Saturday, February 12
Bethlehem, Pa.
2 p.m.
Bucknell University
at
#23 Lehigh
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Bucknell Wrestling Battles No. 23 Lehigh
2/8/2022 12:30:00 PM | Wrestling
The Mountain Hawks are the Bison's first ranked foe of 2021-22
Bucknell (12-4, 7-2 EIWA) vs. No. 23 Lehigh (8-7, 4-2 EIWA)
When: Saturday, Feb. 12 – 2 p.m.
Where: Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall – Bethlehem, Pa.
Television: Service Electric Network
Internet Video: FloWrestling
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WRST
Lehigh Spectator Policy: Announced Jan. 12 and remaining in effect, Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall will operate at 67% capacity. Tickets will continue to be sold in advance at LehighTickets.com and on event days up to 67% capacity. Per University policy, masks continue to be required indoors in public spaces at Lehigh for both unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals. Masking will be enforced for all spectators. Sections 103 (for 100-level ticket holders) and 203 & 207 (for 200-level ticket holders) will be physically-distanced sections for spectators who desire this. Ask an usher for assistance with this.
Projected Bucknell Lineup
125: Brandon Seidman (16-10)
133: Kurt Phipps (18-8)
141: #26 Darren Miller (12-2) OR Noah Levett (4-8)
149: Kolby DePron (22-9)
157: Nick Delp (11-11)
165: #18 Zach Hartman (21-3)
174: Sam Barnes (7-14) OR Nolan Springer (7-15)
184: Logan Deacetis (16-13)
197: Mason McCready (14-11)
285: Luke Niemeyer (9-9)
Rankings Intermat (Note: In 2021-22, Intermat extended its rankings to 33 from 20)
Bucknell at a Glance
• Bucknell was ranked 20th in the second NWCA Division I Mid-Major Wrestling Coaches Poll of the 2021-22 campaign.
• The Bison are currently 12-4 (7-2 EIWA) following their 21-12 loss at Navy on Feb. 4 and their 29-9 Senior Day triumph over American on Feb. 6.
• By starting 10-2, the 2021-22 Bucknell team matched the 1992-93 squad for the best start in program history.
• Last season, Bucknell placed a wrestler on the EIWA podium at all 10 weight classes and qualified two for the NCAA Championships.
• The Bison returned two-time All-American Zach Hartman, who is also the defending EIWA champion at 165 pounds.
• Hartman's sixth-place showing at the 2021 NCAA Championships was the third-highest finish by a Bison. He also became Bucknell's second NCAA semifinalist.
• Hartman is the Bison's fourth EIWA champion. He also twice finished as the EIWA runner-up; in 2019, he became the first Bucknell freshman to take second at the EIWA's premier event.
• In 2020-21, Hartman became the first Bison to be voted as the EIWA Wrestler of the Year by the conference's head coaches and the second to earn the EIWA Coaches' Trophy as the EIWA Championships' Outstanding Wrestler.
• Bucknell also returned Darren Miller, a 2021 NCAA qualifier at 133 pounds. Miller went 4-1 at the 2021 EIWA Championships, battling back through the consolation bracket with four-straight victories to secure the EIWA's final automatic bid.
• The Bison went 0-3 (0-1 EIWA) in duals and finished sixth at the EIWA Championships during their abbreviated 2020-21 campaign.
• Bucknell posted a 10-6 (9-3 EIWA) record in 2019-20 dual action. The Bison reached the double digits in dual victories for the first time since 2016-17; their total of EIWA victories also matched their 2016-17 figure.
• Bucknell's eight returning EIWA placewinners are Hartman (2021, 2020 & 2019), Jaden Fisher (2021 & 2020), Vincent Andreano (2021), Dorian Crosby (2021), Mason McCready (2021), Miller (2021), Kurt Phipps (2021) and Brandon Seidman (2021).
• Hartman, Miller and Seidman are serving as captains in 2021-22. Hartman is in his third season as a captain.
• The Bison's group of 11 newcomers includes four state champions, eight state placewinners and nine team captains. The freshmen hail from five different states: Pennsylvania (6), Massachusetts (2), Illinois, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
• Head coach Dan Wirnsberger is in his 17th season at the helm of the Bucknell wrestling program. He has scored 142 career victories, good for second in school history; he was also tabbed as the 2015 EIWA6 Coach of the Year after the Bison placed third at the EIWA Championships and qualified four wrestlers for the NCAA Championships.
