GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah University Wrestling team opened the 2025-26 season on Saturday, hosting nine teams for the Messiah Invitational in Hitchcock Arena. The Falcons earned the team victory in the field of 10 teams with 146 points, just passing second-place Washington and Lee who finished with 140.
Keegan Demarest (165 lbs.) and
Zach Needles (174 lbs.) both earned the individual title in their respective weight classes. Messiah added another seven podium finishes to earn the team win.
Messiah returns to action on Saturday, November 8, when they travel to Ursinus College for the Racich Rumble. Action is set to begin at 10:00 a.m. in Collegeville.
First-Place Finishes
At 165 lbs.,
Keegan Demarest opened the day with three technical falls. In the first round, Demarest worked to a quick 20-4 technical fall over Liberty's Dom Pinciotti in 1:28 before claiming the 21-6 technical fall over Noah Lorenz of Johns Hopkins in 1:26. In his bout against Wheaton's Taggart Kazmierczk, Demarest finished with a score of 20-4, picking up his third technical fall of the day in 3:24. A 17-6 major decision victory over Connor Powell of Johns Hopkins advanced Demarest into the championship bout. After trailing Washington and Lee's Mark Troni 1-0, Demarest earned a takedown in the second period and held a 3-2 advantage heading into the final two minutes. An early escape after starting down gave Demarest the 4-2 lead and decision victory to claim the top spot.
In his return to the mats at 174 lbs.,
Zach Needles opened his day with a dominant 16-0 technical fall over Brockport's Travis Robinson-Becker in 1:46. Needles then secured an 18-1 technical fall in 3:20 over Washington and Lee's Zach Silnutzer. In his third bout of the day, Needles picked up his third technical fall with a 15-0 finish over Avery Cummings of McDaniel in 2:47. Needles advanced to the championship bout following a 12-6 decision over Washington and Lee's Jacob Wright. In the championship bout, Needles took a commanding 13-2 lead over Ursinus' Anthony Cerulli in the first period before earning the fall in 4:30 to take first.
Other Podium Finishes
At 141 lbs.,
Shaun Quirk earned a technical fall in 4:00 over Ursinus' Cole Ambrose with a score of 20-4 in his first contested bout of the day. Quirk then faced McDaniel's Andrew Dolezei and won via 20-5 technical fall in 4:55 before advancing to the championship bout following a win due to medical forfeit. In the championship bout, Quirk dropped a closely contested battle with Ursinus' Andrew Schaen via 14-13 decision to earn second.
Clay Gainer led the Falcons efforts in the 157 lbs. weight class. Gainer started with a bye before earning a 16-0 technical fall over Brockport's Samuel Zeigler in 3:50 in his first contested bout. Gainer trailed Ursinus' Braden Kmak 8-2 in period two before battling back and claiming the 12-8 decision to advance in the championship bracket. Gainer advanced to the championship bout after via 8-4 decision over Freddy Pimental of Johns Hopkins after trailing 4-0. After taking a 1-0 lead in the second period over Liam Flanagan of Washington and Lee, Gainer dropped the championship bout via 5-2 decision to finish in second place.
Austin Brass began his day with a bye round in the 184 lbs. weight class before earning back-to-back technical falls. In his first contested bout, Brass earned the 17-2 technical fall over Arcadia's James Taft in 2:53. Brass then faced Brockport's Brody Fry and earned the 18-2 technical fall in 3:51. A fall in 0:31 over Brockport's Avery Bustamante advanced Brass to the championship bout. Brass faced off with Elizabethtown's Ganon Smith in the championship bout and finished second after falling via a tightly contested 4-3 decision.
At 197 lbs.,
Tucker Seidel opened his day with a 17-1 technical fall over McDaniel's Gannon Brooks in 3:16 before earning a fall in 0:22 over Gavin Wagner of Elizabethtown. Following a 1-0 loss to John Santowski of Washington and Lee, Seidel moved to the consolation bracket where he faced teammate Garcia. Seidel earned an early takedown and added 12 nearfall points to earn the 15-0 technical fall in 1:23 and advance to the third-place bout. After earning an early takedown against McDaniel's Isaac Ogunlade, Seidel was able to capitalize on his position and earn the third-place finish.
A pair of quick falls advanced
Dalton Monger in the 149 lbs. bracket. In the first round, Monger earned a fall over Dominic Rizzotto of Elizabethtown in 0:44 seconds before picking up a fall in 0:46 over Arcadia's Figueredo. Monger then defeated Washington and Lee's Robert Pavlek via 16-6 major decision to continue his run in the championship bracket. In a tightly contested battle with Washington and Lee's Evan Lindner, the pair were tied 5-5 before Lindner earned the fall in 4:30 to send Monger to the consolation bracket. Monger dropped his consolation bout via 10-1 major decision against Jax Obe before finishing fifth via a no contest bout.
