Lehigh 125-pound sophomore Darian Cruz and heavyweight senior Max Wessel earned titles during Lehigh’s second-place finish at the EIWA Championships on Sunday at Princeton University.
Cruz defeated Bucknell University senior Paul Petrov 2-1 after more than one minute of riding time. He and Petrov had faced off three times prior to their Sunday matchup, with Petrov having won all three matches.
Wessell defeated 285-pound Bucknell senior Joe Stolfi, who injured his shoulder and was unable to continue.
Wessell led his championship matchup against Stolfi 2-1 prior to Stolfi’s shoulder injury, which occurred after he attempted to get back on his feet. Once up, Wessell returned him to the mat, forcing a heavy-impact landing on Stolfi’s shoulder. Stolfi used up all of his injury time and Wessell earned the title.
Lehigh achieved its goal of placing all wrestlers into the NCAAs and racked up 160 points, second to Cornell University, which earned 170.5.
During the semifinal matchup, Cruz beat American University senior David Terao. Terao received a reversal during the last moments that got changed to an escape. The change lowered his score enough for Cruz’s riding time to force overtime, where he was able to defeat Terao to advance to the finals.
Lehigh’s Mason Beckman finished in second place after being defeated in the finals by No. 1 Cornell senior Nahshon Garrett.
All of the Lehigh wrestlers that placed will appear in the NCAA championships from March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
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