WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – On Friday, the Messiah University wrestling team earned two wins in day one of the Budd Whitehill National Duals. The Falcons opened day one with a 24-16 win over Lycoming College. The Falcons followed the win with a 24-23 win over Cortland. The Falcons fell to Williams College, 24-22 in the final dual of the day. With the 2-1 record on day one, the Falcons earned second in Group D to take part in the 5th-8th place pod.
Up next, the Falcons take on the Bombers of Ithaca College tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. in day two of the Budd Whitehill National Duals for a chance to wrestle in the fifth-place match.
Dual One: Messiah 24, Lycoming 16
The Falcons opened the first dual of the day with a 19-4 tech fall win by
Austin Jeffrey. After a loss in the 133,
Jacob Cunningham,
Levi Snyder,
Clay Gainer, and
Keegan Demarest each picked a win to give the Falcons a 21-5 lead with four matches remaining in the dual. The Falcons picked up one win in the final four matches, with
Tucker Seidel earning the win to close out the Falcons 24-16 win.
Dual Two: Messiah 24, Cortland 23
The Falcons started the dual with one win in the first five matches with
Dalton Monger winning the 149 lbs. match. The Falcons then rattled off three-straight wins with
Keegan Demarest,
Zach Needles, and
Austin Brass winning the next three matches to take a 21-19 lead with two matches remaining in the dual. After Cortland won the 197 lbs. match,
Kaleb Britting came up clutch in the final match of the dual with an 8-1 win to secure the Falcons 24-23 win over Cortland.
Dual Three: Williams 24, Messiah 22
After two straight losses,
Jacob Cunningham and
Dalton Monger picked up two straight wins to reduce the Ephs lead to one through four weight classes. The Falcons added wins from
Keegan Demarest,
Tucker Seidel, and
Kaleb Britting (forfeit), but the Ephs edged out the 24-23 win to earn the top seed in group D.
Individual Results
Dual One: Messiah 24, Lycoming 16
125 lbs. –
Austin Jeffrey over Leonard Cocca via Technical Fall, 19-4
133 lbs. – Robert Gardner over
Caiden Heller via Technical Fall, 17-2
141 lbs. –
Jacob Cunningham over Major Lewis via Decision, 10-4
149 lbs. –
Levi Snyder over Korbin Karper via Decision, 4-1
157 lbs. –
Clay Gainer over Colby Seiler via Technical Fall, 18-2
165 lbs. –
Keegan Demarest over Nando Ott via Technical Fall, 20-5
174 lbs. – Nolan Zeigler over
Drew Kozubal via Major Decision, 11-2
184 lbs. – Eli Crum over
Nate Kovalcik via Major Decision, 9-0
197 lbs. –
Tucker Seidel over Ivan Neal via Decision, 3-2
285 lbs. – Michael Sipps over
Micah Martinez via Decision, 5-4
Dual Two: Messiah 24, Cortland 23
125 lbs. – Christian Lievano over
Austin Jeffrey via Fall
133 lbs. – Rocco Futia over
Tyler Ratledge via Major Decision, 13-4
141 lbs. – Culley Bellino over
Jacob Cunningham via Fall
149 lbs. –
Dalton Monger over Angelo Centrone via Fall
157 lbs. – Colton Havens over
Clay Gainer via Decision, 10-4
165 lbs. –
Keegan Demarest over Jack Pickersgill via Fall
174 lbs. –
Zach Needles over Joey Visciano via Technical Fall, 19-3
184 lbs. –
Austin Brass over Luke Chernaski via 14-5 Major Decision
197 lbs. – Ethan Gallo over
Tucker Seidel via Major Decision, 15-2
285 lbs. –
Kaleb Britting over Chase Frole via Decision, 8-1
Dual Three: Williams 24, Messiah 22
125 lbs. – Christopher Colon over
Austin Jeffrey via Fall
133 lbs. – Jake Strianese over
Caiden Heller via Decision, 2-0
141 lbs. –
Jacob Cunningham over Donnie Morton via Technical Fall, 20-3
149 lbs. –
Dalton Monger over Hayden Haber via Decision, 9-3
157 lbs. – Peter Kane over
Noah Rice via Fall
165 lbs. –
Keegan Demarest over Fisher Stites via Technical Fall, 20-3
174 lbs. – Gage Wiggins over
Drew Kozubal via Major Decision, 11-3
184 lbs. – Jamie Evarts over
Nate Kovalcik via Technical Fall, 22-6
197 lbs. –
Tucker Seidel over Zach Borzio via Decision, 6-1
285 lbs. –
Kaleb Britting via Forfeit
