Final Brackets |
Final Team Results
Ada, OH – Four Messiah College wrestlers have successfully made it to the NCAA Championship Tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Leading the team was #6
Josh Thomson who won his 184-pound weight class, becoming a Regional Champion.
The three others who made it past this regional tournament are
Ricardo Plummer (165),
Ben Kramer (174), and
Travis Ebersole (197). Plummer and Kramer took second place in their brackets, while Ebersole won the consolation bracket to take third place and the last qualifying spot.
The tournament was a one-day, double-elimnation event in which the top three wrestlers in each weight class qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships on March 15 and 16.
As a team, Messiah College took 5th place in the tournament, tying the hosts Ohio Northern University with 73 points. Topping the team standings was Elizabethtown College with 101 points and also qualified five wrestlers for the NCAA Championships.
Sophomore
Kurt Rodriguez went 0-2 on the day at 125 lbs. Junior
Kyle Coblentz was 1-2 on the day, winning his first bout in an 8-6 decision but lost the next two.
The 141-pound weight class saw the return of sophomore
Kaleb Loht after being sidelined by injury. He won his first bout with a 13-3 major decision but it seemed he wasn't quite 100% yet as he lost his next two matches of the day.
Also being sent to the consolation bracket early on was junior
Chris Williamson at 149 lbs. He came back from a round one loss to beat fifth-seeded opponent Michael Lammer in a 14-3 major decision. However he then lost his second match in a 12-5 decision.
The first wrestler to place for the Falcons was sophomore
Jake English at 157 lbs. A second round loss sent him to the consolation bracket but from there he won his next two matches, the first coming by way of a 19-2 tech. fall. English then got sent to the 5th place match by second-seeded Josh Etzel of Washington & Jefferson where he lost in a 6-1 decision, giving him a sixth place finish in the tournament.
Junior
Ricardo Plummer started out seeded second for the 165-pounders and that is where he ended up in his bracket. He went 3-1 on the day, making it to the final match with three decisions. Plummer lost in the final to Sam Guidi of Waynesburg University in a 6-1 decision taking second place.
Classmate
Ben Kramer (174) also started out seeded second for his weight class and took second as well. He started out with a 12-6 decision and won his next two with 2-0 and 3-1 decisions. The 3-1 semifinal win had to go into extra time to be decided. Kramer then lost the first place match to top-seeded and top-ranked Kyle Kwiat of ONU in a 5-0 decision.
Ranked No. 6 in the country, freshman
Josh Thomson added to his young but strong career by becoming Regional Champion. He didn't win any matches in spectacular fashion, but he did what was necessary and kept a level head. Thomson got to the final bout at 184 lbs. by getting three decision victories. He then won the final match by way of medical forfeit over Julian Meaney of Elizabethtown.
Taking the final qualifying spot from the day for Messiah was senior
Travis Ebersole. He was the only wrestler for the team to win by pinning his opponent, which he did twice. The second one was the important one though, because it came in the third place match against seventh-seeded Matthew Lashway of SUNY-Brockport. More impressive than that though, is it came just 41 seconds into the match.
Rounding out the wrestlers at the tournament for Messiah is junior
Charles Jones (285). He was seeded fourth but lost in the second round to fifth-seeded Cody Lovejoy of ONU. Jones won his next match in a 12-5 decision but then lost to Nick Terifaj of Mount Union in a 7-2 decision.
The four Falcons who qualified for the NCAA Championships will have to wait two weeks before they can wrestle there on March 15.
List of participating schools:
-SUNY-Brockport
-Case Western Reserve University
-Elizabethtown College
-Heidelberg University
-John Carroll University
-Lycoming College
-#19 Messiah College
-College of Mount Saint Joseph
-University of Mount Union
-Muskingum University
-#26 Ohio Northern University
-Rochester Institute of Technology
-Thiel College
-Washington & Jefferson College
-Waynesburg University
-#15 York College of Pennsylvania
Nationally ranked competitors (NWCA):
125 - #8 Mattias Ellis (Brockport)
149 - #9 Vinny Pisani (York)
174 - #1 Kyle Kwiat (ONU)
184 - #6
Josh Thomson (Messiah)
285 - #9 John Wilkinson (Brockport)
