GRANTHAM, Pa. – Despite unseasonable warm weather over the weekend, the winter sports season is upon us with multiple teams already in action and more preparing to start their seasons later this week.
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Read below for a quick preview of the seasons ahead.
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Men's Basketball
Last season, the men's basketball team went 11-13 and fell in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals to Eastern 84-73 and will look to improve upon that mark this season.
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The Falcons return 11 players from last year's roster while adding five freshman and graduate student
Tim Edwards.
Bryce Coletti,
Michael Healy,
Evan Parker,
Arkese Claiborne,
Tyler Penley and
Dylan Cuperus look to make an impact this season. The Falcons are coached by
Rick VanPelt who enters his 20th season as the Head Coach of the Falcons.
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The season starts out with an away game at Shenandoah on Nov. 8 before the Falcons host a Tip-Off Tournament from Nov. 11-12 with Misericordia, Catholic, and Penn State Abington all coming to Grantham. The Falcons have four home games from Nov. 19 to Dec. 10 starting with Dickinson (Nov. 19), Penn State Harrisburg (Nov. 22), York College (Nov. 30) and Wilson College (Dec. 7). In January and February the conference slate really gets going with 13-straight MAC Commonwealth games to end the regular season.
2022-23 MAC Commonwealth Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll
    1 - Alvernia - 58 (4)
    2 - Eastern - 54 (2)
    3 - Widener - 49 (2)
    4 - Messiah - 37
    5 - Hood - 32
    6 - Stevenson - 28
    7 - Lebanon Valley - 24
    8 - Albright - 23 (1)
    9 - York - 19
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Women's Basketball
After going 23-4 last season, the Messiah women's basketball team claimed their sixth-straight MAC Commonwealth Championship a year ago. The Falcons look to keep the momentum rolling as they begin this season on Friday with a Tip-Off Tournament in Rochester, N.Y.
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Messiah returns 11 players from last year's roster including graduate student
Megan Zimmerman and seniors
Logan Plosker,
Sidney Stutzman, and
Amber High. Look for the senior class and fellow returners
Haley Wagman,
Morgan Adams,
Chloe Milanesi, and
Reese Harden to take on expanded roles this season after the graduation of
Leah Springer. Head coach
Mike Miller enters his 37th year as the head coach of the team and will look to carry his sustained success into the 2022-23 season.
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As mentioned, the new season begins with an away tournament at Rochester on Nov. 11-12, but the Falcons will host their own Tip-Off Tournament the following weekend on Nov. 18-19 with Clarks Summit, SUNY New Paltz, and Lycoming all descending on Grantham. Messiah only has two home games the rest of the calendar year against York College (Nov. 30) and Gettysburg College (Dec. 7). Starting back up in January, the Falcons have eight home contests as their conference schedule kicks into high gear on Jan. 4 when they host Hood College.
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2022-23 MAC Commonwealth Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll
    1 – Messiah - 63 (7)
    2 – Widener - 49
    t3 – Albright - 46 (2)
    t3 – York - 46
    5 – Lebanon Valley - 35
    6 – Stevenson - 31
    7 – Alvernia - 29
    8 – Eastern - 15
    9 – Hood - 10
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Men's Swimming
The men's swimming team began their season a few weeks ago and is currently 7-0 in their six dual meets. The Falcons have already topped their mark for wins last season after going 6-5 during the regular season and finishing sixth at the MAC Championships.
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Head coach
Ryan Kauth begins his first season as the men's and women's swim coach this season as the Falcons return eight swimmers from a year ago. The Falcons also welcome five freshman and one junior to the squad. Look for
PJ Cronauer to continue to lead the Falcons in the pool in addition to
Isaac McCabe,
Mark Lukens, and
Avery Barley.
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As mentioned, the Falcons sit at 6-0 in their young season and will end the calendar year at the Cougar Splash Invitational on Nov. 18-19 in Dallas, Pa. They will return to the Fredricksen Natatorium for a Quad-Meet against York College, Stevenson and Stevens on Jan. 21 and finish up their season with a Double-Dual against Albright and Misericordia on Jan. 28 at home. The four-day MAC Championships get underway on Feb. 9 and wrap up on Feb. 12 at the Graham Aquatic Center in York, PA.
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Women's Swimming
Along with the men's team, the women's swim team is also 7-0 this season and are trying to match, if not better, their 10-2 mark from last season. In addition to that stellar dual record from last season, the Falcons claimed their eighth MAC Championship in the last nine years.
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The Falcons return 15 swimmers from last year's team while also adding five fresh faces. Messiah has a strong junior class of seven swimmers including
Lainey Flanagan,
Marie Hagemaster,
Sophie Schulze,
Abigail Soerens and
Evangeline Soerens. The aforementioned
Ryan Kauth is in his first year with the Falcons at the helm of the women's swim team as well.
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The Falcons sit at 7-0 and their schedule will mimic the men's schedule as above with the exception of an additional meet at Millersville University on Jan. 13. Otherwise, the team will have a Quad-Meet at home against York College, Stevenson and Stevens on Jan. 21 and finish up their season with a Double-Dual against Albright and Misericordia on Jan. 28 also at home. The Falcons will eye another strong showing at the MAC Championships from Feb. 9-12 at the Graham Aquatic Center in York, Pa.
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Wrestling
The wrestling season began this past Saturday when the Falcons hosted the Messiah Invitational in Grantham, Pa. Out of the nine teams in attendance, Messiah earned a fourth-place finish with 11 Falcons earning top-six finishes on the day. Last season saw the Falcons go 8-8 in duals, finish second at the MAC Championships, and tie for 41st at the National Championships.
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This season, the Falcons return 24 wrestlers while adding nine freshman to the team. Look for seniors
Garret Cornell,
Wyatt Bingaman, and
Joe Embleton to anchor the Falcons this winter. Head coach
Bryan Brunk enters his 20th season at the helm for the Falcons.
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The Falcons will travel to the Racich Rumble (Nov. 12 at Ursinus) and the Waynsburg Duals (Nov. 19) over the next two weeks before hosting the annual Petrofes Invitational on Dec. 2-3. The following week on Dec. 9, Alvernia visits Grantham to take on the Falcons before Messiah hosts the Chocolate Duals on Dec. 17. Messiah is on he road for all of January with the MAC Championships highlighting the early 2023 slate on Jan. 21 at York College. The final stretch of the regular season features three home events on Feb. 3 (York College), Feb. 4 (Messiah Open) and Feb. 10 (Elizabethtown). NCAA Regionals are set for Feb. 24-25 with the National Championships following on Mar 10-11.
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Indoor Track and Field
The men's and women's track and field teams will begin their indoor season in December before their outdoor season begins in March. The complete schedule and roster for the 2022-23 will be released shortly.
