GRANTHAM, Pa. – Nico Diaz and
Cole Handlovic each won conference championships, two of seven Top 5 finishes for the Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling team who finished second at the 2026 Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championships on Saturday.
Messiah won the team title with 140 points, courtesy of five Top 3 finishers and eight Top 5 finishers. The Ducks took second with 129.5 points, well clear of third-place Misericordia (109.5) and fourth-place Alvernia (107.5)
FULL Results:
1. Messiah - 140
2. Stevens - 129.5
3. Misericordia – 109.5
4. Alvernia – 107.5
5. Arcadia – 92.5
6. Albright – 72.5
7. York - 72
8. Eastern – 62.5
9. Delaware Valley – 48
10. King's - 37
The Rundown
- The #1 seed at 149 pounds, Handlovic posted wins via technical fall, pin, and major decision en route to the finals – 18-3 over #16 Seth Karpulk of Albright, a fall in 2:11 over #9 Trokon Kai of Eastern, and a 10-1 win over #5 Levi Snyder of Messiah. Handlovic's day of dominance culminated with an 18-3 technical fall win over #6 Michael Williams of Misericordia in the final.
- Another #1 seed at 141, Nico Diaz knocked off #16 Aiden Swann of Alvernia in the Round of 16 (a 13-3 major decision), #8 Cristian Pete (an 18-3 technical fall), and #5 Nikosh Marston (an 11-2 major decision), advancing to the final, where he took the title with a 12-6 decision win over #6 Ryan Mansueto of Eastern.
- The third & final #1 seed for Stevens, Smith received a Round of 16 Bye, then started his day with back-to-back technical fall wins over #8 Chase Stephen of Misericordia and #4 Noah Rice of Messiah. In the final against #2 Trent Mahoney of Albright, Smith lost 1-0 via riding time.
- Ian Flanagan sandwiched four victories by pin around a 7-6 decision loss at 174 pounds, advancing to the third-place match in the process; the 3-seed wrapped all four of those wins inside of two rounds. In the third-place match, Flanagan collected three takedowns in an 11-9 decision win.
- Tyler Roe won his first two matches of the day at 165. The 5-seed pinned 12-seed Beknazar Baiyshbekov of Albright in 2:47, then took a 9-7 decision over #4 Luke Thomas of Alvernia. After falling to #1 seed Keegan Demarest in the semifinals, Roe again beat Baiyshbekov, this time a 7-2 decision, before dropping the third-place match to Thomas via decision.
- Terrence Thomas, the only competitor for Stevens at 197, pinned his first opponent of the day, Arcadia's Tyler Mains in a 13 over 4. After an 11-3 win over #12 Myles Brown of Alvernia, the first-year fell in back-to-back matches to #1 Josh Stahl of York and #6 Jason Chiodi of Alvernia. In the 5th place match, Thomas picked up three first-period takedowns in a 13-3 major decision win.
- The 5-seed at 125, Charles Piccione lost his first match of the day to Alvernia's Rocco Monteferrante, but reeled off three straight falls in the consolation draw, including one in just 33 seconds. After losing a match that would have put him in the third-place match, Piccione bounced back with a 4-1 decision win in the fifth-place match.
Up Next
The Ducks host NJCU Thursday night, January 22, where the team will honor its Class of 2026.
#AllRise
