Lehigh wrestling is coming off back-to-back 15th-place finishes at the NCAA Championships. The Mountain Hawks also have nine top-20 finishes dating back to 2014.

They’re looking to build off that excitement in 2025-26 with one of the best rosters fans in Bethlehem, Pa., have seen.

“We definitely have a lot of momentum,” said head coach Pat Santoro, who is in his 18th season at the helm of the program. “It kind of reminds us going into 2019 and 2020, when we were building a lot of momentum before COVID hit. 

“COVID pretty much crushed us. But I think things are in place now. Our alumni have been amazing. That's really kind of put us where we are today. So we're getting some really good kids in the program.”

That alumni support has helped Lehigh have one of the best summers of training in recent years.

“We had a busy summer,” Santoro said. “Luke (Stanich) won gold at the U20 Worlds. We had four guys in Japan training. We had two guys go to Uzbekistan to train.

“So guys have been busy. So it's been a fun last few months.”

Lightweight U

The Mountain Hawks will be led this year by their lower weights. Few teams across the country can match Lehigh’s talent at 125, 133 and 141 pounds. 

Although Lehigh will not have its full lineup this early part of the season, the Mountain Hawks will have three All-Americans to man those three spots.

“Coming out of the gates, those are three awesome guys to have start us off,” Santoro said. “The team is looking for them for a lot of guidance. They're going to set the tempo.

“They're all really extremely hard workers. So we're excited about it.”

At 125 pounds, Sheldon Seymour advanced to the NCAA semifinals in March and earned All-American honors for the first time. The national field is loaded at 125 this year, as six of the eight All-Americans return. 

“Last year was pretty special for him,” Santoro said. “He got pretty hurt in our last dual against Arizona State, and you saw his leg was all taped up in NCAAs. For him to just kind of find a way to get on the podium was pretty amazing.

“He's a really gritty wrestler. He loves to wrestle, loves to get better, and he competes really hard. So having a healthy Sheldon this year, I'm really excited to see.”

Unfortunately, Lehigh did not have a healthy Ryan Crookham last year. He was coming off a third-place finish at 133 pounds at the NCAA Championships in 2024, and was ranked #1 last year after a 5-0 start.

But he was shut down during the fall semester due to injury. He will be slowly eased back into the Lehigh lineup after missing a lot of time from January throughout the summer, as the ultimate goal is to have him ready for March.

“He can win a national championship,” Santoro said. “His training this offseason was not what he wanted because everything he does is 100 miles an hour. He wants to compete, he wants to wrestle against the best.

“We’re excited to see him back on the mat.”

Luke Stanich will be one of the most interesting stories to follow this year. In his first year, down at 125 pounds, he captured a fifth-place finish at the 2024 NCAAs. Last year, he deferred eligibility and is now at 141 pounds for this season.

Fans got a glimpse of Stanich at the new weight over the summer, as he captured gold at the U20 World Championships at 65 kg (143.3 pounds). That came after also winning gold at the Pan-American Championships in July.

“He came in and wanted to go at 125. That really wasn’t the plan, but he really pushed for it back in 2024,” Santoro said. “We let him compete, but we only made him weigh-in eight times.

“He obviously had a great summer up at the new weight. He is a nice size 141 right now after having this past year.”

Stanich will be a second Mountain Hawk fans will not get to see right out of the gate. He got banged up in his first match at Worlds but continued on and won five bouts overall. So he will also be slowly brought back into the mix and might not compete until December.

Stacking Up the Competition

Leading into EIWA competition, which starts in early January, Santoro and staff put together one of the most competitive schedules to test this Lehigh squad.

Starting with the National Duals this weekend, the Mountain Hawks have seven straight duals against teams ranked in the top 25. Among the upcoming duals will be battles against #1 Penn State, #2 Nebraska and #6 Iowa State, just to name a few.

“I like seeing that early competition,” Santoro said. “With the team we have coming back, we need to see that kind of competition to get better for March.

“So seeing that early competition, that high level, gives us a lot of time to correct things and be ready for the postseason. Every day is an opportunity to get better.”