GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah Wrestling team was in action at the 2025 Messiah Open on Saturday, Feb.8. Highlighting the Falcons' efforts was a second place finish for
Asa Brunk (141 lbs.) and third place finishes for
Camerin Deville (141 lbs.) and Andrew Kozubal (165 lbs.).
The Falcons return to the mat on Friday, Feb. 14 when they host Elizabethtown College for a dual in Hitchcock Arena at 7:00 p.m.
Falcon Podium Finishers
After beginning the day with two bye rounds,
Mason Casey earned a fall at 133 lbs. over Ethan Washburn of Wilkes. Casey led 5-0 after a takedown and two nearfall points before capitalizing on his position to earn the fall. Casey was then defeated by Marcus Heck of Wyoming Seminary via 22-6 technical fall to move to the consolation bracket. In his first consolation bout of the day, Casey earned a fall in 2:01 over Alvernia's James King. Casey then earned a 16-0 first round technical fall in 2:21over Marymount's Joseph Custodio with a takedown and 12 nearfall points before being defeated by James Garcia of Franklin & Marshall via 19-3 technical fall. In the fifth place bout, Casey was defeated via 13-4 major decision by Luke Reitter of TCNJ, finishing sixth overall.
At 141 lbs., the Falcons had five wrestlers in action.
Landen Pangborn was defeated by Tyler Adams of NAPS via 13-1 major decision to move to the consolation bracket. Pangborn took on teammate Pierce in his first consolation match and won via 13-11 decision after picking up four takedowns and an escape. Pangborn defeated teammate Stockton via fall in :35 before advancing due to a medical forfeit. In his next match, Pangborn was defeated by Temuujin Erdenetuya of Marymount via 13-2 major decision to move to the seventh place bout where he defeated Trey Friedman of Drexel via 8-5 decision.
After opening his day with two bye rounds,
Camerin Deville picked up a 19-2 technical fall over Ahmed Hussain of TCNJ. Deville struck first with a takedown and two nearfall points before Hussain escaped. Deville added two more takedowns and four nearfall points to lead 15-2 after the first period. It only took 14 seconds for Deville to earn a takedown in the second period and a riding time point gave him the 19-2 technical fall in 3:15. Deville moved to the consolation bracket after being defeated by Joey Fischer via 9-2 decision. In his first bout of the consolations, Deville advanced after a 15-3 major decision over ben Grater of Wilkes. Deville led 7-2 after a pair of takedowns in the first and added a takedown in each of the second and third periods. Leading 21-7, Deville was able to capitalize and earn a fall in 6:50 over Drexel's Trey Friedman before defeating Dominic Ramos of Souderton via 18-10 major decision. Deville scored three takedowns in the first and added two with a three count nearfall in the third. Deville finished third overall after a medicial forfeit by his opponent in his last bout.
Also at 141 lbs.,
Asa Brunk began his day with a pair of first period falls. In his opening match against Wilkes' Constantine Kocoronis, Brunk had a pair of takedowns before earning the fall in 2:40. In his second match against Lucian Mallinger on Onondaga, Brunk had a takedown and two nearfall points before earning the fall in 1:19. Brunk advanced to the semifinals with a 17-5 major decision over Chandler Sewell. Brunk led 7-1 after a takedown and four nearfall points in the first and added another seven with an escape, takedown and three nearfall points in the second. Brunk had a reversal in period three before picking up a riding time point to earn the 17-5 major decision. After leading Souderton's Dominic Ramos 10-5, Ramos battled back, and the pair was tied 14-14 after regulation. Brunk secured a takedown 36 seconds into overtime to earn the win and a spot in the championship bout. Brunk finished second overall after unattached Joey Fischer defeated him via fall in 1:48.
