The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net    

BAHAMIAN wrestler Shannon Hanna II is making his presence felt on the collegiate scene for the Campbell University Fighting Camels.

The 24-year-old collegiate wrestler is gearing up to compete at the 2025 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) DI Men’s Wrestling Championships in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from March 20-22 at the Wells Fargo Centre.

It is Hanna’s third time qualifying for the wrestling showdown since earning the first qualification of his collegiate career during the 2021-22 season.

The Campbell University graduate student will compete as the number 17 seed and will open the tournament against Lock Haven University’s Wyatt Henson this morning. If successful, Hanna will advance to compete tonight against the University of Nebraska’s Brock Hardy or his opponent which will be either Lorenzo Frezza or Nash Singleton.

Hanna secured his third bid to the NCAA Wrestling Championships alongside teammate Levi Hopkins at the 2025 Southern Conference Wrestling Championship hosted in Asheville, North Carolina earlier this month.

He placed second in the 141 pound weight class with a 3-1 win/loss record.

The 2024 U23 Pan-Am bronze medallist won the quarterfinals 22-8 against the Virginia Military Institute’s Wayne Rold.

Hanna then knocked off Aldo Hernandez, of Appalachian State University, 14-4 in the semifinals.

He lost against the second-seeded Todd Carter in the finals 3-2 beforing clinching his third victory of the tournament over Bellarmine University’s AJ Rallo 4-2 for second place and an NCAA qualification.

The 5-foot-8 141 pound wrestler is going into the NCAA DI Wrestling Championships with a few accolades under his belt. He capped off the regular season with a 22-7 win/loss record which included a fourth place finish at the Southern Scuffle and a second place finish at the Franklin & Marshall Open.

Hanna will now face Henson in the first round. The latter has won the Mid-American Conference (MAC) individual title and is also wrestling in his third NCAA Championship. He has a 1-4 at this level, came second at the USA U23 Team Trials and played a crucial role in helping the USA to win gold at the U23 Pan-American Championships.

As for the Bahamian wrestler, he previously competed at the NCAA Championships in 2022 and 2023 before taking a redshirt year last season. While competing overseas, Hanna claimed bronze at the 2024 Seniors Pan-American Championships and at the U23 Pan-Am Championships in the 65kg weight class.

The NCAA Wrestling Championship prelims begin at noon today.