ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – The Messiah Wrestling Blue Team was in action at the D. Kenneth Ober Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 25. The Falcons finished fourth with a team score of 110 points. Messiah finished behind Roanoke College (165.5), Elizabethtown (146.5), and RIT (126.5).
Mason Casey was the lone Falcon to win his weight class at 133 lbs.
Up next, the Falcons will travel to Wheaton, Ill., to compete at the Wheaton Invitational on Friday, Jan. 31 and Saturday, Feb. 1.
Action On The Mats
The Falcons did not have anyone competing at 125 lbs. but the Casey brothers were in action in the 133 lbs. weight class.
Mason Casey started his day with two byes before defeating Roanoke's Michael Policarpio via 7-4 decision. Casey was down 4-1 after the first two periods before earning an escape and takedown in the third period before earning a penalty point and riding time point to win 7-4. In his second contested bout of the day, Casey earned a 4-1 decision over Logan Barkey of York to advance. Casey then defeated RIT's Gabe Scalise due to injury forfeit to advance to the championship bout. In the championship bout, Casey defeated Cody Merwin of Cortland State via 6-3 decision to claim the individual title. Merwin struck with a first period takedown before Casey battled back and used an escape and takedown in the third period to secure the 6-3 decision.
After starting his day with two byes,
Matthew Casey was defeated by Joseph Carpenter of York via a first period fall. In the consolation bracket, Casey was defeated via fall by Shippensburg's AJ Stayton.
The Falcons had five wrestlers in action in the 141 lbs. weight class with
Landen Pangborn,
Asa Brunk,
Daniel Pierce,
Camerin Deville, and
Elias Stockton all hitting the mats. Following two bye rounds,
Landen Pangborn was defeated by Roanoke's Jake Yowell via first period fall to move to the consolation bracket where he defeated Jude Bellantoni of RIT via 10-7 decision. Pangborn used a strong first period takedown and four count nearfall to jump to the early lead and secured it with an escape in period two and three and a riding time point. Pangborn was then defeated by teammate Deville via 19-1 technical fall.
Asa Brunk also began his day with a pair of bye rounds before defeating RIT's Luke Pires via 18-1 technical fall. Brunk jumped to an early 7-0 lead after a takedown and four count nearfall in the first period before added two takedowns in the second. A reversal and three count nearfall in the third period gave Brunk the technical fall in 6:08. Brunk was then defeated via fall by Cortland State's Rocco Futia to move to the consolation bracket. Brunk first earned a fall in 3:59 over Stevens Tech' Joseph Bodnar before claiming a fall in 2:52 over Jake Yowell in 2:52. Brunk was then defeated by Dom Vinci of Cortland State in 3:47 to move to the fifth place match. Brunk earned sixth after suffering a fall by Cortland State's Rocco Futia in 6:03.
Daniel Pierce dropped his first bout of the day to Eli Bounds of Shippensburg via 9-6 decision. Pierce was down 3-2 after two periods but an escape and takedown were not enough in period three as Bounds secured a takedown and two escapes as well as a riding time point. Pierce was defeated by Luke Pires via 21-6 technical fall in 6:45 to conclude his day.
Also at 141 lbs.,
Camerin Deville started his day with a 21-5 technical fall over Joey DeFreytas of York. Deville had four takedowns in the first period and another three in the second to claim the 21-5 technical fall in 3:55. Deville then earned another commanding technical fall with a score of 21-6 over Thiel's Hunter Crouse. Deville used a slew of first period takedowns to secure the 21-6 technical fall in 1:57. Dom Vinci of Cortland State then took down Deville via fall in 2:58 to move Deville to the consolation bracket. Deville defeated teammate Pangborn via 19-1 technical fall in 3:00 to advance in the consolation bracket. Deville defeated RIT's Luke Pires with a commanding 19-3 technical fall in 3:36 before defeating Rocco Futia of Cortland State. Deville took fourth after the third-plcae bout was not contested.
Elias Stockton started the day with two bye rounds before being defeated by Roanoke's Alex Choi via 18-1 technical fall to move to the consolation bracket where he was defeated by Chase Kyler of Thiel via fall in 1:11 to end his day.
At 149 lbs.,
Jacob Cunningham started his day with two byes before earning a fall over Garrett Hughes of Roanoke in 0:52. Cunningham was then defeated via 8-6 decision by Roanoke's Corey Messick to move to the consolations. He won his first consolation match via 18-3 technical foul over Roanoke's Connor Mesinheimer in 3:00 behind four takedowns and six nearfall points. He advanced with a 9-4 decision over Justin Ciliotta of Stevens Tech before winning against Kaleb Smith of Roanoke via forfeit to enter the third-place bout. Cunningham claimed the third-place spot after an 8-4 decision over Corey Messick of Roanoke College. Cunningham held a slight 5-3 lead after two periods before securing the 8-4 decision for the third-place finish.
Abel Brunk also competed at 149 lbs. and began his day with two byes before being defeated by Mike Trainor of Shippensburg in a fall of 2:08. In the consolation bracket, Brunk was defeated by Anthony Lavish of Shippensburg via a 15-1 major decision. At 157 lbs.,
Mikey Hollar started his day with a 6-4 decision over RIT's Carter Tadusz. Hollar had a 5-3 lead after the first two periods but an escape in period three secured the 6-4 decision. Hollar then defeated Lucas Day of Roanoke via 10-0 major decision after a takedown in each period and an escape in period two. Elizabethtown's Michael Beers defeated Hollar via 8-0 major decision to send him to the consolation bracket where he was eliminated by Roanoke's Alexander Quintano after a tight battle that ended in a 10-9 decision in Quintano's favor.
