Former Becahi and current Lehigh wrestler Darian Cruz didn't get off to the start he wanted at the NCAA wrestling tournament.

But after dropping his first match he came back to win five of his next six bouts on his way to seventh place to earn All-American status as a true freshman.

"I came in ready," Cruz said. "Coach (Pat Santoro) had us all ready to wrestle. He didn't aim for us to peak at duals, or Midlands, he wanted us to peak here. He had us ready for sure. He is a great coach."

Cruz fell to Nico Megaludis in the first round 18-3 but followed that with a win over Appalachian State's Dominic Parisi 11-3. He then knocked off fourth-seeded Josh Martinez of Air Force 4-2. Next he beat 12th seed Tim Lambert of Nebraska 7-4 which was followed by a 3-2 overtime victory over 10th-seeded David Terao of American University.

Unfortunately, Cruz would lose to 16th-seeded Joey Dance of Virginia Tech, but he would win his seventh place match against Iowa State's Earl Hall in a 2-1 overtime win.

The road was never easy for Cruz this season though, and he got off to a slow start.

"At the beginning of the year, I had no confidence," Cruz said. "I lost my first wrestle off, I just didn't think I belonged. Coach really did a great job of getting me through that. By the time we got here, I thought I could be an All-American. I had open expectations, but thought I could."

The plan next season was for Cruz to redshirt, but his performance at the NCAA tournament may open the door for a different direction.

"The plan was for me to redshirt next year," Cruz said. "With Scotty Parker coming in, I was supposed to, but I might have changed coach's mind this weekend. Whatever he wants me to do, he is an unbelievable coach. I knew him from church even before he started recruiting me. He doesn't treat you like a number, he really cares about you. I know he will do whatever we need to do."