed a 167-13 record in four seasons for the Panthers, and won national titles at 142 in 1988 and 1989. A three-time EWL Champion, Santoro is also the Panthers’ career leader with 43 falls and posted an incredible 97-3 record over his final two seasons. Pittsburgh assistant coach Drew Headlee returned to his alma mater in 2014 after two seasons as Lehigh’s volunteer assistant coach. Fifth-year Panthers head coach Keith Gavin is also a Pitt graduate. After graduation, Gavin trained and competed in freestyle with the Lehigh Valley Athletic Club (now Lehigh Valley Wrestling Club) before moving on to coaching positions at Virginia and Oklahoma.
Pitt is Lehigh’s sixth oldest rival with Sunday’s dual marking the 66th meeting in a series that dates back to 1916. Lehigh leads the series 44-19-2. The Panthers have won two straight in the series after the Mountain Hawks captured the previous four. Pat Santoro is 8-4 in duals against his alma mater.
Sunday’s dual begins at 2 pm from Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during business hours.
Lehigh will be off from competition over Thanksgiving weekend and will return to action with two duals in central Pennsylvania Dec. 4-5 The Mountain Hawks will visit Lock Haven on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 1 pm and then will head to State College to face No. 2 Penn State, Sunday, Dec. 5 at 2 pm in the 109th meeting in Lehigh’s most-contested series.
The 2021-22 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
| dates: | November 21, 2021 |
| Opponent: | No. 15 Pitt Panthers |
| First match: | 2:05pm |
| Arena: | Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lehigh’s record: | 1-1 overall, 0-0 EIWA |
| Pitt’s record: | 2-0 overall, 0-0 acc |
| Series: | Lehigh leads 44-19-2 |
| streak: | Pitt has won the last two duals |
| Television: | Service Electric Network (2/502 Live) |
| Radio: | Fox Sports Radio 1230/1320 AM and 94.7 FM Allentown beginning at 1:45 pm |
| internet broadcast: | Video at FloWrestling.org Audio at LVFoxSports.com |
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