More than 1,300 fans packed into Grace Hall on Friday night, cheering and chanting throughout the late-season dual between Lehigh and the University of Pennsylvania.
As the dual reached the 165-lbs bout, Lehigh senior Max Brignola approached the mat in one of the lineup’s middleweight classes.
Brignola said he only began wrestling because his parents were tired of him fighting with his brother, Tyler, and wanted to give him an outlet to expend that energy. He fell in love with the sport at just 7 years old.
“We thought my dad was talking about WWE, so we thought it was going to be really cool,” he said. “But then after the first practice, we had a lot of fun, and I was hooked.”
He said he knew his match against UPenn’s No. 19 junior Sean Seefeldt was going to be hard, but knew he could win once he got him on his legs.
At that point in the dual, the team was down eight points.
The Quakers built that 14-6 lead with three consecutive match victories by No. 7 senior CJ Composto (141 lbs), No. 4 sophomore Cross Wasilewski (149 lbs) and No. 10 junior Jude Swisher (157 lbs).
Brignola quickly broke the streak.
He defeated Seefeldt, 5-1, after securing a takedown in the final 20 seconds. He contributed three points to the overall score, and his teammates took it from there. The Mountain Hawks defeated the Quakers, 24-14.
“A lot didn’t happen in the first couple minutes, but once I got a couple of flurries, it gave me more confidence and benefited me more,” Brignola said. “I feel like I finally capitalized, and that won me the match.”
Brignola has been a consistent wrestler for the Mountain Hawks throughout his career. He’s competed in multiple weight classes — 149, 157 and 165 — and has qualified twice for the NCAA Championships.
Over time, he’s developed into one of the team’s veteran leaders, someone teammates can rely on in close dual meets.
First-year Brady Collins (174 lbs) said the team calls Brignola “flow-state Max,” for his demeanor on the mat.
“He’s a great role model on how to work hard,” he said. “I think he’s a great leader, he leads by example, and is always working really hard.”
Coach Pat Santoro said he feels blessed to have been able to coach Brignola over the past five years. He said a former Lehigh wrestler told him Brignola has the best work ethic.
He said although Seefeldt slowed Brignola up at the beginning, he stayed focused on what he needed to do.
“Every time he goes out, you know you’re getting everything he has,” Santoro said. “That’s all you can ever ask from your athletes.”
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