Stanich Falls Short in Overtime in National Semifinals

Friday, March 20

Cleveland, Ohio

8:00 PM

Lehigh University

NCAA Championships

Photo by: Matt Hawley

Stanich Falls Short in Overtime in National Semifinals

3/20/2026 11:23:00 PM | Men's Wrestling

Brackets Team Scores Session 3 Recap Brackets/Results Photo Gallery

CLEVELAND – Sophomore Luke Stanich dropped an overtime heartbreaker in the national semifinals at 141, as part of a frustrating Friday night for Lehigh men's wrestling at the NCAA Championships. In addition to Stanich, three Mountain Hawks wrestled in the round of 12 for spots on the podium but Lehigh wrestlers went 0-3 in those bouts.

Stanich will be Lehigh's lone All-American for 2025-26 season as Lehigh has at least one All-American for the fifth consecutive season and the 16th time in 18 seasons under head coach Pat Santoro.

In the 141 pound semifinal, Stanich and the top seeded Mendez were even through seven minutes, with Mendez escaping early in the second and Stanich evening the match with an escape early in the third. Mendez powered through with the winning takedown 26 seconds into the sudden victory period to make the finals for the third straight year.

Stanich will wrestle Carter Nogle from Air Force in the consolation semifinals Saturday morning.

Graduate student Sheldon Seymour fell 11-4 to Stanford's Nico Provo in his round of 12 match at 125. Provo scored a pair of first period takedowns to lead 6-2 after one and Seymour was never able to answer. Seymour is a two-time EIWA Champion and 2025 All-American, who finishes at 21-2 this season and 72-28 for his career.

The third and deciding meeting between senior Max Brignola and Arizona State's Nicco Ruiz at 165 went to the Sun Devil by an 8-2 decision. Ruiz scored takedowns in the first and second periods and added an escape plus riding time advantage. Brignola is a 2026 NCAA Champion and three-time NCAA qualifier. He was 20-6 in 2025-26 and 71-33 for his career.

Junior Rylan Rogers came up short in the round of 12 at 184 against Wyoming's sixth-seeded Eddie Neitenbach, dropping a 4-2 decision. Neitenbach scored the only takedown of the match in the second period. Rogers got in on a leg with about 35 seconds remaining in the third period, but after a lengthy scramble was unable to secure a takedown before time expired. His junior campaign ends at 21-8.

Lehigh enters the final day of competition in 16th place with 22 points. Looking for its fifth consecutive team championship, Penn State leads Oklahoma State 153-111.5 entering Saturday's action.

Stanich will wrestle in the medal round Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. Session 5 will be televised on ESPNU with streaming coverage on ESPN+.

Gallery: (3-20-2026) NCAA Men's Wrestling, 3/20/26

The 2025-26 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.

125 – No. 4 Sheldon Seymour
Rd. of 32: Fall No. 29 Tyler Chappell (Pitt) 5:38
Rd. of 16: dec. No. 13 Stevo Poulin (Iowa State) 5-4
Quarterfinal: L by dec. No. 5 Troy Spratley (Oklahoma St.) 8-2
Fourth round consolation: L by dec. No. 7 Nico Provo (Stanford) 11-4

141 – No. 5 Luke Stanich
Rd. of 32: Tech fall No. 28 Pierson Manville (Arizona State) 21-6, 7:00
Rd. of 16: major dec. No. 21 Tyler Wells (Oklahoma) 11-2
Quarterfinal: dec. No. 4 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) 6-4
Semifinal: L by dec. No. 1 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) 4-1, sv
Consolation semifinal: No. 18 Carter Nogle (Air Force)

165 – No. 7 Max Brignola
Rd. of 32: dec. No. 26 Tyler Lillard (Indiana) 2-2, tb, rt
Rd. of 16: L by dec. No. 10 Will Denny (NC State) 12-9, sv
Second round consolation: dec. No. 24 Sean Seefeldt (Penn) 8-5, sv
Third round consolation: dec. No.32 Cody Walsh (Drexel) 6-4
Fourth round consolation: L by dec. No. 4 Nicco Ruiz (Arizona State) 8-2

184 – No. 16 Rylan Rogers
Rd. of 32: dec. No. 17 Ian Bush (WVU) 8-7
Rd. of 16: L by major dec. No. 1 Rocco Welsh (Penn State) 13-4
Second round consolation: dec. No. 18 Jake Dailey (North Carolina) 9-4
Third round consolation: dec. No. 9 Chris Moore (Illinois) 4-1
Fourth round consolation: L by dec. No. 6 Eddie Neitenbach (Wyoming) 4-2

Follow Lehigh Wrestling on X/Twitter and Instagram and like on Facebook for exclusive updates throughout the season.