Collegeville, PA - No. 11 Messiah wrestled well early and faltered just once in a 3-1 showing at the North-South Duals today. Messiah earned wins over Camden (25-19), No. 14 Delaware Valley (26-19), and Hunter (47-3), with their lone loss coming No. 9 Stevens, 30-15. The wins pushed Messiah's dual record to 8-3 on the season.
"Going 3-1 overall is not what we were shooting for, but we have a lot to be proud of," Messiah head coach
Bryan Brunk said. "We had some good moments in every dual, and we need to just keep focusing on each match one at a time-- we need to keep trusting the process."
The process worked well for Messiah in their first three bouts, even as they were wrestling short-handed all day long. Among those missing from the lineup were No. 1-ranked wrestlers
Lucas Malmberg (125) and
Ben Swarr (174), and also
Jeff Hojnacki (157) who's still rehabbing from an early-season injury. Nevertheless, Messiah came away with nearly-identical wins over Camden and Delaware Valley, with their win over the Aggies notable considering the national ranking.
"It's hard to be nationally-ranked teams when you're shorthanded, so our guys have something to be proud of," Brunk said, commenting on his team's spirit against the Aggies. "We had guys step up all day, and
Stephen Maloney really gutted out a come-from-behind win against Del Val."
Among the Falcons' other standout performers was
Hunter Harris who picked up another two falls to push his season total to 17.
Derek Beitz also picked up three pins as he's steadily become a force after some early-season inconsistency.
The match of the day was undoubtedly between
Larry Cannon and Stevens' Colin Navickas at 165, both All-Americans from a year ago. Cannon controlled most of the match and scored the only offensive points for a 3-1 win.
"We didn't have a great outcome against Stevens, but that match with Larry was terrific," Brunk said. "Larry was really composed the whole time, and despite some scrambles here and there, was able to control the scoring to earn the win."
Messiah will get back to work next week in preparation for another weekend of matches, this time at the annual Budd Whitehill Duals in Williamsport, Pa.
Messiah 25, Camden County 19
125 –
Marshall Myers (M) dec. David Harris-Norton, 5-2
133 –
Hunter Harris (M) pinned Alex Velez, 1:29
141 –
Matthew Darok (M) maj. dec. Jarrett Ziegler, 20-9
149 –
Adam Peris (M) dec. Anthony Pencook, 10-3
157 –
Josh Grossnickle (M) dec. Charles Bramble, 4-1
165 – Cliff Owens (CC) pinned
Kevin Diehl, 3:27
174 – Michael Morris (CC) maj. dec.
Tyler Hershey, 13-3
184 –
Derek Beitz (M) pinned Jason Cortes, 5:40
197 – Diashi Goto (CC) dec.
Karrington Washington, 8-6
285 – Dymere Rhappa (CC) pinned Thomas Shifflet, 1:49
Messiah 26, Delaware Valley 21
125 – Brenden Velez (D) maj. dec.
Marshall Myers, 10-1
133 –
Hunter Harris (M) pinned Kordell Rush, 2:34
141 – Tim Ambacher (DV) dec.
Lee Cassel, 7-2
149 –
Stephen Maloney (M) dec. Robert Duxbury, 5-4
157 – Sekou Harris (DV) dec.
Tag Wilber, 9-8
165 –
Larry Cannon (M) tech fall Brandom Rudy, 15-0 (5:36)
174 – Ben Schweiger (DV) pinned
Tyler Hershey, 3:53
184 –
Derek Beitz (M) pinned David Furmato, 2:24
197 –
Kyle Koser (M) won by forfeit
285 – Zach Roseberry (DV) dec.
Nick Havener, 7-0
Messiah 46, Hunter 3
125 –
Marshall Myers (M) tech fall Hamad Amir, 16-1 (2:46)
133 –
Hunter Harris (M) won by forfeit
141 –
Lee Cassel (M) pinned Elliot Natala, 1:12
149 –
Stephen Maloney (M) tech fall John Sherlock, 20-3 (3:36)
157 – William Heine (H) dec.
Tag Wilber, 7-2
165 –
Larry Cannon (M) pinned Gabriel Calderon, 2:02
174 –
Tyler Hershey (M) dec. Nick Brutus, 10-6
184 –
Victor DeFrance (M) maj. dec. Maksimilian Garkusha, 15-5
197 –
Kyle Koser (M) tech fall Anthony Fitzsimmons, 17-1 (2:30)
285 –
Nick Havener (M) won by forfeit
Stevens 30, Messiah 15
125 – Rob Murray (SIOT) dec.
Marshall Myers, 9-4
133 – Troy Stanich (SIOT) pinned
Hunter Harris, 5:37
141 – Dylan Bansickel (SIOT) dec.
Lee Cassel, 15-12
149 – Zach Wilhelm (SIOT) dec.
Stephen Maloney, 8-0
157 – Thomas Poklikuha (SIOT) dec.
Tag Wilber, 11-3
165 –
Larry Cannon (M) dec. Colin Navickas, 3-1
174 – Phil Woods (SIOT) pinned
Tyler Hershey, 2:20
184 –
Derek Beitz (M) pinned Danny Moore, 5:59
197 – AJ Kowal (SIOT) dec.
Kyle Koser, 8-0
285 –
Nick Havener (M) pinned Pete Andrich, 2:01
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