ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy wrestling team (3-3, 3-0 EIWA) wins the final three matches to upset its longest rival, 21st-ranked Lehigh (2-4, 2-1 EIWA) 21-15 on Friday night at Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Md., in the 105th meeting between the two programs.

It was the Mids first time defeating the Mountain Hawks since its 21-9 victory back on Jan. 16, 2021. It was Navy's first victory over a ranked opponent since last season when it defeated No. 16 Pittsburgh 21-12 on Nov. 12, 2023. 

"Navy and Lehigh have history. We had a ton of alumni here tonight, they always come back for the Army and Lehigh matches. It's not like the Army rivalry but it's a rivalry and that's important," remarked head coach Cary Kolat. "We wanted to start the dual at 184 pounds, we thought it was better to attack that weight early than to wait for it to come around. We knew on paper the lightweights could go either way. What our guys did a great job doing was when Lehigh tried to slow us down, we didn't get eager and take wild shots, we stayed patient. This was a big win but we got Harvard coming in tomorrow and they always have sneaky guys. We can't dump all of our energy into tonight, it's over, we want to go 2-0 this weekend and Harvard is coming to compete."

Sophomore Daniel Williams kicked off the dual at 184 pounds with an 8-4 victory over Caden Rogers. Williams trailed 3-0 going into the second period. In the second period he earned an escaped point and executed a single leg takedown to go into the final period up 4-3. The Orlando, Fla., native grabbed his second takedown in the final minutes and amassed over a minute of riding time to start the Midshipmen with a 3-0 lead.

The Mountain Hawks took each of the next three bouts at 197, 285 and 125 pounds to gain a 12-3 team score advantage over Navy.

Junior Brendan Ferretti got the Midshipmen back on the board at 133 pounds with a win by fall against Logan Wadle in the opening stanza to narrow Lehigh's lead, 12-9. Ferretti snapped his four dual skid to record his first of the season.

Senior team captain and seventh-ranked Josh Koderhandt (141) tied the match, 12-12, with his 5-2 victory over Carter Bailey. Followed by a scoreless first period, Koderhandt recorded the first points of the match with an escape, he would counter Bailey's takedown attempt for three points of his own to extend the lead, 4-0. The Belleville, Ill., native rode out half of the final period to lock in a riding time point to secure his sixth dual victory this season.

The Mountain Hawks added three more points in the 149-pound bout. Kaemen Smith pushed 24th-ranked Malkye Hines but couldn't pull off the upset falling, 2-1. Hines secured the victory racking up 1:31 of riding time to break the 1-1 stalemate.

Navy would go on a run to win the final three bouts at 157, 165 and 174 pounds.

Jonathan Ley (157) continued his hot streak in dual competitions as he defeated Jayden Skellinger 4-1 in sudden victory. Neither wrestler could create an offensive attack with their only points coming from an escape through seven minutes. In the extra period Ley displayed an aggressive offensive attack and secured the lone takedown of the match 32 seconds into the sudden victory period to tie the dual, 15-15.

Freshman Dylan Elmore (165) made his second appearance in the starting lineup where he went head-to-head with Richie Grungo. Elmore shutout Grungo through the first two periods to go into the final stanza up, 1-0. Grungo was able to escape Elmore's grasp to even the match 1-1. In the final seconds of the match, Elmore countered a takedown attempt to find the back of Grungo for a takedown of his own with 15 seconds left to win the match 4-1. Navy would regain the lead, 18-15.

In the final bout of the night at 174 pounds, 14th-ranked Danny Wask secured the upset victory with a 4-1 decision over Rylan Rogers. Wask's takedown in the final seconds of the first period was the only takedown of the match. The Wantage, N.J., native improved to 5-1 in dual competition this season.

The Mids will be back in action when they host Harvard on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 5 p.m. Fans can stream the dual with the links provided on navysports.com.

Navy 21, No. 21 Lehigh 15

184 | Daniel Williams (NAVY) dec Caden Rogers, 8-4 // Navy 3, Lehigh 0

197 | Michael Beard dec Payton Thomas (NAVY), 3-2 // Navy 3, Lehigh 3

285 |#9 Owen Trephan tech fall Ben Farabaugh (NAVY), 18-2 // Lehigh 8, Navy 3

125 | #14 Sheldon Seymour major Nick Treaster (NAVY), 10-2 // Lehigh 12, Navy 3

133 | Brendan Ferretti (NAVY) fall Logan Wadle, 2:29 // Lehigh 12, Navy 9

141 | #7 Josh Koderhandt (NAVY) dec Carter Bailey, 5-2 // Lehigh 12, Navy 12

149 | #24 Malkye Hines dec Kaemen Smith (NAVY), 2-1 // Lehigh 15, Navy 12

157 | Jonathan Ley (NAVY) dec Jayden Skellinger, 4-1 SV-1 // Lehigh 15, Navy 15

165 | Dylan Elmore (NAVY) dec Richie Grungo, 4-1 // Navy 18, Lehigh 15

174 | #14 Danny Wask (NAVY) dec Rylan Rogers, 4-1 // Navy 21. Lehigh 15

Attendance - 484