GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah Wrestling team hosted the 2026 Middle Atlantic Conference Championship on Saturday, January 17 in Hitchcock Arena. The Falcons claimed the 2026 MAC Men's Wrestling Championship with a team score of 140. Stevens Institute of Technology finished second with 129.5 while Misericordia University rounded out the top three with 109.5 points.
Keegan Demarest was the lone Falcon to earn a gold medal, topping the podium in the 165 lbs. weight class.
Drew Kozubal finished second at 174 lbs. while four Falcons earned bronze medals. In total, Messiah tallied 12 podium finishes en route to the team victory.
The Falcons return to the mats on Friday, January 23, when they host the Gettysburg College Bullets at 7:00 p.m. in Hitchcock Arena.
First Place Finishes
At 165 lbs.,
Keegan Demarest earned a 21-6 technical fall over Misericordia's Jariel Severino, earning seven takedowns in 1:49. In his second bout, Demarest secured a 21-5 technical fall in 3:30 over Misericordia's Jacob Weaver. Demarest advanced to the championship bout following a 19-4 technical fall over Tyler Roe of Stevens in 3:56. He held a 12-3 lead following four first-period takedowns before an escape and pair of takedowns in the second period secured the win. In the championship bout, Demarest earned a takedown and four nearfall points in the first period to take a 7-0 lead. An escape followed by a takedown and four nearfall in the second gave him the 15-0 technical fall in 3:48.
Other Podium Finishes
Drew Kozubal earned a dominant technical fall to open his day at 174 lbs. against Alex Ballantyne of King's. Kozubal earned a takedown 11 seconds in used four four-count nearfalls to earn the 17-0 technical fall in 1:19. In his second bout, Kozubal secured a second 17-0 technical fall in 7:00 to advance to 2-0. In his semifinal bout, Kozubal jumped to a 16-5 lead over William Knapp of Alvernia after the first period. In the second, Knapp tallied seven to cut his deficit to 16-12. Knapp brought the score to 16-15 before a riding time point secured the 17-15 decision to advance Kozubal to the championship bout. Kozubal finished second after a loss via 5-0 decision against Misericordia's Anthony Matas.
At 133 lbs.,
Caiden Heller opened his day with a 5-0 decision over Misericordia's Kruz McCusker following a first-period takedown and a pair of penalty points. In his quarterfinal match, Heller secured a fall over Dom Marineilli of Stevens in 2:49 to advance to 2-0 on the day. A 6-0 loss against Vincent Paolucci of York dropped Heller to the consolation bracket. Heller advanced to the third-place bout following a 15-5 major decision over Misericordia's Kruz McCusker. Heller held a 1-0 advantage over Cole Anderson of King's after two periods before a late four-count nearfall and an escape gave him the 6-2 win to finish in third.
At 149 lbs.,
Levi Snyder held a 3-0 lead over Sebastiano Spina of Alvernia after the first period. Snyder earned an escape and three takedowns in the second to take a 13-2 lead before capitalizing on position and earning the fall in 4:30. Snyder earned a win in his quarterfinal bout over Arcadia's Caden Frost with a 10-5 decision. Snyder trailed 3-2 after the first two periods but a pair of takedowns and nearfall points in the third secured the 10-5 win. Snyder faced top-seeded Cole Handlovic of Stevens via 10-1 major decision to drop to the consolations. Snyder earned an 8-0 major decision over teammate Monger to advance to the third-place bout. Snyder used a reversal and takedown in the second period to secure the 5-2 decision to finish third.
Noah Rice was in action at 157 lbs., holding a 6-1 lead over Arcadia's Kehinde Mogajo before securing the fall in 2:12. Rice then advanced in the championship bracket following a 12-0 major decision over Alvernia's Ian Vitalo in the quarterfinals. Rice then dropped to the consolation bracket after a 19-4 technical fall loss against Ryan Smith of Stevens in 6:42. Rice trailed Michael O'Connor of Stevens 7-2 before securing a fall in 5:13 to advance to the third-place bout. After being tied 1-1 after regulation with Martin Turi of King's, Turi was called for a stall in overtime, and Rice was awarded the point and the sudden victory to take third.
