WHEATON, Ill. – The Messiah wrestling team finished the Pete Wilson Invitational in 16th place among 32 teams after two-days of action. Three Falcons placed in their respective weight classes with Garret Cornell taking third-place at 157 lbs. in a field stacked with some of the best talent in the midwest and country. John Sumner took fifth place at 174 lbs. and Ryder Slayton finished the 184 lbs.-bracket in seventh place.

The Falcons earned 47.5 team points to place 16th in the tournament hosted by Wheaton College.

North Central won the team standings with 136 team points while Wis. Eau Claire (125), Concordia (117), John Carroll (85), and Ozarks (78.5) rounded out the top five.

Messiah will be back in action on Friday when they host the York Spartans in a dual in Hitchcock Arena at 7:00 p.m.

Saturday Update
The Falcons saw three of their five wrestlers remaining in competition place in the two-day Pete Wilson Invitational. Garret Cornell earned Messiah's highest finish with a third-place finish at 157 lbs. Cornell started his day in the Championship Bracket, but dropped a 3-0 decision against the top seed to move into the consolation bracket. Once there, Cornell earned an 8-5 decision in the consolation semifinals against Cade Zeamer (Wheaton) to earn a spot in the third-place match. Cornell earned his third-place finish with a second-period fall of Jaylen York (Ozarks) in 3:56. In the tournament, Cornell went 4-1 with a pair of falls.
 
John Sumner earned fifth place at 174 lbs. Sumner started his day with a pair of tight decisions to move into the consolation semifinals. First it was a 6-4 decision over Caiden Rodgers (John Carroll) before a thrilling 7-6 victory over John Ward (Ozarks) where Sumner came from behind in the final seconds with a takedown and nearfall points. While Sumner was pinned in the consolation semifinals, he took fifth place after an injury forfeit. After dropping his first match of the weekend, Sumner had to battle his way through the consolation bracket. He finished his weekend with an overall record of 4-2, plus the injury forfeit.
 
Ryder Slayton was the third Falcons to place on the weekend, doing so at 184 lbs. with a seventh-place finish. Slayton won his first match of the day against Cael Mclaren (Cornell) by a 6-5 decision. While he lost a 6-1 decision in the consolation semifinals, Slayton ended his tournament on a high note, earning a 5-1 decision against Stefan Farian (John Carroll) to take seventh.
 
Asa Brunk (133 lbs.) and Noah Rice (149 lbs.) were also in action on Saturday, dropping their first and only matches of the day in the consolation bracket.
 
Friday Update
Garret Cornell is still alive in the Championship Bracket at 157 lbs. after a 2-0 day on Friday. Cornell barely broke a sweat earning a quick 48-second pin against Jamaal Salary (North Central) in his first match of the day before claiming a 5-3 decision over Zack Schneider (Wisconsin-Eau Claire). Cornell will now square off with the top-seeded Patrick McGraw (John Caroll) with a spot in the finals on the line.
 
Along with Cornell, four other Falcons advanced through Friday's action. Asa Brunk won his first two bouts at 133 lbs. with an 18-3 technical fall over Noah Clayton (Ozarks) and a 9-6 decision against Brandon D`Egidio (Heidelberg) to move into the quarterfinals. A setback in the quarterfinals moved Brunk into the consolation bracket, where he remains as wrestling begins tomorrow.
 
Noah Rice went 3-1 on the day at 149 lbs. After winning his first bout of the day by an 8-3 decision, Rice was pinned in the final second of his second-round match. Rice rebounded with a second-period fall against Brent Eicher (Defiance) and a 4-1 decision against Cale Coppess (Wheaton) to move into Saturday's action.
 
At 184 lbs. Ryder Slayton took a nearly identical journey through the first day as Rice. Slayton earned a victory in his first match with a first-period pin in 2:07 against Sam Weaver (Nebraska Wesleyan), but was on the short end of a 4-2 decision in the second round. Once in the consolation bracket, Slayton earned back-to-back decisions over Tyler Haydon (Wisconsin-Whitewater) and Connor Chloupek (Concordia College) to advance to Saturday.
 
John Sumner had to win two matches in the consolation bracket at 174 lbs. as well. Sumner dropped a high-scoring, 11-8 decision in his first match of the tournament, but claimed back-to-back decisions in the consolation bracket over Owen Frizzell (Heidelberg) and Jacob Sherzer (Cornell College).
 
At 285 lbs. Hayden Benner won a pair of matches on the day. He earned a 5-1 decision in the first-round match, but lost a sudden victory decision in the second round. Once in the consolation bracket, Benner earned a decision, but saw his day come to a close with a 2-2 record in the tournament.

What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 3 when they host the York Spartans at 7:00 p.m. in Hitchcock Arena.
 

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