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Lehigh University wrestler Luke Stanich shared his reaction after winning the 65kg gold medal at the 2025 U20 Pan American Championships in Peru. Stanich defeated Puerto Rica's Yandro Soto Rivera in the finals of the competition.
Stanich won the match by a 10-0 margin, technical fall, and dominated his opponent to win the gold medal. Notably, he also won all of his other matches in the tournament via technical fall. The Roxbury native's form in recent months has been quite impressive and has clinched victories at the US Open Wrestling Championships.
Luke Stanich has also qualified for the U20 Wrestling Championships, where he will compete for the national team, set to take place next month. A few hours after his gold medal victory at the U20 Pan American Championships, Stanich reacted to a post shared by Lehigh University to appreciate the wrestler for his gold medal finish. Stanich shared this post on his Instagram stories and shared a four-word message.
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"Mountain Hawk Style babyyy," wrote Stanich.
Other US wrestlers who clinched gold medals at the U20 Pan American Championships included William Henckel, Connor Mirasola, Justin Rademacher, and Cole Mirasola.
Luke Stanich speaks up about his transition from high school to collegiate wrestling
Luke Stanich recently shed light on his transition from high school to collegiate wrestling. Before coming to Lehigh University, Stanich had a high school record of 124-10 for Roxbury High School and had also won several New Jersey state titles.
In a recent interview, Stanich heaped praise on the coaches of Lehigh University who instilled the belief in him that he can win an NCAA title. Additionally, the New Jersey native also said that he likes the feeling of working hard and working towards his goals. Stanich said (via Stanich's podcast on Baschamania with Justin Basch, 24:10 onwards):
"I mean, definitely just Lehigh, I think my coaches, I don't know if they actually believe I was going to be an NCAA champion, but that's what they told me. They encouraged me to work hard, and then it got to a point where like I believed in myself, but it wasn't just the shallow belief, like dreaming about being an NCAA champion.... I love that feeling of just being gritty and working hard."
During the conversation, Luke Stanich also mentioned his partners at the University, who posed a tough challenge when he initially entered the program and inspired him to get better.
