WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Messiah wrestling team was in action on Friday in Day One the annual Budd Whitehill Duals hosted by the Lycoming Warriors. With three duals on the schedule, Messiah dropped their first tilt of the day against the Cortland Red Dragons by a 25-21 final. The Falcons responded with a convincing 33-18 victory over the Williams Ephs in their second dual before finishing their day against Wisconsin – Eau Claire, falling by a 50-0 final.
As a result of their third-place finish in their group, Messiah will compete in the ninth-place bracket on Saturday against Milwaukee School of Engineering. Lycoming and McDaniel will also compete in the ninth-place bracket alongside Messiah and Milwaukee School of Engineering.
Cortland defeats Messiah – 25-21
Messiah's first dual of the day was a back-and-forth affair with both the Falcons and Red Dragons winning five bouts each. It was Cortland that came out on top thanks to bonus points in all five of their victories, including a fall at heavyweight to claim the 25-21 victory.
Messiah trailed 5-0 after a technical fall at 125 lbs., but responded with a 13-1 major decision by
Asa Brunk at 133 lbs. and a fall in 3:33 by
Josiah Gehr at 141 lbs. Another Red Dragon technical fall at 149 lbs., level the score at 10-10 after four bouts.
Clay Gainer earned an exciting 14-10 decision at 157 lbs. to give Messiah the lead at 13-10, but a 15-0 technical fall at 165 lbs. and a 10-2 major decision at 174 lbs. put the Red Dragons on top 19-13.
Ryder Slayton picked up a 6-0 decision at 184 lbs. and
Sawyer Dereszynski claimed an 18-0 technical fall at 197 lbs. to put the Falcons on top by two points at 21-19. With the dual in the balance at 285 lbs., Cortland picked up a first-period fall to claim the match 25-21.
Results
125 - Jayden Cardenas (Cortland) over
Bryce Arnold (Messiah) TF 19-4
133 -
Asa Brunk (Messiah) over Rocco Futia (Cortland) Maj 13-1
141 -
Josiah Gehr (Messiah) over Culley Bellino (Cortland) Fall 3:3
149 - Angelo Centrone (Cortland) over
Camerin Deville (Messiah) TF 25-10
157 -
Clay Gainer (Messiah) over Kyle Klein (Cortland) Dec 14-10
165 - Hunter Hughes (Cortland) over
Mikey Hollar (Messiah) TF 15-0
174 - Dan Cassera (Cortland) over Chris Cratsley (Messiah) Maj 10-2
184 -
Ryder Slayton (Messiah) over Robert Cunningham (Cortland) Dec 6-0
197 -
Sawyer Dereszynski (Messiah) over Chris Bold (Cortland) TF 18-0
285 - Dylan Houseknecht (Cortland) over
Christian Conner (Messiah) Fall 1:59
Messiah defeats Williams – 33-18
A pair of forfeits and a fall by
Josiah Gehr at 141 lbs. in 3:32 gave Messiah an 18-0 lead over Williams after just three weight classes. The falls continued with the next three bouts all ended by way of pin. Williams earned falls at 149 lbs. and 165 lbs. while
Clay Gainer earned a third-period pin in 5:36 at 157 lbs.
After all of sticks, Messiah held a 24-12 lead with four bouts remaining. Williams edged closer with decisions at 174 and 184 lbs., but
Sawyer Dereszynski claimed an overtime decision at 197 lbs. and
Christian Conner capped off the dual with a first-period fall in 1:53 at 285 lbs. The result was a 33-18 victory for the Falcons.
Results
125 -
Bryce Arnold (Messiah) win by forfeit
133 -
Asa Brunk (Messiah) win by forfeit
141 -
Josiah Gehr (Messiah) over Tylor Stubbs (Williams) Fall 3:32
149 - Caleb Seyfried (Williams) over
Dalton Monger (Messiah) Fall 6:33
157 -
Clay Gainer (Messiah) over Leonardo Maiuolo (Williams) Fall 5:36
165 - Henry Forte (Williams) over Andrew Kozubal (Messiah) Fall 3:00
174 - William Smith (Williams) over Chris Cratsley (Messiah) Dec 7-6
184 - Dante Gutbrod (Williams) over
Ryder Slayton (Messiah) Dec 3-0
197 -
Sawyer Dereszynski (Messiah) over Wyatt Moyer (Williams) SV-1 7-4
285 -
Christian Conner (Messiah) over Thomas Goodwin (Williams) Fall 1:53
Wisconsin Eau Claire defeats Messiah – 50-0
Messiah suffered a 50-0 setback against the Wisconsin Eau Clarie Blu Golds in their final dual of the day. Eau Claire won all 10 bouts, picking up bonus points in eight different bouts.
Results
125 - Izzy Balsiger (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) over
Bryce Arnold (Messiah) TF 19-4
133 - Tyler Fleetwood (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) over
Asa Brunk (Messiah) Fall 4:57
141 - Bo Niewiadomski (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) over
Shaun Quirk (Messiah) Dec 8-1
149 - Zach Sato (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) over
Dalton Monger (Messiah) Fall 4:44
157 - Colton Sund (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) over
Joshua Rosado (Messiah) Maj 14-3
165 - Tristan Massie (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) over Andrew Kozubal (Messiah) TF 17-1
174 - Jared Stricker (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) over Chris Cratsley (Messiah) Fall 0:57
184 - Connor Collins (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) over
Ryder Slayton (Messiah) SV-1 4-1
197 - Ian Pepple (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) over
Micah Kunkle (Messiah) Fall 2:46
285 - Sloan Welch (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) over
Christian Conner (Messiah) Fall 0:48
*Messiah was deducted one team point for misconduct
What's Up Next
The Falcons are back in action tomorrow when they take on Milwaukee School of Engineering to begin the ninth-place bracket. The first
