Results
Brockport,, NY - Messiah College went into the Empire Conference Wrestling Conference (ECWC) Championships with aspirations of a first place finish. While that goal was not realized, the Falcons benefitted from a number of standout performances to earn a team finish of fourth place.
Additionally, the Falcons'
Tim Stewart and
Matt Cross are guaranteed to travel to the National wrestling tournament in March.
"It was definitely an up and down day," Messiah coach
Bryan Brunk said. "We didn't finish as high we would have liked, but we had guys that really battled.
"We talked about being ready for any possibie circumstance," Brunk added. "Whether acting the right way if we won, if we fell just short, or if we fell flat on our face, we wanted to respond the right way. All three of those things happened today."
Messiah College finished fourth with 97 total points. Cortland State finished first with 128.5 points, just ahead of second place finished Ithaca College (127 points). Host Brockport College scored 105.5 points for third place.
Senior
Tim Stewart highlighted Messiah's individual performances by defending his Empire championship in the 184 lb. weight class.
Classmate
Matt Cross finished second in the 174, being voted in by the coaches to attend the National tournament.
Sophomore
Ricardo Plummer provided a huge highlight for Messiah, as he followed up a first-match loss with a run all the way into a "true second" finish for 165. He was named as an alternate for the weight class and will wait until next week to see if his weight class will require an additional participant from the Empire Conference.
Standout freshman
Kaleb Loht had one "bad match" on the day, as Brunk would say. His loss in the semifinals of the 133 lb. weight class kept him from the championship bout. He would take third in his bracket.
Altogether, the Falcons placed nine comeptitors in the top six of their classes-- good enough for All-Conference. Six falcons finished in the top four of their classes.
In addition to the honors earned by the wrestlers,
Bryan Brunk was named the Empire Conference Coach of the Year.
"This was a culmination of a good year," Brunk said. "We'll look forward to seeing a few of our guys move on and compete for Messiah College at the national level."
