Results

Bristol, RI – Messiah College scored 153 points and took first place at the Roger Williams Invitational on Saturday. The Falcons edged Johnson & Wales University by just four points and SUNY-Cortland by just seven points. The hosts, Roger Williams, finished in fourth place overall.
 
The Falcons' team victory is impressive when considering the three teams below them in the results are ranked in the top-30 in the nation. SUNY-Cortland is ranked the highest among them at third place with Messiah just behind at fifth.
 
Three Falcons stood atop their podiums as winners of their weight classes, and five others finished in the top-five. Lucas Malmberg (125), Kaleb Loht (141), and Ben Kramer (174) took those top honors with five pins between them.
 
Only 23 second ticked off the clock before Loht got his first win of the tournament with a pin. His second win was also by pin and took 1:30.
 
Malmberg continued to show his ability to score points and won with two pins, a tech fall (18-2), and a major decision (12-3), to finish it off.
 
Among the other wrestlers who finished in the top five spots in their weight classes was Marshall Myers (125). Myers lost his first bout of the day but worked his way up through the consolation bracket to win the fifth place match against the same wrestler he lost his first match to.
 
"The testament to this team is how much they battle through adversity," said head coach Bryan Brunk after the tournament. "We didn't wrestle our best and there were some upsets but everyone fought hard and it really showed."
 
"We will wrestle better in the future and when we do, the sky is the limit for this team."
 
Josh Thomson's loss in the semifinals was one of the upsets that coach Brunk referred to. After two wins by pinning his opponents, Thomson, currently ranked No. 2 in the nation at 184-pounds, lost to David Welch from Roger Williams. He would win one more bout in the consolation bracket before taking fourth place overall.
 
Kyle Coblentz (133), Ricardo Plummer (174), and Charles Jones (285) also finished in fourth place in their weight classes after collecting losses in the champion's brackets.
 
Jason Wright (197) was another grappler who battled his way up the consolations; he took third place on the day. Wright also collected the most points in one match amongst his team members with a 20-5 tech fall in his first bout of the day.
 
The Falcons will next travel to Alliance, Ohio, next weekend (11/23) for the Mt. Union duals. The matches are scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m.

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