Freestyle season

[HFO]

Crookham will be pre-season #1
Beard #4
Taylor#5

Cornell placed 2nd with this configuration. I’m bullish on Beard. He was not at Brooks or Hidlay levels but he can compete with all the others to win it all. He made strides this year and needs to stay healthy for his final year.

Taylor is ready to stand on the podium. How high is the question. Two finalists and a 4th and Lehigh is in the trophy hunt. Cornell proved it can be done.

That's not how Cornell "did it." Cornell did it by having a few transcendental talents (Arujau and Shapiro) who, by themselves, outscored (with 45) the entire Lehigh team (with 36.5) ...by a lot. Cornell, as a team, had more than half as many team point as Lehigh...in bonus points alone (with 19.5). The third highest scorer for Cornell (Cardenas with 15.5) outscored the highest scorer on Lehigh (Crookham with 13.5); in fact, Shapiro and Cardenas alone matched Lehigh's team total. Eight of the nine Cornell wrestlers scored points; I don't need to point out what Lehigh's wrestlers did in that respect. This all with Ramirez flaming out and Foca struggling at times.

Michigan got the final trophy because they had three outstanding guys who all outscored everyone on Lehigh's team, and four guys with double-digit point totals.

Iowa State got lots of points from everyone, plus four AAs.

Iowa had three guys outscoring everyone on Lehigh.

Beard was seeded 4th and took 8th; in 2023, he was seeded 5th and made R12. Taylor was seeded 5th and went 2-2. You think that bodes well for their future podium successes?

Stanich and Crookham are likely 4x AAs barring injury, so you have that going for you. Assuming Crookham figures out how to actually score points in the NCAA tournament: scoring four points or fewer in five of his six matches? Judging by this tournament, I give Stanich a higher ceiling.

The portal ain't gonna do it for Lehigh. What will certainly help is figuring out how not to have goose eggs across the board come NCAAs. Flo's pre-NCAA rankings (based on rankings of individual wrestlers) had Lehigh at 56 (ahead of Michigan!): they scored 36.5. They had Cornell at 57.5: they scored 71.5.

If not the portal, the athletes are not in the room to score points other than those who did in 2024. How many points in 2025 from 141 to 184? Goose eggs? We were not in the running nor ready when transfer portal opened and within 3 days some of the best available athletes already with degrees were available who did score points at NCAA. Now you have to take a chance on 1 or 2 who are ranked #25 to #35 and hope that Pat & Team and LVWC athletes can upgrade them to at least get 2 wins at NCAA.

LVWC also needs to upgrade their athletes. They are all essentially no factors for contention on USA National Team or Olympic Team. Time to spend some serious money on at least one Top 3 guy and get him to LVWC, preferably the two highest weightclass for Olympics.

It is a prayer that Pat takes any of the current guys ranked #55 or higher to winning 2 bouts at NCAA. The whole ecosystem of wrestling at Lehigh/LVWC has to improve if we are even to stay in Top 15, let alone ever crack the Top 10 again.

[HFO]

Even with their disappointing showing at the Nationals, LU was the top finisher among private universities. And only Stanford among the privates finished on a comparable level.

We can slice the pie even further that we are #1 of a fully private university in the East. Don't think it is the best selling point to recruits with ambition for NCAA Title though.

If Stanich not in lineup, even more pressure for 3 of Crookham, Beard, Taylor to all finish Top 4. Just do not see anyone else on team that will emerge to even win 2 matches at NCAA. We need grad transfers from 141 to 184. It is an era where you better be landing 1 per year and show that you are serious that you will take in athletes. If Lehigh shows no demand in this marketplace for talent, then the elites will benefit even more. Just a matter of Economics 101 of Supply/Demand. There is supply, but the big players are only about 5 NCAA teams who do a hell of a lot better than Lehigh and some of them are a hell of a lot better academic institutions than Lehigh.

[HFO]

Cornell’s “transcendetal talent” Shapiro just got teched by a high school junior at trials 12-1 in his opening match….

Not the only high schooler to get a win. There is some serious talent in Class of 2025 and Class of 2026 and as of now they are NOT coming to Lehigh.