GRANTHAM, Pa. – On Friday, Dec. 5, the Messiah Wrestling team hosted Day One of the Petrofes Invitational in Hitchcock Arena. The Falcons welcomed 14 other teams to Grantham for wrestling action. Messiah advances 13 wrestlers to Day Two across nine of the weight classes.
Caiden Heller,
Keegan Demarest,
Drew Kozubal,
Austin Brass, and
Tucker Seidel all remain undefeated in the championship bracket through the first day of competition. Messiah sits in second of 15 teams after Day One with 102.5 points, trailing only NYU who sits in first with 109. Springfield rounds out the top three with 91 points.
The Falcons return to Hitchcock Arena on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 9:30 a.m. for Day Two of the 2025 Petrofes Invitational.
Advancing to Day Two
Caiden Heller opened his day in the 133 lbs. weight class against Christian Simmons of Adrian. Heller held a 6-1 lead after the first period before three takedowns and a nearfall gave him the 20-4 technical fall win in 5:00. In his second bout, Heller held a 3-0 lead over Bridgewater's Jack Sullivan before earning the fall in 3:00. Heller secured a spot on Day Two following a 10-3 decision over Gettysburg's Torey Falkinburg.
Tyler Ratledge opened the day at 133 lbs. with a 15-4 major decision over Eugene Barrientes of Adrian after taking a 6-2 lead in the first period. Ratledge added a reversal and takedown in the second before solidifying his win with a takedown and riding time point in the third. In his second bout, Ratledge took a 4-1 lead in the second over Aamire Gaskins of Arcadia following a scoreless first period. Gaskins picked up two points in the third, but it wasn't enough and Ratledge advanced. Ratledge dropped to the consolation bracket following a loss via 10-1 decision to Ethan Buonanducci of Bridgewater. Ratledge advanced to Day Two in the consolation bracket following a win via 8-3 decision over Alvernia's Steven Harris.
Jacob Cunningham opened his day at 141 lbs. with a fall over Alvernia's Loudon Rupp in 1:36. Cunningham then picked up a 19-4 technical fall in 4:42 over Bridgewater's Daniel Sullivan with six takedowns and an escape. Cunningham then dropped to the consolation bracket following a loss via 13-9 decision against Springfield's Ryan Kozdra. Cunningham advanced to Day Two in the consolations following a 21-4 technical fall in 5:37 over Nolan Brown of Alvernia.
In his return to the mats at 149 lbs.,
Levi Snyder earned a 7-1 decision over Andrew Fabian of Gettysburg before securing a come from behind 17-10 decision over Saint Vincent's Tyler Debnar. Snyder was down 6-2 after the first period before leveling the score at 8-8 going into the third. An early reversal and set of nearfall points gave Snyder the lead and a takedown solidified the win. Snyder then fell to the consolations following a loss via 11-1 major decision to Jake Mitchell of Gettysburg. Snyder advanced to Day Two following a medical forfeit by his opponent in his first consolation bout.
Dalton Monger opened his day at 149 lbs. with a pair of falls, first in 0:37 over Connor Beck of Thaddeus Stevens then in 2:51 over Bridgewater's Kamel Dib. Monger then fell to the consolation bracket following a loss via fall in 6:35 against NYU's John Mairano after trailing 8-7 in a closely contested bout. Monger jumped to a quick 6-1 lead over Cqari Bacote of Bridgewater before earning the fall in 1:25 to advance to Day Two in the consolations.
Clay Gainer opened his day at 157 lbs. with a loss via 11-9 decision against Shenandoah's Hunter Ballantine to drop the consolation bracket. Gainer earned a commanding 15-0 technical fall in 5:29 over Greensboro's Adam Attia to continue his day in the consolations. Following a win via 7-2 decision over Averett's Jackson Higgins, Gainer advanced to face Martin Turi of King's. An 8-0 major decision squared him against teammate Hollar. Gainer advanced to Day Two in the consolations following a 5-0 decision over Hollar and will face teammate Rice.
