Lehigh rebounds with dominant 35-6 win at Boise State

BOISE, Idaho – The Lehigh wrestling team completed its weekend trip to the Pacific Northwest with a dominant 35-6 victory over Boise State Sunday at Bronco Gym. The 20th-ranked Mountain Hawks forfeited 197 pounds and then rolled to nine straight victories, collecting bonus points in five to improve to 7-5 on the dual season.

Sophomore Max Wessell started the run for Lehigh with a 7-4 upset win over eighth-ranked heavyweight JT Felix. Back-to-back bonus wins from freshman Darian Cruz and sophomore Mason Beckman made it 14-6 Lehigh after four bouts. Cruz scored a late takedown to tie Rami Haddadin at 125 then cradled the Bronco for the fall at 6:49. Beckman was dominant in a 21-6 technical fall over Ben DeMuelle at 133.

A last-second two-point near fall gave Laike Gardner a 5-3 win over Brian Owen at 141 and a 17-6 lead at the halfway point. The Mountain Hawks added three major decisions in the final four bouts, with senior Joey Napoli and freshmen Elliot Riddick and Zach Diekel all delivering one bonus point for Lehigh.

The Mountain Hawks will be off next weekend and will return to action on Saturday February 8 against EIWA rival Rutgers inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. start. Tickets can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours.

Lehigh 35, Boise State 6
197 – Cody Dixon (BSU) won by forfeit
285 – Max Wessell (Lehigh) dec. JT Felix (BSU) 7-4
125 – Darian Cruz (Lehigh) Fall Rami Haddadin (BSU) 6:49
133 – Mason Beckman (Lehigh) tech fall Ben DeMuelle (BSU) 21-6, 6:04
141 – Laike Gardner (Lehigh) dec. Brian Owen (BSU) 5-3
149 – Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. Chris Castillo (BSU) 5-2
157 – Joey Napoli (Lehigh) major dec. Taylor West (BSU) 13-5
165 – Ben Haas (Lehigh) dec. Holden Packard (BSU) 9-4
174 – Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) major dec. Austin Dewey (BSU) 15-4
184 – Zach Diekel (Lehigh) major dec. Andrew Tiedeman (BSU) 14-4