3/7/25
 
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA – The Lackawanna College wrestling squad's season ended on Friday morning, as the Falcons were eliminated from the 2025 NJCAA National Wrestling Championships inside the Mid-America Center in western Iowa.
 
The Falcons had five wrestlers competing in the national tournament, but it was only John Koroma (Woodbridge, VA) who managed to get a victory through the course of the first few rounds of the tournament. Koroma, wrestling at 174 lbs., picked up a 6-2 decision in his preliminary round match against a competitor from Southwestern Michigan CC. In his first-round contest, Koroma faced off against Trystian Juarez from Pratt. Juarez was in control, up 7-1, heading into the third period. Needing to make a move, Koroma managed to score a takedown with just over a minute to go, but Juarez quickly reversed it and scored a pin with 55 seconds remaining. Koroma faced Hunter Gonzalez of North Idaho in the consolation round, who scored a takedown and a near fall just over a minute into the first round before eventually pinning Koroma at 1:50 to end John's national tournament.
 
Elsewhere, Matt Gashi-Brito (Fairfax, VA) fell by technical fall, 24-5, to Gavyn Whitehead from Indian Hills at 141 lbs. In the consolation bracket, Gashi-Brito faced a foe he squared off with in the Gulf Atlantic tournament two weeks ago, Clint Gilbert from Andrew College. Gilbert won via major decision in the consolation, 16-4, to eliminate Gashi-Brito.
 
At 157 lbs., Connor Ondek (Scranton, PA) came in as the 15^th seed and faced an opponent from Henry Ford in the first round. Ondek led his opponent 7-1 early through the first round, but an escape and a takedown brought things closer at 7-5. Eventually, early in the second period, Ondek lost by fall at 3:40, kicking him down to the consolation bracket. Once there, Ondek faced Treyson Davila from Northwest, who ended Ondek's tournament by fall at 2:15 in the first period.
 
At 125 lbs., Edward Lauritsen (Brodheadsville, PA) dropped his pair of matches, falling to an opponent from Muskegon in the first round, and then dropping by fall to Nicolas Garza from Umpqua at 4:02 in the consolation bracket.
 
At 197 lbs., Adan Salazar (Scranton, PA) fell by fall in his two matches, dropping to an opponent from Northeast Oklahoma A&M in the preliminaries, and then to an opponent from Trinidad State in the consolation bracket.
 
The Falcons end the 2024-2025 season with five national qualifiers, including a pair finishing second in their district championship matches. It's the third straight year where Lackawanna College had five or more national qualifiers.
 
The full results involving Lackawanna College wrestlers are below:
 
Championship 1^st Rd. 125 – Jack Guerrero (Muskegon) def. Edward Lauritsen (LC) via fall (1:04)
Consolation R16 125 – Nicolas Garza (Umpqua) def. Edward Lauritsen (LC) via fall (4:02)
Championship Prelim. 141 – Gavyn Whitehead (Indian Hills) def. Matt Gashi-Brito (LC) via tech. fall (24-5)
Consolation R32 141 –Clint Gilbert (Andrew) def. Matt Gashi-Brito (LC) via major dec. (16-4)
Championship 1^st Rd. 157 – Alex Messing (Henry Ford) def. Connor Ondek (LC) via fall (3:40)
Consolation R32 157 –Treyson Davila (Northwest) def. Connor Ondek (LC) via fall (2:15)
Championship Prelim. 174 – John Koroma (LC) def. Riley Hess (SW Michigan) via decision (6-2)
Championship 1^st Rd. 174 – Trystian Juarez (Pratt) def. John Koroma (LC) via fall (6:02)
Consolation R32 174 –Hunter Gonzalez (North Idaho) def. John Koroma (LC) via fall (1:50)
Championship Prelim. 197 – Samuel Murphy (NEO) def. Adan Salazar (LC) via fall (1:05)
Consolation R32 197 – Marcel Gordon (Trinidad State) def. Adan Salazar (LC) via fall (2:50)