Tucker Seidel opened his day at 197 lbs. quickly, securing a fall over Eastern's Jose Tapia in 0:16. In his second bout, Seidel secured a 15-0 technical fall over York's Luca Romasco in 1:36 following a takedown and 12 nearfall points. Seidel dropped to the consolation bracket following a loss via 15-0 technical fall against Arcadia's James Lledo. Following a 17-1 technical fall in 3:39 over Alvernia's Myles Brown, Seidel advanced to the third-place bout. Seidel took a 7-1 lead over Alvernia's Jason Chiodi before adding an escape and takedown in the second to extend his lead to 11-2 with one period remaining. A pair of takedowns and a riding time point in the third period gave him the 18-2 technical fall in 6:42 to earn third.
Dalton Monger jumped to a quick 7-0 lead over Gabe Whittington of Eastern with a takedown and four-count nearfall at 149 lbs. before securing the fall in 0:54. Monger held a 9-7 advantage over Michael Williams of Misericordia before Williams earned a takedown and secured the fall to send Monger to the consolation bracket. Monger jumped to a quick 6-0 lead over Alvernia's Sebastiano Spina before securing the fall in 1:33. Monger advanced to face teammate Snyder after a fall in 1:25 over Albright's Seth Karpulk. Monger dropped his consolation semifinal to teammate Snyder to move to the fifth-place bout, where he won via medical forfeit.
Nick Montanye secured a 14-5 major decision over Deacon Warren of Albright in his opening bout in the 174 lbs. weight class. The pair were tied 5-5 after two periods before Montanye earned an escape to open the third period and added a penalty point, takedown, nearfall, and riding time point to secure the major. Montanye dropped his next bout via 16-1 technical fall to fall to the consolation bracket. Montanye kept his day alive with a 6-5 decision over Quincy Risper of Delaware Valley. He advanced to the consolation semifinals following an 8-0 major decision over Chris Piazza of Stevens. Montanye dropped to the fifth-place bout following a loss via 19-4 technical fall in 6:19 to Alvernia's William Knapp. Montanye finished fifth after a medical forfeit.
At 184 lbs.,
Nate Kovalcik earned a 5-2 win over Ryad Belguet of Alvernia to advance in the championship bracket. Kovalcik dropped to the consolation bracket following a loss via 12-0 major decision against Albright's Abdoul Akala. He opened his time in the consolation bracket with a 7-2 decision over Kristian Koroveshi of Stevens before securing an 18-3 technical fall over Jagger Gray of Arcadia in 4:32 to advance to the consolation semifinals. He dropped his consolation semifinal via 14-3 major decision against Misericordia's Robbie Anderson to move to the fifth-place bout. A medical forfeit gave Kovalcik the fifth-place finish.
Kaleb Britting opened his day at 285 lbs. with a 20-3 technical fall over York's David Pierson. Britting held a 3-0 lead after the first period before tallying an escape, three takedowns, and a penalty gave him a 14-2 lead with one period remaining. A reversal and takedown, followed by a penalty point gave him the 20-3 technical fall in 5:29. Following a 1-1 tie in regulation of his second bout against Noah Berlin-Langston of Stevens, Britting dropped the sudden victory decision when Berlin-Langston secured the takedown in overtime. Britting advanced in the consolations following a forfeit by teammate Martinez and secured a fall in 3:13 over Albright's Joseph Gassert to advance to the consolation semifinals. Britting secured a spot in the fifth-place bout following a loss via 10-7 decision against Alvernia's Tristan Cooper. A 4-2 decision over Noah Berlin-Langston of Stevens gave Britting the fifth-place finish.