Wrestling at 165 lbs., Andrew Kozubal dropped his first bout via 16-1 technical fall against Brett Barbush of Mat Town USA in 5:56. In his first consolation bout, Kozubal earned a 17-0 technical fall over Marymount's Xavier Castaneda in 3:56. A takedown and eight nearfall points in the first gave Kozubal a commanding lead and he used a reversal and four count nearfall in the second period to secure the technical fall. Kozubal defeated Franklin & Marshall's Makoa Niebel via 6-3 decision after trailing 3-0 after the first period. He advanced to the third place bout after a medical forfeit and claimed third after a 12-10 decision over Gage Wiggins of Wyoming Seminary.
Tim Eddinger started his day with a pair of major decisions in the 184 lbs. weight class. In his opening bout, Eddinger defeated Liberty's Paul Moore via 13-2 major decision after a takedown, reversal and eight nearfall points. He then defeated Teague Conover of Pitt-Johnstown via 13-1 major decision after a takedown in each of the first two periods and two in the final period. Eddinger moved to the consolation bracket after falling to Muhlenberg's Ryan Fairchild via 17-2 technical fall. In his next bout, he earned a fall in 4:07 over Kendall Drake of Wyoming Seminary after a scoreless bout. Eddinger then defeated Franklin & Marshall's Noah Bash via 18-3 technical fall in 5:31 with eight points in the first period and 10 in a minute and a half of the second period. Eddinger was defeated by Connor Jacobs of Clarion via 11-4 decision to move to the fifth place bout, which he won due to a medical forfeit.
Other Action on the Mats
Matthew Casey was defeated in his opening bout at 133 lbs. when Noah Rosa of Wilkes earned a fall in 4:26. In the consolation bracket, Casey squared off with Pravith Siriwardhana. Casey was down 11-5 after the first period but used a takedown and two escapes to cut the deficit to 15-11. Casey scored two more late in the third with a reversal, but it wasn't enough as he fell via 19-13 decision to end his day.
After a pair of bye rounds,
Elias Stockton was defeated by Dominic Ramos of Souderton via 16-1 technical fall in 2:02 in the 141 lbs. weight class. Stockton was defeated by teammate Pangborn via fall in 1:35 to end his day.
In
Daniel Pierce's first bout of the day, he was defeated by Brandt Fajerman of Diplomat Wrestling Club via 18-2 technical fall in 4:08. Pierce took on teammate Pangborn in his consolation match and lost via 13-11 decision. Pierce trailed 12-4 after two periods but a pair of takedowns in the final period was not enough to overcome the deficit.
At 149 lbs.,
Abel Brunk began his day with a loss via 13-10 decision against USMAPS' Marcus Reum. The score was tied 4-4 after each wrestler had a takedown and escape. Reum took the lead 8-5 in the second and the pair were tied 10-10 after regulation. Reum secured a takedown 14 seconds into overtime to earn the win and send Brunk to the consolation bracket. In his consolation bracket, Brunk was defeated by teammate Cunningham via fall in 1:29.
Also at 149 lbs.,
Jacob Cunningham won his first bout via 12-0 major decision against Marymount's Pahris Petalas. Cunningham led 7-0 after two periods and picked up a takedown, penalty point, and riding time point in the final period to earn the 12-0 win. Cunningham moved to the consolation bracket after being defeated by Drexel's Deon Pleasant via 15-0 technical fall. In a consolation match against teammate Brunk, Cunningham advanced after earning a fall in 1:29. Cunningham then earned an 18-1 technical fall over Wilkes' Jacob Bettancourt in 6:17. Cunningham led 7-1 after two periods before picking up a takedown and eight nearfall points in the third to secure the technical fall. Cunningham saw his day come to a close when he was defeated by Shane Reilly of USMAPS via 8-5 decision. After trailing 4-0 following two periods, Cunningham earned an escape and takedown in the third to tie the score. Reilly responded with an escape and takedown of his own and a late escape by Cunningham was not enough.
In his opening bout at 157 lbs.,
Mikey Hollar was defeated via 13-3 major decision against Tallion Elliott of Marymount. Hollar defeated TCNJ's Michael Meissner via 4-0 decision before Jayden Iznaga defeated Hollar via 11-2 major decision to end Hollar's day.