Charles Lepage started his day at 157 lbs. with two byes before being defeated by Topher Tryon of Roanoke via 18-0 technical fall in 3:16. In the consolation bracket, Lepage earned a fall over York's Mohammed Gueddi in 3:39 before falling to RIT's Carter Tadusz in 2:02.
Rounding out the trio of Falcons in the 157 lbs. weight class was
Noah Rice. Rice began his day with back-to-back technical falls. In his opening bout, he earned the 19-3 technical fall over Elizabethtown's Johnny Mauer in 3:38. Rice led 12-3 after four first-period takedowns. A takedown and four count nearfall in the second period gave Rice the 12-3 win. Rice then earned a 20-3 technical fall over Roanoke's Cameron Owens in 3:10 after scoring 17 points in the first period. A takedown 10 seconds into the second period was all Rice needed to advance. After being down 1-0 after two periods against Tyler Roe of Stevens, Rice earned two escapes, a takedown and four nearfall points to secure the 9-4 decision. Rice was defeated by Max Watson of RIT in a 4-1 sudden victory to move to the consolation bracket. In the consolation bracket, Rice defeated Alexander Quintano of Roanoke in a fall at 1:03 before defeating Michael Beers of Elizabethtown via 11-4 decision to secure the third-place finish.
Andrew Kozubal was the lone Falcon active in the 165 lbs. weight class. After two bye rounds, Kozubal was defeated by Stevens' Jack Bailey via fall in 5:26. Kozubal advanced in the consolation bracket after a fall over Thomas Mancini of Cortland State in 6:03 before being defeated by Kyler Everly of Shippensburg via fall in 1:21.
At 174 lbs.,
Nick Montanye started his day with two bye rounds before being defeated by Tyler Balent of RIT via a 10-0 major decision. In the consolation bracket, Montanye saw his day end with a fall to Elizabethtown's Caden Droege in 2:03.
Also competing at 174 lbs. was
Jared Butler. After two bye rounds, Butler was defeated via 10-0 major decision against Trey Shoemaker of Shippensburg to move to the consolation bracket. Butler earned a 9-6 decision over Stevens' Christopher Piazza. Piazza lead 3-1 after the first period before earning a reversal and takedown in period two to lead 6-4. A two-count nearfall and riding time point gave Butler the 9-6 win. Butler was then defeated by Joey Visciano of Cortland State via 12-6 decision.
After two bye rounds at 184 lbs.,
Tim Eddinger earned a fall in 5:44 over Cortland State's Kyle Peske before being defeated by Steven Martinos of Roanoke via 14-2 major decision. In the consolations, Eddinger defeated teammate Nathan Kovalcik via 4-1 sudden victory. Eddinger then secured an 18-5 major decision over Stevens' Giorgio Corica after four takedowns, four nearfall pointes and two escapes. Eddinger then moved to the fifth-place bout after being defeated by Roanoke's Vincenzo Corvetto via fall in 6:44. Eddinger finished in sixth after forfeiting his final bout.
Nathan Kovalcik suffered a fall in 6:47 against Elizabethtown's Gavin Wagner after started with two bye rounds in the 184 lbs. weight class. Kovalcik earned a 20-3 technical fall in 3:30 over Logan Groover of Thiel following three takedowns and a four count nearfall in the first period and a takedown and four count nearfall in the second period. Kovalcik's day ended with a 4-1 sudden victory loss to teammate
Tim Eddinger.
The lone Falcon at 197 lbs.,
Micah Kunkle started with three bye rounds before being defeated by RIT's Nicholas Smith via 11-9 decision. The score was tied 6-6 after the first period before Smith took a lead with an escape and takedown in the second period. An escape and penalty point in the third period was not enough and Kunkle moved to the consolation bracket. Kunkle found success in the consolation bracket with a 20-3 technical fall in 6:38 over Peter Grippo of Stevens after five takedowns three nearfall points and an escape. Kunkle then defeated York's Luca Romasco via 4-1 decision and dropped dropped his match to Diesel Koser of Shippensburg via 4-1 decision to move to the fifth-place bout. Kunkle finished sixth after an uncontested fifth-place bout due to forfeit.
At 285 lbs.,
Isaiah Durham started his day with two byes before claiming an 18-3 technical fall over York's John Farrell in 5:53. Durham used one takedown in period one, two in period two, and three in period three to secure the win. Durham moved to the consolation bracket after a 7-2 decision in favor of Roanoke's Brady Elswick. In the consolation, Durham was defeated by Ksawery Niewadomy of Elizabethtown via 6-1 decision.
Nathaniel Manarin also competed at 285 lbs. and started his day with a loss via fall to Nicholas Cook of Roanoke after a pair of bye rounds. Manarin had a strong 8-3 lead in period one and looked to capitalize on a late takedown and nearfall but was unable to. Cook utilized a reversal in period two to capitalize and earn the fall. Manarin was defeated via 7-2 decision by Benjamin Rosa of Stevens in the consolation bracket.
Messiah's final Falcon in action was
Micah Martinez, also in the 285 lbs. weight class. Martinez started with a pair of bye rounds before earning the fall against Nick Aldino of Cortland State in 4:00. Martinez then earned a fall in 1:22 against Thiel's Seth Phillips before being defeated by Elizabethtown's Jimmy Yeingst via fall in 6:26. In the consolation bracket, Martinez advanced to the third-place bout after earning a fall in 3:47 over Ksawery Niewadomy of Elizabethtown. Martinez finished third after a forfeit in his final bout of the day.
Up Next
The Falcons will travel to Wheaton, Ill., to compete at the Wheaton Invitational on Friday, Jan. 31 and Saturday, Feb. 1.
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