No. 14 Lehigh University’s wrestling team is set to compete against two long-standing in-state rivals this weekend. The Mountain Hawks will host No. 20 Pittsburgh on Friday at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall, marking their first home match of the 2025-26 season. On Sunday, they will travel to face top-ranked and four-time defending NCAA champion Penn State in University Park.
Lehigh last competed at the National Duals Invitational on November 15 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where they posted a 1-2 record. The team secured a win over Arizona State but fell to Nebraska and Illinois. Graduate student Sheldon Seymour went undefeated at 125 pounds during the event, improving his season record to 5-0. Sophomore Logan Rozynski also had a strong showing with a major decision victory over Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor, the defending NCAA champion.
Friday’s match against Pittsburgh will be Youth Night and includes a schedule magnet giveaway for fans while supplies last.
Six Lehigh wrestlers are currently ranked by InterMat, FloWrestling, and WrestleState. Five are recognized by The Open Mat, and three appear in the top ten according to Amateur Wrestling News. Graduate student Sheldon Seymour (125) and senior Max Brignola (165) hold top-ten rankings across all outlets, while sophomore Logan Rozynski is ranked at 157 by each of the five sources.
Deferred first-year Dom Federici made his dual meet debut earlier this season at Journeymen WrangleMania competing at 174 pounds. At the National Duals Invitational, true first-year Anthony Evanitsky (149) and junior Remy Brancato-Roed (197) both made their debuts as well. Brancato-Roed secured a pin against Arizona State’s Max Acciardi to clinch that dual for Lehigh.
Pittsburgh enters Friday’s contest with a 3-1 dual record this season. The Panthers’ most recent outing was a loss to Iowa on November 21. They have notched wins over Navy, Buffalo, and Princeton so far this year. Five Pitt wrestlers are nationally ranked by both InterMat and FloWrestling; Mac Stout leads them with a fifth-place ranking at 197 pounds.
The rivalry between Lehigh and Pittsburgh dates back to 1916; Friday marks their 70th meeting with Lehigh leading the series 45-22-2. However, Pitt has won five of the last six encounters.
On Sunday, Lehigh faces Penn State for the teams’ 113th meeting—their most-contested series historically. Penn State holds nine individual champions from its recent Black Knight Invitational performance and features four No.1-ranked wrestlers including Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) and Levi Haines (174). The Nittany Lions have won the last fourteen duals in this series; Lehigh’s last win came in November 2009.
Friday’s home opener begins at 7 p.m., while Sunday’s away match starts at 1 p.m.
Following these matches, Lehigh will take a break for final exams before returning December 21 for Collegiate Wrestling Duals in Nashville where they will rematch Illinois and face Iowa State.
“The Mountain Hawks began the day with a 35-7 setback to second-ranked Nebraska, then came back to defeat Arizona State 24-18 in the first round of consolations,” according to official information from Lehigh Athletics staff.
“Graduate student Sheldon Seymour went 3-0 at 125 to lead the way for the Mountain Hawks,” as reported by team representatives.
“Rozynski had one of the day’s biggest wins as he knocked off defending NCAA champion Antrell Taylor of Nebraska by a 9-1 major decision in Lehigh’s first match of the day,” said team officials.
“Lehigh won six matches against Arizona State with the victory clinched with a first-period pin from junior Remy Brancato-Roed in his dual meet debut at 197,” according to staff accounts.
“Pitt opened its season with a dual win at Navy on Nov.1 and then posted a runner-up finish at the Navy Classic the following day,” stated athletic department communications.
“Keith Gavin is in his ninth season as Pittsburgh’s head coach,” confirmed university sources.
“NCAA wrestling legend Cael Sanderson is in his seventeenth season as Penn State’s head coach,” according to press materials.
“The Nittany Lions have won the last fourteen duals in the series,” reported athletic staff members.
“The Mountain Hawks’ last dual win over the Nittany Lions was Cael Sanderson’s first dual as Penn State head coach in Nov.2009,” noted university officials.