COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Messiah Wrestling team was in action at the Racich Rumble hosted by Ursinus College on Saturday, Nov. 8. The Falcons finished second as a team with 159 points, just .5 behind champion NYU. Messiah earned five individual wins from Dalton Monger (149 lbs.), Clay Gainer (157 lbs.), Keegan Demarest (165 lbs.), Austin Brass (184 lbs.), and Tucker Seidel (197 lbs.). The Falcons had five additional finishers on the podium contributing to the second-place finish.

Wrestling returns to action on Saturday, November 15, when they travel to Arlington, Va. at 12:00 p.m. for the Marymount Duals. The Falcons will be in action against Marymount University, Penn State Altoona, and Southern Virginia University.

First Place Finishes
At 149 lbs., Dalton Monger went 5-0 on the day, earning five falls in under 2:00 per bout. He opened his day with a fall in 1:20 over Mason Basara of WPI following a first period takedown. In his second bout, Monger earned a fall over Trinity's Lucas Weinstein in 0:49 to advance to the quarterfinals. Monger led 6-0 in the quarterfinals before earning a fall over Alvernia's Quinn Tobin in 1:20. In the semifinals, Monger held an early 3-0 lead before claiming a fall in 0:35 to head to the championship match. Facing top-seeded John Mairano of NYU, Monger took a 6-1 lead before securing the fall in 1:56 to claim the top spot.

At 157 lbs., Clay Gainer earned an 18-2 technical fall over JHU's Eric Gendlin in 3:49. Gainer took a 12-1 lead after two takedowns and six nearfall points in the first period before adding a pair of takedowns in the second to earn the technical fall. A 9-6 decision over WPI's Jonah Weber and a 4-1 decision over Matt Rodriguez of WNEU led Gainer to the semifinals. Gainer held a 5-0 advantage over Ursinus' Braden Kmak before Kmak battled back to a one-point deficit. An escape from Gainer was followed by four points for Kmak, giving Gainer the one-point advantage, earning the 9-8 decision to advance to the championship bout. Gainer earned the 10-3 decision over Chance Babb of Alvernia to claim the title.

At 165 lbs., Keegan Demarest took an early lead over Alex Kaufmann of NYU, leading 15-4 after five first period takedowns. Starting down for period two, Demarest used an early escape and a takedown to earn the 19-4 technical fall in 3:35. In his second bout, Demarest took a 3-1 lead in the first period before jumping to a 14-2 lead in the second with an escape, a pair of takedowns, and four nearfall points before earning the fall in 3:53 over Ursinus' Derek Giordano to advance to the quarter-finals. Demarest held a 15-4 advantage following the first period against Jacob Weaver of Misericordia before an escape and takedown gave him the 19-4 technical fall in 3:30. In the semifianls, Demarest earned a 19-2 technical fall in 6:15 over Tyler Roe of Stevens. In the championship bout, Demarest continued his dominance with a 19-3 technical fall over St. John Fisher's Trevor Sheehan in 4:07.

At 184 lbs., Austin Brass began his day with a bye in the round of 32 before earning three technical falls on his way to the championship bout. In his first contested bout of the day, Brass earned the 19-3 technical fall over Ursinus' Benjamin Sanders in 4:52. Brass then defeated Sam Gledhill of JHU via 17-2 technical fall in 5:06 before a commanding 15-0 technical fall over Dmitry Derbedyenyev of NYU in 3:29 to advance to the championship bout. Brass was tied 0-0 with Ursinus' Nils Updale after the first period before an escape and takedown in the second gave him a 4-1 lead. Updale picked up three escapes but a third period takedown by Brass gave him the 7-3 win via decision to finish in first.

Tucker Seidel opened his day at 197 lbs. with a 15-0 technical fall over JHU's Charles Dunn in 1:27 behind a takedown and 12 nearfall points. Seidel then earned the 17-1 technical fall over Trinity's Booker Lester in 2:23. In the quarterfinals, a 17-1 technical fall in 4:03 sent Seidel to the semifinals where he earned the 10-6 decision over St. John Fisher's Braydon Vandenberg to advance to the championship bout. Seidel earned his first collegiate tournament win with a 7-2 decision over Sean Cowan Ursinus.

Other Podium Finishes
Caiden Heller picked up a 14-3 major decision to open his day at 133 lbs., earning a pair of takedowns, pair of escapes, and five nearfall points to advance. Heller advanced to the quarterfinals following a 17-2 technical fall in 5:41 over Camden County's Dante Gismondi. A 10-2 lead after two periods was followed by a takedown and four nearfall points in the third to earn the technical fall. Heller earned a 4-1 sudden victory decision of Trinity's Matthew Carrozza before falling in the semi-finals to eventual champion Jacob Venezia of NYU. Heller advanced to the third-place bout after a non-contest against teammate Ratledge. After being tied 0-0, Heller earned the third-place finish when his opponent could not continue due to injury.

