Brackets | Team ScoresBristol, RI – The No. 4 Falcons of Messiah College battled for a second place finish at the Roger Williams Invitational. The Falcons used ten place winners and collected 162 team points, 18 points behind Roger Williams (180 points).
Hunter Harris was a bright spot for the Falcons finishing in third place for Messiah. Harris collected a 14-7 decision and a pin in 1:47 to advance to the semifinals. Harris lost in the semifinal bout and wrestled tough in the consolation bracket by collecting two pins for third place.
At the 141 pound weight class
Lee Cassel finished 5-2 on the day and took fifth place. Cassel dropped his first match of the day and battled back through the consolation bracket winning four straight matches before losing in the consolation semifinals. Three of four consolation victories came by fall for Cassel.
During the fifth place match, Cassel wrestled great defensively and defeated Adam Wilhelm of the Coast Guard Academy by a 5-0 decision.
Messiah had another strong performance at the 165 pound weight class with two place winners.
Jeff Hojnacki finished second and
Larry Cannon took third. Cannon advanced to the semifinals with an 18-6 major decision, a pin in 4:30, and a tight 8-6 decision over Alec Golner from Roger Williams.
Cannon had another tight match in the semifinals but came out on the losing end in a 4-3 overtime defeat to Colin Barber of SUNY Cortland. After the defeat, Cannon displayed his dominance with a pin in the consolation semifinals and third place match.
Jeff Hojnacki advanced to the semifinals with an 8-3 decision and a pin in 3:29. In his semifinal match, Hojnacki grinded out a 5-4 decision in overtime over Kyler Deeter from Ohio Northern.
In the finals, Hojnacki met up with Colin Barber, the opponent Cannon lost to in the semifinals, and lost by a 4-1 decision.
At the 174 pound weight class,
Derek Beitz placed second for the Falcons. Beitz recorded a pin in 1:13 and two decisions to advance to the semifinals. During the semifinals Beitz toughed out a close 3-2 decision over National Qualifier Dan Ressler from Roger Williams. In the finals Beitz lost to Lou Puca, a returning All-American from SUNY Cortland by fall. Beitz had an early lead before getting caught on his back in the end of the first period.
The 184 pound weight class had two excellent performances from Falcon wrestlers.
Josh Thomson cruised through the tournament with three pins and a forfeit in the finals over teammate
Ben Swarr to stand atop the podium. Thomson is off to an impressive start with an 8-0 record and two tournament championships.
Before forfeiting to teammate
Josh Thomson,
Ben Swarr collected a fall and tallied two decisions on his way to the finals.
At 197 pounds
Kyle Koser finished fourth with a 5-2 record. Koser dominated his opponents on his way to the quarterfinals with a pin in 1:31 and an 18-0 technical fall. Next, Koser dropped a low scoring match to Khamri Thomas from Johnson & Wales 2-1.
Koser wrestled tough throughout the wrestlebacks and strung together three straight wins before losing to returning national champion Joe Giaramita from SUNY Courtland in the third place bout.
Jason Wright was the final placewinner for the Falcons with a second place finish at 285 pounds. Wright earned a fall and two decisions to take a spot in the championship bout. During the finals, Wright lost a hard fought 3-2 decision to Kyle Foster from Roger Williams.
The Falcons will be back in action next Saturday when they compete in the Mount Union Duals starting at 11:00 a.m.
