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GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah wrestling team sits in second-place with 96 team points after the first day of the Petrofes Invitational. The Falcons have a total of 12 wrestlers still alive in the tournament that will compete tomorrow on Day Two. Six Falcons earned spots in the championship semifinals with
Sean Redington (125 lbs.),
Josiah Gehr (125),
Stephen Maloney (149),
Dan Swarr (174),
Victor DeFrance (184), and
Brian Shermeyer (184) staying undefeated through Day One.
As mentioned, the Falcons have accumulated 96 team points through Day One of the Tournament and trail just Mount Union (122.5 points) in the team standings. Muhlenberg (83 points), Washington & Jefferson (74.5), and Springfield (70.5) round out the top-five.
The invitational continues tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. in Hitchcock Arena.
Day One Recap - Nov. 30, 2018
The Falcons had 12 wrestlers advance to the second day of competition with six remaining undefeated and earning a spot in the championship semifinals. Messiah got off to a strong start on Friday, with 12 wrestlers advancing to the quarterfinals in nine different weight classes.
At 125 lbs. Messiah had both
Sean Redington and
Josiah Gehr advance to the semifinals after perfect records on Day One. Gehr earned a bye in the first round, but earned a 17-0 technical fall in the second round against Matthew Ferrante (Muhlenberg) before pinning Mount Union's Luke Hewitt in 57 seconds in the quarterfinals. Redington had to compete in the opening round, but earned his way to the semifinals with a pair of falls and a medical forfeit. First Redington pinned Wilson Gomes (Bridgewater State) in 4:45Â before taking care of West Viriginia Tech's Judson McCray in the second round with a third period pin in 6:24. A medical forfeit in the quarterfinals advanced Redinton to the semifinals tomorrow.
Gehr will square off with Nick DeRosa from Springfield, while Redington will take on Seth Hayes from Mount Union.
Ka'au Estrella is still battling his way through the cosolation bracket. After earning a bye through the opening round, Estrella dropped Austin Dilly (West Virginia Tech) with a fall at 2:01. Despite falling in the quarterfinals, another pin over Alex Shaffer (Gettysburg) in 1:32 kept the sophomore alive into the second day of competition.
Like Estrella,
Nick Nunez earned a spot in the quarterfinals before suffering a setback and battling his way into Day Two in the consolation bracket. Nunez's day started off with a 9-5 decision before a fall in 3:35 over Vincent Palm (Washington & Jefferson) put him into the quarterfinals. A tight 4-3 decision went in favor of Mount Union's David Massey and sent Nunez into the cosolation bracket where the Messiah sophomore controlled a different Purple Raider opponent, Zach Berdysz, to the tune of a 19-8 major decision to stay alive.
Messiah has a pair of wrestlers that will compete on Saturday at 149 lbs. with
Stephen Maloney in the semifinals and
Jake Coniglio fighting through the consolation bracket. Maloney picked up dominating technical falls in his first two matches with scores of 16-0 and 17-0 before taking care of Gregory Baum (Muhlenberg) with a fall in the quarterfinals. Maloney earned a first period pin of Baum in 2:31 to earn a spot in the semifinals against Matt Sparks (King`s) on Saturday.
Jake Coniglio had a more interesting road through Friday's bouts. Coniglio pinned Springfield's Derek Wilson in his first round match before dropping a major decision to Hai Siu (Greensboro), 17-5. Once in the consolation bracket, the freshman began rolling with a pin of Derek Bohle (Springfield) in 1:46 followed by a pair of major decisions with scores of 16-8 and 16-5 to remain in the field heading into Saturday.
At 157 lbs.,
Kevin Edwards earned a spot in the quarterfinals with a 4-3 decision over Muhlenberg's Brian Jamison before moving to the consolation bracket following a fall at the hands of Zach Mackall (Waynesburg). Edwards picked up a 10-4 decision against Kyle Jenkins (Mount Union) to earn a spot in Saturday's bracket.
Dan Swarr highlighted the Messiah effort at a 174 lbs. on Friday by advancing to the semifinals. Swarr earned a pair of first period falls over Bridgewater State's Wilfredo David (2:56) and Washington & Jefferson's Jaden Datz (2:33) to advance to the quarterfinals. Swarr then squeaked by Mount Union's Conner Homan, who had also advanced to the quarterfinals with a pair of first period pins, by an 8-7 decision. Swarr is scheduled to wrestle Gino Sita (Alderson Broadd), who moved into the semifinals after three-straight technical falls.
The 184 lbs. weight class was one of the two classes that the Falcons have a pair of wrestlers in the semifinals (125 lbs.).
Victor DeFrance earned back-to-back pins over Adam Rigney (Waynesburg) in 4:45 and Jaden Mendeluk (Mount Union) in 1:30 to move into Saturday's semifinal. On the other side of the bracket, Messiah's
Brian Shermeyer was selected for a first round bye and needed just a 14-10 decision over Gettyburg's Daniel Ebert in the quarterfinals to move into the semifinals.
Freshmen
Joe Embleton (197 lbs.) and
Carter Urich (285 lbs.) both remain in their respective consolation brackets after making runs to the quarterfinals. Urich went 2-1 on the day with all three of his matches decided by falls. The freshman started his run with a pin of Jonathan Pineda (Penn College) in 4:40 before pinning of Jared Burgoyne (Alderson Broadd) in the consolation bracket in 4:12 to stay alive heading into Saturday. Embleton had a very similar trip through the Friday brackets, going 2-1 with a pair of pins to his name. First, he pinned Greensboro's Luis Oropesa in 2:42 before dropping a major decision to Tyler Stepic (Mount Union). A second-period fall of Penn College's Jared Mooney in 3:45 capped off his day and moved the freshman into Saturday's competition.
What's Up Next
As mentioned, the Falcons will return to the mat on Saturday morning when they complete the Petrofes Invitational. The action gets started at 9:00 a.m. in Hitchcock Arena with the final set of matches slated to get started between 11:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