After starting his first bout at 141 lbs. down 3-0 following a takedown by Ursinus' Matthew Copeland, Shaun Quirk quickly earned a reversal to take control on the mat. Quirk picked up four nearfall points before earning the fall in 2:43 to advance. In the round of 16, Quirk advanced to the quarterfinals over Jerry Hill of WPI following a fall in 0:52. Quirk advanced to the semifinals with an 11-1 major decision over Luke Yorke of St. John Fisher before dropping his next bout to NYU's James Carlock via 10-5 decision. Quirk finished fifth after a forfeit and a non-contested bout.
 
Tyler Ratledge opened his day in the 133 lbs. weight class with a 15-8 decision over Ursinus' Andrew Perez utilizing three takedowns, a pair of escapes, and four nearfall points. Ratledge then dropped to the consolation bracket after losing to Dominic Marinilli of Stevens via 21-5 technical fall. Ratledge led Nicolas Brockson of Ursinus 9-5 before Brockson could not continue due to injury. In his next bout, he advanced past Trevor Young of WNEU via 14-11 decision. A pair of wins via 8-6 and 5-3 decisions advanced Ratledge to a non-contested bout against teammate Heller before reaching the fifth-place bout. Ratledge finished sixth following a non-contested bout.

Mikey Hollar opened his day at 157 lbs. with a 19-4 technical fall over Hiram Sepulveda of WNEU in 5:13. Hollar took a 9-2 lead after the first period and extended it to 16-3 after the second. Sepulveda picked up an early escape before a takedown from Hollar earned the technical fall. Hollar moved to the consolation bracket after a loss via 6-4 decision against Rex Jacobs of NYU. In the consolation bracket, Hollar earned a 9-5 decision over Robert Leeds of NYU and a 15-5 major decision over Joseph Martini III of Ursinus. After trailing WNEU's Colin Carlin 10-2 after the first period, Hollar battled back and earned the 13-12 decision to advance. A 12-1 major decision over Matt Rodriguez of WNEU followed by a non-contested bout sent Hollar to the fifth-place bout, where he finished sixth following a second non-contested bout.

Zach Needles opened his day with a dominant win at 174 lbs. against Camden County's Andrew Geisenheimer. Needles picked up three takedowns before earning the fall in 0:58 to advance. Needles then earned a fall over Camden County's Jordan Suiter in 2:10 after leading 14-2. In his third bout, Needles was defeated by eventual champion Ty Finn of NYU via 11-0 major decision to move to the consolation bracket. Needles started strong in the consolations with a 23-7 technical fall over Nicholas Baccala of WNEU in 6:13 and a 19-4 technical fall over Theo Sawyers of WPI in 6:30. Needles finished sixth after a pair of forfeited matches.

Action on the Mats
Chris Brooks opened his day at 133 lbs. against Blaise Verdino of Ursinus, dropping the bout via a 17-2 technical fall to drop to the consolation bracket. Brooks faced Naci Robinson of Stevens in the consolations and after a tightly contested 10-10 regulation and three overtime periods, Robinson advanced via a 14-11 tiebreaker decision to end Brooks' day. Matthew Casey began his day in the 133 lbs. bracket with a bye in the round of 32 before being defeated by Charlie Pavis of WPI via fall to drop to the consolation bracket. Casey's day ended following a loss to Ursinus' Andrew Perez via 15-0 technical fall.

Jacob Cunningham opened his day in the 149 lbs. weight class with a 20-3 technical fall over Trinity's Nolan Sharp in 3:31. Cunningham led 12-3 following four first period takedowns. In the second period, an escape, takedown, and four nearfall points earned him the technical fall. Cunningham then was tied 1-1 with WNEU's Austin Monteiro before Monteiro secured the takedown in overtime for the 4-1 sudden victory. In the consolation bracket, Cunningham earned a 15-6 major decision over Mason Basara of WPI and a 16-8 major decision over St. John Fisher's Justin Coiteux before falling to Trevor Bishop of St. John Fisher via 14-3 major decision.

Dylan Hart earned a quick technical fall at 149 lbs., earning a takedown and 12 nearfall points in 1:13 to claim the 15-0 technical fall over West Chester's Noah Brechbill. In Hart's second match, he was defeated via 20-5 technical fall in 7:00 to move to the consolation bracket. Hart won his first consolation bout with a 15-0 technical fall over teammate Pierce in 3:53 before earning a tightly contested 3-2 decision over Trinity's Durkin Stankevich. Hart's day ended with a loss via 10-3 decision against WNEU's Austin Monteiro.

