UNIVERSITY PARK — Through two dual meets and a tournament, the No. 2 Penn State wrestling team has dominated, yet to be challenged.
That may end at noon Sunday, Dec. 4, in the Bryce Jordan Center.
The Nittany Lions will resume action after a two-week hiatus that included Thanksgiving break and face an annual challenge — a dual meet with intrastate rival Lehigh.
Penn State has wrestled Lehigh more than any other opponent and holds a 67-34-3 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to 1911. Coach Pat Santoro’s Mountain Hawks figure to make the 105th meeting, to be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network, competitive.
Lehigh, ranked No. 12 and undefeated at 3-0, features eight ranked wrestlers, including three higher than their Nittany Lion opponents.
At this writing, neither team had released projected lineups, but based on InterMat’s Nov. 22 rankings and early season competition, 18 of 20 starters could be ranked.
Lehigh will challenge Penn State right out of the gate if the match starts at the usual 125 pounds. Mountain Hawk junior Darian Cruz, ranked No. 4, is one of three Top 5 wrestlers for Lehigh. The elder Cruz brother, senior Randy, is ranked No. 3 at 141. Senior 165-pouder Mitch Minotti is ranked No. 5.
Those three are ranked higher than their Nittany Lion counterparts and figure to give the Mountain Hawks their best shots at wins, but not their only ones.
Darian Cruz vs. sixth-ranked Nick Suriano at 125 promises to rev up a crowd that could approach 16,000 fans, as previous BJC duals have.
Randy Cruz looks to repeat his 4-0 win over 16th-ranked Jimmy Gulibon in Bethlehem last February.
Two-time All-American Minotti figures to be a stern test for 10th-ranked freshman 165-pounder Vincenzo Joseph.
Lehigh is evenly matched with Penn State at two other weights as well. Sophomore Scott Parker, ranked No. 18 at 133, takes on 12th-ranked Jered Cortez. And, at 285 pounds, No. 11 senior Doug Vollaro is paired with No. 8 Nick Nevills.
Penn State has favorites at the other five weights: 149, No. 1 Zain Retherford vs. No. 9 senior Laike Gardner; 157, No. 1 Jason Nolf vs. No. 15 freshman Jordan Kutler; 174, No. 12 Shakur Rasheed vs. No. 19 sophomore Ryan Preisch; 184, No. 3 Bo Nickal vs. freshman Kyle Gentile; and 197, No. 13 Matt McCutcheon vs. senior Ben Haas.
The Nittany Lions are riding a six-match winning streak against the Mountain Hawks, dating back to consecutive Lehigh wins in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons.
