YORK, Pa. – The Messiah wrestling team turned in a solid performance at the MAC Championships, finishing in third place with 97.5 team points. Earlier this week, the Falcons were picked to finish seventh in the conference, but Saturday's performance was well above the Pre-Championships Coaches' Poll.
Asa Brunk finished as the runner-up at 133 lbs. and led a total of six Falcons that placed on the day.
Ryder Slayton took third at 184 lbs. while both
Noah Rice (149 lbs.) and
Joe Embleton (197 lbs.) took home fourth-place finishes.
Garret Cornell (157 lbs.) and
Zach Needles (165 lbs.) also placed on Saturday with Cornell taking fifth and Needles earning a sixth-place finish.
Another notable performance was an upset victory for
John Sumner over the second-seeded Joel Martsinovsky (Stevens) in the Second Round at 174 lbs.
Overall, it was a strong showing for the Falcons at the MAC Championship. Messiah will be back in action on Friday and Saturday when they head to the Wheaton Invitational.
Top Performances
As noted, the Falcons had six individuals place on Saturday.
Asa Brunk led the Falcons advancing all the way to the Conference Championship at 133 lbs. Brunk had a stellar run to the Championship Match with a 13-5 major decision and back-to-back falls to punch his ticket to the final match. Once there, second-seeded Brunk squared off with top-seeded Ryan Arnet (Delaware Valley). Brunk took an early 6-3 lead at the end of the first period, but Arnet came back for the 13-6 decision to win the title and give Brunk a runner-up finish.
At 149 lbs.,
Noah Rice advanced to the semifinals with a first-period fall and a dominating 17-2 technical fall in the quarterfinals. Stevens' Pasquale Vissoni knocked Rice into the consolation bracket, but once there, Rice earned a 13-0 major decision to advance to the third-place match. Rice ended his day with a medical forfeit, but finished his day in fourth place.
Garret Cornell took home fifth place at 157 lbs. He picked up back-to-back falls to begin his day, but dropped a 5-1 decision in the semifinals to the top-seed from Stevens. Cornell then moved into the fifth-place match after a tough, 1-0 decision in the consolation semifinals. Cornell took fifth after a medical forfeit.
Zach Needles had a fantastic run going through the 165-lbs. bracket, but was forced to retire early and took sixth-place at the Championships. Needles sandwiched major decisions around a technical fall to advance to the semifinals, however an injury cut his day short. He settled for sixth.
At 184 lbs.,
Ryder Slayton entered the day as the third seed and he finished his day in third-place. Slayton started his day with a 10-2 major decision before moving into the semifinals with an 8-4 decision. After dropping a decision against the eventually Champion, Frank Medina (Stevens), Slayton picked up consecutive decisions in the consolation bracket to earn third place. Slayton went 4-1 on the day.
Wrestling in a smaller bracket at 197 lbs.,
Joe Embleton entered the Championships unseeded, but finished the day in fourth place. His run through the bracket was highlighted by an upset over Gable Crebs (Lycoming) in the quarterfinals.
What's Up Next
The Falcons will head to Chicagoland for the Wheaton Invitational on Friday and Saturday next weekend.
