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    Lehigh kicks off 2017-18 campaign with wrestle-offs

    BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The Lehigh wrestling team made its first public appearance of 2017-18 with the annual Brown and White Wrestle-offs Thursday night inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. A crowd of 1,140 witnessed 12 bouts, including five bonus point wins and several other tightly contested bouts in the first appearance of the new season in front of the home fans.

    "Overall, the guys wrestled hard," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "I know I say the same thing every year but the guys know each other so well. A lot of guys didn't pull that trigger in the first period, maybe because it was the first time getting down to weight or the fact that wrestling your teammate is really hard. If you can overcome that; if you can wrestle your teammate you can wrestle anybody."

    Six of Lehigh's true freshmen competed within the first six bouts and fans were treated to early fireworks in the opening bout between newcomers at 125 as Matt Parker locked up an early cradle that turned into an early 6-0 lead over Satoshi Abe. Leading 9-0 in the second period, Parker used a half nelson to stack up Abe for the fall in 4:38 to kick off the evening with a bonus win.

    Luke Resnick then made it two straight wins for true freshmen, using a third period takedown to defeat deferred freshman Aaron Burkett 3-2.

    In the first of two bouts at 133, junior All-American Scott Parker scored an early six-point move and impressed from there, compiling a 15-0 technical fall over freshman Nick Farro, which was ended early in the third period.

    Sophomore transfer Brandon Paetzell then added Lehigh's second pin of the night in his Mountain Hawk debut, as he stuck freshman Brock Herring in 4:16.

    In a highly anticipated matchup at 141, freshman Luke Karam used a third-period ride out to top sophomore Ryan Pomrinca 3-2. Pomrinca scored the only takedown of the match in the first period, but Karam escaped in each of the first two periods before riding out the third.

    The second bout at 141 saw a tight battle between true freshmen. Jimmy Hoffman and Dan Moran traded takedowns and escapes in the second and third periods, with Moran's late score forcing overtime. Hoffman escaped in the first half of the tiebreaker and then rode out to win 4-3.

    "I was impressed with the freshmen," Santoro said. "It can be a little intimidating that first time (in Grace Hall). Take away the fact that they were wrestling a teammate they went after it pretty well."

    Junior Cortlandt Schuyler kicked off the second half of the night with a 3-2 win over sophomore David Pipa at 149. Junior Ian Brown then followed with an impressive performance in a 9-4 win over sophomore Kent Lane at 157. Brown had two takedowns in the first period and a reversal and takedown in the third, plus an impressive 4:25 of riding time advantage.

    An anticipated high-scoring affair between senior Drew Longo and junior Gordon Wolf at 165 never materialized, but Wolf scored the only takedown in the second period and added 2:30 of riding time advantage to post a 4-1 decision.

    "They're going to battle it out all year," Santoro said. "We really have four quality guys at 165. These guys are going to have to figure things out. I don't know when it's going to happen but all of them are capable of getting on that podium. They're that good.

    At 174, sophomore Jordan Kutler competed up two weight classes from last season and put on a takedown clinic, racking up 11 total in 24-9 technical fall over sophomore Charlie Sell.

    Junior Ryan Preisch also bumped up a weight and controlled sophomore Paul Dunn with a takedown in each period, plus two escapes and three minutes of riding time in a 9-0 major decision at 184.

    "They had great summers in the weight room and really filled the weights well," Santoro said of Kutler and Preisch. "They wrestled with a lot of energy, which is what you want to see. The both went up weights, one went up two weights and one went up one weight and they both looked really good at it."

    The final bout of the night was the only one not to feature a takedown as sophomore Kyle Gentile edged freshman Jake Jakobsen 2-1 in the tiebreakers at 197. Tied 1-1 through eight minutes of action, Gentile rode Jakobsen out in the first half of the tiebreaker and then escaped early in the second half to claim the victory.

    The Mountain Hawks will open the 2017-18 season with a visit to EIWA rival Bucknell on Friday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. After a trip to the Journeymen Collegiate Classic on Nov. 12 Lehigh will open its home schedule with duals against Edinboro (Nov. 17) and Michigan (Nov. 19) inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.

    2017 Lehigh Wrestle-offs
    125 - Matt Parker (Brown) Fall Satoshi Abe (White) 4:38
    125 - Luke Resnick (Brown) dec. Aaron Burkett (White) 3-2
    133 - Scott Parker (Brown) tech fall Nick Farro (White) 15-0, 5:36
    133 - Brandon Paetzell (Brown) Fall Brock Herring (White) 4:16
    141 - Luke Karam (White) dec. Ryan Pomrinca (Brown) 3-2
    141 - Jimmy Hoffman (Brown) dec. Dan Moran (White) 4-3, tb
    149 - Cortlandt Schuyler (Brown) dec. David Pipa (White) 3-2
    157 - Ian Brown (White) dec. Kent Lane (Brown) 9-4
    165 - Gordon Wolf (White) dec. Drew Longo (Brown) 4-1
    174 - Jordan Kutler (White) tech fall Charlie Sell (Brown) 24-9, 6:34
    184 - Ryan Preisch (Brown) major dec. Paul Dunn (White) 9-0
    197 - Kyle Gentile (White) dec. Jake Jakobsen (Brown) 2-1, tb
    Attendance - 1,140
    Referee - Craig Salvatore

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