3/6/26
 
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – The heavyweight brought the early firepower, the women made history, and Lackawanna College men's and women's wrestling competed at the first day of the NJCAA Men's Wrestling Championships and the NJCAA Women's Wrestling Invitational at the Mid-America Center all day on Friday.
 
The Falcons didn't have a ton of success to speak of on either side of the ledger, but the few wins came from the usual suspects for Lackawanna College, with both Brodie Daugherty (Manheim, PA) and Jeremiah Diaz (Wyomissing, PA) picking up wins in the first and second rounds.
 
Daugherty was seeded eighth and came into the tourney unbeaten at 285 lbs. Daugherty was dominant in his opening bout, taking down Kolby Scott from Iowa Western CC with a fall at 3:21. In his round of 16 bout, Daugherty built a big lead against Ray Griffin from North Idaho, leading 11-4 through the first period. Griffin scored four points via an escape and takedown to get within 11-8, but Daugherty reclaimed control with a reversal and a nearfall to go up 15-8. Griffin hit a flurry late, earning an escape and a takedown to get within 15-12, but Daugherty won with an extra point via riding time for the decision to reach the quarterfinal. There, he faced top-seed Zaman Anwar from Iowa Central CC. Anwar used his size advantage and pushed around Daugherty, taking a 4-0 lead after the first period and quickly building an insurmountable lead that eventually went to 18-2 via tech fall in the third period. In his consolation bracket match, Daugherty was matched up with Mark Marin from Clackamas, the ten-seed who won his first match, dropped his next, and then won two-straight consolation bouts to reach that point. Daugherty held a 6-4 lead early in the second period, but Marin escaped and hit a takedown to go ahead 8-6 heading into the third. Marin scored an escape and takedown to get up 12-6, then earned a two-point nearfall near the end of the bout to end Daugherty's run via a 14-6 major decision.
 
At 184 lbs., Diaz entered as an eleven-seed and picked up a win by fall in 1:20 over his opponent from SUNY Niagara. In the round of 16, Diaz ran up against six-seed Jack Doughty from Southeast Nebraska. Diaz was taken down 18 seconds into the match, earned a quick escape, then went down again 42 seconds in, eventually dropping via a fall at 2:06. In his consolation bout, Diaz faced Deangelo Sardina from Rochester, and grabbed an initial lead via takedown 18 seconds in. However, a bizarre escape attempt seemed to injure Diaz's leg. Try as he might, including picking up a three-point near fall, Diaz's injury kept nagging him, to the point where, after a takedown 15 seconds into the second period, he was forced to forfeit and finish his run.
 
At 165 lbs., Richard Leslie (Peckville, PA) was in a tough back-and-forth bout with Logan Straub from Northern Iowa Area CC, tied late at 3-3 into the dying moments of the third period, but Leslie got caught on a move and succumbed via fall with four seconds remaining. In the consolation, Leslie picked up a win over James Morgan from Ridgewater via fall, but then lost to Braxton McAvey from Fort Hays Tech in the next round via fall.
 
At 149 lbs., Matt Gashi-Brito (Fairfax, VA) fell via fall to Aiden Gillings from Niagara via fall at 5:41 in his first bout, dropping to the consolation bracket. Gashi-Brito bounced back with a big win against William Penn from Iowa Lakes, earning the fall at 3:23 to advance to the next round of consolations against Noah Obinna from Garrett College. Obinna, who upset Gashi-Brito in the region tournament three weeks earlier, built a large lead against him, leading 16-2 into the third period before winning via fall and ending Gashi-Brito's run.
 
Spencer Crawley (Bloomfield, NJ) went 0-2 in his pair of matches. Against Colt Collett from Cowley, Crawley fell behind 8-1 before earning an escape and a takedown to get back within 8-5, but Collett reversed control for two points, then earned another reversal early in the third period that eventually turned into a fall at 6:19. In his consolation bout, Crawley battled in a barnburner with Dylan Eimer from Triton. After leading 7-3 after two periods, things went haywire, as two swift takedowns made it 9-9. Another escape gave Crawley a 10-9 lead, and, just as the clock hit zero, the officials awarded Eimer a late takedown, which overrode the point for riding time that Crawley picked up, meaning he fell 12-11 at the buzzer.
 
Elsewhere at 141 lbs., Luke Evans (Clarks Summit, PA) fell via fall in his opening match against Tyler Misenheimer from Northern Oklahoma A&M via fall. In his consolation bout, he held an early 3-0 lead over Ryker Maestas from Snow College, but Maestas earned a nearfall near the midway point of the second period, eventually turning it into a fall at 4:45. At 157 lbs., Connor Ondek (Scranton, PA) fell in his opening match to Matthew Leehan from Niagara, picking up an injury that forced him to forfeit in his consolation match. At 197 lbs., Adan Salazar (Scranton, PA) took on the top-ranked Andrew Marquez from Indian Hills in his first bout, falling just at the end of the first period. In the consolation bracket, Salazar battled against Jiraiya Fonseca from Ellsworth CC, tying things up at 3-3 after the first period. A takedown for Fonseca made it 6-3 heading into the third, and Fonseca eventually got an escape and then a takedown with a minute to go, turning it into a fall at 6:04.
 
On the women's side, Mary Henry (Gillett, PA) made history and won the first match for Lackawanna College women's wrestling at the national tournament, taking down Esther Bowman from Andrew College via fall at 37 seconds in her first consolation match-up. Henry finished 1-2 on the day at 124 lbs. Fellow grappler Skylar Benninger (Palmyra, PA) went 0-2 in her pair of bouts, falling at 49 seconds in the first round of her opener to Gabriela Avila Diaz from Indian Hills, and then dropping in a fall at 2:34 to Chloe Sokolik from Hawkeye in her consolation match.
 
