Photo Gallery
GRANTHAM, Pa. - No. 15 Messiah wrestling overcame an early 11-3 deficit with a dominating showing in the middle and heavyweights to defeat local rival Elizabethtown, 32-17, on Friday night on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena. Seniors
Jeff Hojnacki and
Ben Swarr each collected falls, and classmates
Hunter Harris and
Kyle Koser also earned wins on the mat.
The win moved Messiah to 14-5 on the season, and they'll turn around quickly to host No. 19 TCNJ on Saturday at 12:00 noon. Elizabethtown fell to 6-5 on the season.
The Seniors Will Lead Them
With no slight intended to the underclassmen, it was the Messiah senior class that took care of business on "Senior Night" with a record of 5-1 and combined score of 26-3.
Hunter Harris (133) went down 2-0 in his bout against Josh McLaughlin, but his march back included takedowns in both the second and third periods to win 6-4.
Jeff Hojnacki (165) and
Ben Swarr (174) were nothing short of impressive in their bouts, with Hojnacki's fall coming at the 2:42 mark and Swarr's cutting that in half with a pin at 1:20.
Derek Beitz continued the senior showcase at 174 with a forfeit win, and
Kyle Koser (197) put an exclamation on the Falcons' dominant performance with a 16-1 tech fall over Rocco Hladney.
Dan Kiser wrestled strong at heavyweight in what may be his final bout with the Falcons, but Erick Eckstein scored a sudden victory takedown to earn a narrow 3-1 decision.
Points, More Points, and a Pin
Stephen Maloney highlighted the underclass showing at 149 with a fall over Dan Smith at 1:55. His pin came after he racked up 12 points across a takedown, a two-point nearfall, and two four-point nearfalls. His performance pushed his season's nearfall total to 63, second on the team behind just
Kyle Koser's 79 nearfalls.
Next Up
Messiah welcomes TCNJ to Grantham tomorrow for a 12:00 noon match. The Falcons have won five-straight duals against the Lions, with their last loss coming in Feb. of 2013.
Messiah 32, Elizabethtown 17
125 - Austin Jones (Etown) won by forfeit over
Sean Redington (Messiah)
133 -
Hunter Harris (Messiah) defeated Josh McLaughlin (Etown) - 6-4 Decision
141 - Joe Ghione (Etown) defeated
Nick Nunez (Messiah) - 17-1 Tech Fall
149 -
Stephen Maloney (Messiah) defeated Dan Smith (Etown) - Fall, 1:55
157 - Chris Kummerer (Etown) defeated
Lee Cassel (Messiah) - 5-0 Decision
165 -
Jeff Hojnacki (Messiah) defeated Eli Perry (Etown) - Fall, 2:42
174 -
Ben Swarr (Messiah) defeated Dan Jerrems (Etown) - Fall, 1:20
184 -
Derek Beitz (Messiah) won by forfeit over Quinn Ruble (Etown)
197 -
Kyle Koser (Messiah) defeated Rocco Hladney (Etown) - 16-1 Tech Fall
285 - Eric Eckstein (Etown) defeated
Dan Kiser (Messiah) - 3-1 Decision (SV)
