GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah wrestling team hosted the Messiah Open on Saturday with several notable performances. In total, the Falcons had 22 wrestlers in action during the Messiah Open with eight placing in the top-eight of their respective weight classes.
Jordan Howard (133 lbs.),
Asa Brunk (141 lbs.),
Garret Cornell (157 lbs.), and
Hayden Benner (285 lbs.) all led the Falcons with fourth-place finishes on the day.
Mason Casey (141 lbs.) and
Christian Conner (285 lbs.) earned seventh place while
Trevor McGowan (141 lbs.) and
Ike Bryner (149 lbs.) finished their day in eighth place.
While no team score was collected, Messiah's Blue Team fared well against strong competition from local Division III teams, as well as a number of unattached wrestlers from Division I institutions.
Messiah will be back in action on Friday when they travel to Elizabethtown to take on the Blue Jays in a dual at 7:00 p.m.
Trio of Falcons Place at 141 lbs.
Messiah's best weight class on the day had to be the effort put forth at 141 lbs. Led by
Asa Brunk's fourth-place finish in the weight class, Messiah had three wrestlers place in the top eight.
Mason Casey edged teammate
Trevor McGowan 12-7 in the seventh-place match as the duo placed seventh and eighth, respectively.
Brunk's day was highlighted by a technical fall over Penn State Mont Alto's Connor McAbe (18-2) and a 12-2 major decision against York's Brian Diaz.
McGowan also earned a technical fall over Connor McAbe, winning by a score of 23-7. That technical fall was the highlight of his day.
Casey had to battle back through the consolation bracket, eventually earning the decision over McGowan to claim seventh.
Conner and Benner Finish Strong at 285 lbs.
The Falcons also earned a pair of place winners at heavyweight with
Hayden Benner taking fourth and
Christian Conner finishing in seventh. Benner had a quality day, going 4-2 in his six matches, including a fall against Muhlenberg's Ryan Kaplow in 5:19. His other three victories were tight ones, winning by a combined 10 points across all three.
Conner's best result of the day came against John Farwell of York, when he earned a first period fall in 2:56 to advance in the consolation bracket. Conner eventually took seventh, earning a forfeit in the seventh-place match.
Three Other Falcons Place
In addition to the two weight classes where the Falcons had multiple wrestlers place, Messiah had three other Falcons finish in the top eight of their weight class.
Jordan Howard (133 lbs.) and
Garret Cornell (157 lbs.) both earned fourth place while
Ike Bryner (149 lbs.) ended his day in eighth.
Howard had to battle his way through the consolation bracket, earning a 10-0 major decision against Franklin and Marshall's Eli Wallace and a key 3-2 decision against Columbia's Spencer Good to advance to the third-place match. Despite dropping a 5-1 decision to TCNJ's Jacob Falleni, Howard ended his day in fourth place.
Cornell also earned a fourth-place finish at 157 lbs. Cornell picked up a pair of first-period falls to start his day, but was sent to the consolation bracket in the quarterfinals. Once there, Cornell earned a 10-9 decision over Columbia's Connor Kievman and then pinned Penn's Jackson Dean (3:33) to move into the third-place match. Despite falling to Hunter Gutierrez from Stevens, Cornell finished in fourth place.
Ike Bryner earned an eighth-place finish at 149 lbs. His day was highlighted with a first-round technical fall over American's Michael Glynos (16-0) and fall against Franklin and Marshall's Chris Heisey in 48 seconds in the consolation bracket. Prior to his quick pin of Heisey, Bryner dropped an overtime decision against George Mason's Nate Higley in the quarterfinals.
What's Up Next
Messiah enters their final week of the regular season with a pair of duals against Elizabethtown and The College of New Jersey coming up at the end of the week. The Falcons travel to Elizabethtown on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. before finishing up the regular season on Saturday afternoon with a home dual against the Lions from The College of New Jersey.
