WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - After going a perfect, 3-0 on Friday the Messiah wrestling team kept their run going with a 25-17 victory over the Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds on Saturday morning to advance into the Championship Match of the Budd Whitehill Duals. Unfortunately, Messiah was unable to cap off the weekend with a Championship, falling to The College of New Jersey 38-3 in the Championship Match.

Messiah will be back in action next weekend when they return to Williamsport for the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships, hosted by Lycoming on Jan. 18. The Conference Championship Tournament is slated to begin next Saturday at 10:00 a.m.

Messiah defeats Wisconsin - Eau Claire - 25-17  |  Results
Against the Blugolds, Messiah got the dual started with a pair of second-period falls from Sean Redington (125 lbs.) and Josiah Gehr (133 lbs.). Redington picked up his pin in just over four minutes at 4:01 while Gehr took just 3:45 to earn six team points. After the Blugolds closed the gap to five at 12-7 with a decision at 141 lbs. and a major decision at 149 lbs., Messiah pulled away with a pin by Stephen Maloney at 157 lbs. Maloney picked up his pin with less than 30 seconds remaining in the second period.

At 165 lbs., Matt Pangle pulled out a tight 9-8 victory over Chase Schmidt to extend Messiah's lead to 21-7. After the Blugolds earned a major decision at 174 lbs., Messiah put the match away with an 11-3 major decision by David Stevens at 184 lbs. With Stevens' major, Messiah took a 25-11 lead with two bouts left.

Despite a pair of Bluegolds decisions in the last two bouts, Messiah earned the 25-17 victory to advance into the Championship match against The College of New Jersey.

Both the Falcons and Blugolds earned five victories in the dual, but three Messiah pins proved to be the difference.

The College of New Jersey defeats Messiah - 38-3  |  Results
Both the Falcons and Lions have experience on the Budd Whitehill Duals Championship mat. Messiah entered the 2020 Tournament as a five-time Champion of the event, while TCNJ had claimed a record 10 titles, including last year's Championship.

The Lions raced out to a 16-0 lead after four bouts, earning bonus points with a fall at 125 lbs. and a major decision at 149 lbs. Stephen Maloney halted the run with a 6-1 decision at 149 lbs. to make it 16-3, but the Lions were relentless throughout the dual, winning the final five bouts to claim their 11th Budd Whitehill Title. TCNJ bookended the match with a fall at 285 lbs. and won nine of the 10 total bouts.

Stephen Maloney was named to the All-Tournament Team at 157 lbs. after finishing the weekend with a perfect, 5-0 record, earning two technical falls, a major decision, a fall, and a decision.

Messiah defeats Wisconsin-Eau Claire - 25-17
125 - Sean Redington (Messiah) over Jack Marley (Wis.-Eau Claire) Fall 4:01
133 - Josiah Gehr (Messiah) over Erik Gerovac (Wis.-Eau Claire) Fall 3:45
141 - Tyler Demo (Wis.-Eau Claire) over Dalton Daugherty (Messiah) Dec 12-7
149 - Jake Drexler (Wis.-Eau Claire) over Nick Barnhart (Messiah) Maj 13-4
157 - Stephen Maloney (Messiah) over Alfred Daniel (Wis.-Eau Claire) Fall 4:34
165 - Matt Pangle (Messiah) over Chase Schmidt (Wis.-Eau Claire) Dec 9-8
174 - Evan Lawrence (Wis.-Eau Claire) over Brian Shermeyer (Messiah) Maj 8-0
184 - David Stevens (Messiah) over Grant Balconi (Wis.-Eau Claire) Maj 11-3
197 - James Huntley (Wis.-Eau Claire) over Joe Embleton (Messiah) Dec 12-5
285 - Noah Carter (Wis.-Eau Claire) over Sam Blevins (Messiah) Dec 4-0

The College of New Jersey defeats Messiah - 38-3
125 - Dan Ortega (TCNJ) over Sean Redington (Messiah) Fall 4:56
133 - Jake Giordano (TCNJ) over Josiah Gehr (Messiah) Dec 5-3
141 - Robert Dinger (TCNJ) over Dalton Daugherty (Messiah) Dec 7-4
149 - Anthony Gagliano (TCNJ) over Nick Barnhart (Messiah) Maj 12-3
157 - Stephen Maloney (Messiah) over Matthew Sacco (TCNJ) Dec 6-1
165 - John Garda (TCNJ) over Kevin Edwards (Messiah) Dec 5-0
174 - Daniel Kilroy (TCNJ) over Matt Pangle (Messiah) Maj 15-4
184 - Daniel Surich (TCNJ) over David Stevens (Messiah) Maj 16-4
197 - Quinn Haddad (TCNJ) over Joe Embleton (Messiah) TF 18-2
285 - Thomas Marretta (TCNJ) over Sam Blevins (Messiah) Fall 1:52

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