ROANOKE, Va. – Wrestling continued at the NCAA Division III National Championships on Friday night with the second of four sessions on the weekend. Messiah had
Josiah Gehr (125 lbs.) and
Victor DeFrance (184 lbs.) advance through the morning and into the evening session.
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Wabash's Carlos Champagne ended Gehr's run through the tournament on Friday evening, but DeFrance remains alive after a 10-6 decision over Jake Paulson (Penn. State - Behrend) to start his run through the consolation bracket. DeFrance fell to Joshua Glantzman of Merchant Marine in the consolation bracket to cap off his career and end the National Championships for the Falcons.
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Session II Update
Josiah Gehr – 125 lbs.
Carlos Champagne (Wabash) pins (3:33) Josiah Gehr
After dropping his First Round match,
Josiah Gehr moved into the consolation bracket during the Friday evening session. Gehr went against Wabash's Carlos Champagne, and was unable to get his attacking style going in the match. Champagne earned three first-period takedowns and while Gehr earned a pair of escapes he trailed 6-2 at the end of the opening period. An early takedown in the second period by Champagne, put the Wabash freshman in control at 8-2. Thirty-three seconds into the period, Champagne put Gehr on his back and earned the fall in 3:33 to end Gehr's first trip to the National Championships.
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Victor DeFrance – 184 lbs.
Victor DeFrance defeats Jake Paulson (Penn. State - Behrend) - 10-6
After a hard-fought battle against the top-seed in the First Round, DeFrance went to work in the consolations with a 10-6 decision over Jake Paulson (Penn. State - Behrend). A strong opening period, put DeFrance in the driver's seat after the first-time National Qualifier earned a takedown, four nearfall points, and an escape. Three minutes into the match, DeFrance held a 7-2 lead. Paulson escaped quickly in the second period and DeFrace nearly made it a 9-3 lead with a takedown late in the second period, but after a review the points were taken off the board. In the third, both wrestlers earned a takedown and an escape, allowing DeFrance to advance in the consolation bracket with the 10-6 decision.
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Joshua Glantzman (Merchant Marine) defeats Victor DeFrance - 15-4
In what is commonly referred to as the blood round,
Victor DeFrance battled Joshua Glantzman (Merchant Marine) for All-American honors and a chance to advance to Saturday. After the two wrestlers felt each other out for the first half of the opening period, Glantzman earned a takedown midway through the period and earned two sets of nearfall points, taking an 8-0 lead late in the period. In the final seconds of the period, DeFrance reversed Glantzman as he attempted another tilt, but the Messiah senior trailed 8-2 heading to th second period. In the second, Glantzman increased his lead with an escape and a takedown before DeFrance picked up a takedown midway through the third period. Glantzman escaped and earned a takedown just seconds later and rode out the final 57 seconds for the 15-4 victory after the riding time point.
After the first day of wrestling, Messiah finished tied for 44th place with 1.5 team points off decisions from DeFrance and Gehr.
Session I Update
Josiah Gehr - 125 lbs.
Josiah Gehr defeats Sawyer Sarbacker (Wis. - La Crosse) - 9-3
Messiah's
Josiah Gehr opened up the National Championships for Messiah with a 9-3 decision over Sawyer Sarbacker from Wisconsin - La Crosse in a pigtail match at 125 lbs. Gehr earned a takedown with a minute remaining in the period and claimed a pair of back points in the final seconds of the opening period to take a 4-0 lead into the second period. Gehr picked up a reversal and a takedown in the second period while Sarbacker claimed just an escape point. With less than 10 seconds remaining in the third, Sarbacker earned a takedown, but with a riding time point Gehr advanced into the First Round with a 9-3 decision.
No. 8 Ferdinand Mase (Ithaca) defeats Josiah Gehr - 11-5
In the First Round, Gehr squared off with eighth-seeded Ferdinand Mase of Ithaca. After falling into an early 4-1 hole with a pair of first-period takedowns by Mase, Gehr battled back with a takedown and two nearfall points to pull within one at 6-5 early in the third period. Gehr was still on top in the final seconds of the third, but needing back points with Mase holding over a minute of riding time. in the final 20 seconds of the period, Gehr attempted to earn another set of back points, but Mase flipped him to earn the reversal and two late nearfall points to make the 11-5 decision look more lopsided than it actually was.
No. 3 Stephen Maloney - 149 lbs.
Sean Sax (Westminster, Mo.) defeats No. 3 Stephen Maloney - 6-2
Stephen Maloney took a shot right off the opening whistle and eventually earned a takedown 37 seconds into the first period to take an early lead over Sean Sax of Westminster. After Maloney rode Sax for two minutes, the Westminster freshman reversed Maloney and took control. A second-period takedown for Sax gave him a 4-2 lead heading to the final period. Sax chose top in the third and rode Maloney for the entirety of the period, picking up two nearfall points late en route to the 6-2 victory.
Kevin Kelly (Loras) defeats No. 3 Stephen Maloney - 7-2
Thirty seconds into the opening period, Kevin Kelly earned a takedown against Maloney. After Maloney escaped the two were neutral for the next 90 seconds. Late in the opening period, Kelly notched his second takedown of the period to take a 4-1 lead into the second period. A stalling point awarded to Kelly was the only point of the second period and the Loras senior earned a takedown in the third to claim the 7-2 victory.
Brian Shermeyer - 174 lbs.
Michael Gargano (Johnson & Wales, Providence) defeats Brian Shermeyer - 5-2
After a scoreless opening period between
Brian Shermeyer and Michael Gargano (Johnson & Wales, Providence) in their pigtail match at 174 lbs., Gargano selected top to start the second period and earned four nearfall points midway through period to take a 4-0 lead with two minutes of riding time. Shermeyer, earned a late takedown in the third period, but Gargano fought off a late attempt for a tilt and claimed the 5-2 victory, advancing to the First Round.
Haydn Kinjorski (Olivet) defeats Brian Shermeyer - 5-3
Much like his first match of the day, Shermeyer had a scoreless opening period in his consolation bracket match with Olivet's Haydn Kinjorski. Shermeyer chose bottom to start the second period and earned a quick escape to take a 1-0 lead. That 1-0 advantage held until the start of the third period when Kinjorski tied the match with an escape. Two takedowns followed by Kinjorski with Shermeyer escaping both times, but it was not enough as Kinjorski earned the 5-3 victory, ending Shermeyer's run through the bracket.
Victor DeFrance - 184 lbs.
No. 1 Dylan Roth (Heidelberg) defeats Victor DeFrance - 12-6
An action-packed first period, had top-seeded Dylan Roth leading
Victor DeFrance 8-6 heading to the second period. DeFrance earned a pair of reversals and two nearfall points in the first two minutes to take a 6-5 lead, but Roth escaped and claimed a late-period takedown. Roth then rode DeFrance for all two minutes of the second period before picking up an escape and takedown in the third period along with a riding time point for the 12-6 decision
