GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah wrestling team opened the 2023-24 season with a convincing victory in their home invitational. The Falcons hosted seven other opponents to Hitchcock Arena and bested their foes with 133 team points to take first place on the afternoon. McDaniel (119.5 points), Elizabethtown (117.5), Ursinus (103.5), and Liberty (101.5) rounded out the top five on the afternoon.
Individually, Messiah had a pair of champions with
Asa Brunk claiming the 141 lbs. weight class and
John Sumner winning the 174 lbs. weight class.
Dalton Monger was the runner-up at 149 lbs while
Zach Needles finished as the runner-up at 165 lbs.
Malachi Harvey (141 lbs.),
Levi Snyder (149 lbs.),
Austin Brass (174 lbs.), and
Ryder Slayton (184 lbs.) all took home third place in their respective weight classes.
The Falcons will be back in action on Saturday, Nov. 11 when head to the Racich Rumble hosted by Ursinus College. The action begins at 10:00 a.m. in Collegeville, Pa.
Top of the Class
As mentioned, the Falcons had a pair of individual champions on Saturday with
Asa Brunk (141 lbs.) and
John Sumner (174 lbs.) claiming titles. Brunk went 4-0 on the day with a major decision, a technical fall, and a pair of decisions to claim his bracket. In the 141 lbs. title bout, Brunk defeated McDaniel's Ryan Athey 8-1 to claim the weight class. At 174 lbs., Sumner opened his day with a 12-3 major decision before earning his spot in the final bout with a pair of first-period pins. In the title bout, Sumner grabbed a 10-7 decision against Ursinus' Sean Cowan.
Strong Messiah Debuts
With Saturday's Invitational being the first event of the year, Messiah saw a number of new faces make an impact on the mats. Among a larger number of strong efforts from new team members were a trio that earned top-three finishes in their respective classes.
Dalton Monger finished as the runner up at 149 lbs., going 3-1 on the day with a first-period fall and an 8-0 major decision. Also at 149 lbs., was
Levi Snyder, took third after a strong 4-1 effort. Snyder picked up a fall and a major decision before edging Johns Hopkins' Freddy Pimental 5-4 in the third-place match.
Transfer
Malachi Harvey made a strong first impression at 141 lbs., taking home third place in his first tournament as a Falcon. Harvey earned back-to-back first-period falls in his first two bouts before getting set to the consolation bracket, dropping a tight, 7-6 decision against teammate
Asa Brunk in the semifinals. A technical fall in the consolation bracket and a walkover in the third-place bout wrapped up a solid day.
Other Strong Finishes
Three other Falcons earned top-three finishes with
Zach Needles finishing as the runner-up at 165 lbs. and
Austin Brass (174 lbs.) and
Ryder Slayton (184 lbs.) both taking third place. Needles started his day with a dominate technical fall and a first period pin, before claiming a tight 7-6 decision in the semifinal to advance to the Championship Bout at 165 lbs. Brass went 5-1 on the day, winning four-straight consolation bracket matches to close out his day with a victory. Brass' day was highlighted by a pair of technical falls and two falls.
Slayton went 4-1 on the day with his only defeat coming in sudden victory. Two of his victories came in dominating fashion with a technical fall and a convincing 11-1 major decision.
Notable Placements
In total, the Falcons had 16 wrestlers finish in the top six in their respective weight classes. In addition to the top-three finishers above,
Micah Kunkle took fourth at 197 lbs. while
Clay Gainer (157 lbs.),
Garret Cornell (165 lbs.), and
Hayden Benner (285 lbs.) finished in fifth place.
Tyler Ratledge (133 lbs.),
Steven Williams (141 lbs.),
Shaun Quirk (149 lbs.), and
Christopher Cratsley (184 lbs.) all finished in sixth place on the day.
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action next weekend when they head to the Racich Rumble in Collegeville, Pa. The action begins at Ursinus College at 10:00 a.m. on Nov. 11.
