Nashville, TN - No. 3 ranked Messiah College wrestling split four matches at the Gator "Boots" Duals on Saturday, with two Falcons' teams battling it out with the field. Messiah, Concordia-Moorhead, and Luther College all competed with a 'first team' and 'second team' throughout the day.  
 
They opened a full slate of match-ups with a win over Elmhurst College. The Falcons won 33-14 with pins coming from Kyle Coblentz, Stephen Cannon, and Jason Wright. Extra points for Messiah also came from No. 7 Lucas Malmberg (tech fall) and No. 2 Kaleb Loht (major decision).
 
Messiah then fell to No. 8 Luther College, 28-7, seeing the first loss of the season as a team. Loht collected his second major decision of the day in his bout, but only one other Falcon secured points against the Norse. There was a surprising finish at 184 pounds when No. 5 Josh Thomson was pinned by No. 7 Jayden DeVilbiss, proving that anything can happen when two top-ten ranked wrestlers hit the mat.
 
Ben Kramer secured the only other win for the Falcons in the match with an 8-4 decision. Kramer went 2-0 on the day, sharing the 174-pound slot with Ricardo Plummer, who also finished 2-0.
 
Messiah then faced off against No. 6 Concordia-Moorhead to try to rebound but came just shy with a 20-19 score. The match was split evenly with five wins per team; unfortunately, the final extra point for the Cobbers came from the final bout of the match in a tech fall. Nevertheless, the Falcons appeared strong against the sixth-ranked team in the country.
 
The Falcons finished the day with a 26-13 win over Loras. Six Falcons ended the day with a win, including Thomson with a pin at 2:15. Loht won his fourth bout of the day, improving his undefeated record to 21-0. Stephen Cannon went 3-1 on the day, finishing with a major decision against his Duhawk opponent.
 
Other Messiah highlights from throughout the day included Malmberg's 3-1 record. He lost his first match of his college career and is now 19-1 overall.
 
The Falcons' 2-2 record at the Gator "Boots" Duals now brings their record to 8-2 overall. After a winter break, Messiah wrestling will return for the Budd Whitehill Duals at Lycoming College on January 10 and 11.

No. 3 Messiah (first team) 33, Elmhurst 14
125    Lucas Malmberg (Messiah) won by tech fall over Tyler Price (Elmhurst) 0:00 23-6.
133    Kyle Coblentz (Messiah) won by pin over Carter Beebe (Elmhurst) 0:42.               
141    Kaleb Loht (Messiah) won by major decision over Matt Quigley (Elmhurst) 10-0.
149    Ryan Prater (Elmhurst) won by pin over Greg Kabakjian (Messiah) 3:45.                
157    Nick DiNardo (Elmhurst) won by decision over Jake English (Messiah) 7-3.
165    Stephen Cannon (Messiah) won by pin over Stephen Myers (Elmhurst) 3:53.
174    Ricardo Plummer (Messiah) won by decision over Daniel Threlkeld (Elmhurst) 3-1.       
184    Josh Thomson (Messiah) won by decision over Danny Balderas (Elmhurst) 9-4.                
197    Jason Wright (Messiah) won by pin over Bryce Sellers (Elmhurst) 7:37.
285    Dan Vargas (Elmhurst) won by tech fall over Luke Weaver (Messiah) 3:16 15-0.
 
No. 8 Luther 28, No. 3 Messiah (first team) 7
125    Garrett Wangsness (Luther) won in sudden victory 1 over Lucas Malmberg (Messiah) 9-7.        
133    Evan Obert (Luther) won by decision over Kyle Coblentz (Messiah) 5-1.                  
141    Kaleb Loht (Messiah) won by major decision over Dakota Gray (Luther) 11-3.  
149    Cody Orr (Luther) won by decision over Greg Kabakjian (Messiah) 7-0.
157    Blake Letney (Luther) won by decision over Larry Cannon (Messiah) 8-4.              
165    Garrett Bonte (Luther) won by decision over Stephen Cannon (Messiah) 9-5.   
174    Ben Kramer (Messiah) won by decision over Jarid Groth (Luther) 8-4.  
184    Jayden DeVilbiss (Luther) won by pin over Josh Thomson (Messiah) 5:24
197    Nick Pearch (Luther) won by decision over Jason Wright (Messiah) 8-4.                
285    Conner Herman (Luther) won by major decision over Luke Weaver (Messiah) 11-0.
 
No. 6 Concordia-Moorhead 20, No. 3 Messiah (first team) 19
125    Lucas Malmberg (Messiah) won in sudden victory 1 over Gabe Foltz (Concordia-Moorhead) 8-1.             
133    Jacoby Bergeron (Concordia-Moorhead) won by decision over Kyle Coblentz (Messiah) 7-4.     
141    Kaleb Loht (Messiah) won by decision over Yonas Gebreab (Concordia-Moorhead) 7-3.               
149    Jacob Long (Concordia-Moorhead) won by pin over Greg Kabakjian (Messiah) 5:52.      
157    Kyle LeDuc (Concordia-Moorhead) won by decision over Larry Cannon (Messiah) 11-5.                
165    Stephen Cannon (Messiah) won by major decision over Jake Krogstad (Concordia-Moorhead) 18-7.    
174    Ricardo Plummer (Messiah) won by decision over Sebastian Gardner (Concordia-Moorhead) 3-2.         
184    Josh Thomson (Messiah) won by medical forfeit over Christian Harrison (Concordia-Moorhead) .          
197    Delson Saintal (Concordia-Moorhead) won by decision over Jason Wright (Messiah) 11-5.
285    Cody Kasprick (Concordia-Moorhead) won by tech fall over Luke Weaver (Messiah) 5:56 15-0.
 
No. 3 Messiah (first team) 26, Loras 13
125    Lucas Malmberg (Messiah) won by major decision over Ronald Triche (Loras) 11-2.
133    Rudolph Johnson (Loras) won by decision over Kyle Coblentz (Messiah) 5-2.
141    Kaleb Loht (Messiah) won by injury default over Nick Steger (Loras) 3:18.
149    Joseph Wood (Loras) won by decision over Greg Kabakjian (Messiah) 4-2.
157    Steven DeWitt (Loras) won by major decision over Jake English (Messiah) 17-6.           
165    Stephen Cannon (Messiah) won by major decision over William Wood (Loras) 14-5.
174    Ben Kramer (Messiah) won in sudden victory 1 over Joe Butler (Loras) 9-7.
184    Josh Thomson (Messiah) won by pin over Mathias Palmersheim (Loras) 2:15.
197    Jason Wright (Messiah) won by decision over Malcolm Watson (Loras) 9-5.
285    James Buss (Loras) won by decision over Luke Weaver (Messiah) 8-2.

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