• Wirnsberger and Bob Ferraro, who led Bucknell to a 169-175-6 record from 1974 to 1997, are the program's only head coaches to reach the 100-win plateau.
• Four wrestlers have started all 16 of the Bison's 2021-22 duals to date: Seidman (125), Phipps (133), Nick Delp (157) and McCready (197). That group includes one senior (Seidman), one junior (McCready) and two sophomores (Phipps & Delp).
Bison in the NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings
Zach Hartman (165): 14th (1st of 4)
Bison Ranked
Zach Hartman (165): 15th FloWrestling, 18th Intermat and The Open Mat
Darren Miller (141): 26th Intermat
Category Leaders
• Wins: Kolby DePron (22)
• Dual Wins: Zach Hartman and Kurt Phipps (13)
• EIWA Dual Wins: Kurt Phipps (8)
• Pins: Zach Hartman (7)
• Technical Falls: Zach Hartman (3)
• Major Decisions: Darren Miller and Kurt Phipps (6)
A Look Back at Bucknell's Duals with Navy and American
• After falling to Navy, 21-12, on Feb. 4, Bucknell dispatched, American, 29-9, on Feb. 6 to send its six-man senior class out in style.
• Darren Miller (141), Kolby DePron (149) and Zach Hartman (165) all went 2-0, with Miller adding a pair of victories in extra matches to complete a 4-0 weekend.
• The Midshipmen pulled away from the Bison with a four-bout winning streak between 174 and 285 pounds; they also had all three of their ranked grapplers emerge triumphant.
• Entering its dual with Navy, Bucknell was 6-0 in away duals and 2-0 in neutral-site duals, both of which took place at George Mason's Patriot Duals. The Midshipmen became the first team to defeat the Bison away from Davis Gym during the 2021-22 campaign.
• The Bison then cruised past the Eagles, bolstered by a five-bout winning streak that stretched between 133 and 165 pounds and a pair of first-period pins by Hartman and Logan Deacetis (184).
• Hartman's pin was his team-best seventh of the season as well as the 26th of his career, good for eighth in the Bison annals.
• Deacetis's pin was his sixth, tying him for second among Bison with fellow freshman standout DePron.
• Miller and Mason McCready (197) accounted for Bucknell's other bonus-point wins against American, each recording a major decision.
• Following this weekend of competition, DePron (22), Hartman (21) and Kurt Phipps (18) are the top three Bison in overall wins. Hartman and Phipps are tied for the team lead in dual wins (13), with Hartman boasting a 7-0 record in EIWA competition and Phipps a strong 8-1 mark.
No. 23 Lehigh at a Glance
• Lehigh was ranked 23rd in this week's NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll and first in the second NWCA Division I Mid-Major Wrestling Coaches Poll of the 2021-22 campaign.
• The Mountain Hawks are currently 8-7 (4-2 EIWA) following their upset losses to Penn (7-24) on Feb. 4 and Army West Point (13-24) on Feb. 6. They were ranked 14th at the time of their defeats.
• Lehigh will host No. 19 Princeton on Friday night before facing off against Bucknell on Saturday afternoon.
• The Mountain Hawks are 2-4 against nationally ranked opponents this season, with three of their losses coming to top-five programs. Their wins came over then No. 15 Pitt (26-9) on Nov. 21 and then No. 8 Cornell (18-15) on Jan. 8.
• During the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign, Lehigh went 3-4 (2-1 EIWA) and captured its fourth-straight EIWA title.
• The Mountain Hawks crowned four individual champions at the 2021 EIWA Championships: Jaret Lane (125), Malyke Hines (133), Jake Jakobsen (197) and Jordan Wood (285). Wood, who is back for a fifth year, became Lehigh's fifth four-time EIWA Champion and the first EIWA heavyweight to win four titles.
• The Mountain Hawks sent a full team of 10 to the 2021 NCAA Championships, with half advancing to its second day. None made it to its third day, halting Lehigh's streak of crowning at least one All-American at 10 years.
• Josh Humphreys (7th at 157), Wood (7th at 285), Hines (17th at 133), Brian Meyer (25th at 165), Lane (27th at 125) and Max Brignola (28th at 149) were ranked in this week's Intermat poll. Meyer would be Zach Hartman's seventh ranked opponent of the season; the Bucknell senior is currently ranked 18th by Intermat.