Sergio Garcia made his debut at 197 lbs. for the Falcons. Garcia dropped his first bout via a 14-2 major decision to Will Davis of Elizabethtown to move to the consolation bracket. Garcia earned a 5-0 win over Charles Dunn of Johns Hopkins before earning the 17-4 major decision over Washington and Lee's Miller. Garcia dropped his next bout to teammate Seidel via technical fall to move to the fifth-place bout. Garcia earned the 6-3 sudden victory over Simon Lingle of Brockport to earn fifth.
Tyler Ratledge lost a close bout against McDaniel's Stone Yuen via an 8-7 decision to open his day. Ratledge then battled back in 133 lbs. weight class consolations, earning a 17-2 technical fall over Jonathan Guyette of Brockport in 4:47 before advancing via medical forfeit. Ratledge then faced teammate Lozano and advanced following a 19-4 technical fall in 5:08. In his next match, Ratledge earned a 23-5 technical fall over Ursinus' Andrew Perez in 5:00 before earning a 7-3 decision over Brockport's Kolton Kelley. Ratledge advanced to the fifth-place bout after being defeated via fall by Makhare Rogers of Elizabethtown and finished sixth after a non-contested bout.
Action on the Mats
Austin Jeffrey started his day at 125 lbs. with a loss via fall in 2:09 against Ricky Dixon of McDaniel. After a bye round in consolations, Jeffrey was defeated by Cael Stewart of Brockport via fall in 1:40.
The 133 lbs. weight class held one of the largest contingents of Falcons with five wrestlers suited up for Messiah.
Chris Brooks was defeated via 19-4 technical fall by Jacob Blair of Arcadia to move into the consolation bracket. Brooks earned the 10-3 decision over teammate Casey to advance in the consolations.
Caiden Heller opened his day with a bye round before taking a 3-0 lead over Liberty's Wayshaun Hicks. Heller capitalized on his position and earned the fall in 1:29 to advance. Following an 8-5 sudden victory loss to Makhare Rogers of Brockport, Heller moved to the consolation bracket. Heller's day concluded with a loss via 5-0 decision against Blaise Verdino of Ursinus. In his first bout of the day,
Micah Lozano fell to Elizabethtown's Corey Cope via 17-1 technical fall before having a bye in his first consolation round. Lozano advanced via a 16-0 technical fall in 4:50 over Hicks of Liberty. Lozano's day came to a close following a 19-4 loss via technical fall against teammate Ratledge. The final Falcon at 133 lbs. was
Matthew Casey. Casey opened the day with a loss via fall in 3:50 against Brockport's Ryan Cieslinkski. A bye in the consolation bracket was followed by a loss via 10-3 decision against teammate Brooks to end his day.
Messiah also had five Falcons in the 149 lbs. weight class, the largest bracket of the tournament.
Jacob Cunningham opened action with a 13-2 major decision over Liberty's Justin Root before dropping his second bout to Brockport's Charles Louke's via a 12-9 sudden victory decision. Cunningham earned two victories in the consolation bracket with a 19-3 technical fall over McDaniel's Brendan Bowman in 6:16 and a 15-2 major decision Joshua Figueredo of Arcadia. Following an 11-4 decision over Brockport's Mason Mangialino, Cunningham squared off with teammate Hart. Cunningham concluded his day with a 4-2 decision over Hart. In his first match of the day,
Dylan Hart took an early 6-1 lead over Michael Cliver of Arcadia before earning the 9-3 decision. In his second match, Hart trailed Alex Smith of Brockport 7-1 before earning a reversal and capitalizing to earn the fall in 3:40. Hart then lost to top-seeded Thomas Monn of McDaniel via 17-0 technical fall to move to the consolation bracket, where he faced off with teammate Cunningham. Cunningham earned the 4-2 victory to end Hart's run in the consolation bracket.
Daniel Pierce dropped his opening bout via 11-2 major decision against Mason Mangialino of Brockport before being defeated by Stephen Bialek of Elizabethtown via 8-2 decision in the consolation.
Abel Brunk lost his opening bout at 149 lbs. via 19-3 technical fall against Evan Lindner of Washington and Lee. In the consolation bracket, Brunk was battled back against Brockport's Spencer Maja to bring the score to 10-8 in Maja's favor before he claimed the fall in 6:58 to end Brunk's day.
