Lehigh University Athletics
Photo by: Rich Warnke
Four Lehigh Wrestlers Place at Illinois Matmen Open
12/30/2021 8:38:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Seven members of the Lehigh wrestling team competed at the two-day Illinois Matmen Open, which wrapped-up Thursday at NOW Arena. Four of Lehigh's seven entrants earned top-eight places in the event, led by Sheldon Seymour and Nathan Taylor who both finished fourth in their respective weight classes.
A pair of true first-years also placed in the top eight, with Max Brignola claiming fifth at 149 and Carter Bailey taking sixth at 133. Taylor, Brignola and Bailey all competed unattached.
Seymour went 5-2 over the two day event, winning his first two bouts at 125 Wednesday before suffering a quarterfinal loss to eventual champion Justin Cardani of Illinois. On Thursday, Seymour won his first three bouts, including two overtime victories and a 9-7 decision over Pitt's Gage Curry, to reach the third place bout, where he gave up a pair of six-point moves in a 13-5 loss to Antonio Lorenzo of Cal Poly.
Taylor enjoyed a 4-2 showing at 285 with both setbacks coming against Illinois starter Luke Luffman. He won four straight bouts in the consolations, including a major decision victory, a 6-1 win over Penn starter Ben Goldin and a fall against Pitt's Jake Slinger in the consolation semifinals.
Brignola was the lone Mountain Hawk to win his final bout Thursday, with an 8-5 decision over Harvard's Lukus Stricker for fifth place. He finished 4-2 over the two-day tournament, reaching the championship quarterfinals and going 3-1 in the consolations on Thursday.
Bailey had the furthest championship bracket of all Lehigh entrants, as he went 3-0 Wednesday to reach the semifinals, highlighted by a first period pin of Rutgers' nationally-ranked Sammy Alvarez in the quarterfinals. He ran into Pitt's Micky Phillippi in the semifinals and ended up in sixth place following three losses Thursday.
Three Mountain Hawks were eliminated on the first day of competition Wednesday. Drew Munch (141), Connor Herceg (165) and Jack Wilt (184) all went 0-2. Herceg and Wilt were competing unattached.
Lehigh will open the 2022 portion of its schedule with four consecutive home duals, beginning next weekend when Binghamton (Jan. 7) and Cornell (Jan. 8) visit Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The Binghamton dual is set for a 7 p.m. start while the Cornell match, Pinning Cancer Day presented by Red Robin in partnership with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, is set for a 2 p.m. start. 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 Lehigh 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 by dec. Justin Cardani (Illinois) 3-2
Fourth round consolation: dec. Diego Sotelo (Harvard) 3-1, sv
Consolation quarterfinal: dec. Gage Curry (Pitt) 9-7
Consolation semifinal: dec. Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) 8-7, tb1
Third place match: L by major dec. Antonio Lorenzo (Cal Poly) 13-5
133 – Carter Bailey (unattached) – 6th place
Round of 32: dec. Julian Farber (UNI) 6-0
Round of 16: dec. Kyle Burwick (Wisconsin) 4-3
Quarterfinals: Fall Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers) 2:20
Semifinals: L by major dec. Micky Phillippi (Pitt) 11-3
Consolation semifinal: L by dec. Julian Farber (UNI) 11-4
Fifth place match: L by major dec. Joey Olivieri (Rutgers) 16-3
141 – Drew Munch - DNP
Round of 32: L by major dec. Henry Porter (Unattached) 12-3
Second round consolation: L by dec. Jaivon Jones (Northern Ill.) 7-5
149 – Max Brignola (unattached) – 5th place
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: dec. Ricky Cabanillas (Brown) 9-2
Quarterfinals: L by dec. Anthony Artalona (Penn) 6-3
Fourth round consolation: dec. Blake Saito (Brown) 9-4
Consolation quarterfinal: dec. Christian Kanzler (Illinois) 5-3
Consolation semifinal: L by dec. Anthony White (Rutgers) 4-2, sv
Fifth place match: dec. Lukus Stricker (Harvard) 8-5
165 – Connor Herceg (unattached) - DNP
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: L by tech fall Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) 18-3, 5:26
Third round consolation: L by dec. Blaine Bergey (Princeton) 8-3
184 – Jack Wilt (unattached) - DNP
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: L by tech fall Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) 16-0, 3:16
Third round consolation: L by dec. Leo Tarantino (Harvard) 5-3
285 – Nathan Taylor (unattached) – 4th place
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: L by dec. Luke Luffman (Illinois) 11-7
Third round consolation: major dec. Mike Bosco (Illinois) 10-0
Fourth round consolation: W by medical forfeit Sam Aguilar (Cal Poly)
Consolation quarterfinal: dec. Ben Goldin (Penn) 6-1
Consolation semifinal: Fall Jake Slinger (Pitt) 3:52
Third place match: L by dec. Luke Luffman (Illinois) 6-1
A pair of true first-years also placed in the top eight, with Max Brignola claiming fifth at 149 and Carter Bailey taking sixth at 133. Taylor, Brignola and Bailey all competed unattached.
