WHEATON, Ill. – The Messiah wrestling team turned in a fantastic first day at the Pete Wilson Invitational on Friday, advancing five wrestlers to the semifinals and holding fourth place overnight. Messiah picked up 74 team points on the first day of the Tournament, currently sitting in fourth place among the 32 teams in attendance.
Three Wisconsin schools stand ahead of the Falcons in the team standings. La Crosse and Eau Claire are tied for first with 88 team points while Whitewater is close behind with 83.5. After Messiah's 74 points, Ohio Northern rounds out the top five with 63 points.
As mentioned, the Falcons advanced five wrestlers to Day Two with all five turning in undefeated days on Friday to move into the semifinals.
Josiah Gehr (141 lbs.),
Dalton Monger (149 lbs.),
Garret Cornell (157 lbs.)
Zach Needles (165 lbs.), and
Ryder Slayton (184 lbs.) all punched their ticket to Saturday's action, ensuring a top eight finish in their bracket.
The action on Day Two is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. CT/noon ET. Messiah will also have a handful of Blue Team members in action at Elizabethtown in the Ken Ober Memorial Tournament, beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Five Falcons Head to Semifinals
The Falcons are well represented heading into Saturday's semifinal round with five wrestlers still alive after perfect days on Friday.
Josiah Gehr (141 lbs.),
Dalton Monger (149 lbs.),
Garret Cornell (157 lbs.)
Zach Needles (165 lbs.), and
Ryder Slayton (184 lbs.) head into Saturday's action with a semifinal bout first up on their schedule. In total those five wrestlers went 14-0 on the day with six falls, a technical fall, and four major decisions to help build Messiah's team point total.
Josiah Gehr was the most dominate on Friday. In his three bouts, Gehr (141 lbs.) earned a pair of falls along with a technical fall to move into the semifinals.
Dalton Monger (149 lbs.) also recorded a pair of pins to begin his day before claiming a major decision in the quarterfinals.
Garret Cornell (157 lbs.) and
Zach Needles (165 lbs.) also logged falls for the Falcons, both pinning their first opponent of the day. Cornell earned a bye in the first round and pinned his second-round opponent before picking up a major decision in the quarterfinals. Needles on the other hand went 3-0 on the day with a pin, major decision, and a decision to move into the semifinals.
Ryder Slayton (184 lbs.) started his day with a major decision before picking up tight decision in the second round and quarterfinals to punch his ticket to Saturday's action in the championship bracket.
Below are the semifinal match-ups for each of the Falcons remaining in the championship bracket:
141 lbs. –
Josiah Gehr vs. Jacob Dado (Ozarks)
149 lbs. –
Dalton Monger vs. Axel Hernandez (Buena Vista University)
157 lbs. –
Garret Cornell vs. Drew Vlasnik (University of Chicago)
165 lbs. –
Zach Needles vs. Jeff Nugent (Elmhurst University)
184 lbs. –
Ryder Slayton vs. Cole Cervantes (North Central - IL)
Four Other Falcons in Action
Messiah sent a total of nine wrestlers to Wheaton this weekend with four Falcons wrapping up their journey through the brackets on Friday. All four wrestlers who failed to qualify for Saturday did win at least one match.
Asa Brunk led the charge at 133 lbs., going 3-1 on the day. Brunk dropped his first match of the day, but rattled off three-straight victories in the consolation bracket before dropping his fifth match of the day to finish 3-2 on Friday.
Tyler Ratledge (125 lbs.),
Austin Brass (174 lbs.), and
Hayden Benner (285 lbs.) all earned wins in the championship bracket, but dropped their next two matches to conclude their run.
What's Up Next
The Falcons will now turn their attention to Saturday afternoon where they will have five wrestlers place at the Tournament. All five wrestlers alive in the semifinals have locked in at least a sixth-place finish. With two-straight victories on Saturday they can win their weight class, but are all assured placement in the Pete Wilson Invitational. Additionally, Messiah will have wrestlers in action at the Ken Ober Memorial Tournament hosted by Elizabethtown on Saturday. The Falcons will be sending members of the Blue Team to Elizabethtown for that event.
