EWING, N.J. - The Messiah wrestling team took to the road for the first time of the 2021 season on Wednesday night, traveling to Ewing, N.J. to take on No. 13 The College of New Jersey Lions in a dual. A hard-fought battle went in favor of the Lions by a final score of 19-16. Messiah and TCNJ traded blows throughout the evening with each team winning five of the 10 bouts.

The Falcons trailed 10-3 after four bouts, but starting with Nick Barnhart at 157 lbs., Messiah rattled off four-straight victories with decisions from Barnhart, Brian Shermeyer (174 lbs.), and David Stevens (184 lbs.) while Matt Pangle earned a dominating 11-0 major decision at 165 lbs. to give Messiah a lead. The four-straight victories gave Messiah a 16-10 advantage with two bouts remaining.

Unfortunately for the Falcons, the Lions roared back, winning the final two matches of the evening with a fall and a decision to claim the 19-16 victory.

Messiah will be back in action on Friday night when they travel to Clarion University to take on the Golden Eagles.

Lions Take Early Lead
The TCNJ Lions took an early 7-0 lead thanks to a tight 5-3 decision at 125 lbs. and a dominating 10-1 major decision from second-ranked Jake Giordano at 133 lbs. Messiah got on the board thanks to a 10-4 decision from Dalton Daugherty at 141 lbs. over Domenic Difrancescantonio. Daugherty secured the victory with a big set of near fall points in the third period to pull the Falcons within four at 7-3.

At 149 lbs., the Lions earned an 8-4 decision to take a 10-3 lead after four matches.

Falcons Claim Four-Straight Bouts
Messiah turned that 10-3 deficit into a 16-10 lead after four-straight victories from Nick Barnhart (157 lbs.), Matt Pangle (165 lbs.), Brian Shermeyer (174 lbs.), and David Stevens (184 lbs.). Barnhart started the streak at 157 lbs. with a shutout, 5-0 decision against Matt Paglia, earning a takedown late in the second period to secure the decision.

At 165 lbs., ninth-ranked Matt Pangle claimed Messiah's only major decision of the evening with a 12-0 victory over Nick Golden thanks to nar fall sets in the second and third period. His major decision leveled the score at 10-10 for the match.

Brian Shermeyer gave the Falcons their most-exciting bout of the evening at 174 lbs. After picking up a first-period takedown, eighth-ranked Shermeyer trailed 6-2 after the Lions' Reid Colella earned a takedown and four near fall points. An escape and a takedown for Shermeyer pulled the Messiah senior within one at 6-5. Shermeyer chose bottom to start the third and escaped to level the match. In the closing seconds, Shermeyer earned a super red zone takedown to claim an 8-6 decision and give Messiah their first lead of the night at 13-10.

Reigning MAC Wrestler of the Week, David Stevens picked up a 6-2 decision at 184 lbs. thanks to his strength on top. Despite being taken down in the first period, seventh-ranked Stevens rode TCNJ's Thomas Anderson for the entire second period and sealed the decision with a takedown in the middle of the third period.

After Stevens' decision, Messiah held a 16-10 lead, winning the last 13 team points.

Lions Close Strong
The Lions quickly leveled the score at 16-16 thanks to the lone fall of the evening, picking it up from fifth-ranked Quinn Haddad at 197 lbs. The pin set-up a winner-take-all bout at 285 lbs. between Messiah's Hayden Benner and TCNJ's Thomas Marretta. Benner was battling from behind after a pair of first-period takedowns from Marretta. Benner fought back to his feet both times, but after another Benner takedown, trailed 6-3 late in the third. After a number of late shots by Benner, Marretta was able to counter for the late takedown, claiming the bout, 8-3, and earning a 19-16 victory for the Lions in the match.

What's Up Next
The Falcons will continue their busy week of duals with a Friday night meeting at Clarion. The meeting will feature a pair of mats with both Messiah and Clarion brining two line-ups. First bout is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

No. 13 TCNJ defeats Messiah - 19-16
125 – Nick DeNora (T) dec. Corey Morabito (M) 5-3                                         TCNJ leads 3-0
133 – #2 Jake Giordano (T) maj. Jordan Howard (M) 10-1                                 TCNJ leads 7-0
141 – Dalton Daugherty (M) dec. Domenic Difrancescantonio (T) 10-4               TCNJ leads 7-3
149 – Robert Dinger (T) dec. Garret Cornell (M) 8-4                                          TCNJ leads 10-3
157 – Nick Barnhart (M) dec. Matt Paglia (T) 5-0                                              TCNJ leads 10-6
165 – #9 Matt Pangle (M) maj. Nick Golden (T) 12-0                                         Score tied 10-10
174 – #8 Brian Shermeyer (M) dec.  Reid Colella (T) 8-6                                    Messiah leads 13-10
184 - #7 David Stevens (M) dec. Thomas Anderson (T) 6-2                                 Messiah leads 16-10
197 - #5 Quinn Haddad (T) WBF Spencer Clements (M) 2:38                             Score tied 16-16
HWT – Thomas Marretta (T) dec. Hayden Benner (M) 8-3                                  TCNJ wins 19-16

Extra Countable Matches
133 – Larry Melchionda (T) maj. Jordan Howard (M) 13-0
157 – Joshua Paige (M) maj. Alex Stavrou (T) 10-2
174 – Thomas Stigliano (T) WBF Max Martin (M) 4:00

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