Lehigh Sports Forum

MIKE CARUSO: Just when I think I know everything there is to know about my favorite WRESTLERS, I stumble upon additional footage/dialog, as is the case here with Lehigh's only 3X NCAA Champion. Excellent Podcast Series here, best enjoyed wearing a set of EARPHONES, munching on a SLICE of pizza, and nursing a COLD-ONE!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4KfOGcJfCc...(5:00 mark)

First met Mike on a foggy night in Newark(1963), when my high school team(Washington, NJ) defeated his St. Benedicts team, but he got the better of my team-mate, a returning NJ State Champ, 6-2.

His intense rivalry with Michigan's Bob Fehrs is well chronicled, as is their continued friendship,.. and their reunion as honorary CAPTAINS prior to our home match with the Wolverine's a few years ago, was one of the more CLASSY gestures I've ever seen in Grace Hall. However I wouldn't have been a bit surprised had someone hollered out,.."Give him ONE more shot Mike!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8lGCk4BWic

Mike's philanthropy is noted in the impressive Caruso Wrestling Complex in the attic of ancient Grace Hall.

https://lehighsports.com/facilities/car ... complex/50

I had no idea. Source?

Trenge beats Hahn if he takes time to clean his lenses. Of course if Trenge does not have eye problems. Maybe he loses once or not in 2001 nationals. I don't see a universe where h beats Cael. But one where he beats Hahn?

Lots of reasons a person takes a Redshirt year. Even Burley could slip on the ice and fracture a Tibia.

Richb-3 wrote: ↑Thu May 25, 2023 2:26 pm Trenge beats Hahn if he takes time to clean his lenses. Of course if Trenge does not have eye problems. Maybe he loses once or not in 2001 nationals. I don't see a universe where h beats Cael. But one where he beats Hahn?

Lots of reasons a person takes a Redshirt year. Even Burley could slip on the ice and fracture a Tibia.

>>>>>>>> Just about everyone blames Trenge for that loss to Hahn when in reality it was a magnificent effort by Hahn that won that bout. He did it in the semis vs Mawal as well. Hahn won it, Trenge didn't lose it --- if you can see the difference.

As to reasons to red shirt --- I don't see one of them being to defer a returning/defending champ. Maybe others disagree? The RS after the loss to Gibbons made sense. Press pause and reset. And it worked out great with Burley winning his 2nd title and Schuyler taking 3rd at 134 beating the #1 seed in the 3/4 bout.

>>>>>>>> witnessing the Trenge loss to Hahn in the NCAA finals was a bummer to say the least.

My recollection is Trenge had a 1pt lead and a neutral restart with about 10 seconds left in the match and no stalling warnings.

The perfect time to, in the words of an old coach I knew, aggressively backpedal. Or to quote my hs coach—-get on your bicycle.

So many excellent matches to his credit——-will always be one of the great ones that never won a title.

FloridaGuy is correct of course, but Jon Trenge has been quoted many times saying: "It's not the nature of the beast." He wanted to defend -- Hahn's shot was just so powerful he couldn't stop it. Hahn's mojo was on full tilt.
Tip your cap to him. A great bout.

Oracle wrote: ↑Fri May 26, 2023 9:10 am FloridaGuy is correct of course, but Jon Trenge has been quoted many times saying: "It's not the nature of the beast." He wanted to defend -- Hahn's shot was just so powerful he couldn't stop it. Hahn's mojo was on full tilt.
Tip your cap to him. A great bout.

Had mixed emotions going into this bout! As a JERSEY-GUY I had watched Hahn win three state titles, losing his Freshman year in the finals by a point. Having watched over fifty-some NJ state tournaments over the years I have always considered him the BEST of all the big men I've seen. (Mike Frick my choice from the light-weights). As a LEHIGH-FAN I had also watched Trenge win his two state titles at Parkland, before coming to Lehigh.,..and had thought that somewhere at the next-level these two were gonna LOCK-UP! Hahn also had quite an impressive Free-Style resume as well, not sure about Jon, but they may have met on the FS circuit.

I too thought he should have gotten on THE-BIKE those last few seconds, thus avoiding Damian's beautiful lat-drop! It's haunting to watch Jon finish the bout with seconds left, in referee's position, and looking over at Coach Strobel as if to say,.."Boy did I fuck that up!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nyawFdu0fM

Trenge obviously learned after that bout to clean his lenses. Because that is what he was doing when Koz charged him because the score table let the clock run when every won else in Cleveland heard the referee blow the whistle.

According to Boomer, pride may also have cost Pendleton a title his junior year. Natvig had scored the go ahead takedown and had legs in, but they were at the mat edge. Kirk could have rolled out of bounds to get a fresh start. But the scorpion and the frog.

Why does someone keep saying that the only way Burley could have redshirted before the 1980 nationals would have been a strategic decision? I assume a wrestler could have redshirted before second semester if he had no more than 3 events and 4 weigh-ins. That would have before Darryl's situation on New Year's day 1980. Easy enough to get a a 10 week, but not career threatening injury around the LV. Seems to me that happened another LU NCAA champ 4 years before. Note, no 6th year then so Mike L could not have gone for a second RS year, and thus wrestled when likely less than 100%.

Both EDDIE ECHELBERGER & KIRK PENDELTON pre-date most of us,.. as I become a Lehigh fan about the same time Caruso arrived on South Mountain. Both were 3X NCAA finalists, excellent grapplers, and I surmise that some of their dual-meet records, etc., were soo outstanding that a few of them just might have stood the test-of-time, and remain..THE RECORD! Where's the data-driven experts when ya need 'em?

ECHELBERGER(1,2,2) - https://nwhof.org/national-wrestling-ha ... e/bio/2269

PENDELTON(2,2,1) - https://lehighsports.com/honors/rogers- ... ndleton/42

1962 NCAA TOURNAMENT - Cool, bare-chested, when men-were-men! Pendleton is last bout..

https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/18641

1/2NELSON wrote: ↑Sat May 27, 2023 9:33 pm Both EDDIE ECHELBERGER & KIRK PENDELTON pre-date most of us,.. as I become a Lehigh fan about the same time Caruso arrived on South Mountain. Both were 3X NCAA finalists, excellent grapplers, and I surmise that some of their dual-meet records, etc., were soo outstanding that a few of them just might have stood the test-of-time, and remain..THE RECORD! Where's the data-d noriven experts when ya need 'em?



ECHELBERGER(1,2,2) - https://nwhof.org/national-wrestling-ha ... e/bio/2269

PENDELTON(2,2,1) - https://lehighsports.com/honors/rogers- ... ndleton/42

1962 NCAA TOURNAMENT - Cool, bare-chested, when men-were-men! Pendleton is last bout..

https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/18641

They were amazing athletes in an era where Coach Leeman only needed to ask to be your best. They did all the rest. Each were equally outstanding in their chosen career fields.

Turner/Pendleton/Detrixhe were a murders row. Detrixhe grandfather was a Belgian engineer that came to Bethlehem Iron Works in mid 1800s to implement new European technology. Became a very influential Bethlehem family. Detrixhe was a Hill School grad. Bethlehem Iron Works later absorbed by Charles Schwab into his entrepreneurial endeavor Bethlehem Steel Corporation.