2/14/26
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College men's wrestling secured a Region XIX championship, two individual champions, and eight national qualifiers at Saturday's 2026 NJCAA Gulf Atlantic District Championships, taking place inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium.
 
The Falcons had two grapplers earn championships at 184 lbs. and 285 lbs. Jeremiah Diaz (Wyomissing, PA) took home first-place at 184, going 3-0 on the day. He started with a 12-6 decision over Sundiata Chavis from Garrett College, then earned a fall midway through the second period against Max Adelizzi from RCSJ Gloucester in the semi-final to reach the championship bout. In the final, Diaz defeated Jesse Huelbig from Sussex County CC by major decision, 13-3, using early takedowns to build a big lead and coasting to the victory from there.
 
Meanwhile, Brodie Daugherty (Manheim, PA) remained unbeaten, winning a pair of matches at 285 lbs. by fall to win the championship. Daugherty, the top-seed, received a bye into the semis, where he faced off against Garrett Gayle from Camden County. Daugherty dispatched Gayle with a fall at 3:25 into the second period. In the final, he faced off against Elijah Boston from Garrett College. Daugherty built a 9-2 lead after the first period, fought off for an escape to start the second period, then bull-rushed the bigger Boston to earn one final takedown, before pinning his shoulders down at 3:24 for the championship. Daugherty is now 21-0, the first time a Lackawanna wrestler has gone unbeaten leading into the national championship tournament.
 
Elsewhere, Lackawanna earned three second-place finishes, as Spencer Crawley (Bloomfield, NJ), Connor Ondek (Scranton, PA), and Richard Leslie (Peckville, PA) each reached the championship bouts at 125, 157, and 165 lbs.
 
Crawley picked up a decision over Chirs Klub from Camden, then a fall at 2:47 against Elijah England from Andrew College, to make the final. Against Garrett's Nicholas Anderson, Crawley fell behind 3-1 after the first period, but Anderson earned a quick escape in the second, then scored a takedown that led to a pin at 4:01.
 
Ondek used a 25-10 technical fall to open his day, then won his semi-final with a 14-6 major decision over Kevin Castellon from Bergen to reach the championship bout against top-seed Cameron Cannaday from Garrett. Cannaday led 6-3 after the second period, escaped early in the third and scored a takedown that turned into a pin at 6:12 to secure the championship.
 
Leslie earned a fall at 2:33 to start his day against Michael Gim from Bergen, then took a 7-4 decision in the semi-final over Chris Gomez from Union to reach the championship round against Riley Brewer from Andrew College. Brewer took a 7-0 lead after one period and then held that through into the third. Leslie kept fighting to escape Brewer's control, eventually reversing control with 23 seconds to go, but Brewer quickly countered just before the end to pull out the 10-2 major decision.
 
Matt Gashi-Brito (Fairfax, VA) went 3-1 on the day, overcoming an initial loss to start the tournament and finish third at 149 lbs. Gashi-Brito fell 19-6 to Noah Obinna from Garrett in the first round, a stunning loss to send him to the consolation bracket. There, Gashi-Brito picked up a win by fall at 1:52 over Conner Beck from Thaddeus Stevens, then a 16-6 major decision over Charles Perrin from RCSJ Gloucester. In the third-place match, Gashi-Brito used a takedown midway through the first period to stun Thawbaan As-Sidiq from Andrew College and pick up a victory by fall at 1:45.
 
Luke Evans (Clarks Summit, PA) went 2-2 to finish fifth at 141 lbs., while Malik Nelson (Bloomfield, NJ) and Adan Salazar (Scranton, PA) each finished sixth at 174 lbs. and 197 lbs., respectively.
 
Overall, Garrett College won the team competition with 160 points, earning two champions and three second-place finishes. Andrew College finished second at 155 team points, earning three champions. Lackawanna College finished third with 141.5 points, with two champions and three second-place finishes. Lackawanna, as the highest-placing Region XIX squad, was named as the Region XIX champion, while head coach John Fox was named as the Region XIX Coach of the Year. Daugherty was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.
 
