The Brown & White

The undefeated No. 16 wrestling team will travel to No. 3 Ohio State University today for the Buckeye Duals, its toughest match of the season.

The Mountain Hawks, who are 3-0 on the season, are coming off of another hot start, including an upset win over No. 15 Penn State University 23-14.

Ohio State, wrestling in its first match of the season, is coming off two consecutive second-place finishes in the NCAA tournament.

Third-year Assistant Coach Jason Kutz said Ohio State will come out trying to overpower the Hawks.

"They're always aggressive, they always have their hands on you and they're always trying to score," he said.

Perhaps the most interesting bout pits senior captain Seth Ciasulli, ranked No. 15 in the nation at 141, against Buckeye senior Reece Humphrey, ranked No. 1.

Ciasulli said he is looking forward to the challenge.

"I love wrestling against kids I'm not supposed to beat," Ciasulli said.

Senior Mike Galante, 2-1 and No. 11 in the country, will wrestle No. 8 junior Colt Sponseller at 165.

At 184, undefeated No. 12 senior David Craig has a tough bout with No. 3 fifth-year senior Mike Pucillo for Ohio State.

Sophomore John McDonald at 125 also faces a tough opponent in junior Nikko Triggas, who has won two bouts in both of his trips to the NCAA Tournament.

Senior captain Matt Fisk, who is ranked No. 12 in the country at 133, will be the favorite to win his bout.

Kutz said the team knows how important the match against Ohio State is.

"For us to get back to national prominence, we have to beat the best teams," Kutz said.

There is no doubt that Ohio State has been one of the best teams with their finishes at the last two NCAA Championships. Last year, they fell short of champion Iowa State University 96.5-92. The Buckeyes' No. 3 preseason ranking is the highest under fourth-year coach Tom Ryan.

So far, the team is happy with how the season is going, Kutz said.

"We got a lot of guys who are starting to realize the fruits of their labor," Kutz said. He said he was especially proud of the work a lot of wrestlers put in during the summer.

Four out of 10 Lehigh starters are undefeated in their three matches.

"We're keeping our expectations high and meeting them," McDonald said.

Lehigh's progress was clear in their match against Penn State last week. The Nittany Lions hired a new head coach, Cael Sanderson, in April after Sanderson had three very successful years as head coach at his alma mater, Iowa State. It was a shocking move that turned Penn State back into a national contender and gave them a No. 15 ranking in the preseason polls.

However, Lehigh got early wins from Fisk and Ciasulli and finished strong to win handily 23-14.

Today's matchup against Ohio State will take place at 7 p.m. in Columbus.

The road does not get any easier going forward, either.

"Our schedule in November is the toughest in the country," Kutz said.

Following today's match with Ohio State, Lehigh will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., for another away match against perennial powerhouse Michigan University. A week later, they will face Nebraska University and University of Maryland, both ranked in the top 10, on the same day at the Northeast Duals in Troy, N.Y.

"These next two weeks are going to make or break us," said sophomore John McDonald.