YORK, Pa. –
Zach Needles is heading to the Division III Wrestling National Champions in Roanoke, Va. in two weeks after finishing third at the 165 lbs.-weight class on Saturday afternoon. Needles had advanced to the semifinals on Friday and dropped his first match of the day on Saturday, but rallied back to win his final two matches of the Mideast Regional. The final victory, a 4-3 decision over Harrison Hinokosa (Stevens) punched his ticket to Nationals.
As a team, Messiah finished in 11th place with 57.5 team points, right in the middle of the 22-team pack that competed at York College on Friday and Saturday.
Messiah had three other wrestlers in action on Saturday with
Garret Cornell (fifth, 157 lbs.),
Ryder Slayton (fifth, 184 lbs.), and
Joe Embleton (eighth, 197 lbs.) all placing in the Regional Tournament.
Stevens claimed the team title with 181 points, well ahead of second-place finisher Alvernia's 144.5 points. Washington and Lee (109 points), York (97), and Wilkes (87.5) rounded out the top-five in the team standings.
Friday Update
Zach Needles led the Falcons at Day One of the NCAA Southeast Regionals advancing to the semifinals at 165 lbs. Needles was one of four Falcons to advance to Day Two of the Regional alongside
Garret Cornell (157 lbs.),
Ryder Slayton (184 lbs.), and
Joe Embleton (197 lbs.). While Needles will need just a victory in his semifinal match tomorrow morning, Cornell, Slayton, and Embleton will look for three-straight victories tomorrow to qualify for the National Championships.
As a team, the Falcons sit in 12th place after the first day of competition with 41 points. The Stevens Ducks lead the team standings with 93 points while Alvernia (80.5 points), Washington & Lee (76.5), Wilkes (67.5), and Delaware Valley (61) round out the top five.
The Falcons will be back on the mats tomorrow as Cornell, Needles, Slayton, and Embleton will attempt to punch their tickets to Nationals.
Action on the Mat
Eight of Messiah's wrestlers in action on Friday earned at least one victory with half a dozen picking up at least two victories. As mentioned,
Zach Needles advanced to the semifinals at 165 lbs. with three-straight decisions on Friday. Needles started his day in the prelims and earned a 5-0 decision over Elijah Martin (Ferrum). Once in the Championship Bracket, Needles defeated Alan DeVries (York) by a score of 8-1 and Jacob Cherry (Roanoke) in a tight 2-1 decision. The three decisions moved Needles into the semifinals and just one win away from punching his ticket to Nationals. Needles will wrestle Harrison Kelley (Washington & Lee) to advance to the Regional Finals.
Three other Messiah wrestlers advanced to Saturday's action and will begin Day Two in the consolation bracket.
Garret Cornell earned a pair of pins at 157 lbs. to move into Saturday's action. Cornell started his day with a second-period fall against Weston Hirschi (Southern Virginia). After dropping a tight, 3-1 decision in the quarterfinals, Cornell was back to his pinning ways with a fall in 5:36 over Heath Rudolph (Gettysburg).
Messiah's
Ryder Slayton and
Joe Embleton both went 3-1 on the day to advance to Day Two of the Regional. At 184 lbs., Slayton started his day with back-to-back victories to move into the quarterfinals. In his first round of the Championship Bracket, Slayton earned a fall in 2:58 over Ayden Bishoff (Waynesburg). After dropping a decision in the quarterfinals, Slayton kept his National Qualifying hopes alive with a 2-0 decision over Khalil Mitchell (Averett).
At 197 lbs.,
Joe Embleton lost a major decision in the prelims, but rattled off three-straight victories to stay alive in the Tournament. Embleton earned a fall in less than a minute over Dylan Wiegert (Shenandoah) and a second pin in 4:38 against Maximiliaan Steele (Greensboro).
Other notable performances included
Camerin Deville and
John Sumner, who each went 2-2 with bonus point victories at 141 lbs. and 174 lbs., respectively.