In all, 57 wrestlers qualified for the national tournament. For Lackawanna, eight different wrestlers were named as qualifiers: Crawley (125), Evans (141), Gashi-Brito (149), Ondek (157), Leslie (165), Diaz (184), Salazar (197), and Daugherty (285). The NJCAA Men's Wrestling Championship is set for March 6^th and 7^th at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
 
Full Team Results
1^st – Garrett College (160) ***Gulf Atlantic District Champion***
2^nd – Andrew College (155)
3^rd – Lackawanna College (141.5) ***Region XIX Champion***
4^th – Camden County (111)
5^th – Union College (86.5)
6^th – Bergen CC (73)
7^th – RCSJ Gloucester (71.5)
8^th – Thaddeus Stevens (47)
9^th – Sussex County CC (45)
10^th – Northampton CC (40)
11^th – Penn Highlands CC (28)
 
Full Lackawanna Individual Results
(125) Qtrs. – Spencer Crawley (LC) def. Chris Kulb (Camden) via decision (10-7)
(125) Semis – Spencer Crawley (LC) def. Elijah England (Andrew) via fall (2:47)
(125) Final – Nicholas Anderson (Garrett) def. Spencer Crawley (LC) via fall (4:01)
(141) Qtrs. – Luke Evans (LC) def. Stephen Dmytryk (RCSJG) via tech. fall (15-0)
(141) Semis – Clint Gilbert (Andrew) def. Luke Evans (LC) via fall (1:12)
(141) Consi Semis – Dante Gismondi (Camden) def. Luke Evans (LC) via decision (7-6)
(141) 5^th Place – Luke Evans (LC) def. Stephen Dmytryk (RCSJG) via fall (1:46)
(149) Qtrs. – Noah Obinna (Garrett) def. Matt Gashi-Brito (LC) via major dec. (19-6)
(149) Consi 4 – Matt Gashi-Brito (LC) def. Connor Beck (Thaddeus) via fall (1:52)
(149) Consi Semis – Matt Gashi-Brito (LC) def. Charles Perrin (RCSJG) via major dec. (16-6)
(149) 3^rd Place – Matt Gashi-Brito (LC) def. Thawbaan As-Sidiq (Andrew) via fall (1:45)
(157) Qtrs. – Connor Ondek (LC) def. Zackaryus Guzman (Union) via tech. fall (25-10)
(157) Semis – Connor Ondek (LC) def. Kevin Castellon (Bergen) via major dec. (14-6)
(157) Final – Cameron Cannaday (Garrett) def. Connor Ondek (LC) via fall (6:12)
(165) Qtrs. – Richard Leslie (LC) def. Michael Gim (Bergen) via fall (2:33)
(165) Semis – Richard Leslie (LC) def. Chris Gomez (Union) via decision (7-4)
(165) Final – Riley Brewer (Andrew) def. Richard Leslie (LC) via major decision (10-2)
(174) Qtrs. – Malik Nelson (LC) def. Andrew Geisenhiemer (Camden) via fall (2:00)
(174) Semis – Kolin Sullivan (Garrett) def. Malik Nelson (LC) via fall (2:51)
(174) Consi Semis – Clayton Brown (Andrew) def. Malik Nelson (LC) via decision (4-1)
(174) 5^th Place – Andrew Geisenhiemer (Camden) def. Malik Nelson (LC) via medical forfeit
(184) Qtrs. – Jeremiah Diaz (LC) def. Sundiata Chavis (Garrett) via decision (12-6)
(184) Semis – Jeremiah Diaz (LC) def. Max Adelizzi (RCSJG) via fall (3:52)
(184) Final – Jeremiah Diaz (LC) def. Jesse Huelbig (Sussex) via major decision (13-3)
(197) Qtrs. – Kai Argyros (Bergen) def. Adan Salazar (LC) via tech. fall (17-2)
(197) Consi 4 – Adan Salazar (LC) def. Milan Nikolin (Sussex) via decision (21-19)
(197) Consi Semis – Liam Debaugh (Garrett) def. Adan Salazar (LC) via fall (1:39)
(197) 5^th Place – Alex Christ (Penn Highlands) def. Adan Salazar (LC) via fall (1:41)
(285) Semis – Brodie Daugherty (LC) def. Garrett Gayle (Camden) via fall (3:25)
(285) Final – Brodie Daugherty (LC) def. Elijah Boston (Garrett) via fall (3:24)