Noah Rice began his day at 157 lbs. with a 15-10 decision over Andre Allen of McDaniel before picking up a dominant 14-0 major decision over Arcadia's Riley Gutierrez. Rice then dropped a tight bout against Liam Flanagan of Washington and Lee via 4-2 decision to move to the consolation bracket where his day ended.
Mikey Hollar dropped his opening bout against Ursinus' Dillon Lombardi via 7-4 decision before earning a dominant 16-0 technical fall over Brockport's Brandon Drummond in 6:21. Hollar then picked up a 15-0 technical fall in 5:25 over Arcadia's Gutierrez before earning a fall in 4:01 over Nicolas Rehfuss of Ursinus after leading 7-0. Hollar was then defeated via 13-1 major decision against Kmak of Ursinus to end his day.
Joel Swanson began his day at 165 lbs. with a fall in 5:30 over Ivan Ni of Wheaton after leading the match 18-4. Swanson dropped his second bout via 15-0 technical fall to Justice Hockenberry-Folk of Elizabethtown to move to the consolations. Swanson earned a pair of wins to start his time in the consolation bracket, first securing a 12-6 win via decision over Jordan Scott of Liberty before earning a fall in 4:20 over Arcadia's Kehinde Mogaji. Swanson's day came to a close with a loss via 20-4 technical fall in the consolation bracket against Kazmierxzak of Wheaton. After opening the day with a bye round,
Drew Kozubal dropped his first contested bout to Mark Troni of Washington and Lee via fall in 3:41. In the consolation bracket, Kozubal led Liberty's Pinciotti 18-9 before capitalizing on his position and earning the fall in 2:18. Kozubal followed the fall with an 18-0 technical fall over Soren Myra of Wheaton in 2:25, utilizing a takedown and 15 nearfall points in just over a minute. Kozubal's day came to a close following a 3-1 loss against Devin Sweeney of Washington and Lee. After dropping his opening bout against Brockport's Elijah Bonet via 10-3 decision,
Nick Montanye earned an 8-4 decision over Washington and Lee's Silnutzer before earning a dominant 18-0 technical fall over Wheaton's Drew Jordan to advance in the consolations. Montanye was then defeated by Elizabethtown's Gavin Fehr via fall to conclude his day.
At 184 lbs.,
Nate Kovalcik dropped his opening bout via 10-6 decision against Alex Taylor of McDaniel. In the consolation bracket, Kovalcik earned an 11-4 win via decision against Joe Elaal of Washington and Lee before concluding his day with a loss via 11-6 decision against Liberty's Ronald Black.
Tim Eddinger opened his day with a sudden victory loss against Maxx Miller of Elizabethtown with a score of 10-7. In the consolation bracket, Eddinger was defeated by Brockport's Simon Lingle via a 4-1 decision in sudden victory.
Nathaniel Manarin dropped his first bout via fall in 6:22 to Wheaton's Jacob Kraker. In the consolations, Manarin trailed Charles Dunn of Johns Hopkin 11-10 before Dunn capitalized and earned the fall in 6:21.
After an opening round bye at 285 lbs.,
Isaiah Durham dropped his first contested bout to Arcadia's Logan Flynn via a 22-7 technical fall. In the consolation bracket, Durham earned a 9-3 win decision over Wheaton's Joseph Kruse before earning the 4-1 sudden victory over Elizabethtown's Jimmy Yeingst. Durham closed his day with a loss via fall against Ksawery Niewadomy of Elizabethtown.
Micah Martinez began his competition with a 12-7 decision over McDaniel's Ezekiel Gayle before Jake Pomykata of Johns Hopkins defeated Martinez via fall to send him to the consolation bracket. Martinez dropped his consolation bout against Brockport's Mike Welsh via 13-2 major decision.
Kaleb Britting dropped his first bout against Kaden Bryan of McDaniel via 19-3 technical fall to move to the consolations. Britting led Wheaton's Alex Copestick 9-2 before earning the fall in 2:51 to advance. An 8-1 decision over Josh Hermann of Liberty was followed by a 4-1 loss to Washington and Lee's Kweku Arthur-Mensah to end Britting's outing. Rounding out the Falcons' efforts in the 285 lbs. weight class was
Elijah Farr. Farr started off with a victory via fall in 0:28 over Brockport's Seamus Carroll before dropping his second bout via 19-4 technical fall against Liberty's Braden Ewing. In the consolation bracket, Farr was defeated via 6-2 decision by Brockport's Luke Coffin.
Up Next
Messiah returns to action on Saturday, November 8, when they travel to Ursinus College for the Racich Rumble. Action is set to begin at 10:00 a.m. in Collegeville.