Micah Lozano opened his day at 125 lbs. with a fall in 1:47 over Jaiden Woodrum of Albright. Lozano was sent to the consolation bracket after falling to top-seed Malik Asfour of Eastern via 17-2 technical fall in 1:34. Lozano opened his time in the consolation bracket with a 10-4 decision over Alvernia's Ethan Staples. Lozano then advanced following a fall in 1:11 over Albright's Hezekia Molina-Hagdu. Lozano advanced to the fifth-place bout following a loss via 11-0 major decision against Jaydin Barretto of Misericordia. Lozano finished sixth after a 4-1 decision in favor of Charlie Piccione of Stevens in his final bout.
Tyler Ratledge opened his day at 133 lbs. against top-seeded Jacob Blair of Arcadia. Blair was quick to show his dominance, earning a 16-1 technical fall in 5:59. Ratledge began actino in the consolations with an 8-0 major decision over Alvernia's Anthony Astorino. Against Arcadia's Aamire Gaskins, Ratledge secured an 8-5 decision to continue his battle in the consolations. Ratledge led Eastern's Jackson Orrell 4-0 before advancing via medical forfeit. He then moved to the fifth-place bout following a loss via 4-2 decision against Cole Anderson of King's. Ratledge finished sixth following a battle against Kruz McCusker of Misericordia who earned the 10-9 decision.
Action on the Mats
At 125 lbs.,
Austin Jeffrey wrestled in a back-and-forth battle with Patrick Horvath of King's. Jeffrey held an 11-9 lead after the first period before an escape and takedown in the second period extended his lead to 15-10. A takedown and penalty point in the third secured the 19-14 win. In his second bout, Jeffrey earned a quick takedown against Misericordia's Jaydin Barreto before Barreto capitalized on an escape and takedown of his own, securing the fall in 1:21 to send Jeffrey to the consolation bracket. Jeffrey's day ended in the consolation bracket with a loss via fall against Charlie Piccione of Stevens.
Jacob Cunningham began his day at 141 lbs. with a 17-1 technical fall over Ryan Brown of York following a pair of first-period takedowns and two sets of nearfall points. A takedown in the second earned him the technical fall in 3:48. Cunningham then dropped to the consolation bracket following a loss via 10-8 decision against Eastern's Ryan Mansueto. To open action in the consolation bracket, Cunningham secured an 8-2 decision over Arcadia's Lucas Tirpak. Cunningham's day came to a close with a loss via 1-0 decision against Alvernia's Aiden Swann.
Clay Gainer opened his day at 157 lbs. with a bye round before a medical forfeit ended his day.
Joel Swanson dropped to the consolation bracket of 165 lbs., after Delaware Valley's Luke Moore secured the fall in 3:32. Swanson ended his day with a loss via 20-7 major decision against Ryan Lepore of Alvernia.
Sergio Garcia opened his day at 184 lbs. with a fall over Eastern's DeShawn Woodhouse. Garcia jumped to an 11-1 lead before securing the fall in 5:24. Garcia dropped to the consolation bracket following a loss via 17-2 technical fall to top-seeded Hayden McLellan of Alvernia. In the consolations, Garcia opened with a 20-4 technical fall in 2:20 over York's Aladdin Fenaoui. Garcia's day ended with a loss via fall against Joseph McCullough of Delaware Valley in 1:15.
At 197 lbs.,
Tim Eddinger held a 5-3 lead over Alvernia Myles Brown heading into the final period. Brown used a pair of takedowns and a riding time point to secure the 10-6 decision and send Eddinger to the consolation bracket. Eddinger advanced following a 7-2 decision over Tyler Mains of Arcadia to face Alvernia's Jason Chiodi. The pair were tied 1-1 after regulation before Chiodi secured the 4-1 sudden victory with an overtime takedown to end Eddinger's day.
At 285 lbs.,
Micah Martinez trailed Ross Worlds of Eastern 3-0 before Worlds secured the fall and sent Martinez to the consolation bracket. Martinez led Michael Troupe of Albright 3-0 before securing the fall in 1:48. Martinez's day ended with a forfeit to teammate Britting in the consolations.