Seymour went 5-2 over the two day event, winning his first two bouts at 125 Wednesday before suffering a quarterfinal loss to eventual champion Justin Cardani of Illinois. On Thursday, Seymour won his first three bouts, including two overtime victories and a 9-7 decision over Pitt's Gage Curry, to reach the third place bout, where he gave up a pair of six-point moves in a 13-5 loss to Antonio Lorenzo of Cal Poly.
Taylor enjoyed a 4-2 showing at 285 with both setbacks coming against Illinois starter Luke Luffman. He won four straight bouts in the consolations, including a major decision victory, a 6-1 win over Penn starter Ben Goldin and a fall against Pitt's Jake Slinger in the consolation semifinals.
Brignola was the lone Mountain Hawk to win his final bout Thursday, with an 8-5 decision over Harvard's Lukus Stricker for fifth place. He finished 4-2 over the two-day tournament, reaching the championship quarterfinals and going 3-1 in the consolations on Thursday.
Bailey had the furthest championship bracket of all Lehigh entrants, as he went 3-0 Wednesday to reach the semifinals, highlighted by a first period pin of Rutgers' nationally-ranked Sammy Alvarez in the quarterfinals. He ran into Pitt's Micky Phillippi in the semifinals and ended up in sixth place following three losses Thursday.
Three Mountain Hawks were eliminated on the first day of competition Wednesday. Drew Munch (141), Connor Herceg (165) and Jack Wilt (184) all went 0-2. Herceg and Wilt were competing unattached.
Lehigh will open the 2022 portion of its schedule with four consecutive home duals, beginning next weekend when Binghamton (Jan. 7) and Cornell (Jan. 8) visit Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The Binghamton dual is set for a 7 p.m. start while the Cornell match, Pinning Cancer Day presented by Red Robin in partnership with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, is set for a 2 p.m. start. 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 Lehigh 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 by dec. Justin Cardani (Illinois) 3-2
Fourth round consolation: dec. Diego Sotelo (Harvard) 3-1, sv
Consolation quarterfinal: dec. Gage Curry (Pitt) 9-7
Consolation semifinal: dec. Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) 8-7, tb1
Third place match: L by major dec. Antonio Lorenzo (Cal Poly) 13-5
133 – Carter Bailey (unattached) – 6th place
Round of 32: dec. Julian Farber (UNI) 6-0
Round of 16: dec. Kyle Burwick (Wisconsin) 4-3
Quarterfinals: Fall Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers) 2:20
Semifinals: L by major dec. Micky Phillippi (Pitt) 11-3
Consolation semifinal: L by dec. Julian Farber (UNI) 11-4
Fifth place match: L by major dec. Joey Olivieri (Rutgers) 16-3
141 – Drew Munch - DNP
Round of 32: L by major dec. Henry Porter (Unattached) 12-3
Second round consolation: L by dec. Jaivon Jones (Northern Ill.) 7-5
149 – Max Brignola (unattached) – 5th place
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: dec. Ricky Cabanillas (Brown) 9-2
Quarterfinals: L by dec. Anthony Artalona (Penn) 6-3
Fourth round consolation: dec. Blake Saito (Brown) 9-4
Consolation quarterfinal: dec. Christian Kanzler (Illinois) 5-3
Consolation semifinal: L by dec. Anthony White (Rutgers) 4-2, sv
Fifth place match: dec. Lukus Stricker (Harvard) 8-5
165 – Connor Herceg (unattached) - DNP
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: L by tech fall Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) 18-3, 5:26
Third round consolation: L by dec. Blaine Bergey (Princeton) 8-3
184 – Jack Wilt (unattached) - DNP
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: L by tech fall Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) 16-0, 3:16
Third round consolation: L by dec. Leo Tarantino (Harvard) 5-3
285 – Nathan Taylor (unattached) – 4th place
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: L by dec. Luke Luffman (Illinois) 11-7
Third round consolation: major dec. Mike Bosco (Illinois) 10-0
Fourth round consolation: W by medical forfeit Sam Aguilar (Cal Poly)
Consolation quarterfinal: dec. Ben Goldin (Penn) 6-1
Consolation semifinal: Fall Jake Slinger (Pitt) 3:52
Third place match: L by dec. Luke Luffman (Illinois) 6-1
Players Mentioned
125
/ Men's Wrestling
149
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
125
/ Men's Wrestling
285
/ Men's Wrestling
184
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