ANNVILLE, Pa. – Four days after finishing in eighth place at the NCAA Division III National Championships, Messiah wrestling was honored by the Middle Atlantic Conferences (MAC) in their end of year awards. The Falcons earned an accolade in all three major honors as
Ben Swarr was named Wrestler of the Year,
Kevin Edwards received Rookie of the Year, and
Bryan Brunk was awarded Coach of the Year.
This year, Swarr added another fantastic season to his remarkable career, advancing to his third-straight national semifinal. At 174 lbs., Swarr finished in fifth-place in 2018 to earn his third-straight NCAA Division III All-America honors. He finished national runner-up (174 lbs.) in 2017 and was the 2016 national champion (174 lbs.). Swarr finished his 2017-18 campaign with a 41-4 overall record, a MAC title, an NCAA Division III Southeast Region title, a Messiah Invitational title, a Roger Williams Invitational title, and a Petrofes Invitational title. Swarr capped his career with a 133-15 overall record.
In his rookie campaign, Edwards finished in sixth-place at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship to earn all-America honors, becoming the first Falcon freshman to do so since Lucas Malmberg in 2014. The 157 lbs. wrestler won the NCAA Division III Southeast Region title to advance to the national tournament and finished runner-up at the 2018 MAC Championship in Wilkes-Barre. He ended his first season with a 38-12 overall record and a Wheaton Invitational title.
As for Brunk, the Coach of the Year honor comes in recognition of the Falcons winning their third-straight MAC Championship, fifth-straight Mideast Region Championship, and also collecting the aforementioned eighth place finish at Nationals. Through 14 years as head coach of the Falcons, he has now coached 25 All-Americans, over two-thirds of the total NCAA All-Americans in program history.
