Grantham, PA — It was a full gamut of emotions for the 26th-ranked Messiah College wrestling team Friday night at Brubaker Auditorium, as the Falcons dropped a heartbreaking 25-21 decision to visiting Muhlenberg College in the most unexpected of fashions.
Paramedics were called to the scene following sophomore Trent Zempel's illegal takedown of the Mules' David Lavin in the 165 bout, disqualifying Zempel and earning Muhlenberg a six-point win by default in a pivotal match.
Zempel, ranked eighth in the nation among 165-pounders in the latest D3Wrestling.com Individual Poll, was leading Lavin before an attempted takedown move went wrong in mid-stride. Looking to invert Lavin for a controlled takedown, Zempel lost his balance and dropped the Mules' grappler on the back of his head.
Lavin was carted off on a stretcher and taken to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.
“The (illegal move) call was the right call,” said Bryan Brunk, Messiah head coach. “Trent was attempting a move that he executes all the time, but (Lavin) got a hold of Trent's hip when he was at the top, causing him to lose his balance.
“I went over to (Lavin) while he was lying on the mat and said I was sorry, and he told me that he wanted to walk off but the (medical staff) wouldn't allow it as a precautionary measure,” Brunk continued. “That was good to hear, along with the fact that he knew it was not intentional on Trent's part. Lavin is a tough, tough kid.”
As the crowd applauded Lavin being removed from the mat, Zempel had suffered just his sixth loss in 37 appearances on the season, vastly changing the complexion of the team scoring in the process. Messiah (10-12) led by a 15-10 score entering Zempel's match but trailed 15-16 following it, while the Falcons surrendered bonus points in the 184 weight in eventually dropping the team decision.
“It's disappointing,” Brunk said. “We did a lot of what we needed to do tonight, but we just couldn't come up with enough points late. It's frustrating because it's our goal to have a winning record each year, and we weren't able to get that done.”
Honoring the team's seniors beforehand, things looked promising for Brunk's squad early on, as freshman Bryce Stever and senior Josh Cragg combined to give Messiah a 9-0 lead following the evening's first two matches. Stever used an aggressive style to blow past Muhlenberg's Dan McEnroy, while Cragg slowly picked apart Michael Slevin in a technical fall decision.
“We got some bonus points early, and Josh really wrestled well in his final home meet,” Brunk said.
Muhlenberg got on the board in the event's next two matches, however, as a pair of reserve wrestlers for Messiah — sophomore Domineak Commodore at 141 and freshman Steve Willingham at 149 — each gave up bonus-point decisions.
“We were without (starters and juniors) Barry Thrush and Craig Gin, so we knew those spots would be tough,” Brunk said. “But Domineak had control of his match before getting pinned, so that was a tough one to take.”
Now trailing by a 10-9 team score, Brunk put up a risky move by inserting senior Jordan Ohman into the lineup at 157, removing usual starter and freshman Mike Bressler — a grappler posting a 25-12 record to date.
Naturally, on senior night, Ohman responded with his first pin of the season.
“I had a feeling about Jordan,” Brunk said afterward. “It really came down to a lot of things, as Jordan's worked really hard and has wrestled really well lately in practice. I also really like to get seniors in on our senior night. It's about a lot more than just producing wrestlers here.”
Brubaker Auditorium erupted at the match's 2:59 mark, as Ohman placed a kicking Matt Friedman on his back for nearly six seconds before pinning him.
It would likely be Ohman's final match as a collegiate wrestler, as Bressler is expected to occupy the 157 slot in the post-season.
“I was really proud of him,” Brunk said. “Pinning a guy on senior night in your last college match. . .that's something he'll remember for the rest of his life.”
Sadly for Messiah, the smile had yet to disappear from Ohman's face when Zempel was whistled for his disqualification just moments later, changing what appeared to be a going-away win for the Falcons into a match of great distress. Freshman David Jones got a big, 6-2 win to put Messiah back on top by an 18-16 score in the 174 bout, but sophomore Matt McHugh's loss by fall to Muhlenberg's Matt Horn in 184 all but sealed the deal for the visitors.
Sophomore Dando Speers had a gutsy, 3-0 win at 197 to pull the Falcons to a 22-21 score heading into the final bout, but with an undersized Tim Hopkins (freshman) anchoring Messiah's 285 card, it was simply not to be. Hopkins dropped his 15th decision of the season in a 7-0 score to Muhlenberg's Joe Tartar.
“Tim is all heart and wrestles so hard every time out, but he is undersized out there,” Brunk said. “David Jones wrestled really well for us, and he was 1-2 against (Muhlenberg's Justin Fitch) on the season coming into today. It's disappointing not to get a team win, but we're going to try to finish the season strong.”
Messiah will next compete in the Empire College Wrestling Conference Championships next Saturday, signifying the first leg of the post-season for the team.
“This is where it becomes a real individual sport, and we have some wrestlers who are wrestling really strong right now,” Brunk said. “In that regard, I don't think we lost any momentum tonight, and we probably gained some at some positions. We'll continue to train hard and look to make our mark in the coming weeks.”
Results:
Muhlenberg College 25 over #26 Messiah College 21
125 - Bryce Stever (ME) maj. dec. Dan McEnroy, 15-7 (ME, 4-0)
133 - Josh Cragg (ME) tech. fall Michael Slevin (MU), 5:27 (ME, 9-0)
141 - Billy Hall (MU) fall Domineak Commodore (ME), 3:52 (ME, 9-6)
149 - Rob Kein (MU) maj. dec. Steve Willingham (ME), 11-3 (MU, 10-9)
157 - Jordan Ohman (ME) fall Matt Friedman (MU), 2:59 (ME, 15-10)
165 - David Lavin (MU) disqual. Trent Zempel (ME), 2:00 (MU, 16-15)
174 - David Jones (ME) dec. Justin Fitch (ME), 6-2 (ME, 18-16)
184 - Matt Horn (MU) fall Matt McHugh (ME), 4:36 (MU, 22-18)
197 - Dando Speers (ME) dec. Chris Swensen (MU), 3-0 (MU, 22-21)
285 - Joe Tartar (MU) dec. Tim Hopkins (ME), 7-0 (MU 25-21)