At 157 lbs.,
Noah Rice took an early 7-0 lead over Arcadia's Riley Gutierrez before securing the fall in 2:33. He then advanced following a fall in 1:57 over Gettysburg's Conlan Boyer. Rice dropped to the consolations following a loss to Alvernia's Chance Babb via 6-3 decision. Rice advanced following a fall in 1:14 over Bridgewaters Avery Carl and will face teammate Gainer in his first bout on Day Two.
At 165 lbs.,
Keegan Demarest opened his day with a pair of first period technical falls, first over Jordan Bentley of King's in 1:13 with a score of 17-1 before claiming the 20-5 technical fall over Gettysburg's Connor Hoefling in 2:33. Demarest advanced to Day Two following a dominant 18-3 technical fall over John Gleason of NYU in 1:01.
At 174 lbs.,
Drew Kozubal opened his day with a bye round before earning a 3-2 decision over Muhlenberg's Noah Schlofer. Kozubal earned a spot on Day Two following a closely contested 7-6 decision over Adrian's Calob Heilman. Heilman held a 5-0 lead early in the third period before Kozubal secured an escape and two takedowns to earn the 7-6 win and advance.
Austin Brass opened the day at 184 lbs. with a 12-2 major decision over Muhlenberg's Ben Krauss before earning a fall in 0:48 over NYU's Mark Dickey. Brass advanced to Day Two in the championship bracket following a 5-0 decision over Spencer Vos of Adrian.
After a bye round to start his day at 184 lbs., Nathaniel Kovalcik earned a 9-1 major decision over Archie Rubin of Muhlenberg. After dropping to the consolations following a loss via fall to NYU's Justin Mayes, Kovalcik faced Arcadia's James Taft in his first bout. Kovalcik advanced to Day Two after a commanding 16-0 technical fall in 3:00 over Taft.
At 197 lbs.,
Tucker Seidel opened his day with a 15-0 technical fall in 3:24 over Arcadia's Tyler Mains before earning a 15-2 major decision over Jason Chiodi. Seidel then faced Ryan Weinzen of Saint Vincent. The pair remained tied 1-1 after regulation and Seidel earned a takedown 37 seconds into the first overtime to secure the 4-1 sudden victory and a spot on Day Two.
Kaleb Britting opened his day at 285 lbs. with a win via 12-2 major decision over Greensboro's Jamie Jinks before earning a 4-3 sudden victory over Hamza Rafferty of Adrian. Britting then dropped to the consolation bracket following a tight loss via 9-8 decision against NYU's Nate Faxon. Britting advanced to Day Two following a thrilling fall over Averett's Carter Erickson in 4:14 to close out action on Friday night.
Other Friday Action
After an opening round bye at 125 lbs.,
Austin Jeffrey earned an 11-6 decision over Sei Dolomengi of Bridgewater State with a reversal and nearfall in the first period and a nearfall and takedown in the second. He then fell to the consolation bracket following a loss via fall to NYU's Xavier Diaz. Jeffery led Averett's Dominic Pascoe 3-0 before Pascoe capitalized on a reversal and earned the fall to end Jeffrey's weekend.
Chris Brooks dropped his opening bout at 133 lbs. via major decision against Cole Anderson of King's College to fall to the consolation bracket. Brooks then lost a closely contested 6-5 decision against Zach Owens of Gettysburg to end his day.
Matthew Casey trailed Adrian's Jager Corliss 17-10 before being defeated via fall to drop to the consolation bracket. Casey's day ended when he fell to Saint Vincent's Owen Caracciolo via technical fall. Also at 133 lbs., Corbin Hutchinson began his day against Springfield's Kevin Sevigny and fell via technical fall. He advanced in the consolations bracket following a medical forfeit to face Springfield's Alex Oberc. Hutchinson's day came to a close following a loss via technical fall to Oberc.
At 149 lbs.,
Daniel Pierce opened his day with an 8-2 decision over Brian Hopkin's of Kings in the pigtails. He then picked up an 8-3 decision over Adrian's Austin Seta to move into the round of 32. After falling to Arcadia's Caden Frost via technical fall, Pierce earned an 8-1 decision over Springfield's Seamus Hartnett to stay alive in the consolations. Pierce's weekend came to a close in the next round with a loss via 7-2 decision against Bridgewater's Kamel Dib. In the pigtails of 149 lbs.,
Abel Brunk earned a fall in 4:30 over Saint Vincent's Tyler Clark to secure a spot in the round of 32. Brunk then dropped a closely contested bout to Cqari Bacote of Bridgewater via 7-5 decision and ended his day with a loss via 16-9 decision against Adrian's Landyn Crance.
