Thiel Tomcats (4-2, 4-1) at PAC Championships
Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, 11 a.m.
Price Gymnasium | Hiram College | Hiram, Ohio
QUICK FACTS
- Thiel holds the conference-record with 24 PAC crowns
- The Tomcats' last PAC team championship came in 2023 in a tie with W&J
- The Mat Cats' last outright PAC team championship was in 2022
BISSELL THE MISSLE
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Jonathan Bissell (Sharpsville, Pa./Sharpsville) enters the championships as the No. 1 seed at 157 pounds
- Bissell competed at 149 in the regular season to the tune of a 23-5 record
- Bissell was 18-4 in tournaments and 5-1 in duals as he led the Tomcats with 17 pins
- Against PAC opponents, he went 6-2 with four pins
- Bissell is a two-time PAC Newcomer of the Week (Nov. 10, Feb. 9) and a one-time PAC Wrestler of the Week (Jan. 26)
- Bissell closed the regular season by claiming the 149-pound championship at Baldwin Wallace's John Summa Invitational with a 5-0 day that featured five first-period pins
- The freshman placed second at the Jamestown CC Open, fifth at the W&J Invitational and sixth at the BW Invitational
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Payton Hearn was Thiel's last 157-pound PAC champion
CROWN THE KING
- Joey King (Cooperstown, Pa./Maplewood), the reigning 197-pound PAC Champion, is the No. 2 seed at heavyweight for Saturday's championships
- King returned to the mats in the spring semester and went 3-0 in dual action with a pair of first-period pins, each coming in PAC clashes
- King went 3-0 in last season's championships with three first-period pins as he went on to place seventh in the Region 4 Championships
- King is 9-1 in his Thiel career against conference foes, with his lone loss coming to Waynesburg's Jessie Orbin at 174 last season
- King looks to become the first Tomcat since Evan Whiteside to claim PAC championships at multiple weight classes. Whiteside claimed champions at 125 in 2022 and 2023 as well as 133 in 2024.
PUT EM IN THE WARD
- Zachery Ward (Girard, Ohio/Girard) is the top seed at 184 pounds
- Ward went 12-7 in the regular season with a 4-1 mark in duals
- Against conference opponents, Ward went 5-1, including a 4-1 mark in duals
- Ward placed fifth at the Jamestown CC Open at 174 pounds
MONEY MEQUAN
- Mequan Maxwell (Sharon, Pa./Sharon) is the third seed at 149 pounds
- Maxwell went 9-4 in the regular season and 2-1 in duals, competing at 141, 157 and 165
- He placed fifth at the W&J Invitational (141) and the Jamestown CC Open (157)
THURBER THE GOAT
- Craig Thurber is in his 23rd season as leader of the Tomcats
- Thurber is a nine-time PAC Coach of the Year, last collecting the honor in 2022
- Thurber has coached 76 individual PAC champions
-Â Thurber has led the Mat Cats to 11 PAC team championships
