SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Messiah wrestling team competed in the Doug Parker Invitational on Saturday afternoon hosted by the Springfield Pride. Of the 14 teams in action, Messiah earned a ninth-place finish, ending the day with 64.5 team points. Four Messiah wrestlers earned top-six finishes on the day, including
Zach Needles' second-place finish at 165 lbs. for the Falcons' highest finish.
Asa Brunk (141 lbs.) and
Jake Coniglio (149 lbs.) both earned fifth-place finishes while
Christopher Cratsley (197 lbs.) finished the day in sixth place.
Messiah will take the next week off from competition and be back home for the Messiah Petrofes Invitational on Dec. 3-4.
Needles Threads His Way Through Bracket
The highlight performance of the day for the Falcons was a runner-up finish from
Zach Needles at 165 lbs. Starting the day as the seventh seed, Needles earned a 9-5 decision against Trinity's Adam Frost before advancing to the semifinals by medical forfeit. A tight 4-3 decision over Springfield's Jake Harry moved Needles into the final against Kevin Lyskawa (Trinity) where he fell 10-1 in a major decision.
Despite the loss in the finals, Needles capped off a strong weekend with a runner-up finish.
A Pair of Fifth-Place Finishes
Asa Brunk and
Jake Coniglio both earned fifth-place finishes on Saturday at 141 and 149 lbs., respectively. Brunk began his day as the fourth seed, but was pinned in his first bout of the day. Once in the consolation bracket he caught fire, earning a fall in 1:12 over Sam Dow from Western New England and back-to-back decisions to move into the fifth-place match. The match was ruled a no-contest against another Western New England Golden Bear, Colby Reilly, and Brunk earned a fifth-place finish.
Just one weight class up, Coniglio took home fifth place after starting the day unseeded. He picked up a decision in his first bout, before getting pushed to the consolation bracket with a tight 4-2 loss against the top-seeded Joseph Rossetti from Williams. In the consolation bracket, Coniglio earned a fall and an 8-4 decision over fourth-seeded Cameron Bruffy (Centenary) to advance to the fifth-place match. Wrestling another seeded opponent, Coniglio picked up a quick fall in just 41 seconds against Evan Fidelibus (New England College) to take fifth place.
Cratsley Takes Sixth
At 197 lbs.,
Christopher Cratsley earned back-to-back victories in the consolation bracket to advance to the fifth-place match. Cratsley earned a 15-4 major decision over Will Shiber (Johns Hopkins) and a 4-1 decision over Booker Lester (Trinity) to highlight his run through the consolation bracket. While he would drop the fifth-place match, Cratsley still placed sixth on the day after entering the bracket unseeded.
What's Up Next
The Falcons will take a week off from competition over Thanksgiving Break. Messiah will be back in action at home for the annual Petrofes Tournament on Dec. 3-4. The first day of the two-day tournament will begin at noon on Dec. 3. in Hitchcock Arena.