Abel Brunk opened his day at 149 lbs. with a bye round to advance to the round of 16 before dropping his first contested bout via 15-0 technical fall to Quinn Tobin of Alvernia to move to the consolation bracket. Brunk picked up an 11-6 decision over Joey Bodnar of Stevens before earning a 19-3 technical fall over Trinity's Nolan Sharp in 4:15. Brunk's day came to a close with a loss via major decision to Stevens' George Pavis. At 149 lbs., Daniel Pierce dropped his first bout of the day in a tightly contested 5-4 decision against Misericordia's Brady Quinn. Quinn held a 4-0 advantage after two periods before an escape and takedown from Pierce in the third tied it at 4-4. A late escape by Quinn gave him the 5-4 advantage and the win. Pierce faced teammate Hart in the consolations and lost via 15-0 technical fall to end his day.

Joel Swanson opened his day at 165 lbs. with a 10-0 major decision over Trinity's Chase Ledbury. A takedown late in the first and two nearfall points in the second period gave Swanson a 5-0 lead. Swanson added an escape and takedown in the third period before a riding time point gave him the 10-0 major decision. Swanson was then defeated by WNEU's Teghan McConnell via fall to move to the consolation bracket. Kozubal ended his day with a loss via 9-3 decision against teammate Kozubal.

At 165 lbs., Drew Kozubal opened his day against Joey Baisley of WPI with a loss via 4-2 decision. After a scoreless first period, Baisley earned four nearfall points before Kozubal was able to earn the reversal before falling 4-2 into the consolation bracket. Kozubal defeated NYU's Jack Bowen via 12-6 decision before earning the 9-3 decision over teammate Swanson. He then advanced following a 10-7 decision over West Chester's Rocco Trivelli before falling to John Gleason of NYU via 4-3 decision to end his day.

At 174 lbs., Nick Montanye trailed Chris Piazza of Stevens 6-1 before Piazza picked up the fall to send Montanye to the consolation bracket. Montanye earned the 9-2 decision over John-Michael Economos of WPI before falling to Arthur Gordon of JHU via 17-1 technical fall to end his day.

Nate Kovalcik opened his day in the 184 lbs. weight class with a bye in the round of 32 before being defeated via fall by Joe Tully of WPI. Following a bye in the consolations, Kovalcik's day ended via 11-2 major decision against Misericordia's Robbie Anderson.

Sergio Garcia earned a bye through the round of 32 in the 197 lbs. weight class before being defeated by Alvernia's Myles Brown via 4-3 decision. In the consolations, Garcia was defeated via 5-2 decision by Alvernia's Jason Chiodi. At 197 lbs., Nathaniel Manarin lost via 13-6 sudden victory to Ethan Robar of WNEU to drop to the consolation bracket. Manarin picked up a fall in 0:41 over Sean Keady of WPI before being defeated by Trinity's Luke Hutton via technical fall.

Kaleb Britting earned a 2-1 sudden victory in his opening bout at 285 lbs. after trailing Ben Rosa of Stevens 1-0. Britting earned an escape in period three to tie it 1-1, forcing overtime where Rosa gave up a point for stalling, allowing Britting to earn the 2-1 sudden victory. Britting then claimed a 10-1 major decision over Trinity's Marc Pineiro before falling to eventual champion Owen Reber of Alvernia via 9-0 major decision. In the consolations, Britting fell to WPI's Trevor Bowen via a tie break after remaining tied 3-3 after regulation and three overtime periods.

At 285 lbs., Micah Martinez opened his day with a pair of falls. In his first bout, Martinez took a 7-0 lead over Camden County's Garrett Gayle before earning the fall in 3:33. He then earned a fall over Alvernia's Tyler Carter in 2:53 after holding a 4-0 lead. Martinez was tied 8-8 with Nathan Faxon of NYU before Faxon earned the fall to send Martinez to the consolation bracket. Martinez ended his day with a loss via fall to Noah berlin-Langston in a time of 3:48. Elijah Farr opened his day in the 285 lbs. weight class with a bye in the round of 32 before taking an early 7-0 lead over Aiden Hidlay of Misericordia, earning the fall in 0:55. Farr was then defeated by Trinity's Nick Ebrahimi via 9-4 decision to move to the consolations. Farr fell via 12-1 major decision against Alvernia's Tristian Cooper to end his day.

Up Next
Wrestling returns to action on Saturday, November 15, when they travel to Arlington, Va. at 12:00 p.m. for the Marymount Duals. The Falcons will be in action against Marymount University, Penn State Altoona, and Southern Virginia University.
 

Related Videos

Now Playing:

• Play Video