ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – The Messiah Wrestling Blue Team was in action at the D. Kenneth Ober Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 24. The Falcons finished third as a team out of nine with 130.5 points behind host Elizabethtown (159) and McDaniel (151). Highlighting the day for the Falcons was a win at 174 lbs. for
Drew Kozubal.
Levi Snyder finished second in the 149 lbs. weight class. Messiah tallied 13 podium finishes.
Messiah returns to action on Friday, Jan. 30, when they travel to Wheaton, Ill. for the two-day Wheaton Invitational set to begin at 11:00 a.m. on Friday and 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.
First-Place Finishes
Drew Kozubal earned a spot in the 174 lbs. championship bout after opening his day 4-0. Kozubal first earned a 16-0 technical fall in 4:20 over Jonny Beckett of Eastern after a takedown in the first was followed by 10 nearfall points and a takedown in the second. He then picked up an 8-2 decision over York's Mark Forry before securing his second 16-0 technical fall of the day. He defeated Christopher Piazza of Stevens Tech 16-0 in 1:28 behind a takedown and 13 nearfall points. Kozubal had an exciting final match with Gavin Fehr of Elizabethtown. Fehr took a 3-0 lead with a first-period takedown and extended it to 4-0 with a penalty point. Kozubal then earned two penalty points for stall calls against Fehr before earning a late two-count nearfall to secure the 4-3 decision and the first-place finish.
Other Podium Finishes
At 149 lbs.,
Levi Snyder began his day with a pair of technical falls, first a 21-5 technical fall over Eastern's Gabe Whittington in 3:49. Snyder tallied five takedowns in the first period to take a 15-4 lead. He added two in the second period to secure the technical fall. His second technical fall came in 7:00 when he earned the 18-3 victory over Joseph Bodnar of Stevens Tech in a run that included five takedowns. Snyder then earned a spot in the championship bout following an 8-0 major decision over Michael Trainor of Shippensburg with a pair of takedowns, an escape, and a riding time point. Snyder finished second after dropping the championship bout to Thomas Monn of McDaniel via 11-1 major decision.
At 157 lbs.,
Mikey Hollar opened his day with an 18-2 technical fall over York's Jacob Orrego-Flores in 4:34. Hollar collected a pair of takedowns and three nearfall points in the first to take a 9-1 lead. He earned an early reversal after starting period two down and a takedown and four-count nearfall secured his 18-2 technical fall. In his second bout, Hollar trailed Brett Patton of Penn Tech 8-3 after two periods. In the third, Hollar tallied six points to notch the pair at 9-9 and force overtime. Patton earned the 12-9 sudden victory with a takedown in the first overtime. Hollar won two straight in the consolations with a fall over Christopher Mendoza of McDaniel in 2:19 and a 6-2 Decision over York's Connor Dube to continue. Hollar advanced to the third-place bout following a 6-1 decision over Andrew O'Reilly of Stevens Tech before securing third with a medical forfeit.
Sergio Garcia earned a fall in his opening bout at 184 lbs. against Kristian Koroveshi of Stevens Tech in 3:25 before dropping his second bout via fall to Joseph McCullough of Delaware Valley to fall to the consolation bracket. Garcia earned a spot in the third-place bout after opening his consolation run with a 24-9 technical fall in 4:57 over Eastern's DeShawn Woodhouse. Garcia finished third after a non-contested bout against teammate Kovalcik.
Tyler Ratledge opened his day at 133 lbs. with an 11-7 decision over York's Christian Spezio. Ratledge jumped to a 6-1 lead in the first period and never looked back. He added a reversal and takedown in the second period to extend the lead to 11-2. Spezio secured an escape and takedown along with a penalty point in the third, but it wasn't enough as Ratledge earned the 11-7 decision. Ratledge advanced to the semifinals following a 7-3 decision over McDaniel's Stone Yuen. In his semifinal bout, Ratledge took a 7-4 lead after earning a takedown and four quick nearfall points in the first period against Shippensburg's Kyle Von Schmidt. Von Schmidt tied the match 8-8 in the third and the riding time point gave him the 9-8 advantage to send Ratledge to the consolation bracket. Ratledge earned a spot in the third-place bout following an 11-1 major decision over Noah Gilgore of Shippensburg. Ratledge was unable to continue his third-place bout and finished fourth overall.
Nate Kovalcik opened his day in the 184 lbs. weight class with a fall in 6:06 over Shippensburg's Cole Lang in the quarterfinals before dropping to the consolations following a loss via fall to top-seeded Ganon Smith of Elizabethtown. Kovalcik earned a spot in the third-place bout with a 16-10 decision over Kristian Koroveshi of Stevens Tech. Kovalcik finished fourth after a non-contested bout with teammate Garcia.
Joel Swanson was in action at 165 lbs., opening his day with a 9-0 major decision over York's Mason Skinner. Swanson tallied three points in the first period with a takedown and added three in the second with a reversal and a penalty point. A takedown in the third secured the 9-0 major. Swanson dropped his second bout to top-seeded Justice Hockenberry-Folk of Elizabethtown via technical fall to drop to the consolation bracket. Swanson's time in the consolation began with a fall in 4:40 over Cavin Napoletano after leading 16-2 and a fall over McDaniel's Austen Kuntz in 1:41. Swanson earned a spot in the fifth-place bout following a loss via fall to Luke Moore of Delaware Valley. Swanson claimed fifth after securing a fall in 2:02 against Bodhi Mccormack of Stevens Tech.
