WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – After a 1-1 day yesterday, the Messiah wrestling team earned a spot in the Fifth Place Bracket at the Budd Whitehill Duals. On Saturday morning, the Falcons claimed fifth place by defeating the Lycoming Warriors 28-17 and then toping the Wilkes Colonels 24-22.
Messiah earned four falls on the day with
Garret Cornell earning pins in both of his matches on Saturday.
Josiah Gehr and
Nick Barnhart both earned falls in Messiah's duals against Wilkes, claiming much needed bonus points for the Falcons in the tight victory.
The Falcons will be back in action next weekend when they host the MAC Championships on Saturday, Jan. 15 in Hitchcock Arena.
Messiah defeats Lycoming – 28-17
The Warriors got on the board with a tight 6-4 decision at 125 lbs., but Messiah rallied back to win the next four bouts to take a 16-3 lead.
Jordan Howard (133 lbs.) started the stretch of victories with a 4-3 decision over Thomas Conselyea. Howard earned a takedown with 22 seconds remaining in the third period and then picked up a huge mat return in the final seconds to hold on for the one-point decision. Howard's decision tied the dual at 3-3.
Josiah Gehr earned an 8-1 decision at 141 lbs. to give Messiah their first lead of the dual.
Garret Cornell then picked up a fall over Logan Bartlett at 149 lbs. in exhilarating fashion. Holding a 2-0 lead after a first-period takedown, Cornell was on the bottom in the second period. In the final seconds of the period, Cornell was able to earn a quick reversal and immediately stuck Bartlett to his back for the fall in 4:46.
At 157 lbs.,
Nick Barnhart ran away with a convincing 10-2 major decision to pump the Falcons' lead to 16-3.
Lycoming earned a technical fall at 165 lbs., but then forfeited the 174 and 184 lbs. matches to the Falcons. The back-to-back forfeits gave Messiah an insurmountable 28-8 lead with two bouts remaining.
The Warriors earned a first period fall at 197 lbs. and a 1-0 decision at 285 lbs., but the Falcons earned the 28-17 victory to advance to the Fifth-Place Dual.
Results
125 - Kaden Majcher (Lycoming) over
Hunter Rinehart (Messiah) Dec 6-4
133 -
Jordan Howard (Messiah) over Thomas Conselyea (Lycoming) Dec 4-3
141 -
Josiah Gehr (Messiah) over Chase Chapman (Lycoming) Dec 8-1
149 -
Garret Cornell (Messiah) over Logan Bartlett (Lycoming) Fall 4:46
157 -
Nick Barnhart (Messiah) over Hunter O`Connor (Lycoming) Maj 10-2
165 - Preston Rogers (Lycoming) over
Jared Butler (Messiah) TF 17-0
174 -
Tyler Riley (Messiah) over Unknown (Lycoming) Forf
184 - Ryder Slaton (Messiah) over Unknown (Lycoming) Forf
197 - Gable Crebs (Lycoming) over Chris Cratsley (Messiah) Fall 1:13
285 - John Fulmer (Lycoming) over
Carter Urich (Messiah) Dec 1-0
Messiah defeated Wilkes – 24-22
The Wilkes Colonels started the fifth-place dual off with a pair of dominating vitories at 125 and 133 lbs., earning a technical fall and major decision by a combined score of 23-0. Those wins allowed the Colonels to open up a 9-0 lead. Messiah responded by a thrilling decision from
Asa Brunk at 141 lbs. Brunk earned a late takedown in the final seconds of the third period to clinch an 8-7 decision to get the Falcons on the board.
A trio of falls followed from Messiah with Joaish Gehr, Garrett Cornell, and
Nick Barnhart all wrestling up a weight class from where they were all weekend. At 149 lbs., Gehr earned his fall in 1:56 while Cornell (157 lbs.) picked up his pin in the final seconds of the first period at 2:50. Barnhart needed all three periods to stick Wilkes' Charles Everdale, but as soon as he was on top in the third Barnhart earned the fall less than 30 seconds later. Barnhart's fall came in the 5:25. The three-straight falls put the Falcons in front 21-9.
Wilkes took the lead back after a fall at 174 lbs., a major decision at 184 lbs., and a decision at 197 lbs. Heading into the final bout of the dual, Messiah trailed 22-21 with everything coming down to
Carter Urich against Hunter Lowe at 285 lbs.
Urich earned a pair of early takedowns before bullying Lowe to his back at the beginning of the third period. The result of the nearfall points was an 11-4 decision in favor of Urich. With the decision, Messiah earned a 24-22 victory, claiming fifth place for the weekend.
Results
125 - Austin Fashouer (Wilkes) over
Hunter Rinehart (Messiah) TF 15-0
133 - Jack Bauer (Wilkes) over
Jordan Howard (Messiah) Maj 8-0
141 -
Asa Brunk (Messiah) over Collin Rolak (Wilkes) Dec 8-7
149 -
Josiah Gehr (Messiah) over Ezra Neff (Wilkes) Fall 1:56
157 -
Garret Cornell (Messiah) over Benjamin Griffith (Wilkes) Fall 2:50
165 -
Nick Barnhart (Messiah) over Charles Everdale (Wilkes) Fall 5:25
174 - John DeVito (Wilkes) over
Tyler Riley (Messiah) Fall 1:29
184 - Colton Babcock (Wilkes) over Ryder Slaton (Messiah) Maj 12-2
197 - Cameron Butka (Wilkes) over Samuel Blevins (Messiah) Dec 8-1
285 -
Carter Urich (Messiah) over Hunter Lowe (Wilkes) Dec 11-4
All-Tournament Team
Three Falcons were honored on the All-Tournament Team, that honors the undefeated wrestler at each weight class that earned the most team points per match, not including wins by default, injury default or disqualification.
Josiah Gehr,
Garret Cornell, and
Nick Barnhart all earned All-Tournament Team honors by each going 4-0 on the week.
What's Up Next
The Falcons will host the MAC Championships next weekend in Hitchcock Arena for a full day of action on Jan. 15. The wrestling will begin at 10:00 a.m. with four mats going throughout the day on Saturday.