At 145 lbs., Haylee Fessler (Lansford, PA) fell via tech. fall at 10-0 to Evelina Juzenaite from Umpqua CC, and was trailing 9-2 in the second period to Avery Hoffmeyer from Iowa Lakes before she hit a flurry of takedowns to get within a point, falling just short with a 9-8 decision loss.
 
At 180 lbs., both Michelle Pastuizaca (Nanticoke, PA) and Hailey Schumaker (Center Valley, PA) went 0-2. Schumaker dropped to top-ranked Keyahna Phillips from Iowa Lakes in the first-round bout, then dropped via tech. fall to Praizh Suggs from Iowa Central CC in her consolation bracket. Pastuizaca fell in her first-round bout to Isabella Sosa from Umpqua by fall in 41 seconds. In her consolation bracket bout, Pastuizaca earned an early takedown of her opponent Jenna Small from Hawkeye, but Small earned three quick points and then won via fall at 1:21 to knock off Pastuizaca.
 
With those results, the 2025-2026 seasons for Lackawanna College men's and women's wrestling squads has officially ended. The Falcons earned a Region XIX championship, had an undefeated wrestler in Brodie Daugherty going into the national tournament, and the women's team made history with its first full season as a team. The foundation is built and set for the future of both programs as Lackawanna College transitions to become a four-year institution and applies for membership in NCAA Division II and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.
 
NJCAA Men's Wrestling Championship Results For Lackawanna College
(125) Round of 32 – Colt Collett (Cowley) def. Spencer Crawley (LC) via fall (6:19)
(125) Consi of 16 – Dylan Eimer (Triton) def. Spencer Crawley (LC) via decision (12-11)
(141) Round of 32 – Tyler Misenheimer (NOK) def. Luke Evans (LC) via fall (1:02)
(141) Consi of 32 – Ryker Maestas (Snow) def. Luke Evans (LC) via fall (4:45)
(149) Round of 64 – Aiden Gillings (Niagara) def. Matt Gashi-Brito (LC) via fall (5:41)
(149) Consi of 32 – Matt Gashi-Brito (LC) def. William Penn (IA Lakes) via fall (3:23)
(149) Consi of 16 – Noah Obinna (Garrett) def. Matt Gashi-Brito (LC) via fall (5:14)
(157) Round of 64 – Matthew Leehan (Niagara) def. Connor Ondek (LC) via fall (1:43)
(157) Consi of 32 – Kalvin LaPlant (Labette) def. Connor Ondek (LC) via medical forfeit
(165) Round of 64 – Logan Straub (NIACC) def. Richard Leslie (LC) via fall (6:56)
(165) Consi of 32 – Richard Leslie (LC) def. James Morgan (Ridgewater) via fall (2:01)
(165) Consi of 16 – Braxton McAvey (Fort Hays Tech) def. Richard Leslie (LC) via fall (4:40)
(184) Round of 32 – Jeremiah Diaz (LC) def. Bobby Ranger (Niagara) via fall (1:20)
(184) Round of 16 – Jack Doughty (SE Neb.) def. Jeremiah Diaz (LC) via fall (2:06)
(184) Consi of 16 – Deangelo Sardina (Rochester) def. Jeremiah Diaz (LC) via medical DQ
(197) Round of 64 – Andrew Marquez (Indian Hills) def. Adan Salazar (LC) via fall (3:00)
(197) Consi of 32 – Jiraiya Fonseca (Ellsworth) def. Adan Salazar (LC) via fall (6:04)
(285) Round of 32 – Brodie Daugherty (LC) def. Kolby Scott (Iowa Western) via fall (3:21)
(285) Round of 16 – Brodie Daugherty (LC) def. Ray Griffin (North Idaho) via decision (16-12)
(285) Quarterfinal – Zaman Anwar (Iowa Central) def. Brodie Daugherty (LC) via tech. fall (18-2)
(285) Consi of 8 – Mark Marin (Clackamas) def. Brodie Daugherty (LC) via major dec. (14-6)
 
NJCAA Women's Wrestling Invitational Results For Lackawanna College
(124) Round of 32 – Gabriela Avila Diaz (Indian Hills) def. Skylar Benninger (LC) via fall (0:49)
(124) Consi of 16 – Chloe Sokolik (Hawkeye) def. Skylar Benninger (LC) via fall (2:34)
(124) Round of 32 – Diana Burnell (SW Oregon) def. Mary Henry (LC) via fall (0:38)
(124) Consi of 16 #1 – Mary Henry (LC) def. Esther Bowman (Andrew) via fall (0:37)
(124) Consi of 16 #2 – Ariel Goble (Andrew) def. Mary Henry (LC) via fall (0:25)
(145) Round of 32 – Evelina Juzenaite (Umpqua) def. Haylee Fessler (LC) via tech. fall (10-0)
(145) Consi of 16 – Avery Hoffmeyer (IA Lakes) def. Haylee Fessler (LC) via decision (9-8)
(180) Round of 32 – Isabella Sosa (Umpqua) def. Michelle Pastuizaca (LC) via fall (0:41)
(180) Consi of 16 – Jenna Small (Hawkeye) def. Michelle Pastuizaca (LC) via fall (1:21)
(180) Round of 16 – Keyahna Phillips (IA Lakes) def. Hailey Schumaker (LC) via fall (0:13)
(180) Consi of 16 – Praizh Suggs (Iowa Central) def. Hailey Schumaker (LC) via tech. fall (10-0)