Team Results |Â
Individual ResultsWilkes-Barre, PA - No. 3 Messiah College earned five individual conference champions on Saturday afternoon, but it proved not enough as they were edged by No. 6 Delaware Valley in the MAC Championship. The Aggies also picked up five individual titles, but they finished with 125.5 team points to pace Messiah's 124 points.
"I thought we wrestled really well today," head coach
Bryan Brunk said, commeting on the day's results. "I'm proud of how our guys wrestled. Del Val has a really good team, but it says a lot about both our teams that we each had five champions.
"I think our guys got better today, and the final result could have gone either way. A different result here or there, and it changes. So for us, we're focused on getting better, and that's our takeaway."
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No. 2
Lucas Malmberg took home the first championship for the Falcons, doing so in the 125 lb. weight class. He defeated No. 8 Connor Kirkegard of Delaware Valley in a major decision, 12-2. The win solidified Malmberg's second-straight MAC title.
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No. 1
Kaleb Loht followed suit in the 141 lb. weight class, taking an 18-10 major decision over Tim Amacher of Lycoming. Loht's was dominating from the start of the day, as he earned a pin (2:48), a 22-7 tech fall, and a 15-5 major decision to reach the final.
"Kaleb was aggressive from the start," Brunk said, highlighting Loht's 25 takedowns in just four matches. "He set an example for our guys of how we want to wrestle. He was really solid.
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No. 6
Larry Cannon became the third MAC Champion for Messiah, doing so in the 157 lb. weight class. Like Loht before him, Cannon dominated early bouts by way of a fall (1:35) and an 11-0 major decision. In the final Cannon took a closer decision, 5-3 over Sean Lombardi of Wilkes.
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In the next championship (165)
Derek Beitz came close to his first MAC title, but fell in sudden victory (5-3) to Alec Horan of Delaware Valley. Beitz had reached the final with a 3-2 win over teammate Jacob English in the 165 lb. semifinal. English advanced to the third place bout but was pinned 38 seconds into his match Nolan Barger of Lycoming.
"In hindsight, 165 may have been the deciding bout for the final scores," Brunk said, adding that he thought Beitz was really strong. "(Beitz) was up near the end but (Horan) had 1:08 of riding time and was able to earn the tie to send it to overtime. There, Beitz got into a tough spot before Horan earned a takedown."
Beitz earned Second Team All-MAC with the runner-up finish.
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No. 3
Josh Thomson got the Falcons back on the winner's platform in the 174 lb. weight class. He rode back-to-back falls into the final against Kyle Diesel of Wilkes, where he then took a 5-3 decision. Like Malmberg before him, he repeated as MAC Champ.
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In the 184 lb. weight class
Ben Swarr took home the final MAC title for Messiah. He started the day with 10-5 and 10-3 decisions to advance into the final. There, he won 6-4 over Delaware Valley's Connor Gabriel.
Other highlights for the Falcons included third place finishes from
Chris Williamson (149) and
Kyle Koser (197).
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Williamson first lost in the semifinal to Seth Lansberry of Lycoming (6-1), but then took a pin (1:03) over James Palys to reach the third place bout. There, Williamson earned a 9-5 decision over Wilkes' Josh Evans.
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As for Koser, he earned a 5-0 win over Eric Bach of Wilkes. The decision was especially significant considering Bach pinned Koser in a bout earlier this season.
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Hunter Harris (133) also advanced to the third-place match, but he fell 15-1 to Matthew Sparks of King's.
Nick Havener did the same at 285, losing by fall to Nick Dawson of Wilkes.
"Going into today, we told our guys that 'it's another rehearsal,'" Brunk said, commenting on his team's approach before and during Saturday's event. "We have a few young guys that are coming along quickly, so they'll need to continue to improve. Our older guys also need to get better, and we think we're at a spot where that's happening."
"We have big goals for our season, and now we'll look forward to next weekend at the Wheaton Invitational."
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