Lehigh University’s wrestling team leads after the first day of the EIWA Championships at Bender Arena in Washington. Five wrestlers from Lehigh advanced to Saturday’s finals and have secured places at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland. The Mountain Hawks scored 123.5 points, putting them ahead of Bucknell (112), Navy (101), Army West Point (90), and Drexel (84).
The five Lehigh finalists are Sheldon Seymour (125 pounds), Luke Stanich (141), Logan Rozynski (157), Max Brignola (165), and Nathan Taylor (285). Seymour is aiming for his second consecutive title at 125 pounds, having won both of his matches on Friday by technical fall. He will face Navy’s Andrew Binni in the final.
Stanich, who won the 125-pound championship last year, achieved two major decision victories on Friday and will meet Navy’s Caedyn Ricciardi in the finals. Rozynski is also seeking a repeat title at 157 pounds after defeating Cade Wirnsberger from Bucknell and pinning Joseph Antonio from Army in under two minutes. He will compete against Yannis Charles from Morgan State.
Brignola reached his first EIWA final with wins over Franklin & Marshall’s Josh Palmucci and Drexel’s Cody Walsh. His opponent in the final will be Noah Mulvaney from Bucknell. Taylor, making his third appearance in an EIWA final, pinned Bucknell’s Logan Shephard in just 47 seconds during the quarterfinals before defeating Navy’s Spencer Lanosga to advance to face Drexel’s Nate Schon.
Other Lehigh wrestlers remain active in consolation brackets or have already placed. Carter Bailey (149) and Rylan Rogers (184) are set for consolation semifinals on Saturday morning, while JT Davis (197) and Richie Grungo (174) have reached podium positions through their performances after quarterfinal losses.
First-year wrestler Ethan Smith was eliminated due to injury after defaulting his opening match at 133 pounds and medically forfeiting out of the tournament.
The EIWA Championships conclude Saturday with consolation semifinals beginning at 11 a.m., followed by finals for first, third, and fifth places starting at 2 p.m. Coverage is available via streaming video on FloWrestling.org; audio coverage of finals begins at 1:45 p.m. on FOX Sports Radio 94.7 FM/1230 AM and LVFOXSports.com.
“Swipes for Sheldon two wrap-up the tech and move into the finals!”
“Into the finals with a FALL!”
“Nate cranks the bar and half to get Lehigh’s first of the day!”