Cedar Rapids, Iowa (March 10, 2022) - Four Alvernia University Men's Wrestlers are slated to compete at the NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championship on Friday and Saturday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Competing in just the second full season of program history, Alvernia Wrestling is sending Matthew Lackman, Isaac Kassis, Mauro Pellot-Vasquez, and Palmer Rodenhaber to represent Alvernia at this year's championship. It will be Alvernia's first time competing at an NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship. Rodenhaber and Tonee Ellis qualified for the 2020 National Championship in Alvernia's first year of competition; however, the championship was canceled just a day before it was scheduled to start due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Matthew Lackman - 165 Pounds
Matthew Lackman won the 165 pound bracket at the 2022 Division III Southeast Regional Championship last month to secure his trip to Iowa. Lackman, an academic sophomore, has found great success in his first full season of competition at Alvernia. He stands at 36-1 overall entering the National Championship. 

Lackman won the 165 pound title at the MAC Championship in January. In the latest WrestleStat poll, dated March 8, Lackman was ranked fourth in the nation in his weight class. As of March 2, Lackman was ranked sixth in the country with 19 total falls on the season. 

Lackman is seeded fifth in the national tournament and will take on unseeded Gabe Fiser of Loras College in round one of the championship. Fisher, who is 22-4 on the season, was ranked 19th in the nation in the latest WrestleStat poll and was the runner-up at the Lower-Midwest Regional. 

Isaac Kassis - 184 Pounds
Isaac Kassis was the third place finisher in the 184 pound bracket of the 2022 Division III Southeast Regional Championship to secure his place in the national championship. 

Kassis, an academic sophomore, won his weight class at the 2022 MAC Championship. He was ranked 31st in the nation in the 184 pound weight class by WrestleStat as of March 8. Kassis is 29-6 on the season.

Kassis is entering the championship unseeded and is slated to take on Ithaca's Chibueze Chukwuezi in the opening round of the Championship. Chukwuezi is 33-0 on the season and ranked fifth in the country in his weight class. He won the 184 pound bracket at the Mideast Regional. 

Mauro Pellot-Vazquez - 197 Pounds
Mauro Pellot-Vazquez was the runner-up in the 197 pound weight class of the 2022 Division III Southeast Regional to punch his ticket to the national championship. Pellot-Vazquez has competed in both the 184 and 197 pound weight classes for Alvernia during the 2021-22 season. 

His run for the runner-up position at the Regional Championship was just his second time all season competing at 197 pounds. A runner-up to Kassis at the 2022 MAC Championship in the 184 pound bracket, Pellot-Vazquez sits at 21-7 overall in his first year of collegiate competition. 

He is ranked 16th in the nation at 197 pounds in the March 8th WrestleStat poll. Pellot-Vazquez is entering the 2022 NCAA Championship unseeded, and is slated to take on fifth-seeded Donovan Corn of Luther College. Corn is 22-5 on the season and is ranked seventh in the nation by WrestleStat. Corn was the runner-up at the Lower-Midwest Regional. 

Palmer Rodenhaber - 285 Pounds
Palmer Rodenhaber secured a third place finish in the 286 pound weight class of the 2022 Division III Southeast Regional to secure his second trip to a National Championship. Rodenhaber was a national qualifier in 2020, and was just 18 hours from competing in the championship when it was canceled due to COVID-19. 

This season, Rodenhaber is picking up where he left off in 2020. Rodenhaber is 33-7 on the season and is ranked tenth in the nation in the March 8th WrestleStat Poll. Rodenhaber finished fourth at the 2022 MAC Championship.

Rodenhaber is entering the Championship unseeded and he is slated to take on fifth-seeded Jordan Lemcke of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Lemcke is 24-3 on the season and ranked seventh in the nation by WrestleStat. He was the runner-up at the Upper-Midwest regional.


Follow Along
Action in Iowa gets started at the Alliant Energy Powerhouse Arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Friday at 12:00 PM ET, 11:00 AM local time. The Friday evening session will get started at 7:00 PM ET, 6:00 PM local time. The Saturday morning session will begin at 11:00 AM ET, 10:00 AM local time. The Saturday morning session consists of the championship semifinals, consultation quarterfinals, consultation semifinals, and bouts for 3rd, 5th, and 7th place. The Championship bouts will get underway at 8:00 PM ET, 7:00 PM local time on Saturday night. 

Like the MAC Championship and Southeast Regional format, the NCAA National Championship is a double-elimination event. The top eight finishers of each weight class will earn All-American honors. 

Fans can follow live action with the links provided at the top of this story. Live coverage will be available on Twitter and Instagram @AlveniaAthletics. Post-match coverage will also be available on auwolves.com and across Alvernia Athletics social media.