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GRANTHAM, Pa. - Three Messiah wrestlers took home individual honors at the annual Petrofes Invitational on Saturday afternoon as the Messiah wrestling team finished in second place with 158 team points.
Josiah Gehr (125 lbs.),
Stephen Maloney (149 lbs.), and
Victor DeFrance (184 lbs.) were the three Falcons to take home individual titles in their weight classes while
Sean Redington (2nd, 125 lbs.),
Nick Nunez (4th, 141 lbs.),
Dan Swarr (2nd, 174 lbs.), and
Brian Shermeyer (4th, 184 lbs.) finished in the top four.
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Mount Union claimed the team title with 218 team points. After Messiah's 158 points in second, Muhlenberg checked in with 116.5 points in third, Washington & Jefferson finished with 103.5 points, and Springfield rounded out the top-five with 99 points.
Three Petrofes Champions
As mentioned, the Falcons featured three different champions in their respective weight classes. Messiah claimed the 125-lbs., 149-lbs., and 184 lbs. brackets thanks to the individual efforts of
Josiah Gehr,
Stephen Maloney, and
Victor DeFrance, respectively.
Josiah Gehr was the first of the three to lock up his title. After earning a 9-1 major decision over Nick DeRosa (Springfield) in the semifinals first thing this morning, Gehr earned a spot in the final against his teammate, junior
Sean Redington. Gehr scored an early takedown in the first period and put Redington on his back, earning a fall in 1:33 to take the title. It was Gehr's second first-period fall on the weekend. The freshman went 4-0 on the weekend with a pair of pins, a technical fall, and a major decision en route to the 125 lbs. title.
After going 3-0 on Friday,
Stephen Maloney picked up a fall in 1:04 against Matt Sparks of King's College in the semifinals to extend his perfect start to the tournament. Maloney faced his closest match of the weekend in the finals against Washington & Jefferson's Michael Heini. It was a back and forth battle across all three periods, but it was Maloney that came out on top with a 6-4 decision to earn the 149 lbs. title. Maloney went 5-0 in the tournament with a pair of technical falls, two pins, and the tight decision in the final.
Victor DeFrance entered Saturday's competition in the semifinals after a pair of pins on Friday. The senior topped Mount Union's Robert Valenti by an 11-4 decision to move into the finals at 184 lbs. In the finals, DeFrance squared off with Muhlenberg's Jimmy Fratantoni and earned a 7-3 decision to claim the top spot. On the weekend, DeFrance went 4-0 with a pair of falls on Friday and two decisions on Saturday.
Four Others Place
Messiah also had four other wrestlers finish in the top-four of their respect weight class.
Sean Redington went all the way to the final at 125 lbs. before falling to his teammate
Josiah Gehr and finishing as the runner-up.
In the 141 lbs. bracket,
Nick Nunez started his Saturday with a 17-5 major decision before moving to the third-place match with a medical forfeit. Despite dropping an 8-4 decision to Springfield's Ryan Peters, Nunez earned a fourth-place finish in the tournament.
Dan Swarr earned a tight, 2-1 decision in his semifinal match of the 174 lbs. tournament to advance to the final. Swarr went toe-to-toe with Thaddeus Stevens' Bailey Shutt in that final match, but fell 5-3 to finish as the weekend as the runner-up at 174 lbs.
In the 184 lbs. bracket,
Brian Shermeyer dropped a tight, 6-4 decision in the semifinals on Saturday morning before rebounding with a 21-7 major decision against Mount Union's Jaden Mendeluk to move into the third-place match. Despite falling in the third-place match,
Others In Action
Five other Falcons were in action on Saturday and by advancing to Day Two of the tournament finished in the top-eight in their weight class. At 133 lbs.
Ka'au Estrella claimed seventh-place, picking up a pair of falls in the tournament. After battling his way back through the consolation bracket on Friday,
Jake Coniglio took eighth-place in the 149 lbs. tournament.
Kevin Edwards also earned an eighth-place finish in the 157 lbs. bracket after being sidelined with an injury on Saturday. In the 197 lbs. bracket,
Joe Embleton finished his weekend in eighth-place.
Carter Urich wrapped up the Falcons' effort on the weekend with a fifth-place finish.
What's Up Next
The Falcons are next in action with one of their three home duals of the year when they host the Gettysburg Bullets on Friday, Dec. 7 at 7:00 p.m. Messiah will be looking to avenge a Bullets' victory in the Messiah Invitational back on Nov. 3. Gettysburg finished the Petrofes Invitational with 90.5 points in sixth place.
