Final Team Scores | Final Brackets
Wheaton, Ill. – No. 11 Messiah wrestling put five wrestlers in the final and won three championships en route to earning 137 points and winning the Pete Willson Invitational at Wheaton College this weekend. The Falcons took the team title by 6.5 points over Mount Union, an impressive feat considering the Pete Willson is widely-regarded as a true barometer of a team's ability as they prepare for the NCAA Championships later this season.
"I thought our entire team did a great job to come together and perform the way we did," said Messiah head coach
Bryan Brunk. "We've had some adversity recently (with injuries to expected starters), but our guys responded well and did both little things and big things really well."
Brunk went on to praise his entire roster for helping the team finish atop the standings, including three Falcons who didn't place that still accounted for 13.5 points toward the team's total. Additionally,
Nick Nunez, who placed eighth, picked up huge points with three pins over the weekend.
"The guys who advanced to the finals were huge for us, and we of course want to win titles," said Brunk, speaking about his top performers. "But every guy who stepped on the mat this weekend competed a high level, and we're a team that wants to rely on every bout to help us be the best we can be."
The Falcons will now be off until next Friday, Feb. 2, when they travel to take on No. 18 York at 7:00 p.m.
Title Contenders Winners
Stephen Maloney,
Kevin Edwards, and
Jeff Hojnacki all earned first place finishes to help Messiah make a loud statement. At 149 Maloney started off the day with a dominant semifinal win (18-0) to advance to the final, and he then earned a major decision (15-1) over Luke Hernandez of Mount Union for Messiah's first title.
Kevin Edwards earned the next title at 157 and, like Maloney before him, he did so with impressive victories—first, a 16-1 tech fall in the semifinal and then an 11-4 win over Brad Kerkoff of UW Whitewater in the final.
Jeff Hojnacki made it three-straight Messiah titles with a win at 165, though his bouts were tighter than his teammates before him. Hojnakci's semifinal win was 8-0 over No. 7-ranked Tyler Grimsley of Olivet. In the final Hojnacki faced Keone Derain of Elmhurst, and the bout was even closer with Hojnacki taking a 6-5 decision.
In a Flash
The noticeable and unanticipated result of the day came at 174 where No. 2
Ben Swarr was beat by Jairod James of Mount Union, 9-4. James was a member of Division I Kent State last semester, and transferred to Mount Union this month. The former Golden Flash-turned-Raider was seeded second in the tournament and made good on the opportunity to face Swarr, who has reached the NCAA Final in each of his past two seasons with one championship (2016).
Kyle Koser was also upset in his final at 197, losing to Wesley Schultz of UW LaCrosse. Shultz entered the weekend as a ranked Contender in the
D3wrestling.com rankings, and he pinned No. 4 Koser at the 1:00 mark.
Final Placement
In addition to those five Falcons in the finals, four others competed on the second day, with
Nick Nunez (141) also finishing as a placewinner (top eight). He started with a fall over Trine's Caleb Maddox to advance to the consolation quarterfinal. He then lost back-to-back matches against guys named Alex—first Alec Cotton of Mount Union (9-0 major) and then Alec Hoover of Case Western Reserve (7-3 decision)— to finish in eighth place.
Sean Redington (125),
Victor DeFrance (184), and
Dan Kiser (285) each fell short of placements, though Kiser reached the consolation round of 16 by way of a pin of Jordan Festge of UW Whitewater. As mentioned, the three wrestlers that didn't place still scored 13.5 points to help Messiah earn the team title.
Friday, Jan. 26
The Falcons finished day one at the Pete Willson Invitational on Friday, and five Falcons were still alive in the quarterfinal round of the championship bracket. Four other wrestlers were also active and will continue their competition in consolation rounds on Saturday.
Two Today
Five Falcons went 2-0 on Friday to advance to Saturday's quarterfinals:
Stephen Maloney (149),
Kevin Edwards (157),
Jeff Hojnacki (165),
Ben Swarr (174), and
Kyle Koser (197). Swarr, the No. 2 ranked wrestler in his class, earned a tight 8-5 decision in his opener against Tyler Vogt of UW Eau Claire, but he then captured a dominating 18-0 tech fall in the second round to advance.
Maloney (13-8 major decision), Edwards (16-0 tech fall), and Koser (17-0 tech fall) also earned lopsided wins in their second round bouts, while Hojnacki won 14-0 and 17-8 to advance to his own quarterfinal match.
Still Alive
Sean Redington (125) lost his opener to No. 3- ranked Carlos Fuentez of Wheaton by a 22-8 score, but he then collected two-straight pins in the wrestlebacks to earn a spot in the Consolation Round of 8.
Like Redington,
Nick Nunez (141) also finds himself in the Consolation Round of 8, though it came after picking up two falls in the first two rounds before losing 8-1 to Chase Wilson of Manchester.
Victor DeFrance (184) and
Dan Kiser (285) are also in consolations after splitting their opening two bouts.
