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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Wrestling at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall for the first time in more than two months, a sellout crowd of 1,855 saw No. 21 Lehigh fall 20-16 to no. 17 Arizona State Saturday night. The visiting Sun Devils claimed six bouts overall including two key early decisions to hand the Mountain Hawks their second straight setback.
Graduate student Tate Samuelson and sophomore Michael Beard led the way for Lehigh with bonus point wins, but the Mountain Hawks fall to 6-9 on the dual season after coming up four points short against the Sun Devils.
The dual began at 165 with Arizona State’s Tony Negron winning a 6-2 decision over sophomore Luca Frinzi. At 174, sophomore Jake Logan went to overtime for the second straight night and again came up on the short end in sudden victory, falling 8-6 to Cael Valencia. Logan erased a 4-2 first period deficit with a second period takedown and third period reversal, but it was Valencia winning a scramble in sudden victory to secure the winning takedown.
“We knew it would come down to some of those early matches,” Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. “It was tough because we need to win those. I don’t know how many matches we’ve lost in one-match swings. We have to fight through it because that’s what you have to do in the postseason.”
After being put on his back in a headlock for two and two early on, Samuelson battled back to dominate Shay Addison in a 16-7 major decision. Samuelson rallied to lead 6-5 after one period and added three more takedowns plus a two-point near fall and more than four minutes of advantage time.
Beard followed with his first fall in a Lehigh singlet, building a 10-0 first period lead on Damion Schunke before securing the pin at 2:35. The fall put Lehigh up 10-6 after four bouts.
First-year Nathan Taylor battled No. 6 Cohlton Schultz, a returning NCAA finalist at 285. The match was tied 1-1 early in the third period when Schultz scored the only takedown in a 3-2 decision, which brought the Sun Devils within 10-9 at intermission.
Schultz’s victory started a three bout Arizona State run that gave the Sun Devils the lead for good. First-year Carter Bailey avoided bonus points, but fell 10-3 to ninth-ranked Brandon Courtney at 125.
In a matchup of top six wrestlers at 133, no. 4 Michael McGee edged No. 6 Connor McGonagle 8-6. The match was tied 2-2 after one period and McGee went ahead 5-2 after two, but McGonagle came back to tie the match at 5-5 with a reversal and a penalty point. McGee scored the decisive takedown in the third and held off McGonagle after an escape.
Sophomore Malyke Hines delivered Lehigh’s third win of the night with a 2-1 decision over Jesse Vasquez in a matchup of ranked wrestlers at 141. The wrestlers traded escapes in the second and third periods with the difference being 1:02 of riding time advantage for Hines.
Arizona State put the dual away at 149 as fifth-ranked Kyle Parco won a 15-0, third period technical fall over sophomore Manzona Bryant IV.
Sophomore Max Brignola moved up to 157 and won the final bout of the night 4-0 over Max Wilner.
Gallery: (1-28-2023) Wrestling vs Arizona State, 1/28/23
“I saw a lot of positive things tonight,” Santoro said. “Some guys wrestled really well. I thought 184, 197, heavyweight wrestled well. Carter competed well. Connor had a great match that was really fun to watch. Malyke beat another ranked guy. We didn’t make the mental mistakes that we did last night. We just needed one more and unfortunately that’s the nature of the beast.”
The Mountain Hawks are back at Leeman-Turner Arena next Saturday to host Army West Point on Senior Day and Salute to Service, presented by Weis Markets. Match time is set for 2 pm Tickets can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours.
The 2022-23 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
No. 17 Arizona State 20, no. 21 Lehigh 16
165 – Tony Negron (ASU) dec. Luca Frinzi (Lehigh) 6-2
174 – Cael Valencia (ASU) dec. Jake Logan (Lehigh) 8-6, sv
184 – Tate Samuelson (Lehigh) major dec. Shay Addison (ASU) 16-7
197 – Michael Beard (Lehigh) Fall Damion Schunke (ASU) 2:35
285 – Cohlton Schultz (ASU) dec. Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) 3-2
125 – Brandon Courtney (ASU) dec. Carter Bailey (Lehigh) 10-3
133 – Michael McGee (ASU) dec. Connor McGonagle (Lehigh) 8-6
141 – Malyke Hines (Lehigh) dec. Jesse Vasquez (ASU) 2-1
149 – Kyle Parco (ASU) tech falls Manzona Bryant IV (Lehigh) 15-0, 5:22
157 – Max Brignola (Lehigh) dec. Max Wilner (ASU) 4-0
Attendance – 1,855
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