No. 17 Lehigh dominated Sacred Heart in the season opener for the Pioneers on Sunday in Pennsylvania. (Photo courtesy Lehigh Sports Information)
No. 17 Lehigh opened their 114th season of wrestling on Saturday by winning six of 10 bouts in a 20-13 win over No. 19 Oregon State.
On Sunday, the Mountain Hawks kept cruising with a dominating 44-0 victory over Sacred Heart in an Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association bout at Leeman-Turner Arena in Bethlehem, Pa., before 1,177 fans.
Lehigh (2-0) won all 10 bouts, securing bonus points in nine of the wins. Lehigh held a 37-0 edge in takedowns and did not allow an offensive point on the way to its first shutout since a 46-0 blanking of LIU on Jan. 31, 2021.
“We didn’t know what to expect coming in since we haven’t seen a lot of their guys on film,” Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. “They’re still building their program so we just wanted to see our guys go out and score as many points as possible and they did that today.”
The Pioneers had a mix of experience on the mat.
Nick Palumbo (157) is a graduate student looking to return to the NCAA championships after qualifying in 2021. Ryan Bolletino (174) is moving up one weight class with Nick Copley (190) coming down from 285. Graduate student Seth Brown (141) returns to the lineup while Matt Laurie (149) is looking to expand his time on the mat. He was 4-4 a year ago.
Andrew Fallon (133) is a transfer from American University and has earned a spot in the starting lineup along with four freshmen – Mike Manta (125, Hauppauge, N.Y.), Aidan Zarrella (165, North Kingstown, R.I.), Hunter Perez (184, Mount Olivia, N.J.) and Marc Berisha (285, Mount Kisco, N.Y.)
Fallon had the closest match, dropping a 4-1 decision to Connor McGonagle, the senior from Dayville, N.H., and Timberlane Regional, who has qualified for two NCAA tournaments. McGonagle prevailed behind a second period takedown and 2:25 of riding time advantage.
Palumbo dropped an 8-0 decision to Lehigh’s Josh Humphries, a three-time NCAA tournament qualifier and the defending EIWA champion at 157.
Nine of Lehigh’s 37 takedowns came from sophomore Michael Beard, who dominated Nick Copley in his Lehigh debut with a 22-7 technical fall in 4:15.
There was one extra bout Sunday, with senior Mike Sisselberger, an All-America faceoff specialist for Lehigh’s men’s lacrosse team, wrestling at 197 against Sacred Heart’s Aladeen Hussein. Sisselberger scored a takedown in each period on the way to a 9-4 decision.
This will be the first ever dual meet between Lehigh and Sacred Heart in wrestling. The Pioneers joined the EIWA prior to the 2011-12 season. Sacred Heart is the only current EIWA member that Lehigh has not yet faced in dual competition.
Sacred Heart coach John Clark, a former All-American at Ohio State, spent the 2006-07 season as a volunteer assistant at Lehigh under Greg Strobel. Sacred Heart assistant coach Will Switzer is a 2017 Lehigh graduate.
It was the first time that the Pioneers had been shutout since Bucknell did it in January 2019 in a 40-0 victory.
Sacred Heart returns to the mat next weekend on Saturday when they participate in Wrangle Mania at Liberty High in Bethlehem, Pa. The Pioneers will face No. 22 Rutgers, Army and Long Island University. On Sunday, Sacred Heart will be competing in the Journeyman Collegiate Classic in Bethlehem in a field that includes No. 3 Arizona, No. 8 Nebraska and No. 9 N.C. State.
No. 17 Lehigh 44, Sacred Heart 0
At Bethlehem, Pa.
133: Connor McGonagle (L) dec. Andrew Fallon, 4-1
141: Malyke Hines (L) major dec. Seth Brown, 11-0
149: Max Brignola (L) tech fall Matt Laurie, 18-3, 5:00
157: Josh Humphreys (L) major dec. Nick Palumbo, 8-0
165: Brian Meyer (L) major dec. Aidan Zarrella, 15-2
174: Jake Logan (L) major dec. Ryan Bollentino, 17-5
184: Tate Samuelson (L) major dec. Hunter Perez, 13-5
197: Michael Beard (L) tech fall Nick Copley, 22-7, 4:15
285: Elijah Jones (L) pin Marc Berisha, 1:26
125: Carter Bailey (L) tech fall Mikey Manta, 18-1, 6:04
Extra matches
197: Mike Sisselberger (L) dec. Aladeen Hussein, 9-4
Records: Lehigh 2-0, Sacred Heart 0-1