Dylan Hart made quick work of his pigtail match at 149 lbs., claiming a 15-0 technical fall over Arcadia's Julius Martinez in 1:26. In the round of 32, Hart earned a 15-0 technical fall over Dino Catalano of Adrian in 1:08 before falling to Ty Stewart of Springfield via fall to move to the consolation bracket. Hart earned a 15-0 technical fall in 2:51 over Liam Totten to remain in the consolations. Hart ended his day with a loss via 13-4 major decision against Cqari Bacote of Bridgewater.
Mikey Hollar started his day at 157 lbs. with a fall in 5:58 over James Brady of Thaddeus Stevens to advance to the round of 32. He then earned a 19-4 technical fall over Conor Knight of King's in 7:00 and a 16-0 technical fall in 7:00 over James Mahoney of Averett to continue his day in the championship bracket. A loss via technical fall to top-seeded Aiden Smith of Adrien dropped Hollar to the consolation bracket where he faced teammate Gainer. Hollar's weekend ended with a loss via 5-0 decision to Gainer.
Justin Craig opened his day in the 157 lbs. weight class with a fall in 1:26 over Alvernia's Giovanni Patti before falling to the consolation bracket after a loss via major decision to Averett's Carter Shupert. Craig began action in the consolations with a 14-4 major decision over Conor Knight of King's. Craig then advanced following an 8-6 decision over Bridgewater's James Calabrese. Craig's weekend came to a close following a loss via fall to Hunter Ballentine of Shenandoah.
Garrett Fowler dropped his first bout at 157 lbs. via 17-3 major decision against Gettysburg's Gavin Pascoe before earning a fall over Sean Hazlett of King's in 4:02. Fowler then ended his day via 15-14 decision against Muhlenberg's Logan Hurwitt.
Joel Swanson opened his day at 165 lbs. with a bye round before dropping his first contested bout via fall to Muhlenberg's Tyson Derenberger. Swanson held a 7-2 advantage over Springfield's Nate Spuhler before Spuhler claimed 10 straight points to take the 12-10 decision and end Swanson's weekend.
Nick Montanye opened his day in the 174 lbs. weight class with a loss via technical fall to Alvernia's Luke Thomas to drop to the consolation bracket. Montanye started his run in the consolation bracket with a 14-0 major decision over Alex Ballantyne of King's before securing a 20-3 technical fall over Shenandoah's Dylan Wiegert in 5:19. Montanye's weekend came to a close following a loss via 11-2 major decision against Muhlenberg's Noah Schlofer.
At 197 lbs.,
Tim Eddinger opened his day with a fall in 1:20 over NYU's Matthew Hill before falling to Arcadia's Aidan Murray via 8-4 decision. In the consolation bracket, Eddinger ended his weekend with a loss via 7-5 decision against Tyler Mains of Arcadia. Following a first round bye at 197 lbs.,
Isaiah Durham fell via major decision to Bridgewater's Christian Curley. A bye round in the consolations was followed by a win via 14-6 major decision to keep his weekend alive. Durham ended Friday night with a loss via 4-1 decision against Arcadia's Aidan Murray.
Sergio Garcia opened his day with at 197 lbs. before falling to Jacob Jimenez of Averett via 9-1 decision. Following a bye in the consolations, Garcia earned a 12-0 major decision over Josh Brown of King's. Garcia's weekend came to a close following a loss via 17-12 decision against Saint Vincent's Ryan Weinzen.
Elijah Farr dropped his opening bout at 285 lbs. via 10-3 decision against Gettysburg's Simon Taylor. In the consolation bracket, Farr earned the 1-0 decision over NYU's Yaman Shehadeh before falling to Averett's Carter Erickson via 11-1 major decision to end his weekend.
Up Next
The Falcons return to Hitchcock Arena on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 9:30 a.m. for Day Two of the 2025 Petrofes Invitational.
