Friday, March 21
Oklahoma City, Okla.
11:00 AM
Lehigh University
at
NCAA Championships
Minotti reaches semifinals, earns All-America honors Friday in Oklahoma City
3/21/2014 3:30:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
Listen to Friday's evening session | Brackets and Team Scores | Day Two Photo Gallery
OKLAHOMA CITY – Freshman Mitch Minotti advanced to the NCAA semifinals and became Lehigh's first freshman All-American in 11 years to lead the Mountain Hawks in session three of the NCAA Championships Friday morning at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Sophomore Mason Beckman and freshman Elliot Riddick both came up short in their quarterfinal matches but will wrestle for All-American honors Friday night along with freshman Darian Cruz, who worked his way back through the consolations with two victories Friday.
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The Mountain Hawks finished Friday's morning session with 18 points, which puts them in a tie for 15th place.
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The No. 15 seed at 149, Minotti won a 4-3 decision over tenth-seed Zach Neibert of Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals. Minotti converted a takedown early in the first period and built a strong riding time advantage to lead 2-0 after one. Neibert escaped in the second period to get on the board but Minotti extended his lead with an escape in the third period before Neibert was able to erase the riding time advantage. Neibert scored a takedown in the final seconds but the 1:15 riding time advantage was enough to send Minotti to the semifinals.
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With the victory, Minotti earns the 137th All-America medal in school history. He is Lehigh's eighth freshman All-American and its first since Derek Zinck and Troy Letters accomplished the feat in 2003. In the semifinals, Minotti will face No. 11 seed Josh Kindig of Oklahoma State.
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Beckman and Riddick came out on the short end of close decisions and will wrestle in the round of 12 Friday night.
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For the second time in as many months Beckman dropped a 3-1 decision to No. 3 seed Tony Ramos of Iowa. The No. 6 seed at 133, Beckman had a pair of good shots but wasn't able to finish. Ramos opened the scoring with a second period escape while Beckman escaped early in the third. The deciding takedown came very similarly to how Ramos scored the winning takedown in Stabler Arena on Valentine's Day, grabbing Beckman's leg and pulling him from the edge of the mat to center to complete the score.
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Beckman will face the No. 15 seed Mark Grey of Cornell Friday night with the winner earning All-America honors.
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The No. 9 seed at 174, Riddick dropped a 4-0 decision to top seed and defending national champion Chris Perry of Oklahoma State. After a scoreless first period, Perry scored a quick escape and then a takedown in the second and added a point for advantage time. Riddick will face Bryce Hammond of Cal State Bakersfield in the round of 12.
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Cruz worked his way through the consolations to earn a spot in the round of 12. His day began with a 4-3 win over No. 4 seed Josh Martinez of Air Force. Cruz scored an early takedown and then broke a 2-2 tie with a takedown late in the third period. In his second match of the day, Cruz scored two early takedowns and went on to hold off the No. 12 seed Tim Lambert of Nebraska 7-4. Cruz will now face No. 10 seed David Terao of American Friday night looking to become Lehigh's first true freshman All-American since 1980.
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Sophomore Laike Gardner was the only Mountain Hawk eliminated in Friday's morning session. An early 7-1 deficit was too much to overcome as Gardner dropped a 9-5 decision to Lavion Mayes of Missouri at 141. Gardner's sophomore season ends at 17-10.
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A tight team race is forming with Penn State leading Minnesota 61-59 entering the semifinals. Oklahoma State is third with 56 points followed by Iowa and Cornell.
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The NCAA Wrestling Championships continue Friday night with the championship semifinals and the All-America round of 12 beginning at 7 p.m. CT from Chesapeake Energy Arena. Friday's evening session will be televised by ESPN and streamed on ESPN3 while streaming audio of all Lehigh matches will be available on Lehighsports.com.