• The Mountain Hawks lead the all-time series with the Bison, 14-1. They have squared off during eight of the past 10 seasons, with Bucknell's lone victory coming during the 2013-2014 campaign.
• The Bison made headlines across the sport's tight-knit community by defeating No. 22 Lehigh, 18-17, in Bethlehem, Pa. on Nov. 9, 2013. Bucknell won five of the 10 bouts, with Alex Pellicciotti's victory at 149 perhaps the most impressive. He defeated No. 19 Mitch Minotti, one of three ranked Mountain Hawks, by a 5-4 margin.
• The 2021 meeting between the two Pennsylvania rivals was canceled. During the 2019-20 campaign, then No. 11 Lehigh scored a 32-6 victory at Davis Gym, with currently nationally ranked grapplers Darren Miller and Zach Hartman accounting for the Bison's decisions, both of which came by two or fewer points.
A Look Ahead
• Bucknell closes its 2021-22 dual calendar at Oklahoma State, which is ranked 12th in this week's NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll, on Friday, Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. ET.
• The Cowboys will be the Bison's second nationally ranked opponent of the 2021-22 campaign.
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Returning NCAA All-Americans
Zach Hartman: 2021 at 165 (6th), 2020 at 165 (HM)
Returning NCAA Qualifiers
Zach Hartman: 2021 & 2020 at 165, 2019 at 157
Darren Miller: 2021 at 133
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Returning EIWA Placewinners
Vincent Andreano: 2021 (6th at 174)
Dorian Crosby: 2021 (7th at 285)
Jaden Fisher: 2021 (6th at 157), 2020 (8th at 157)
Zach Hartman: 2021 (1st at 165), 2020 (2nd at 165), 2019 (2nd at 157)
Mason McCready: 2021 (7th at 197)
Darren Miller: 2021 (3rd at 133)
Kurt Phipps: 2021 (7th at 141)
Brandon Seidman: 2021 (6th at 125)
When: Saturday, Feb. 12 – 2 p.m.
Where: Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall – Bethlehem, Pa.
Television: Service Electric Network
Internet Video: FloWrestling
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WRST
Lehigh Spectator Policy: Announced Jan. 12 and remaining in effect, Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall will operate at 67% capacity. Tickets will continue to be sold in advance at LehighTickets.com and on event days up to 67% capacity. Per University policy, masks continue to be required indoors in public spaces at Lehigh for both unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals. Masking will be enforced for all spectators. Sections 103 (for 100-level ticket holders) and 203 & 207 (for 200-level ticket holders) will be physically-distanced sections for spectators who desire this. Ask an usher for assistance with this.
Projected Bucknell Lineup
125: Brandon Seidman (16-10)
133: Kurt Phipps (18-8)
141: #26 Darren Miller (12-2) OR Noah Levett (4-8)
149: Kolby DePron (22-9)
157: Nick Delp (11-11)
165: #18 Zach Hartman (21-3)
174: Sam Barnes (7-14) OR Nolan Springer (7-15)
184: Logan Deacetis (16-13)
197: Mason McCready (14-11)
285: Luke Niemeyer (9-9)
Rankings Intermat (Note: In 2021-22, Intermat extended its rankings to 33 from 20)
Bucknell at a Glance
• Bucknell was ranked 20th in the second NWCA Division I Mid-Major Wrestling Coaches Poll of the 2021-22 campaign.
• The Bison are currently 12-4 (7-2 EIWA) following their 21-12 loss at Navy on Feb. 4 and their 29-9 Senior Day triumph over American on Feb. 6.
• By starting 10-2, the 2021-22 Bucknell team matched the 1992-93 squad for the best start in program history.
• Last season, Bucknell placed a wrestler on the EIWA podium at all 10 weight classes and qualified two for the NCAA Championships.
• The Bison returned two-time All-American Zach Hartman, who is also the defending EIWA champion at 165 pounds.
• Hartman's sixth-place showing at the 2021 NCAA Championships was the third-highest finish by a Bison. He also became Bucknell's second NCAA semifinalist.
• Hartman is the Bison's fourth EIWA champion. He also twice finished as the EIWA runner-up; in 2019, he became the first Bucknell freshman to take second at the EIWA's premier event.