Charles Lepage opened his day with a loss via 23-4 technical fall against Mitchell Sutter of Wilkes. Lepage trailed 5-4 after an escape and takedown in the first period before Sutter began a scoring tear as he earned the 23-4 technical. Lepage's day ended with a loss via 17-1 technical fall in the consolation bracket against Vincent Genna of TCNJ in 3:09.
Also at 157 lbs.,
Noah Rice trailed Julian Everitt of NAPS 3-0 before Everitt earned a fall in 2:10. In the consolation bracket, Rice led Mitchell Sutter of Wilkes 16-3 after four takedowns and four nearfall points before earning the fall in 1:16. In his first consolation bout, Rice defeated Franklin & Marshall's Billy Templeton via 5-3 decision. Rice held a slight 1-0 advantage after earning a stalling point in the second period. Two escapes and a penalty point in the third, paired with a riding time point, gave Rice the win. Rice was then defeated via 5-4 decision by USMAPS' Owen Hicks to end his day.
In his first bout at 174 lbs.,
Nick Montanye was defeated by Alvernia's William Knapp via fall in 2:22. Montanye's day ended after a loss via 10-2 major decision against Tyler Shea of Diplomat Wrestling Club in the consolation bracket.
Also at 174 lbs.,
Jared Butler began his day with a loss via 7-0 decision against Michael Fuccilli of Franklin & Marshall. Butler defeated Wilkes' Joshua Wilkins via 6-2 decision after a pair of takedowns in the first period. Butler's day came to a close after a fall against Melquan Warrenof Wilkes in 0:59.
In Nathan Kovalcik's opening bout at 184 lbs., he earned a 21-5 technical fall over Onondaga's Cameron Beecher in 2:53. Kovalcik collected six takedowns and three nearfall points in the victory. He was then defeated via 23-5 technical fall against George Rhodes of Drexel. In his first consolation bout against Wilkes' Devin Doty, Kovalcik earned a 21-6 technical fall in 2:46 behind seven takedowns. He then defeated Dave Giulian of TCNJ via 21-9 major decision. Kovalcik had two takedowns in the first period and scored eight in the second with a takedown, four nearfall points, and an escape. He solidified the win with an escape and pair of takedowns in the final period. Kovalcik's day ended in a 16-0 technical fall loss to Gage LaPlante of USMAPS.
At 197 lbs.,
Micah Kunkle began his day with an 18-2 technical fall over Wilkes' Logan Cerchiaro in 4:03. Kunkle led 10-1 after two takedowns and four nearfall points in the first period. He used an escape and two takedowns in the second period to secure the win. Kunkle then moved to the consolation bracket after suffering a loss via 10-1 major decision against Justin Griffith of Drexel. Kunkle's day ended with an 11-3 major decision loss to Marymount's Mohammed Fofana.
Nathaniel Manarin began his day with a 12-7 decision over Edgar Lagos of Marymount. Manarin led 12-1 after the first period with a takedown and nine nearfall points. Lagos scored three in each of the remaining periods, but Manarin held on for the 12-7 win. Manarin moved to the consolation bracket after a 16-3 major decision loss against Wade Wheeler of Liberty. In the consolation bracket, Manarin was defeated by Quincy Long of Diplomat Wrestling Club via 20-3 technical fall.
Also at 285 lbs.,
Preston Nitschke-Love started his day with a fall in 4:16 over Bryce Burkhart of Wilkes, Nitschke-Love led 10-3 before securing the fall. In his next bout, Nitschke-Love was defeated by Muhlenberg's Andrew Franklin via fall in 3:27 to move to the consolation bracket where he was defeated via 13-3 major decision by Josh Hermann of Liberty.
Up Next
The Falcons return to the mat on Friday, Feb. 14 when they host Elizabethtown College for a dual in Hitchcock Arena at 7:00 p.m.
