BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The 18th-ranked wrestling team (6-3, 1-1 EIWA) dropped the 104th meeting against its longest rival, 17th-ranked Lehigh (4-3, 4-0 EIWA), 23-15, on Saturday afternoon at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall in Bethlehem, Pa.

Both teams won five bouts, but a pair of wins by fall (125, 157) and a victory by technical fall (197) gave the Mountain Hawks eight bonus points.

"The difference in this dual was that we got pinned twice. You don't win big duals by giving up bonus points. The positive aspect is that we stayed in the dual as a team. We started to rally back out of the hole and that is a positive," said head coach Cary Kolat. "In the matches we won, we stayed smart. Josh Koderhandt controlled all aspects of the bout and you can't ask for more. Kaemen Smith got us back in the dual with a hard-fought battle for his first dual win of the season. Andrew Cerniglia had an opponent with a strategy. He knew it would be a tight match based on Lehigh's plan, but he didn't let it shake him. David Key bounced back well and wrestled for the full 7 minutes. He showed how you win bouts."

David Key (184) opened the dual with a close win over Jack Wilt. Wilt scored the only takedown of the match in the first period. Key answered with an escape to make the score, 3-1. Key tied the match in the third period with a reversal and earned the riding time point to win by a 4-3 decision to give the Mids a 3-0 lead. 

Lehigh won the next four bouts to jump ahead, 17-3, in the dual.

Seventh-ranked Michael Beard recorded seven takedowns against Daniel Williams (197) to win the match by a 21-5 (4:05) technical fall and earn the Mountain Hawks their first bonus points.

The heavyweight bout featured the top two ranked wrestlers in the EIWA, No. 8 Nathan Taylor and No. 18 Grady Griess. Taylor struck first with a takedown in the opening period. Griess scored an escape in the second to make the score, 3-1, heading into the final two minutes. Taylor started the third period with an escape and then scored his second takedown to go ahead, 7-1. Griess made a late push with a reversal, but another takedown by Taylor and the riding time point gave him the win by an 11-4 decision. 

Sheldon Seymour ended the 125-pound match in just one minute with a win by fall against Dayton DelViscio to give Lehigh an 11-point cushion. 

Brendan Ferretti (133), who entered the dual ranked 29th in the country took the mat against No. 1 Ryan Crookham in the next match. Crookham scored two takedowns in the first period to grab an early, 6-2, lead. After scoring an escape in the second period, Crookham added another two points in the third with the riding time point to win by a 10-3 decision. His win put the Mountain Hawks up, 17-3. 

Twentieth-ranked Josh Koderhandt (141) snapped Lehigh's winning streak with a victory over No. 18 Malyke Hines. Koderhandt opened the scoring with an escape in the second period and then struck for a takedown to go up, 4-0. Koderhandt was then issued a technical violation to award a point to Hines. Hines then scored an escape to make the score, 4-2. Hines came within a point with another escape in the third period, but Koderhandt took back control with a takedown to win by a 7-3 decision. 

Kaemen Smith (149) followed up with his first dual victory of the season against Owen Reinsel. Smith answered a takedown by Reinsel with a reversal to get on the board. Reinsel escaped out of the reversal to take a 4-2 lead into the second period. Smith recorded his first takedown in the second, but Reinsel countered with another escapee to make the score, 5-5. Smith scored the only point in the final two minutes from an escape to win by a 6-5 decision and bring Navy back within eight points in the dual.

Jonathan Ley (157) was looking to pull off an upset against No. 23 Max Brignola to keep the Mids comeback hopes alive. Ley scored an escape in the third period to tie the match at one, but a takedown allowed Brignola to pin Ley at the 6:22 mark to secure the dual for the Mountain Hawks.

Although Lehigh clinched the dual, Navy ended on a great note with wins by No. 20 Andrew Cerniglia (165) and No. 25 Danny Wask (174). 

Cerniglia trailed, 4-1, entering the third period to Jake Logan. He scored his second escape and then took his first lead with a takedown. Cerniglia added another point after Logan was issued a technical violation to win by a 6-4 decision. 

Wask scored two points from an escape and riding time to beat Connor Herceg by a 2-0 decision. 

The Mids will be back in action tomorrow at Binghamton at 2 p.m. Fans can stream the dual on ESPN+ with links provided on NavySports.com(.)

Navy vs. Lehigh Dual Results
184 | David Key (Navy) dec Jack Wilt (Lehigh), 4-3 // Navy 3, Lehigh 0
197 | No. 7 Michael Beard (Lehigh) tech fall Daniel Williams (Navy), 21-5 (4:05) // Lehigh 5, Navy 3
285 | No. 8 Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) dec No. 18 Grady Griess (Navy), 11-4 // Lehigh 8, Navy 3
125 | Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh) fall Dayton DelViscio (Navy), 1:01 // Lehigh 14, Navy 3
133 | No. 1 Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) dec No. 29 Brendan Ferretti (Navy), 10-3 // Lehigh 17, Navy 3
141 | No. 20 Josh Koderhandt (Navy) dec No. 18 Malyke Hines (Lehigh), 7-3 // Lehigh 17, Navy 6
149 | Kaemen Smith (Navy) dec Owen Reinsel (Lehigh), 6-5 // Lehigh 17, Navy 9
157 |  No. 23 Max Brignola (Lehigh) fall Jonathan Ley (Navy), 6:22 // Lehigh 23, Navy 9
165 | No. 20 Andrew Cerniglia (Navy) dec Jake Logan (Lehigh), 6-4 // Lehigh 23, Navy 12
174 | No. 25 Danny Wask (Navy) dec Connor Herceg (Lehigh), 2-0 // Lehigh 23, Navy 15
Attendance – 1,522

Navy vs. Lehigh Dual Notes
• The Mids have used a different lineup in every dual this season
• Cerniglia extended his winning streak to a career-high 11 matches, which is the longest on the team this season
• The senior improved to 5-1 in his career against Lehigh wrestlers
• Cerniglia is 6-1 in duals this season and 21-4 in his career. His 84.0 winning percentage in duals ranks first on the team
• The Nazareth, Pa., native will look to win the 60th match in his career tomorrow at Binghamton
• Koderhandt won his 13th-straight dual match dating back to last season and is now 8-0 in 2023-24
• Koderhandt won his second-consecutive match against Hines. He is 2-2 against Hines in his career. 
• The junior improved to 5-4 against ranked wrestlers this season. His five victories over ranked opponents are tied with Griess for first on the team this season
• Wask won his 17th match of the season, which is second on the team. He also posted his fifth shutout victory of his freshman campaign
• Key ended his four-match losing skid and claimed his first win since Jan. 5 at the Franklin & Marshall Open
• Smith recorded his first win in a dual since Feb. 4, 2023, against Bucknell's Dylan Chappell
• Smith is 7-4 in matches decided by decision this season. He finished with a 3-12 record in 2022-23