TRAFFORD, Pa. (Oct. 27) -- The Thiel College Wrestling team was picked third in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Preseason Coaches Poll released by the conference Tuesday afternoon.
Washington and Jefferson and Saint Vincent were both picked to finish first in 2026 with 28 points and three first-place votes each. Thiel was third with 22 points while Bethany was fourth with 17 points. Hiram (14 points) and Waynesburg (11) rounded out the poll.
Joey King (Cooperstown, Pa./Maplewood) was named a Wrestler to Watch for the 2025-26 season. King dominated his way to the 197-pound PAC championship with three first-period pins all happening in 64 seconds or less. He had a 19-4 overall record last season and led the team in pins (11) and tech falls (five).
King finished seventh in the NCAA Region 4 Championships and had a first-place finish at the Baldwin Wallace Invitational with three 15-0 tech falls and one pin. He also had a pair of second-place results at Elizabethtown's D. Kenneth Ober Invitational and the W&J Invitational (184 pounds).
Mequan Maxwell (Sharon, Pa./Sharon) was also named a Wrestler to Watch for the upcoming season. He was the PAC Newcomer of the Week on Nov. 26 following a fourth-place finish at the Baldwin Wallace Invitational at 141. He posted a 5-4 record with three pins and one major decision and decision each in 2024-25.
Returners
EJ McCarthy (Hubbard, Ohio/Hubbard) and
Landon Mead (Clarendon, Pa./Sheffield) along with freshman Jonathon Bissell garnered Wrestler to Watch laurels as well.
McCarthy posted an 8-14 record last season en route to a 4th place finish at the PAC Championships at 125.
Mead was named the PAC Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 4 last season. He had a fourth-place finish at 157 in the PAC Championships, and finished the year with a 6-14 overall record and four pins.
Bissell comes to Greenville from Sharpsville High School. He had 33 wins in his senior season with 23 pins as he finished first in the region.
The Tomcats open the 2025-26 campaign in the W&J Invitational on Nov. 8.
