Ewing, NJ - For the second time in as many days No. 8 Messiah wrestling used a dominating and balanced effort to run away in a road dual victory. The win, 37-6 at TCNJ, gave the Falcons their 17th win of the season, tied for fifth-most in program history. Messiah is now 17-3 overall with one more dual remaining next week Wednesday, Feb. 15 against McDaniel.

Runaway Wins
Saturday's match at TCNJ finished with a 37-6 score and gave the Falcons their 10th win this season by double-digit points. The old adage says that statistics can be used to support almost anything, so we won't belabor the point by suggesting that Messiah's ability to pile up the points is a reflection of their imposing, deep, and balanced lineup.
 
True to that form, in Saturday's dual the Falcons collected 31-straight unanswered points to turn a 6-6 tie into their commanding win.
 
Technically, Their Falls
The Falcons earned 20 of their team points by way of a season-high four tech falls. They all came across bouts 157 through 197, with three-straight tech's collected by Ben Swarr, Derek Beitz, and Kyle Koser. Messiah's fastest of the tech falls was earned by Beitz who piled up a 21-6 win in just 2:40.
 
In Case You Haven't Heard
Messiah junior Hunter Harris entered Saturday's dual as the NCAA leader in falls for Division I, II, and III, and he added to that total once again with a pin at 1:25 on Saturday over Austin Maltesz. Harris appeared poised to collect the fall in just the first 30 seconds of action, but Maltesz managed to escape before Harris soon secured another chance.
 
Harris now has 28 falls on the season, 26 of which have come against Division III opponents.
 
Don't Thank Us
One night after dropping his third-straight close decision, including a 4-3 (TB-2) loss to All-American Paul Trandafilou of Gettysburg, Nick Havener found himself on the winning side of an overtime battle. Havener's 4-2 decision came over Kyle Cocozza to complete the Falcons' dominating victory.

Messiah College 37  The College of New Jersey 6
125: Luis Rivera (TCNJ) by decision over Marshall Myers (M), 4-0; TCNJ leads. 3-0
133: Hunter Harris (M) by pin over Austin Maltesz (TCNJ), (1:25); Messiah leads, 6-3
141: Ryan Erwin (TCNJ) by decision over Lee Cassel (M), 4-3; Match tied, 6-6
149: Stephen Maloney (M) by major decision over JT Beirne (TCNJ), 15-5; Messiah leads, 10-6
157: Jeff Hojnacki (M) by tech fall Marcus Sherrod (TCNJ), 18-1 (3:43); Messiah leads, 15-6
165: Larry Cannon (M) by major decision over Nick Herring (TCNJ), 12-2; Messiah leads, 19-6
174: Ben Swarr (M) by tech fall over Dan Kilroy (TCNJ), 18-1 (5:40); Messiah leads, 24-6
184: Derek Beitz (M) by tech fall over Kyle Schlittler (TCNJ, 21-6 (2:40) Messiah leads, 29-6
197: Kyle Koser (M) by tech fall over Pat Schinder (TCNJ), 18-0 (4:20); Messiah leads 34-6
285: Nick Havener (M) by decision over Kyle Cocozza (TCNJ), 4-2 (OT); Messiah wins 37-6

 

Related Videos

Now Playing:

• Play Video