Nov. 12 Update: A miscalculation was discovered over the weekend in the reported team scores. Updated and accurate scores are listed below.
Brackets
Bristol, RI - Messiah College Wrestling showed their strengths this weekend with a win at the Roger Williams Invitational by just a half of a point (223 to Roger Williams' 222.5). Rounding out the top five in the tournament are Johnson & Wales University (209.5), Rhode Island College (124.5), and Weslyan University (121).
Going into the last round they had nine wrestlers competing in placing matches. Five of those wrestlers achieved bonus points with either a pin or a tech fall against their opponents.
“Had any one of them not won and gotten the bonus points, they would not have won the tournament,” said head coach
Bryan Brunk. “We were driving for those extra points.”
Sophomore
Kaleb Loht won the 141 lb. weight class with a tech fall against his opponent in the last match, his second tournament win after taking his weight class at the Messiah College Invitational.
Junior
Charles Jones won the heavyweight class by pinning his opponent, a follow-up from his second place performance in the Messiah College Invitational.
Another championship bout for the Falcons came in the 174 lb. weight class, which showcased Messiah teammates
Ben Kramer and
Ricardo Plummer competing against each other. The match went into overtime and Plummer came out on top.
Other notables for the team in this tournament include freshmen
Alex Gosch,
Zach Snow,
Heath Strickland, sophomore
Kalann Washington, and junior
Stephen Cannon. Gosch went 0-2 last weekend in the Messiah College Invitational (his first collegiate matches) but in this tournament he got three wins by way of pin.
“You can rack up a lot of points with the consolations, so those guys that finish fourth, fifth, and sixth are really important in a win for the team,” coach Brunk said.
Snow finished 5th in the 133 lb. weight class, classmate Strickland finished 5th in the 149 lb. weight class, and junior Cannon finished 5th in the 174 lb. weight class.
“I was really excited about their performance, I couldn't be more proud of our team,” Said coach Brunk. “We showed a really exciting, aggressive style.”
The Falcons look ahead to their next match, a duel with the University of Mount Union. That match is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. in Alliance, Ohio.
Complete team scores are here:
|
1 |
Messiah |
173.0 |
|
2 |
Roger Williams |
161.0 |
|
3 |
Johnson & Wales |
156.5 |
|
4 |
Rhode Island |
121.0 |
|
5 |
Wesleyan |
116.5 |
|
6 |
Norwich |
96.5 |
|
7 |
Stevens Institute of Tech. |
84.0 |
|
8 |
Southern Maine |
81.5 |
|
9 |
Wocester Plytechnic |
76.5 |
|
10 |
Coast Guard |
39.0 |
|
|
Massachusetts Institute of Tech. |
39.0 |
|
12 |
Bridgewater State |
28.5 |
