Lehigh men’s wrestling shows out on Youth Night

Leeman-Turner Arena was buzzing at the beginning of the Lehigh men’s wrestling team’s dual meet season against Morgan State on Nov. 15.

The Mountain Hawks packed the pit with family, friends and fans for youth wrestling night, where they secured a 37-7 win to beat the newly reinstated EIWA team. 

Youth wrestlers from local middle and elementary schools came to support Lehigh and watch the matches. Attendees were also able to talk to the Mountain Hawks through  a meet and greet at the end of the dual. 

Fifth-year Sheldon Seymour started the Mountain Hawks off strong with a dominant performance pinning his opponent in the third period.

Redshirt sophomore Ryan Crookham, who’s ranked first nationally in the 133lb weight class, had his first competition of the season. He outscored his opponent 16-1 in the first period, finishing the match with a technical fall.

Crookham said he was excited to be back on the mat with support from the community.

Crookham grew up in the Lehigh Valley, went to grade school in the Saucon Valley School District and said he attended matches at Lehigh throughout his youth. 

“It’s really cool to give back to the community,” Crookham said. “Hopefully we can create a pipeline from my old school to my new school.” 

He said wrestling for Lehigh is “ideal” for him because he gets to represent the area he grew up in. 

“To compete for my hometown fans means a lot, and that’s definitely my favorite part,” Crookham said.

Redshirt sophomore Caden Rogers had the closest match of the evening, pulling through with a 1-0 victory over Kingsley Menifee.

Rogers said inspiring young wrestlers and supporting the growth of the sport is a full circle moment for him.

“I love giving back,” Rogers said. “Everyone that wrestled tonight has been in their shoes at one point. So that’s probably the best part of tonight, seeing all these kids wrestling.”

Brad Dillion, an associate head coach,  said it was a good start to the season. 

He said this was a lot of the team members’ first time competing in a live match in Grace Hall.

“We had some new, fresh faces in the lineup,” Dillon said. “So it’s very nice to get those guys out there and score a lot of points.”

One of the new wrestlers is, first-year Calvin Lachman, who had his debut match for the Mountain Hawks, but fell 17-5 to Morgan State’s redshirt junior Xavier Doolin.

The heavyweight was the only true first-year to compete for the Mountain Hawks.  

“It was a good opportunity to get better as a wrestler,” Lachman said. “Although I would have liked to walk away with the win, it was still fun. It was just nice to be around the crowd.”

Lachman said he enjoyed the crowd because he was once a part of it. He grew up in Quakertown, Pennsylvania and said he was once a little kid in “the pit” watching. 

Now that he’s competing, Lachman said it feels like a humbling, full circle moment.

Dillon said he’s excited to see the progression of the athletes throughout the season, and he’s aiming for peak performance by March. 

Fifth-year Malyke Hines said Youth Night is important to him, especially because he teaches many of the kids that attended through wrestling private lessons and camps. 

“Just seeing them and their families was a good thing for me,” Hines said. “I’m glad that wrestling is growing. Overall, it’s a good thing, and I’m happy for the sport of wrestling.”

Morgan State will travel back to Stabler Arena for the EIWA Championships hosted by Lehigh on March 7 and 8.

The Mountain Hawks will compete Nov. 24 at Pittsburgh and then return to compete against the NCAA national champions, Penn State, in the PPL center on Dec. 8.