Results

Grantham, PA - On Saturday the Messiah wrestling team hosted the Messiah Open in Hitchcock Arena. The Falcons had a strong showing placing 10 wrestlers in the tournament. Victor DeFrance highlighted the day for Messiah, winning the 184-pound weight class for his first tournament victory as a Falcon.
 
Along with DeFrance the wrestlers that placed were: Marshall Myers (125 – 5th), Lee Cassel (141 – 7th), Andres Gutierrez (141 – 8th), Jarred Furry (149 – 5th), Tag Wilber (157 – 5th), Derek Beitz (174 – 7th), Karrington Washington (174 – 8th), Jeremy Bailes (184 – 3rd), and Nick Havener (197 – 3rd).
 
Marshall Myers reached the quarterfinals by way of a 7-2 decision over Timothy Miranda (Elizabethtown). Myers was on the wrong end of a 12-3 major decision in his quarterfinals match and then lost a tight 3-1 decision to Joey Barber (Maryland) before defeating Medina again in the 5th-place match.
 
Lee Cassel won by fall in his first match of the day against Nathan Colley (York) in 1:59 before being knocked to the consolation bracket. Cassell won his first consolation match by a 9-3 decision and was later pitted against teammate Andres Gutierrez in the 7th-place match. Gutierrez advanced to that match by battling through the consolation bracket. After loosing by fall in his first match, Gutierrez claimed two straight decisions by scores of 9-3 and 1-0 before getting pinned by Cassel and taking 8th place.
 
At 149 pounds, Jared Furry advanced to the semifinals by way of two decisions, over Shane Arechiga (Maryland) 13-9 and Jason Gaccione (Millersville) 5-4. Furry dropped 5-3 decisions in the semifinals and his first consolation match before taking 5th place after a medical forfeit.
 
After winning by major decision (11-0) in his first match of the day Tag Wilbur was pinned in the quarterfinals in 1:16. Wilbur then advanced through the consolation bracket with a technical fall and a fall (5:30) before dropping an 8-5 decision to Joe Paton (TCNJ). In his 5th-place match, Wilbur pinned his opponent in the first-period to take 5th at 157 pounds.
 
At 174 pounds, Derek Beitz pinned his first-round opponent (6:26) before getting pinned himself in 0:33 against Jordan Pagano (Unattached). Beitz then won a 4-0 decision against teammate Tyler Hershey and dropped a 4-0 decision to move to the 7th-place match against teammate Karrington Washington. Similar to Bietx, Washington earned a fall in his first match but then dropped a close 5-3 decision to Vinny Levin (Unattached). In the consolation bracket, Washington earned a fall in 1:33 and then dropped a 5-1 decision to face Beitz in the 7th-place match. Beitz came out on top in the battle of teammates, besting Washington to earn 7th place by way of a 6-5 decision.
 
The 184-pound weight class was the strongest on the day for the Falcons. As mentioned, Victor DeFrance won the bracket defeating Joshua Stencler (Elizabethtown) 11-6, David Smith (Liberty) 13-7, and Brett Lewis (SUNY Cortland) by major decision 12-4 to earn his first tournament victory as a Falcon. In addition to DeFrance winning the 184-pound weight class, the Falcons also had Jeremy Bailes take 3rd place. Bailes earned a 13-8 decision over Taylor Westlake (Liberty) before dropping a 13-6 decision to Lewis. In the consolation Bailes picked up a major decision 17-6 and a 9-4 decision to earn 3rd-place honors.
 
The final place-winner for the Falcons was Nick Havener at 197 pounds. Havener advanced to the semifinals by way of a 11-2 major decision over Alex Mirabella (TCNJ), but then dropped his semifinal match by a 16-5 major decision. In the consolation bracket Havener picked up a 5-0 decision to earn a spot in the 3rd-place match. Havener then took 3rd place with a pin of Stephen Boncimino (TCNJ) in 4:17.
 
Messiah will next take the mat on Friday, Feb. 12 when they host Elizabethtown at 7:00 p.m. for a dual in Brubaker Auditorium.

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