GRANTHAM, Pa. - Eleven Falcons advanced to day two of the Messiah Petrofes Invitational on Saturday morning.
Garret Cornell and
Sean Redington won individual titles in their respective weight classes. Redington won a 4-2 decision over Robert Hartling of Springfield to claim the title while Cornell picked up a big pin over Gregory Baum of Muhlenberg to win his title. Cornell was also named the most outstanding wrestler of the tournament after going 5-0 on the weekend and winning all his matches by way of a pin. The freshman is now 15-0 on the season while Redington improves to 16-1 on the season. The Falcons claimed second-place overall as a team with 173.5 points behind first-place Mount Union's 216 points.
Pair Of Titles
As mentioned, a pair of Falcons in
Sean Redington and
Garret Cornell claimed individual titles in the 125 and 141-pound weight classes respectively. Redington began his day with a 15-5 major decision win to move his way into the finals. Here he fought to an exciting 4-2 decision victory to win the 125-pound title. As mentioned, with these wins Redington improves his season record to 16-1 after going 4-0 on the weekend. This is Redington's third top-five finish at the Messiah Petrofes Invitational in his career after coming in second last season.
Cornell started the day with a pin in the semifinals before picking up a pin in the finals to send his Messiah teammates and coaches into a frenzy and win the 141-pound weight class. Cornell improves to 15-0 on the season and increases his fall total to nine after five pins in the tournament.
Trio Of Runner-Ups
Josiah Gehr,
Stephen Maloney, and
Matt Pangle all won their semifinal matches to earn the chance to win the title in the 133, 157, and 165-pound weight classes respectively.
After winning a close 3-2 decision over Nolan Wochna of Mount Union in the semis, Gehr went on to face another Purple Raider in David Massey for the 133 title. Massey was able to get the better of Gehr in a 6-3 decision. Gehr claimed second after winning at 125 last season to give him a pair of top-two's at the Messiah Petrofes Invitational in his first two years in Grantham.
Maloney picked up a 4-0 decision over McDaniel's Alexander LaVeck to advance him to the finals where he took on Antwon Pugh of Mount Union. Pugh got the better of their matchup with a 5-1 decision victory. With the second-place finish, Maloney placed in the top-three of the Messiah Petrofes Invitational in all four of his years at Messiah.
At 165,
Matt Pangle earned a 7-3 decision over Michael Mcintire of Mount Union to move onto the finals. In a hard fought matchup in the finals, Pangle fell to Dylan Schwartz of Muhlenberg in a 14-9 decision to claim second-place.
Rounding Out The Top Four
After dropping his first match of the day,
Brian Shermeyer fought hard to earn himself a third-place finish at 174. He won 6-4 in OT before winning a 2-1 decision to claim third after finishing fourth at the Messiah Petrofes Invitational last season.
David Stevens fell in his first match of the day before picking up a pin to move into the third place match. Stevens picked up a huge takedown at the end of the match, but the riding time point allowed for his opponent Jimmy Fratantoni to pick up a 4-3 decision victory. This gave Stevens a fourth-place finish.
Inside The Mats
The Falcons were able to have an impressive seven wrestlers place in the top four at the tournament. Four other Falcons placed in the top eight. As mentioned, the Falcons came in second as a team with 173.5 team points. The top five teams were Mount Union (216), Messiah (173.5), Muhlenberg (127.5), Springfield (103.5), and Waynesburg (95.5).
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action at Hitchcock Arena next Saturday when they welcome McDaniel College and Lock Haven University for dual meets. The Falcons will take on the Green Terror at 3:00 p.m. and Lock Haven at 6:00 p.m.
