3/5/26
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – An historic season for both Lackawanna College men's and women's wrestling now comes to its climax, as both squads have made their way to Council Bluffs, Iowa to compete in both the NJCAA Men's Wrestling Championships and the NJCAA Women's Wrestling Invitational, happening simultaneously this weekend inside the Mid-America Center on Friday March 6^th and Saturday March 7^th.
 
The Falcons are sending eight national qualifiers on the men's side, including two district champions in Jeremiah Diaz (Wyomissing, PA) and Brodie Daugherty (Manheim, PA), and five participants on the women's side this weekend. Lackawanna is in search of a chance at national prominence.
 
On the men's side, Daugherty is the highest-ranked wrestler for Lackawanna heading into the tournament in the program's history, earning the #8 seed at 285 lbs. Daugherty (21-0) was unbeaten this season, winning 14 matches by fall, and won the Gulf Atlantic District Championship at 285 lbs. for the Falcons a few weeks ago. His first opponent on Friday will be Kolby Scott from host-school Iowa Western. Scott finished fourth at 285 lbs. in the highly competitive North District Championships. According to FloWrestling, Scott is 11-15 overall this season. A win would send either wrestler to the round of 16, against the winner of Ryan Escamilla from Northeastern JC and ninth-seed Ray Griffin of North Idaho. Top-ranked Zamar Anwar from Iowa Central looms in a potential quarterfinal match-up.
 
At 184, Gulf Atlantic District champion Diaz is ranked eleventh in the field. Diaz (9-3) won the Gulf Atlantic District title by going 3-0 on the weekend, including winning the championship bout by major decision. All his matches have occurred after the new year, so he did not participate when the Falcons went to Niagara for the Thunderwolves Open back in December. That is a key stat, as his first bout of the weekend will come against Bobby Ranger from SUNY Niagara. Ranger competed that weekend at 197, but was the champion at 184 for the Northeast District tournament last month, where Niagara won the team championship. The Thunderwolves placed six champions, with Ranger winning at 184. Ranger's only match against Lackawanna this season was a 20-6 win at 197 lbs. during the Thunderwolves Open, where he finished fourth. A win for Diaz would place him against the winner of Isaiah Flores of Bryant & Stratton vs. six-seed Jack Doughty from Southeastern Nebraska.
 
At 165 lbs., Richard Leslie (Peckville, PA) earned a 13-seed for the Falcons. Leslie (13-6) finished as the runner-up in the Gulf Atlantic District, but still earned enough respect nationally for the seed. He has five wins by fall this season. His opponent is Logan Straub from North Iowa Area CC. Straub finished third at 165 at the North Central District tournament. He's got eight wins in the rough-and-tumble district, earning three fall victories this year. A win puts Leslie into the next round against unseeded Waleed Khairi from Northern Oklahoma.
 
Those three grapplers plus Spencer Crawley (Bloomfield, NJ) and Luke Evans (Clarks Summit, PA) means there will be five total Falcons making their national tournament debuts. Crawley qualified at 125 lbs., going 9-11 overall this season and finishing second in the Gulf Atlantic District tournament a few weekends ago. Crawley will have a tall task, taking on three-seed Colt Collett from Cowley College in his opening bout. Collett won the South Central district title at 125, helping the Tigers capture their first-ever district championship and earn a #6 national ranking. Collett holds an impressive 37-5 record this season, according to FloWrestling.
 
Evans is unseeded at 141 lbs., after finishing fifth at the Gulf Atlantic District tournament a few weeks ago. Evans (10-6) was 2-2 on the weekend, picking up a win by fall in the fifth-place match to clinch his spot. His opponent is ten-seed Tyler Misenheimer from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, who finished second at the South Central District tournament at 141 lbs. A win for Leslie would match him up against either Michael Boyhan from Onondaga or seven-seed Hudson Palmer from Iowa Western CC.
 
The three remaining Lackawanna competitors are back for their second trips, and all are hoping their fortunes fare much better this time around. At 149 lbs., Matt Gashi-Brito (Fairfax, VA) comes into the tournament unseeded. Gashi-Brito (21-8) has 17 wins by fall and was 3-1 at the Gulf Atlantic District tournament, dropping his first bout before going on a tear to win three in a row and pick up third-place. Gashi-Brito was 0-2 last year at the national tournament, and will open this year's edition with a bout against ten-seed Aiden Gillings of SUNY Niagara. Gashi-Brito did not face Gillings when he competed at the Thunderwolves Open, but Gashi-Brito went 5-1, winning five matches in a row to capture a third-place finish. Gillings did not compete at that tournament. A win for Gashi-Brito would match him up with Christopher Frost of Southwestern Oregon.
 
