FROM THE NEST | FALL 2024 | 39 talk? What’s negative talk? This will be my second year being a captain [on the basketball team], so it’s just constantly trying to build my communication skills, not only for my team, but also for when I go into the real world. Last year you were First Team All-Patriot League and you scored your 1,000th career point. Were either of those your best athletic achievement so far? Making the [Patriot League] Championship game, because my whole life my goal has been to play in March Madness. When I was 10, I told my mom, ‘I want to play Division I basketball.’ Being able to taste what it takes to make a championship game and now understanding whatʼs required to win a championship game and make March Madness, that was great. We had a lot of ups and downs. … Being able to persevere through that and still make the championship game was really impressive. For a personal accomplishment, 1,000 points is always cool in three years. … It was definitely cool too, because my mom, both my aunts and my grandmother were there. What’s something most people may not know about you? In middle school I played multiple instruments. I played the clarinet, the cello and the viola all through middle school. And then I also played the drums in high school. What’s the outlook for this season? We have upperclassmen that know how to lead, we know what it takes. And we have underclassmen who are [buying in]. This is probably the most confident I’ve been going into a season, realistically. A lot of people every year lie to themselves. I’ve never been that way. I’ll be like, ‘We’re alright, but weʼll see what happens.’ I’m very confident we can win a championship this year. I think we have the makeup, we have what it takes. A lot of other teams have lost things, where I don’t feel we lost a lot of point production that we can’t replace. This should be a really fun year for us. We should be back to where we were my sophomore year, a topthree seed.—Stephen Gross HOLLY FASCHING ’26 / DANIEL KOPATSCH FOR GETTY IMAGES Three-time All-American and 2017 NCAA Champion Darian Cruz ’18 made his Olympic debut in August, finishing fifth at the Paris games. Wrestling at 57 kg and representing Puerto Rico, Cruz won his opening round bout by fall before dropping his quarterfinal match to eventual gold medalist Rei Higuchi of Japan. Higuchi’s semifinal victory pulled Cruz into the repechage, where he came up short in his bid for a bronze medal. “It’s exciting, being able to represent everything I’ve worked for over the last 25 years,” Cruz said before heading to the Olympics. “More importantly, the first thing that comes to mind is being able to represent Lehigh University and where Lehigh has taken me and where it continues to develop me. Being able to set the example for the younger guys in this program is pretty exciting as well.” Cruz opened his Olympic career against Egypt’s Gamal Mohamed. Mohamed kicked off the scoring when Cruz failed to score while on the shot clock, but Cruz responded by securing a go-ahead takedown and locking up a cradle to secure the fall with 30 seconds remaining in the first period. In the quarterfinals, Cruz gave up a pair of early four-point moves and ultimately fell 12-2 to Higuchi, the No. 1 seed. In the bronze medal match, Cruz faced India’s Aman Sehrawat. Cruz scored first on a pushout point, but Sehrawat answered with a 3-1 advantage in takedowns in the first period to lead 6-3 at the break. Cruz picked up another takedown in the second period, but Sehrawat continued to find ways to score and extend his lead, ultimately prevailing by a 13-5 decision. Cruz is one of two former Lehigh wrestlers to compete in the Olympics. He joined one of his former trainers, Bobby Weaver ’83, who won gold at 48 kg in Los Angeles in 1984. ATHLETICS Cruising to the Games Darian Cruz ’18, an NCAA Champion while at Lehigh, became the second alum to wrestle in the Olympic Games. Darian Cruz ’18 (top) wrestles in the men’s freestyle 57 kg semifinal against India’s Aman Sehrawat at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
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