PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Three Falcons represented Messiah Wrestling at the 2025 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships on Friday, March 14.
Ryder Slayton made his second straight appearance while
Austin Brass and Sawyer Dereszysnki made the trip for the first time. Each of the three dropped their opening bouts to move to the consolation brackets. They looked to wrestle back through the consolation rounds but each of the three saw their weekends end on Friday night.
Brass began his weekend with a bye round at 174 lbs. before facing North Central's Javen Estrada. Brass was first to strike with a takedown in period one before Estrada escaped and earned a takedown of his own. After Brass escaped, Estrada added another takedown to take a 7-4 lead and never looked back. Estrada tacked on four points in each of the remaining two periods to earn the 15-4 major decision and send Brass to the consolations.
In Brass' first consolation bout against Zane Pannell of Dubuque, Brass took a 6-2 lead after a pair of first period takedowns. He then added four on with an escape and takedown in period two. Brass solidified his 11-5 decision with a penalty point in the final period. Eddie Simes of Wisconsin – La Crosse was Brass' next opponent. Simes held a 1-0 advantage after two periods before Brass picked up an escape and two takedowns in the final period to earn the 7-2 decision and advance.
In what was ultimately Brass' last bout of the season, the match was scoreless between Brass and Millikin's Dejon Glaster after two periods. Glaster chose to start period three down and was able to earn the escape and a riding time point gave him the 2-0 decision, ending Brass' weekend and season.
After a first round bye in the 184 lbs. weight class, Slayton squared off with fifth-ranked Marcus Orlandoni of Wisconsin – La Crosse. After a scoreless first, Orlandoni earned a point on the escape in period two. Slayton countered with an escape of his own in period three to tie the match 1-1 and force overtime. After a scoreless first overtime, Orlandoni was able to secure an escape point in the second overtime to earn the 2-1 decision, sending Slayton to the consolations.
In Slayton's first bout of the consolations, he took a 3-1 lead over Gavin Graham of MSOE after a first period takedown. A reversal in the second period extended his lead to 5-2 with one period remaining. Graham was awarded a penalty point but it wasn't enough as Slayton advanced with the 5-3 decision.
In his next bout, Slayton squared up with John Carroll's Wills Bronson. After a scoreless first, Slayton started down and earned an escape point in period two. A late penalty point was awarded to Bronson in the final period, but it wasn't enough as Slayton earned a riding time point and a 2-1 decision to keep his weekend alive.
As was the case with each of his earlier bouts, Slayton's final bout was tight between himself and Kasey Ross of Wartburg until the end. After a scoreless first, each wrestler was called for stalling in the second period. Ross chose to start down for the final period and was able to earn the escape. A penalty point awarded to Ross gave him the 2-0 decision and ended Slayton's weekend and season as well as his career at Messiah.
At 197 lbs., Dereszynski began his day with a rematch against Ian Pepple of Wisconsin – Eau Claire from the Pete Wilson Tournament from earlier this season. Pepple earned a first period takedown to take a 3-0 lead. In the second period, Pepple earned an escape and takedown to extend his lead to 7-0. Looking to score a point on the escape, Dereszynski opted to start period three down. Pepple was able to capitalize on the position and earned the fall in 5:20 to send Dereszynski to the consolation bracket.
Carson Licastri of SUNY Oneonta proved to be too much as he took a 10-1 lead after the first period that was later extended to a 17-1 advantage prior to earning a fall in 6:04 to end Dereszynski's weekend and season.
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