2/22/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College wrestling earned five national qualifiers and a pair of second place finishes at the Gulf Atlantic District Championships on a grueling Saturday inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium.
 
Wrestlers John Koroma (Woodbridge, VA) and Connor Ondek (Scranton, PA) each earned second-place finishes, Matt Gashi-Brito (Fairfax, VA) finished fourth, and both Edward Lauritsen (Brodheadsville, PA) and Adan Salazar (Scranton, PA) earned fifth place finishes to guarantee their spots in the national tournament.
 
At 174 lbs., Koroma came in as the defending champion, and easily dispatched his first opponent from Union College in a breezy 18-3 technical fall win. In the semifinals, Koroma had to work hard to hold off the challenger from Sussex County CC in a 5-2 decision, clinching his spot in the final. In the 174 lbs. Championship bout, Koroma ran up against Johnathan Braun from Middlesex College. Braun scored an early takedown in the first period to gain control, and he managed to keep Koroma from scoring the rest of the way, picking up points on an escape and a stalling call in the second period to knock off the defending champ in a 5-0 decision.
 
Meanwhile, at 157 lbs., Ondek picked up a pair of fall victories on his way to the championship match, where he faced off against Riley Brewer from Andrew College. Brewer came out firing, scoring an early takedown 30 seconds in and keeping the offense up throughout. Ondek, down 13-0, reversed to get on the board and gain control at 1:51, but Brewer got a point for an escape, then clinched the technical fall with a takedown to make it 17-2.
 
Gashi-Brito won his first bout at 141 lbs., earning a fall at 2:11 in the first period to advance to the semis. Gashi-Brito faced Joshua Baeza from Union in the semifinal round, and the bout lived up to the hype. Both Baeza and Gashi-Brito scored eight points through the first period, and things were tied at ten going into the third period. The difference in the match was that Baeza, who went on to win the championship, earned a reversal early in the period, then scored a near fall late to secure the 14-10 decision, sending Gashi-Brito to the consolation bracket.
 
In the consys, Gashi-Brito got back on track with a win by fall in the third period against Michael Walls from Camden County, pinning his opponent at 5:43 to get to the third-place match. Gashi-Brito faced Clint Gilbert from Andrew College in the third-place bout, And Gilbert managed to pin Gashi-Brito with a late takedown in the first round.
 
Lauritsen wrestled himself into the semis at 125 lbs., earning a major decision in his opening round win against an opponent from Thaddeus Stevens. Facing Lucas Stinger from Camden, Lauritsen knew he'd be up against it, and the eventual champion Stinger managed to get the fall with seven seconds remaining in the first period to send Lauritsen to the consolation bracket. There, Lauritsen ran into Corey Dye from Andrew, who earned the technical fall at 20-4 with time winding down in the third period. Lauritsen earned the fifth-place win when his opponent from RCSJ Gloucester had to medically forfeit.
 
At 197 lbs., Salazar won his first match in a 14-6 major decision to make the semi-finals. Facing eventual champion Anthony Evangelista, Salazar fell victim to a quick pin at 1:14 to fall to the consy bracket. Ryan Flammer from Sussex beat Salzar with a fall at 2:24 to send him to the fifth-place contest, and that's where Adam finally got back on track. Facing David Quintanilla from Union for the second time during the tournament, Salazar hopped out to a 6-2 lead after one, and a 10-2 advantage heading into the third. Quintanilla earned a takedown with a minute to go, but Salazar quickly got out, scored a takedown just 12 seconds later, and turned that into a pin at 6:35 to clinch fifth.
 
Lackawanna's John Almonte (Scranton, PA) competed at 149 lbs., dropping a pair of matches by fall.
 
Andrew College out of Georgia earned the overall team Gulf Atlantic District championship, scoring 165 team points and earning three champions and three third-place finishes. Camden County College was crowned the Region XIX champion, scoring 146 points, the most of any region team. Camden had three champions, one second-place finish, and two third-place finishers. Sussex earned region runner-up, and Lackawanna finished fifth overall, scoring 67 team points.
 
In all, the Falcons will send five wrestlers to the national tournament in two weeks. Koroma and Lauritsen were national qualifiers a year ago, and both will make a return trip to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Gashi-Brito and Ondek will make their first appearances, and Salzar earned a wild card spot at 197 lbs. to also make his debut in two weeks.
 
The full results for the tournament are linked HERE.

The full results for Lackawanna College are below:
 
(125) – Edward Lauritsen (LC) def. Gavin Renard (Thaddeus) via major decision (17-4)
(125) – Lucas Stinger (Camden) def. Edward Lauritsen (LC) via fall (2:53)
(125) – Corey Dye (Andrew College) def. Edward Lauritsen (LC) via tech. fall (20-4)
(125) – Edward Lauritsen (LC) def. Dominic DeMarzo (Gloucester) via medical forfeit
(141) – Matt Gashi-Brito (LC) def. Nick Bradbury (Thaddeus) via fall (2:11)
(141) – Joshua Baeza (Union) def. Matt Gashi-Brito (LC) via decision (14-10)
(141) – Matt Gashi-Brito (LC) def. Michael Walls (Camden) via fall (5:43)
(141) – Clint Gilbert (Andrew) def. Matt Gashi-Brito (LC) via fall (2:47)
(149) – Jayden Draper (Andrew) def. John Almonte (LC) by fall (1:21)
(149)- Braulio Villafana (Union) def. John Almonte (LC) by fall (1:05)
(157) – Connor Ondek (LC) def. Anthony Caruso (Bergen) by fall (1:16)
(157) – Connor Ondek (LC) def. Christian Ramos (Union) by fall (4:38)
(157) – Riley Brewer (Andrew) def. Connor Ondek (LC) by tech. fall (17-2)
(174) – John Koroma (LC) def. Vito Giannetta (Union) by tech. fall (18-3)
(174) – John Koroma (LC) def. Mason Mericle (Sussex) by decision (5-2)
(174) – Johnathan Braun (Middlesex) def. John Koroma (LC) by decision (5-0)
(197) – Adan Salazar (LC) def. David Quintanilla (Union) by major decision (14-6)
(197) – Anthony Evangelista (Camden) def. Adan Salazar (LC) via fall (1:14)
(197) – Ryan Flammer (Sussex) def. Adan Salazar (LC) via fall (2:24)
(197) – Adan Salazar (LC) def. David Quintanilla (Union) via fall (6:35)