Lehigh scores big win in loss
Lehigh’s Michael Beard, sporting a bloodied ear and a wide smile, called Sunday’s victory over returning national champ Max Dean the best of his career. But not because they both wrestled for Penn State last year, competed in a wrestle-off at 197 pounds and knew each other’s form and tendencies well.
For Beard, the win represented an important bounce back from a recent loss and gave him confidence should the two wrestle again at the NCAA championships in March.
“I think that was the match I needed to keep my confidence up going into the rest of the season,” Beard said.
Beard, the former Nittany Lion, defeated the top-ranked Dean 11-9 in the showcase dual of Sunday’s Penn State-Lehigh wrestling match at a sold-out Stabler Arena. Penn State, the nation’s top-ranked team and defending national champ, won six bouts overall for a 24-12 victory that improved its dual-meet record to 3-0. But the Mountain Hawks (3-3) delivered some fine moments against their most-wrestled rival, highlighted by Beard’s performance at 197.
It was the main event that 6,032 fans, many wearing Penn State’s blue, came to see — “coaches included, on both sides,” Lehigh’s
Pat Santoro said. Dean, who began the week ranked No. 1 at 197 according to InterMat Wrestling, won last year’s wrestle-off with Beard after transferring from Cornell. Dean went on to win the 197-pound NCAA individual title, one of five the Lions claimed in March in Detroit.
Beard, a freshman All-American at Penn State in 2020-21, transferred to Lehigh in May. He won his first four bouts with the Mountain Hawks, rising into the top 10, before falling to Pitt’s Nino Bonaccorsi 10-4 last month. He turned that loss into a fiery performance against Dean (5-2).
Dean led 7-6 entering the third period, which Beard dominated. He scored two takedowns, one countering an aggressive Dean move, to clinch the win. Beard also made two subtly important moves earlier. He ended the first period by drawing a stalling call and willed himself to an escape to close the second.
“In the third period, I knew it was going to be a dogfight,” Beard said. “I knew I had to give 100% effort for that full two minutes, or else I would lose the match. I knew he would give it his all. So when I got the first takedown and he got out, I knew he was going to be chasing me. I was kind of waiting on that and used it to my advantage.”
Beard made clear that the bout carried no personal undercurrents. Santoro said he and Beard never discussed that element. And Beard spent some postmatch time autographing items for Lehigh and Penn State fans.
“He definitely didn’t make it personal,” Santoro said. “He has an enormous amount of respect for Penn State wrestling and their program and their coaches. He has a lot of really good friends on their team. He likes their coaches. … I know coming in he was excited to wrestle. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I’m going to go get him.’ He was just excited to compete.”
Penn State coach Cael Sanderson had Beard on his team for two years, so “we’ve always known Beard’s good,” as he said. Further, Sanderson is acutely aware of how transfers affect every program.
“If you take things personally, you’re probably not going to be very efficient or effective in the sport at all,” Sanderson said. “… Obviously you have a kid who leaves the program. That happens all the time. And it’s going to happen more, in and out. That’s just kind of the way the NCAA has things set up.”
Penn State won its 12th consecutive match against Lehigh thanks, largely as always, to its standouts in the upper weights. Returning national champs Carter Starocci (174) scored 10 takedowns in a major decision, and fellow national champ Aaron Brooks (184) won 8-3. Heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet, ranked No. 2 nationally, added a technical fall, while Shayne Van Ness (149) had the match’s only pin.
Roman Bravo-Young, Penn State’s fourth returning national champ, did not wrestle after scoring a major decision in Penn State’s 37-3 win Friday at Rider. Instead, Sanderson turned to Karl Shindledecker, who wrestled up one weight class at 133. Though Shindledecker fell to Lehigh’s Connor McGonagle 6-1, Sanderson liked what he saw from the freshman.
“He weighed in light and went out and fought for us as a team,” Sanderson said.
Penn State returns home to host Oregon State on Dec. 11 before competing in the Collegiate Wrestling Duals (with Lehigh) in New Orleans before Christmas. Sanderson said the team has plenty to work on before then.
“Our guys wrestled well,” Sanderson said. “It’s obviously early, so we’re trying to figure things out. Big matches like this, where the crowd is into it and you’re wrestling quality opponents at every weight — even with Rider, every match was a good match — it’s a blessing to see what we need to work on and where we need to go.”
Santoro said he was “100%” happier with this performance than he was after Lehigh’s 22-12 loss to Pitt in November, primarily because his wrestlers looked to attack. He really wanted to challenge Penn State in the first five bouts and won three, getting decisions from Carter Bailey (125) and eighth-ranked Josh Humphreys (157).
Now he’s looking for Lehigh to take the next step.
“We’ve got a ways to go,” Santoro said. “We’re very capable. I think we’re going to be a lot better in a month, and we’re going to be a lot better in two months.”