• In 2020-21, Hartman became the first Bison to be voted as the EIWA Wrestler of the Year by the conference's head coaches and the second to earn the EIWA Coaches' Trophy as the EIWA Championships' Outstanding Wrestler.
• Bucknell also returned Darren Miller, a 2021 NCAA qualifier at 133 pounds. Miller went 4-1 at the 2021 EIWA Championships, battling back through the consolation bracket with four-straight victories to secure the EIWA's final automatic bid.
• The Bison went 0-3 (0-1 EIWA) in duals and finished sixth at the EIWA Championships during their abbreviated 2020-21 campaign.
• Bucknell posted a 10-6 (9-3 EIWA) record in 2019-20 dual action. The Bison reached the double digits in dual victories for the first time since 2016-17; their total of EIWA victories also matched their 2016-17 figure.
• Bucknell's eight returning EIWA placewinners are Hartman (2021, 2020 & 2019), Jaden Fisher (2021 & 2020), Vincent Andreano (2021), Dorian Crosby (2021), Mason McCready (2021), Miller (2021), Kurt Phipps (2021) and Brandon Seidman (2021).
• Hartman, Miller and Seidman are serving as captains in 2021-22. Hartman is in his third season as a captain.
• The Bison's group of 11 newcomers includes four state champions, eight state placewinners and nine team captains. The freshmen hail from five different states: Pennsylvania (6), Massachusetts (2), Illinois, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
• Head coach Dan Wirnsberger is in his 17th season at the helm of the Bucknell wrestling program. He has scored 142 career victories, good for second in school history; he was also tabbed as the 2015 EIWA6 Coach of the Year after the Bison placed third at the EIWA Championships and qualified four wrestlers for the NCAA Championships.
• Wirnsberger and Bob Ferraro, who led Bucknell to a 169-175-6 record from 1974 to 1997, are the program's only head coaches to reach the 100-win plateau.
• Four wrestlers have started all 16 of the Bison's 2021-22 duals to date: Seidman (125), Phipps (133), Nick Delp (157) and McCready (197). That group includes one senior (Seidman), one junior (McCready) and two sophomores (Phipps & Delp).
Bison in the NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings
Zach Hartman (165): 14th (1st of 4)
Bison Ranked
Zach Hartman (165): 15th FloWrestling, 18th Intermat and The Open Mat
Darren Miller (141): 26th Intermat
Category Leaders
• Wins: Kolby DePron (22)
• Dual Wins: Zach Hartman and Kurt Phipps (13)
• EIWA Dual Wins: Kurt Phipps (8)
• Pins: Zach Hartman (7)
• Technical Falls: Zach Hartman (3)
• Major Decisions: Darren Miller and Kurt Phipps (6)
A Look Back at Bucknell's Duals with Navy and American
• After falling to Navy, 21-12, on Feb. 4, Bucknell dispatched, American, 29-9, on Feb. 6 to send its six-man senior class out in style.
• Darren Miller (141), Kolby DePron (149) and Zach Hartman (165) all went 2-0, with Miller adding a pair of victories in extra matches to complete a 4-0 weekend.
• The Midshipmen pulled away from the Bison with a four-bout winning streak between 174 and 285 pounds; they also had all three of their ranked grapplers emerge triumphant.
• Entering its dual with Navy, Bucknell was 6-0 in away duals and 2-0 in neutral-site duals, both of which took place at George Mason's Patriot Duals. The Midshipmen became the first team to defeat the Bison away from Davis Gym during the 2021-22 campaign.
• The Bison then cruised past the Eagles, bolstered by a five-bout winning streak that stretched between 133 and 165 pounds and a pair of first-period pins by Hartman and Logan Deacetis (184).
• Hartman's pin was his team-best seventh of the season as well as the 26th of his career, good for eighth in the Bison annals.
• Deacetis's pin was his sixth, tying him for second among Bison with fellow freshman standout DePron.
• Miller and Mason McCready (197) accounted for Bucknell's other bonus-point wins against American, each recording a major decision.
• Following this weekend of competition, DePron (22), Hartman (21) and Kurt Phipps (18) are the top three Bison in overall wins. Hartman and Phipps are tied for the team lead in dual wins (13), with Hartman boasting a 7-0 record in EIWA competition and Phipps a strong 8-1 mark.
