Final Brackets

Grantham, PA - No. 8 Messiah wrestling placed nine wrestlers on the podium, including five individual champions, to win the 2017 MAC Championships for the second year in a row. The Falcons finished with 166.5 points, followed by Wilkes University in second with 132, Lycoming College in third with 126, Delaware Valley University in fourth with 99.5, and King's College in fifth with 52.5.
 
Lucas Malmberg, the top-ranked 125 lb. wrestler in Division III, completed a perfect MAC Championship career, winning the 125 title for the fourth time. He began the day with an 18-5 tech fall over Spencer Reed of Wilkes, followed by a pin of Garret Lockwood of Lycoming and an 8-0 major decision over Breded Velez of Delaware Valley to reach the championship. In the final, he pinned Division III No. 3 Guesseppe Rea of Wilkes just before the end of the third period to claim the title. Also at 125, Marshall Myers defeated Dakota Quick of King's to claim 5th place.
 
Hunter Harris dominated the 133 weight class, winning all four of his matches by fall. They occurred in 39 seconds in the first round, 3:51 in the quarterfinals, 3:40 in the semifinals, and 6:30 to win the championship over Pankil Chander of Wilkes. Harris has now pinned 20 opponents this season, tops among wrestlers in all NCAA Divisions.
 
At 141, Lee Cassel reached the semifinals with a bye and a 17-1 tech fall over Cory Fleming of Wilkes, before falling to DIII No. 2 Tim Ambacher of Delaware Valley in a tight 7-3 decision. Cassel climbed back through the consolation bracket to finish in 5th place with a 9-4 decision over Andres Aguilar of Lycoming. Stephen Maloney made it all the way to the 149 championship with a bye and two tech falls, but fell to DIII No. 2 Seth Lansberry in an 11-3 major decision to finish as the runner-up. Also at 149, Adam Peris was knocked out of gold medal contention by Lansberry in the semifinals, but came back to finish fourth.
 
Jeff Hojnacki came out very strong at 157, pinning Michael Brown of Wilkes and taking an 18-8 major decision over Austin Ross of Delaware Valley. In one of the more exciting matches of the day, he lost a tough 7-4 decision to John Ritter of Wilkes. Hojnacki came back through the consolation bracket to finish 5th.
 
DIII No. 6 Larry Cannon pinned his first two opponents at 165, before earning a 7-1 decision over Howard Kilpatrick of King's to reach the final. The senior defended his 2016 157 lb. MAC title with an 8-1 decision over the defending 2016 165 lb. champion  and DIII No. 7 Nolan Barger of Lycoming.
 
At 174, Tyler Hershey dropped his first match, but came back through the consolation bracket to finish sixth.
 
Messiah had two wrestlers reach the podium in both the 184 and 197 weight classes, with an individual champion in each. Derek Beitz claimed the 184 title with a tech fall, pin, and a pin of Wilkes' Jacob Brook in the final. Victor Defrance reached the semifinals before falling to Brook in a tough 8-5 decision. In the consolation bracket, DeFrance pinned his first opponent and then took a 4-0 decision over Dakota Pfeiffer of Lycoming to receive third place. Kyle Koser only needed two matches to defend his 2016 197 lb. MAC Championship, pinning Edward Merrill of King's in 54 seconds in the semifinal and taking down Travis Ogden of Lycoming by way of a 16-0 tech fall in the final. Karrington Washington dropped his first match of the tournament to Merrill before avenging that loss in the third-place match, defeating Merrill in a 5-2 decision.
 
At 285, Nick Havener reached the final with two quick pins and a medical forfeit in the semifinals. However, he ran into Division III No. 1 Zach Roseberry of Delaware Valley in the championship, falling in a 10-4 decision to finish as the runner-up.
 
The Falcons return to the mats Jan. 27-28 when they travel to Wheaton, IL for the Wheaton Invitational.
 

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