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Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season
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Quarterfinals
133 – No. 3 Tony Ramos (Iowa) dec. No. 6 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) 3-1
149 – No. 15 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. No. 10 Zach Neibert (Virginia Tech) 4-3
174 – No. 1 Chris Perry (Oklahoma St.) dec. No. 9 Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) 4-0
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Second Round consolations
125 – Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec. No. 4 Josh Martinez (Air Force) 4-3
141 – Lavion Mayes (Missouri) dec. Laike Gardner (Lehigh) 9-5
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Third Round consolations
125 – Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec. No. 12 Tim Lambert (Nebraska)
OKLAHOMA CITY – Freshman Mitch Minotti advanced to the NCAA semifinals and became Lehigh's first freshman All-American in 11 years to lead the Mountain Hawks in session three of the NCAA Championships Friday morning at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Sophomore Mason Beckman and freshman Elliot Riddick both came up short in their quarterfinal matches but will wrestle for All-American honors Friday night along with freshman Darian Cruz, who worked his way back through the consolations with two victories Friday.
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The Mountain Hawks finished Friday's morning session with 18 points, which puts them in a tie for 15th place.
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The No. 15 seed at 149, Minotti won a 4-3 decision over tenth-seed Zach Neibert of Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals. Minotti converted a takedown early in the first period and built a strong riding time advantage to lead 2-0 after one. Neibert escaped in the second period to get on the board but Minotti extended his lead with an escape in the third period before Neibert was able to erase the riding time advantage. Neibert scored a takedown in the final seconds but the 1:15 riding time advantage was enough to send Minotti to the semifinals.
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With the victory, Minotti earns the 137th All-America medal in school history. He is Lehigh's eighth freshman All-American and its first since Derek Zinck and Troy Letters accomplished the feat in 2003. In the semifinals, Minotti will face No. 11 seed Josh Kindig of Oklahoma State.
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Beckman and Riddick came out on the short end of close decisions and will wrestle in the round of 12 Friday night.
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For the second time in as many months Beckman dropped a 3-1 decision to No. 3 seed Tony Ramos of Iowa. The No. 6 seed at 133, Beckman had a pair of good shots but wasn't able to finish. Ramos opened the scoring with a second period escape while Beckman escaped early in the third. The deciding takedown came very similarly to how Ramos scored the winning takedown in Stabler Arena on Valentine's Day, grabbing Beckman's leg and pulling him from the edge of the mat to center to complete the score.
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Beckman will face the No. 15 seed Mark Grey of Cornell Friday night with the winner earning All-America honors.
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The No. 9 seed at 174, Riddick dropped a 4-0 decision to top seed and defending national champion Chris Perry of Oklahoma State. After a scoreless first period, Perry scored a quick escape and then a takedown in the second and added a point for advantage time. Riddick will face Bryce Hammond of Cal State Bakersfield in the round of 12.
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Cruz worked his way through the consolations to earn a spot in the round of 12. His day began with a 4-3 win over No. 4 seed Josh Martinez of Air Force. Cruz scored an early takedown and then broke a 2-2 tie with a takedown late in the third period. In his second match of the day, Cruz scored two early takedowns and went on to hold off the No. 12 seed Tim Lambert of Nebraska 7-4. Cruz will now face No. 10 seed David Terao of American Friday night looking to become Lehigh's first true freshman All-American since 1980.
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Sophomore Laike Gardner was the only Mountain Hawk eliminated in Friday's morning session. An early 7-1 deficit was too much to overcome as Gardner dropped a 9-5 decision to Lavion Mayes of Missouri at 141. Gardner's sophomore season ends at 17-10.
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A tight team race is forming with Penn State leading Minnesota 61-59 entering the semifinals. Oklahoma State is third with 56 points followed by Iowa and Cornell.
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The NCAA Wrestling Championships continue Friday night with the championship semifinals and the All-America round of 12 beginning at 7 p.m. CT from Chesapeake Energy Arena. Friday's evening session will be televised by ESPN and streamed on ESPN3 while streaming audio of all Lehigh matches will be available on Lehighsports.com.
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Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season
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Quarterfinals
133 – No. 3 Tony Ramos (Iowa) dec. No. 6 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) 3-1
149 – No. 15 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. No. 10 Zach Neibert (Virginia Tech) 4-3
174 – No. 1 Chris Perry (Oklahoma St.) dec. No. 9 Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) 4-0
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Second Round consolations
125 – Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec. No. 4 Josh Martinez (Air Force) 4-3
141 – Lavion Mayes (Missouri) dec. Laike Gardner (Lehigh) 9-5
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Third Round consolations
125 – Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec. No. 12 Tim Lambert (Nebraska)
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