Dylan Hart began his day at 149 lbs. with a 16-1 technical fall over Eastern's Trokon Kai in 3:34. Hart took a 13-1 lead in the first period with a pair of takedowns and seven nearfall points. A takedown in the second secured the technical fall. He then dropped to the consolations after losing via technical fall to Thomas Monn of McDaniel where he picked up a 15-0 technical fall in 1:27 over Elizabethtown's Stephen Bialek to continue his run in the consolation bracket. Hart took a 3-0 lead over Trokon Kai of Eastern before securing the fall in 2:29. Hart earned a spot in the fifth-place bout after dropping his next match to Shippensburg's Michael Trainor via 15-4 major decision. Hart finished sixth after dropping his bout to Justin Ciliotta of Stevens Tech via major decision.
Tim Eddinger opened his day at 197 lbs. with a fall in 2:50 over Eastern's Nicholas Morey before securing the 12-5 decision over McDaniel's Isaac Ogunlade. Eddinger dropped to the consolation bracket following a loss via 11-7 decision against York's Luca Romasco. He earned a spot in the fifth-place bout after dropping a major decision to Ezekiel Gayle of McDaniel. A medical forfeit gave Eddinger the sixth-place finish.
Elijah Farr opened his time in the 285 lbs. weight class with a fall over Nathanael Obrzut of Delaware Valley in 1:59 before falling to the consolation bracket after being defeated via fall by Penn Tech's Nicholai Brotzman. Farr advanced in the consolations after a 7-0 decision over Delaware Valley's Maximus Gordon and an 8-0 major decision over Obrzut of Delaware Valley. Farr earned a place in the fifth-place bout following a loss via 8-4 decision to York's David Pierson. Farr finished sixth after dropping his final bout to Benjamin Rosa of Stevens Tech. After trailing 16-3 early, Farr scored eight to cut the deficit to five, trailing 16-11. Two escapes were not enough for Farr as a third-period takedown for Rosa secured the win and sixth-place finish for Farr.
Daniel Pierce opened his day at 149 lbs. with a loss via major decision against Justin Ciliotta of Stevens Tech to drop to the consolation bracket. Pierce began his time in the consolation with a 19-3 technical fall in 5:15 over Kevin Gierej of Elizabethtown before battling back from a 2-0 deficit to earn the 5-2 decision over Joseph Bodnar of Stevens Tech. Pierce earned a spot in the seventh-place bout after dropping his next consolation match to Justin Ciliotta of Stevens Tech via fall. Pierce finished eighth with a forfeit.
Justin Craig opened his day at 157 lbs. with a 15-4 major decision over Elizabethtown's Alex Hart. Craig held a 3-0 lead after a first-period takedown before adding six points in the second to extend his lead to 9-2. A pair of takedowns in the third secured the 15-4 win. Craig then dropped to the consolation bracket following a technical fall loss to top-seeded Andre Allen of McDaniel. Craig opened his time in the consolations with a 13-2 major decision over Elizabethtown's Aiden Hines before dropping his bout to Anthony Lavish of Shippensburg via 4-1 decision to place him into the seventh-place bout. Craig finished eighth with a forfeit.
Isaiah Durham did not finish his opening bout at 197 lbs. and dropped to the consolation bracket. He advanced following a medical forfeit before ending his day with an eighth-place finish following a pair of forfeits.
Action on the Mats
Austin Jeffrey opened his day at 125 lbs. with an 11-6 decision over Brendan Schuler of Stevens Tech. Jeffrey took a 3-0 lead with an early takedown before a four point second period for Schuler gave him a 5-3 lead with two minutes remaining. Jeffrey used a pair of takedowns and a set of nearfall points to earn the 11-6 decision. Jeffrey then dropped to the consolation bracket following a loss via fall to Elizabethtown's Deven Jackson. His day came to a close following a loss via fall to York's Zane Trostle.
Matthew Casey opened his day with a loss at 133 lbs. via technical fall to Dominic Marinilli of Stevens Tech to move to the consolation bracket. Casey's day came to a close with a loss via fall to Noah Gilgore of Shippensburg. At 133 lbs., Corbin Hutchinson dropped to the consolation bracket following a loss via fall against Eastern's Jackson Orrell. In the consolations, Hutchinson dropped his bout against Dominic Marinilli of Stevens Tech via technical fall to end his day.
Also at 133 lbs.,
Chris Brooks began his day with a loss via fall to Shippensburg's Kyle Von Schmidt to move to the consolation bracket. Brooks earned an 8-0 major decision of Ryan Fitzsimmons of Penn Tech following a pair of takedowns, an escape, and a riding time point before dropping his second consolation match via major decision against McDaniel's Stone Yuen to end his day.
Garrett Fowler opened his day at 157 lbs., with a loss via technical fall to Shippensburg's Anthony Lavish. Fowler's day came to a close with a loss via major decision to Aiden Hines of Elizabethtown.
Nick Montanye dropped to the consolation bracket at 174 lbs. after dropping his opening bout to Shippensburg's Anthony DeAngelo via 7-1 decision. Montanye opened his time in the consolation bracket with a 7-4 decision over Steven Enamorado-Ortiz of York before ending his day with a loss via decision to Christopher Piazza of Stevens Tech.
At 197 lbs.,
Nathaniel Manarin opened his day with a loss via fall to Nicholas Woodruff of Penn Tech. In the consolation bracket, Manarin earned a 19-1 technical fall in 2:46 against Eastern's Shane Tressler before ending his day with a loss via fall to McDaniel's Ezekiel Gayle.
Up Next
Messiah returns to action on Friday, Jan. 30, when they travel to Wheaton, Ill. for the two-day Wheaton Invitational set to begin at 11:00 a.m. on Friday and 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.
