EWING, N.J. – The Messiah Wrestling team was in action at The College of New Jersey on Friday, Feb. 27 for Day One of the 2026 NCAA DIII Region III Championships. Messiah advances eight of their ten wrestlers to Day Two of the Championships, with four remaining undefeated in the championship bracket and four battling back in the consolations looking for a third-place finish to secure a spot at the National Championship. The top three finishers in each weight class will earn a bid to the NCAA Division III National Championships set for March 13-14, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The Falcons return to action at The College of New Jersey for Day Two of the NCAA Region III Championships on Saturday, Feb. 28.
Advancing to Day Two
Noah Rice finished 2-0 on Day One at 157 lbs. to earn a spot in the semifinals. Rice opened his day with an 18-3 technical fall over Marymount's Joshua Wong in 4:19. He collected five takedowns, an escape, and a penalty point. In the quarterfinals, Rice earned a 13-3 major decision over Logan Weaver of Merchant Marine, tallying four takedowns and an escape to advance to Day Two in the championship bracket.
Top-seeded
Keegan Demarest secured a pair of technical falls on Day One to earn his spot in a semifinal match. He opened his day with a 19-3 technical fall in 4:32 over Luke Moore of Delaware Valley. In the bout, Demarest secured three takedowns in the first and an escape, pair of takedowns, penalty point, and two nearfall points in the second. In his quarterfinal bout, Demarest secured the 19-3 technical fall in 3:24 over NYU's Nick Bell with five takedowns and four nearfall points to advance.
Zach Needles earned a spot in the semifinals of the 174 lbs. weight class after a dominant first day. Needles opened his day with a 16-1 technical fall in 6:42 against Julian Schott of Marymount, tallying four takedowns, four nearfall points, and a penalty point. In his second bout against Muhlenberg's Lucas Velando, Needles earned a takedown and nearfall in the first to take a 7-0 lead before adding an escape, takedown, and four count nearfall in the second to earn the 15-0 technical fall in 5:00. In the quartfinals, Needles led Albright's Davis Keppley 10-0 before securing a fall in 6:01 to earn a spot in the semifinals.
At 184 lbs.,
Austin Brass opened Day One with a pair of technical falls, first with a 17-0 technical fall over McDaniel's Soren Wynn in 3:15. Brass tallied a takedown, eight nearfall points, and a penalty point to hold a 12-0 advantage after one period. A takedown and two count nearfall early in the second secured the win. Brass then added an 18-2 technical fall in 2:24 over Kadin Khalloufi of Johns Hopkins, collecting three takedowns, eight nearfall points, and a riding time point in the first period. Brass advanced to the semifinals when his opponent in the quarterfinals medically forfeit.
Battling Back in Consolations
Four Falcons will look to battle back in the consolations, seeking a third-place finish to earn a spot at the National Championships.
At 133 lbs.,
Caiden Heller led Duncan Stadler of Johns Hopkins 8-0 before securing a fall in 4:56 to advance. Heller dropped to the consolations after a loss via 4-2 decision against NYU's Jacob Venezia in his second bout. Venezia earned a four count nearfall in the third and Heller earned the reversal but was not able to add points and earn a win. Heller advanced to Day Two after earning a fall in 1:58 over Kruz McCusker of Misericordia.
Jacob Cunningham opened his day at 141 lbs., with an 18-2 technical fall over Nikosh Marston of Misericordia in 6:57. The pair were scoreless through the first period before Cunningham took a 12-0 lead with an escape, takedown, and eight nearfall points in the second. Cunningham dropped his quarterfinal bout to Ryan Mansueto of Eastern via 7-2 decision to fall to the consolation bracket. He advanced to Day Two after an 11-5 decision over McDaniel's Andrew Dolezel.
Levi Snyder earned the 17-5 major decision in his first bout at 149 lbs., defeating Stephen Bialek of Elizabethtown. Snyder held a 6-2 lead in the first before extending the lead to 9-4 with one period remaining. An escape and pair of takedowns, along with a riding time point, solidified the 17-5 win. In the quarterfinals, Snyder faced conference foe Chance Babb of Alvernia. The pair were notched 5-5 after regulation and Babb secured the 8-5 sudden victory in overtime to send Snyder to the consolations. Snyder and Shane Kibler of King's were scoreless through two before Snyder earned a 5-0 decision with an escape, takedown, and riding time point to advance to Day Two.
At 197 lbs.,
Tucker Seidel opened his day with a pair of commanding first period  technical falls. In his first bout against Charles Dunn of Johns Hopkins, Seidel had an early takedown and added 12 nearfall points to secure the 15-0 technical fall in 1:49. He then earned a 16-1 technical fall over Scranton's Joseph Epright in 2:04 to secure a spot in the quarterfinals. Seidel tallied a pair of takedowns and 10 nearfall points to earn the win. In the quarterfinals, Seidel battled with third ranked Tyler Withers of Merchant Marine before Withers earned a takedown and secured the fall to send Seidel to the consolation bracket. Seifel advanced to Day Two after a 16-0 technical fall in 1:52 over Arcadia's Tyler Mains with a takedown and 13 nearfall points in the first period.
Action on the Mats
At 125 lbs.,
Austin Jeffrey dropped his opening bout to Christian Horvath of Muhlenberg via technical fall to drop to the consolations. Jeffrey advanced in the consolations via forfeit before his weekend and season came to a close with a loss via fall against Jacob Delvecchio of York.
Kaleb Britting opened his day at 285 lbs. with a fall over Sam Moffet of King's in 5:41 before dropping to the consolations following a loss via fall against Alvernia's Owen Reber. Britting earned a win via fall in 6:32 over Eastern's Ross Worlds before his weekend and season came to a close against Grant Mathias of Merchant Marine via 10-6 decision.
Up Next
The Falcons return to action at The College of New Jersey for Day Two of the NCAA Region III Championships on Saturday, Feb. 28.
