No. 13 Lehigh fell to No. 3 Penn State 23-10 at a sold out Stabler Arena in the 108th meeting between the two wrestling powerhouses on Friday.
The Mountain Hawks won three bouts in front of a record 6,047 fans against the Nittany Lions, who won seven, but could not secure a victory against the team with four national championships to its name.
While the loss drops Lehigh’s record to 1-3, some positives can be taken from the team’s three individual victories.
Juniors Brandon Paetzell and Jake Jakobsen, as well as sophomore Jimmy Hoffman, all managed to claim decisions against their Nittany Lion rivals.
Paetzell claimed a major decision against Brandon Meredith (15-5), Hoffman claimed a decision against Jarod Verkleeren (3-1) and Jakobsen claimed a decision against Kyle Conel (3-1).
Lehigh now has time to recover and begin preparation for the South Beach Duals in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Dec. 29 and 30, where the Mountain Hawks will face Duke, Minnesota and Missouri.
In the 108 meetings between the two teams, Penn State leads the series 71-34-3.
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