Connor Ondek (Scranton, PA) is also back to Iowa for a second go-round. Ondek (12-6) finished second at the Gulf Atlantic district tournament. He has five wins by fall this season, but was 0-2 in his last trip out west. Ondek is unseeded and his first opponent this year is five-seed Matthew Leehan from SUNY Niagara. Leehan is 19-1 overall and is the Northeast District champion at 157 lbs. He won the Thunderwolves Open earlier this season, where Ondek was 3-2 and finished one spot shy of placing. The winner faces Kadence Roop of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in the next round.
 
At 197 lbs., Adan Salazar (Scranton, PA) will round out the men's side, returning to Iowa for a second-straight season. Adan had four wins this past season and was a wild-card selection for the Falcons at 197 lbs. Adan was 0-2 last year at the national tournament, and he has a tough match-up out of the gate, taking on three-seed Andrew Marquez out of Indian Hills. Marquez is the defending national champion and an All-American at 197 lbs. from last season. He finished second at the North Central District tournament, the second-straight year where he finished second in districts. The winner will take on Race Moxley from Northwest in the next round.
 
On the women's side, the Falcons are sending five wrestlers to compete, with two student-athletes at 124 lbs., two at 180 lbs., and one at 145 lbs.
 
At 124 lbs., both Skylar Benninger (Palmyra, PA) and Mary Henry (Gillett, PA) will represent Lackawanna College. Benninger had four wins this season, winning all four by fall. She'll take on top-seed Gabriela Avila Diaz from Indian Hills CC. Diaz is a top-ranked first-year wrestler from Puerto Rico and is a part of the multi-time national champion Indiana Hills program. Henry (11-11) has six wins by fall this season and is on the other side of the bracket. Her first bout is against unranked Diana Burnell from Southwestern Oregon. Burnell is a part of a Southwestern Oregon program that has been in competition since 2018 and is based in Coos Bay, Oregon, a stone's throw from the Pacific Ocean. A win for either wrestler more than likely earns a next-round bout against two-seed Jeream Estabilio from Iowa Central CC.
 
At 145 lbs., Haylee Fessler (Lansford, PA) will represent the Falcons. Fessler (11-12) has nine wins by fall this season. Her opponent is Evelina Juzenaite from Umpqua CC in Roseburg, Oregon. Juzenaite is a first-year wrestler out of Las Vegas. A win would push her to the next round to face unseeded Chantell Nofffsinger out of Southwestern Oregon.
 
Finally, the two wrestlers competing at 180 lbs. for the Falcons are Hailey Schumaker (Center Valley, PA) and Michelle Pastuizaca (Nanticoke, PA). Schumaker (9-10) has four wins by fall this season and has a bye into the next round, but will more than likely face the top-seed out of Iowa Lakes, Keyahna Phillips. Phillips is a returning All-American and is the top-ranked wrestler at 180 lbs. according to The Open Mat. Phillips must contend with June Highburger from Southwestern Oregon in her first-round bout. Meanwhile, Pastuizaca (13-10), with 12 victories by fall, will take on seven-seed Isabella Sosa from Umpqua CC. Sosa is currently ranked #6 in the Top Open Mat rankings. A win for Pastuizaca would match her up with Lydia Rigby from Fort Hays Tech Northwest out of Kansas.
 
The wrestling gets underway from the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, IA on Friday, March 6^th, at 10:00am ET (9:00am CT) with the preliminary rounds through the Consolation and Championship quarterfinals, all on 12 mats. On Saturday, March 7^th, action picks back up at 10:30am ET (9:30am CT) with the Championship and Consolation semi-finals, followed by the Consolation Finals. After a break in the afternoon, the Opening Ceremonies will start at 6:30pm ET (5:30pm CT), followed by the Parade of All-Americans, and then the championship bouts at 7:00pm ET (6:00pm CT). All the tournament information can be found on the NJCAA website, linked HERE.
 
If you're not in Iowa to see the matches live, you can watch and follow along via the NJCAA Network, linked HERE. You can also follow the live bracket updates from every bout, both men's and women's, via FloWrestling, linked HERE.