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DETROIT – Lehigh wrestlers Jordan Wood and Josh Humphreys suffered heartbreaking late-match losses in bouts Friday night at the NCAA Championships at Little Caesars Arena. Wood came up on the wrong end of a flurry at the end of the tiebreaker period and fell 5-3 in his 285 semifinal to Arizona State’s Cohlton Schultz. Humphreys was about 10 seconds away from a win and a spot on the podium when he was taken down on the edge as he dropped a 4-3 decision to North Carolina’s Austin O’Connor in the round of 12.
Wood will now wrestle in the consolation semifinals Saturday looking to come back for third place. Humphreys’ junior campaign comes to an end at 20-5.
After earning his third career All-America honor earlier in the day, Wood battled the No. 2 seed Schultz in a rematch from Feb. 19 won by the Sun Devil 4-2 in tiebreaker one. Friday night Wood and Schultz were once again tied 1-1 through regulation and sudden victory. Wood escaped in seven seconds to take the lead in the first half of the tiebreaker. In the second half, Schultz scored a reversal to take a 3-2 lead with Wood escaping quickly to tie the match at 3-3. Trailing on riding time, Wood got in on a shot and lifted the massive Sun Devil, dropping him down for the potential go-ahead takedown, only to see Schultz somehow roll through and counter for a takedown of his own, to claim the 5- 3 decision.
Wood will now face no. 9 seed Lucas Davison of Northwestern in the consolation semifinals.
Humphreys’ round of 12 match saw O’Connor open the scoring with a takedown late in the first period. A takedown for Humphreys late in the second tied the match at 2-2 after two. Humphreys escaped early in the third to go up 3-2 and positioned himself well throughout the period, but late in the period O’Connor was able to get to Humphreys’ ankles near the edge of the mat for the go-ahead takedown. Late attempts at an escape or reversal for Humphreys were not to be.
Penn State now leads the team race with 108 points, with Michigan second with 84.5 and Arizona State third with 63.5. Lehigh’s 11 points are tied with Oklahoma for 28th.
Wood will wrestle in the medal round Saturday at 11 am with coverage on ESPNU, ESPN3 and the ESPN app. The national finals are set for 7 pm Saturday night.
The 2021-22 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
157-No. 7 Josh Humphreys
Round of 32: dec. No. 26 Ben Barton (Lock Haven) 4-0
Round of 16: dec. No. 10 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) 8-5
Quarterfinals: L by dec. No. 2 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) 6-2
Fourth round consolation: L by dec. No. 11 Austin O’Connor (North Carolina) 4-3
285-No. 6Jordan Wood
Round of 32: dec. No. 27 Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia) 1-0
Round of 16: dec. No. 11 Gary Traub (Oregon State) 6-0
Quarterfinals: dec. No. 3 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) 3-1, sv
Semifinal: L by dec. No. 2 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) 5-3, tb
Consolation semi-final: No. 9 Lucas Davison (Northwestern)
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