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HOFFMAN ESTATES, Illinois – Seven members of the Lehigh wrestling team competed in the two-day Illinois Matmen Open, which ended Thursday at the NOW Arena. Four of Lehigh’s seven contestants finished in the top eight spots at the event, led by Sheldon Seymour and Nathan Taylor, who both finished fourth in their respective weight classes.
Two real first graders also placed in the top eight, with Max Brignola in fifth place with 149 and Carter Bailey in sixth place with 133. Taylor, Brignola and Bailey all competed untied.
Seymour went through 5-2 during the two-day event and won his first two fights on Wednesday at 125 before losing to eventual champion Justin Cardani of Illinois in the quarterfinals. On Thursday, Seymour won his first three bouts, including two wins in overtime and a 9-7 decision over Pitt’s Gage Curry to finish in third place, where he gave up two six-point games in a 13-5 loss Antonio Lorenzo from Cal Poly.
Taylor enjoyed a 4-2 at 285 with both setbacks against Illinois starter Luke Luffman. He won four straight bouts in the consolation round, including a major decisive win, a 6-1 win over Penn starter Ben Goldin, and a fall against Pitts Jake Slinger in the consolation semifinals.
Brignola was the only Mountain Hawk to win their final fight Thursday with an 8-5 decision over Harvard’s Lukus Stricker for fifth place. He finished the two-day tournament 4-2, reached the quarter-finals of the championship, and went to consolation on Thursday 3-1.
Bailey had the most distant championship round of any Lehigh contestant when he reached the semifinals 3-0 on Wednesday, highlighted by a pin for the first period of Rutgers’ nationally ranked Sammy Alvarez in the quarterfinals. He met Pitts Micky Phillippi in the semifinals and finished sixth after three defeats on Thursday.
Three Mountain Hawks were eliminated on the first day of competition on Wednesday. Drew Munch (141), Connor Herceg (165) and Jack Wilt (184) all went 0-2. Herceg and Wilt competed unbound.
Lehigh will open the 2022 section with four back-to-back home duals starting next weekend when Binghamton (Jan 7) and Cornell (Jan 8) visit the Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The Binghamton Dual is scheduled for 7pm, while the Cornell match, Pinning Cancer Day, presented by Red Robin in partnership with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, is scheduled for 2pm. Tickets for both duals are still available and can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during business hours.
The 2021-22 wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
125 – Sheldon Seymour – 4th place
Round of 32: Dec. Lucian Brink (Northern Ill.) 10-3
Round of 16: Dec. Beau Bayless (Harvard) 3-2
Quarterfinals: L through Dec Justin Cardani (Illinois) 3-2
Consolation of the fourth round: Dec. Diego Sotelo (Harvard) 3-1, Sv
Consolation quarterfinals: Dec. Gage Curry (Pitt) 9-7
Consolation semifinals: Dec. Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) 8-7, tb1
Third place match: L from Major Dec. Antonio Lorenzo (Cal Poly) 13-5
133 – Carter Bailey (untied) – 6th place
Round of 32: Dec. Julian Farber (UNI) 6-0
Round of 16: Dec. Kyle Burwick (Wisconsin) 4-3
Quarterfinals: Autumn Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers) 2:20
Semifinals: L by Major Dec. Micky Phillippi (Pitt) 11-3
Consolation semifinals: L to Dec. Julian Farber (UNI) 11-4
Fifth place play-off: L from Major Dec. Joey Olivieri (Rutgers) 16-3
141 – Drew Munch – DNP
Round of 32: L by Great Dec. Henry Porter (Unbound) 12-3
Second round consolation: L through Dec. Jaivon Jones (Northern Ill.) 7-5
149 – Max Brignola (unbound) – 5th place
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: Dec. Ricky Cabanillas (brown) 9-2
Quarterfinals: L to Dec. Anthony Artalona (Penn) 6-3
Consolation of the fourth round: Dec. Blake Saito (brown) 9-4
Consolation quarterfinals: Dec. Christian Kanzler (Illinois) 5-3
Consolation semifinals: L to Dec. Anthony White (Rutgers) 4-2, sv
Game for fifth place: Dec. Lukus Stricker (Harvard) 8-5
165 – Connor Herceg (unbound) – DNP
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: L through tech case Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) 18-3, 5:26
Third round consolation: L through Dec Blaine Bergey (Princeton) 8-3
184 – Jack Wilt (unbound) – DNP
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: L through tech case Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) 16-0, 3:16
Consolation of the third round: L to Dec. Leo Tarantino (Harvard) 5-3
285 – Nathan Taylor (untied) – 4th place
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: L to Dec. Luke Luffman (Illinois) 11-7
Consolation in the third round: great Dec. Mike Bosco (Illinois) 10-0
Consolation in Round Four: W by Medical Failure Sam Aguilar (Cal Poly)
Consolation quarterfinals: Dec. Ben Goldin (Penn) 6-1
Consolation Semifinals: Fall Jake Slinger (Pitt) 3:52
Third place play-off: L to Dec. Luke Luffman (Illinois) 6-1
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