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Grantham, PA - The No. 3 Falcons of Messiah College won the Messiah Petrofes Invitational with a total of 186.5 points, 53.5 more points than runner-up finisher Stevens Institute of Technology (133). Messiah crowned four champions and had a total of 17 place winners en route to their dominant victory.
 
At 125 pounds, No. 1 Lucas Malmberg won the 125 pound weight class with two pins and two decisions. Malmberg received a bye to advance to the round of 16 where he overpowered Brandon Greyson of Ursinus with a fall in 3:26.
 
In the quarterfinals, Malmberg was tested, but still handled Chris Doyle of Baldwin Wallace with a 15-8 decision to advance to the semifinals. Malmberg continued his dominance in the semifinal match with a fall in the third period over Tristan Bean from West Virginia Tech.
 
In the finals, Malmberg took control of the match early and won by a 11-4 decision over Michael Fleck of Wilkes.
 
At the 133 pound weight class, Hunter Harris finished in third place with two pins, two decisions, and a major decision. Harris received a bye to the round of 16 where he stuck Jake Landers of Baldwin Wallace in 1:52. Next, Harris cruised past Louie Carusillo of Gettysburg with a 17-5 major decision and earned a spot in the semifinals.
 
Harris lost his semifinal bout and pinned Michael O'Boyle from McDaniel in the consolation semifinals. For third place, Harris grinded out a close 4-3 decision over Kevin Hoogheem of Ursinus. Josh Whitelaw finished with a 3-2 record at 133 pounds, good for seventh place.
 
At the 141 pound weight class, newcomer Lee Cassel finished 3-3 in the tournament and placed eighth. Adam Peris was another place winner for the Falcons finishing with in eighth place at 149 pounds.
 
No. 9 Larry Cannon wrestled his way into the semifinals at 157 pounds with a fall and major decision. Cannon received a bye to the round of 16 where he made quick work of Grant Rathburn of Baldwin Wallace with a pin in 1:24.
 
In the quarterfinals, Cannon racked up points and defeated Wade Bishop of McDaniel College by a 16-4 major decision. Cannon forfeited the rest of the tournament and finished in sixth place.
 
At 165 pounds Messiah had three place winners in Jeff Hojnacki (2nd), Ben Wise (5th), and Tag Wilber (6th). Wise had a courageous come from behind victory in the round of 16 where he defeated Branden Parker of Mount Union 11-9 in double overtime. Next, Wise defeated Aarin Feliz of Baldwin Wallace by a 10-4 decision.
 
Wise lost his semifinal and consolation semifinal matches before defeating teammate Tag Wilber by an 11-8 decision for fifth place.
 
Tag Wilber finished in sixth place in his first appearance at the 165 pound weight class. Wilber stuck Bryan Overton of Western Virginia Tech in 2:47. In the round of 16, Wilber dominated Shawn Carroll of Springfield by a 17-0 tech fall. Next, Wilber toughed out a 3-1 decision over James Ilvento of Wilkes. Wilber lost his next three matches and finished sixth.
 
Jeff Hojnacki was the highest placing Falcon at 165 pounds finishing in second place. Hojnacki started his tournament by accumulating a large sum of points with a 25-7 tech fall over Bobby Endy of Ursinus. Next, Hojnacki pinned Lorenzo Gisonda of Muhlenberg in 2:33.
 
In the quarterfinals, Hojnacki cruised to a 17-7 major decision over Ryan Harty of Springfield. Hojnacki squared off against teammate Tag Wilber in the semifinals and came away with a decisive 15-7 major decision. In the finals, Hojnacki dropped a close 5-4 decision to Colin Navickas of Stevens Institute due to a late reversal from Navickas.
 
No. 6 Derek Beitz had an outstanding tournament by winning the 174 pound weight class by way of three pins and a 6-0 decision. Beitz started his tournament with a fall in just one minute over Marvin McKinney of McDaniel. In the quarterfinals, Beitz collected another pin, this time over Cristian Collina of Mount Union in 2:59.
 
The pins kept coming for Beitz as he locked up a tight cradle against Anthony Arroyo from Baldwin Wallace and collected the fall in 6:45 during the semifinals. In the finals, Beitz used a slick shrug to secure a takedown and executed great defense for a decisive 6-0 decision over Phil Woods of Stevens Institute. Another placer for the Falcons was Tyler Hershey who finished eighth.
 
Messiah had three wrestler place in the top four at 184 pounds in Josh Thomson (1st), Ben Swarr (2nd), and Jeremy Bailes (4th). Thomson had an impressive tournament with four pins and a 5-1 decision in the finals over teammate Ben Swarr. His first pin was over Dominic States of McDaniel in 43 seconds. The second pin for Thomson was over Connor Roger of Mount Union in 6:43.
 
Thomson collected another pin in the quarterfinals over Gabriel Mahaney of Baldwin Wallace in 4:30. Next, Thomson gathered his fourth fall in the semifinals over Kalen Gans of Stevens Institute of Technology. For gold, Thomson defeated fellow Falcon Ben Swarr 5-1.
 
Ben Swarr finished second with two tech falls and two decisions. His first tech fall came against Christopher Head of Baldwin Wallace by a 17-1 score. In the quarterfinals, Swarr ran into teammate Victor DeFrance and earned a 19-0 tech fall.
 
Swarr had a tough opponent in the semifinals in returning national qualifier Kyle Diesel of Wilkes. Swarr controlled the entire match and came away with the 7-1 decision and advanced to the finals. As mentioned, Swarr fell to teammate Josh Thomson in the finals.
 
Jeremy Bailes finished with a 4-2 record, good for fourth place. Both losses came from Kyle Diesel of Wilkes.
 
No. 9 Kyle cruised through the 197 pound weight class with two pins and two major decisions. Koser started his tournament with a 13-0 major decision over Samie Al-Ziab of Springfield.
 
Next, Koser pinned Aaron Page of Mount Union just as time expired in the first period. In the semifinals, Koser blanked Jake Pooton of McDaniel by an 11-0 major decision.  
 
Koser conquered Nicholas Dawson of Wilkes in the finals by accumulating enough points for a tech fall before locking up a tight cradle for the pin in 2:11. Nick Havener placed fourth in the 197 pound weight class with a 4-2 record.
 
At 285 pounds, Jason Wright advanced to the semifinals with two decisions and a major decision. Wright edged Mike Sinclair of Mount Union in the first round by a 5-2 decision. Next, Wright handled Zeb Pfeiffer of Ursinus with a 12-2 major decision.
 
In the quarterfinals, Wright earned a hard fought victory over Joe Belford of Baldwin Wallace by a 3-2 score. Next, Wright had to grind out another victory over Krakil Kakauridze of Springfield in sudden victory. Wright kept the pressure on Kakauridze and earned a stalling point for the 3-2 decision.  
 
In the finals, Wright fell to Paul Triandafilou of Gettysburg in sudden victory. Both wrestlers earned escape points until Triandafilou sprawled and spun around Wright in sudden victory for the match ending takedown.
 
The Falcons will be back in action Dec. 11 when they host the Red Raiders of Shippensburg University in Brubaker Auditorium at 7:00 p.m.
 

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