WHEATON, Ill. –
Josiah Gehr and
Garret Cornell highlighted Messiah's effort on Saturday at the Pete Wilson Invitational hosted by the Wheaton Thunder. Gehr and Cornell both advanced to the Championship Match at their respective weight classes, finishing as the runner-up. Gehr claimed second place in the 141 lbs. weight class while Cornell finished second at 157 lbs.
As a team, Messiah turned in an impressive fifth-place finish in the two-day tournament, ending the weekend with 95.5 team points. Wisconsin La Crosse claimed the team title with 144.5 points while Wisconsin – Eau Claire (143.5 points), Wisconsin Whitewater (110), Cornell College (109), and Messiah (95.5) rounded out the top five.
Messiah had five wrestlers advance to Saturday's action with
Zach Needles also turning in a solid day. Needles finished in third place at 165 lbs., ending his weekend with a close, 2-1 decision in the third-place match. Unfortunately,
Dalton Monger (149 lbs.) and
Ryder Slayton (184 lbs.) saw their run through the brackets cut short due to injury. They both finished in sixth place in their respective weight classes.
The Falcons also had wrestlers in action at the Ken Ober Memorial Tournament at Elizabethtown on Saturday. While Messiah did not have any wrestlers place in that tournament,
Levi Snyder (149 lbs.),
Jacob Cunningham (149 lbs.), and
Clay Gainer (157 lbs.) highlighted the effort with three wins each.
Messiah will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 2 when they head to York to take on the Spartans in a dual at 7:00 p.m.
Update From Pete Wilson Invitational
Josiah Gehr (141 lbs.) and
Garret Cornell (157 lbs.) highlighted a strong weekend for the Falcons at the Pete Wilson Invitational. Gehr and Cornell were two of five Falcons that advanced to Saturday's action in Illinois and both finished as the runner-up in their respective bracket. Gehr started his day with a 9-2 decision over Jacob Dado (Ozarks) before dropping a 6-1 decision against the top-seeded Jacob Reed from Ohio Northern.
At 157 lbs., Cornell earned a fall in his semifinal match, pinning Drew Vlasnik (Univ. of Chicago) in 5:27. Vlasnik chose down to begin the third period with Cornell leading by one, but never got the escape he was looking for as Cornell stuck him just 27 seconds into the period. In the final, Cornell dropped a major decision to Wisconsin-Whitewater's Jermaine Butler by a 10-2 score to finish as the runner-up.
Zach Needles finished his weekend strong, taking third at 165 lbs. Needles also started his day in the semifinals, but got stuck in a tough spot in his opening match on Saturday, getting pinned in the opening period. He rebounded nicely with a major decision in the consolation semifinals and earned a tight, 2-1 decision over Teagan Hendricks (Ohio Northern) in the third-place match.
Both
Dalton Monger (149 lbs.) and
Ryder Slayton (184 lbs.) began their day in the semifinals but were forced to retire due to injury in their semifinal match. As a result, both earned sixth place finishes on the weekend by forfeiting the consolation semifinal and the fifth-place match as well.
Ken Ober Memorial Update
The Falcons also sent 15 wrestlers to Elizabethtown to compete in the Ken Ober Memorial. While none of those 15 wrestlers placed in the tournament, Messiah did have a number of solid performances.
Levi Snyder (149 lbs.),
Jacob Cunningham (149 lbs.), and
Clay Gainer (157 lbs.) all earned three wins each to highlight the Falcons' effort.
Caiden Heller (133 lbs.) and
Levi Snyder (149 lbs.) both advanced to the quarterfinals in their respective weight classes while also earning a victory in the consolation bracket.
In total, 10 of Messiah's 15 wrestlers competing in Elizabethtown earned at least one victory on the day.
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action on Friday when they head to York to take on the Spartans in a dual on Friday night that is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.