No. 23 Lehigh at a Glance
• Lehigh was ranked 23rd in this week's NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll and first in the second NWCA Division I Mid-Major Wrestling Coaches Poll of the 2021-22 campaign.
• The Mountain Hawks are currently 8-7 (4-2 EIWA) following their upset losses to Penn (7-24) on Feb. 4 and Army West Point (13-24) on Feb. 6. They were ranked 14th at the time of their defeats.
• Lehigh will host No. 19 Princeton on Friday night before facing off against Bucknell on Saturday afternoon.
• The Mountain Hawks are 2-4 against nationally ranked opponents this season, with three of their losses coming to top-five programs. Their wins came over then No. 15 Pitt (26-9) on Nov. 21 and then No. 8 Cornell (18-15) on Jan. 8.
• During the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign, Lehigh went 3-4 (2-1 EIWA) and captured its fourth-straight EIWA title.
• The Mountain Hawks crowned four individual champions at the 2021 EIWA Championships: Jaret Lane (125), Malyke Hines (133), Jake Jakobsen (197) and Jordan Wood (285). Wood, who is back for a fifth year, became Lehigh's fifth four-time EIWA Champion and the first EIWA heavyweight to win four titles.
• The Mountain Hawks sent a full team of 10 to the 2021 NCAA Championships, with half advancing to its second day. None made it to its third day, halting Lehigh's streak of crowning at least one All-American at 10 years.
• Josh Humphreys (7th at 157), Wood (7th at 285), Hines (17th at 133), Brian Meyer (25th at 165), Lane (27th at 125) and Max Brignola (28th at 149) were ranked in this week's Intermat poll. Meyer would be Zach Hartman's seventh ranked opponent of the season; the Bucknell senior is currently ranked 18th by Intermat.
• The Mountain Hawks lead the all-time series with the Bison, 14-1. They have squared off during eight of the past 10 seasons, with Bucknell's lone victory coming during the 2013-2014 campaign.
• The Bison made headlines across the sport's tight-knit community by defeating No. 22 Lehigh, 18-17, in Bethlehem, Pa. on Nov. 9, 2013. Bucknell won five of the 10 bouts, with Alex Pellicciotti's victory at 149 perhaps the most impressive. He defeated No. 19 Mitch Minotti, one of three ranked Mountain Hawks, by a 5-4 margin.
• The 2021 meeting between the two Pennsylvania rivals was canceled. During the 2019-20 campaign, then No. 11 Lehigh scored a 32-6 victory at Davis Gym, with currently nationally ranked grapplers Darren Miller and Zach Hartman accounting for the Bison's decisions, both of which came by two or fewer points.
A Look Ahead
• Bucknell closes its 2021-22 dual calendar at Oklahoma State, which is ranked 12th in this week's NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll, on Friday, Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. ET.
• The Cowboys will be the Bison's second nationally ranked opponent of the 2021-22 campaign.
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Returning NCAA All-Americans
Zach Hartman: 2021 at 165 (6th), 2020 at 165 (HM)
Returning NCAA Qualifiers
Zach Hartman: 2021 & 2020 at 165, 2019 at 157
Darren Miller: 2021 at 133
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Returning EIWA Placewinners
Vincent Andreano: 2021 (6th at 174)
Dorian Crosby: 2021 (7th at 285)
Jaden Fisher: 2021 (6th at 157), 2020 (8th at 157)
Zach Hartman: 2021 (1st at 165), 2020 (2nd at 165), 2019 (2nd at 157)
Mason McCready: 2021 (7th at 197)
Darren Miller: 2021 (3rd at 133)
Kurt Phipps: 2021 (7th at 141)
Brandon Seidman: 2021 (6th at 125)
Players Mentioned
174
/ Wrestling
174/184
/ Wrestling
285
/ Wrestling
184
/ Wrestling
157
/ Wrestling157
/ Wrestling149
/ Wrestling
174
/ Wrestling149/157
/ Wrestling
157/165
/ Wrestling165
/ Wrestling165
/ Wrestling
149
/ Wrestling
184/197
/ Wrestling197
/ Wrestling
141
/ Wrestling
197
/ Wrestling141
/ Wrestling133
/ Wrestling
125
/ Wrestling125
/ Wrestling174/184
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