Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Four Mountain Hawks Earn Top Five Seeds As NCAA Brackets Released
3/13/2024 9:36:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh's eight NCAA qualifiers learned their seeds and first round opponents Wednesday night as seeds and brackets for next week's NCAA Championships in Kansas City were officially announced.
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All four of Lehigh's EIWA champions earned top five seeds, led by first-years Luke Stanich (125) and Ryan Crookham (133), who are both seeded second in their respective weight classes.
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Stanich will open the tournament against the No. 31 seed Tyler Klinsky of Rider, while Crookham drew American's Maximillian Leete.
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Junior Michael Beard is the No. 4 seed at 197 and will face No. 29 Justin Rademacher of Oregon State in the first round.
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Sophomore Nathan Taylor received the No. 5 seed following his EIWA title at 285. Taylor will open his tournament against No. 28 Trevor Tinker of Cal Poly.
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Senior Jake Logan will be the first Lehigh wrestler on the mats Thursday in Kansas City. Logan is seeded 32nd at 165 and will have a pigtail bout against No. 33 Jack Thomsen of Northern Iowa. The winner there gets top-seed and defending NCAA Champion Keegan O'Toole of Missouri.
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At 141, junior Malyke Hines is seeded 19th for his fourth NCAA Tournament appearance. Hines will open with the No. 14 seed Jesse Vasquez of Arizona State. Hines is 1-1 all-time against Vasquez and will look to avenge a 5-2, sudden victory loss to the Sun Devil last month in the dual meet finale.
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First-year Kelvin Griffin earned the No. 16 seed at 149 and will open against No. 17 Graham Rooks of Indiana. Griffin pinned Rooks in the first period in a consolation semifinal at the Dec. 22 Sheridan Tournament at Stabler Arena. The pin is one of 15 for Griffin this season, tying him for the NCAA Division I lead.
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Junior Max Brignola is seeded 20th at 157 as he makes his second NCAA appearance. Brignola's first opponent is No. 13 Michael Blockhus of Minnesota.
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Seeds and brackets remain subject to change until the start of the tournament.
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Action at the 93rd NCAA Championships begins Thursday March 21 from T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, and runs through Saturday March 23. There will be no Lehigh audio coverage of this year's tournament but the entire tournament will be televised on the ESPN family of networks with streaming video of every mat available on ESPN+. The television schedule for this year's championship is listed below.
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The 2023-24 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
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Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on X/Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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All four of Lehigh's EIWA champions earned top five seeds, led by first-years Luke Stanich (125) and Ryan Crookham (133), who are both seeded second in their respective weight classes.
Â
Stanich will open the tournament against the No. 31 seed Tyler Klinsky of Rider, while Crookham drew American's Maximillian Leete.
Â
Junior Michael Beard is the No. 4 seed at 197 and will face No. 29 Justin Rademacher of Oregon State in the first round.
Â
Sophomore Nathan Taylor received the No. 5 seed following his EIWA title at 285. Taylor will open his tournament against No. 28 Trevor Tinker of Cal Poly.
Â
Senior Jake Logan will be the first Lehigh wrestler on the mats Thursday in Kansas City. Logan is seeded 32nd at 165 and will have a pigtail bout against No. 33 Jack Thomsen of Northern Iowa. The winner there gets top-seed and defending NCAA Champion Keegan O'Toole of Missouri.
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At 141, junior Malyke Hines is seeded 19th for his fourth NCAA Tournament appearance. Hines will open with the No. 14 seed Jesse Vasquez of Arizona State. Hines is 1-1 all-time against Vasquez and will look to avenge a 5-2, sudden victory loss to the Sun Devil last month in the dual meet finale.
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First-year Kelvin Griffin earned the No. 16 seed at 149 and will open against No. 17 Graham Rooks of Indiana. Griffin pinned Rooks in the first period in a consolation semifinal at the Dec. 22 Sheridan Tournament at Stabler Arena. The pin is one of 15 for Griffin this season, tying him for the NCAA Division I lead.
Â
Junior Max Brignola is seeded 20th at 157 as he makes his second NCAA appearance. Brignola's first opponent is No. 13 Michael Blockhus of Minnesota.
Â
Seeds and brackets remain subject to change until the start of the tournament.
Â
Action at the 93rd NCAA Championships begins Thursday March 21 from T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, and runs through Saturday March 23. There will be no Lehigh audio coverage of this year's tournament but the entire tournament will be televised on the ESPN family of networks with streaming video of every mat available on ESPN+. The television schedule for this year's championship is listed below.
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| Date | Session | Start Time (ET) | TV |
| March 21 | 1 (First round) | 12 p.m. | ESPNU |
| Â | 2 (Round of 16) | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
| March 22 | 3 (Quarterfinals) | 12 p.m. | ESPNU |
| Â | 4 (Semifinals) | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
| March 23 | 5 (Medal Round) | 11 a.m. | ESPNU |
| Â | 6 (Finals) | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
The 2023-24 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.
Â
Like Lehigh Wrestling on Facebook and follow on X/Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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Players Mentioned
197
/ Men's Wrestling
157
/ Men's Wrestling
133
/ Men's Wrestling
141/149
/ Men's Wrestling
141
/ Men's Wrestling
165
/ Men's Wrestling
125/133
/ Men's Wrestling
285
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