GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah wrestling team hosted the Chocolate Duals on Saturday, recording three wins from their starting squad on Mat One. The Falcons defeated Shenandoah (35-9), Ohio Wesleyan (46-0), and Ithaca (24-19) to finish a perfect 3-0 on the day.
Messiah's Blue Squad also wrestled three duals on Saturday, turning in a 2-1 record against reserves from Shenandoah, Penn College, and Johnson & Wales. The Blue Squad defeated Shenandoah (42-6) and Penn College (33-22), but suffered a 41-9 setback against Johnson & Wales.
The Falcons will now take some time off from competition for the Christmas Break. Messiah will be back in action on Jan. 6 for the Manganaro Duals hosted by the Ursinus Bears in Collegeville, Pa. The action is slated to begin at 10:00 a.m.
Messiah defeats Shenandoah – 35-9
The Shenandoah Hornets earned a pair of tight decisions at 125 and 133 lbs. to build a 6-0 lead. Josiah Gehr quickly leveled the dual with a second-period fall at 141 lbs. to tie things up at 6-6. After that fall from Gehr it was Messiah's match. The Falcons won four-straight bouts and seven of the last eight to claim a 35-9 victory.
After Gehr's fall in 3:59,
Noah Rice put together a dominating, 15-0 technical fall at 149 lbs. before a 14-6 major decision by
Clay Gainer (157 lbs.) and a pin from
Zach Needles gave the Falcons a 21-6 lead. Needles needed exactly one minute to pick up his fall against Shenandoah's Dylan Wiegert, to bump the Falcons lead to 15 points.
Shenandoah got back on the boad at 174 lbs. with a 3-2 decision by Dylan Weaver, but the Falcons closed out the dual with a 4-0 decision by
Ryder Slayton (184 lbs.), a technical fall from
Micah Kunkle (197 lbs.) and a second-period pin from
Hayden Benner (285 lbs.).
Results
125 - Anakin Burks (Shenandoah) dec. (5-3) over
Tyler Ratledge (Messiah)
133 - Sean Rinebolt (Shenandoah) dec. (7-6) over
Caiden Heller (Messiah)
141 - Josiah Gehr (Messiah) fall (3:59) over Hunter Ballantine (Shenandoah)
149 -
Noah Rice (Messiah) tech fall (15-0) over Brendan Orr (Shenandoah)
157 -
Clay Gainer (Messiah) maj. dec. (14-6) over Cannon Long (Shenandoah)
165 -
Zach Needles (Messiah) fall (1:00) over Dylan Wiegert (Shenandoah)
174 - Dylan Weaver (Shenandoah) dec. (3-2) over
Austin Brass (Messiah)
184 -
Ryder Slayton (Messiah) dec. (4-0) over Hunter Thompson (Shenandoah)
197 -
Micah Kunkle (Messiah) tech fall (23-7) over George Vrachnos (Shenandoah)
285 -
Hayden Benner (Messiah) fall (4:30) over Daniel Basil-Barker (Shenandoah)
Messiah defeats Ohio Wesleyan – 46-0
In their second dual of the day, the Falcons claimed a commanding 46-0 victory against Ohio Wesleyan. Messiah claimed all 10 bouts, earning a forfeit at 149 lbs. and bonus points in seven of the nine contested bouts.
Caiden Heller (133 lbs.) and
Garret Cornell (157 lbs.) highlighted the effort both earning pins. Heller picked up his final in the final second of the match while Cornell got his stick just 29 seconds into the opening period.
Additionally, Messiah earned a pair of technical falls from
Tyler Ratledge (125 lbs.) and
Austin Brass (174 lbs.) and major decisions from
Zach Needles (165 lbs.),
Ryder Slayton (184 lbs.), and
Sawyer Dereszynski (197 lbs.). At 141 lbs.,
Asa Brunk eared a 4-1 decision and
Hayden Benner capped off the shutout with an overtime victory at 285 lbs. with a 2-1 decision.
Results
125 -
Tyler Ratledge (Messiah) tech fall (19-3) over Robert Ross (Ohio Wesleyan)
133 -
Caiden Heller (Messiah) fall (6:59) over Emmitt Holland (Ohio Wesleyan)
141 -
Asa Brunk (Messiah) dec. (4-1) over Gabe Bulugaris (Ohio Wesleyan)
149 -
Dalton Monger (Messiah) forfeit win
157 -
Garret Cornell (Messiah) fall (0:29) over Alex Boukheir (Ohio Wesleyan)
165 -
Zach Needles (Messiah) maj. dec. (14-2) over Tyler Bodovetz (Ohio Wesleyan)
174 -
Austin Brass (Messiah) tech fall (18-1) over Christian Tesnow (Ohio Wesleyan)
184 -
Ryder Slayton (Messiah) maj. dec. (14-0) over Desmon Perry (Ohio Wesleyan)
197 -
Sawyer Dereszynski (Messiah) maj. dec. (20-6) over Geoffry Kaminsky (Ohio Wesleyan)
285 -
Hayden Benner (Messiah) dec. (2-1 OT) over Joe Shoup (Ohio Wesleyan)
Messiah defeats Ithaca - 24-19
In their final dual of the day, Messiah and Ithaca traded blows throughout the entirety of the dual. The Falcons struck first with an 18-3 technical fall from
Tyler Ratledge at 125 lbs. The Bombers responded with a major decision at 133 lbs., but Josiah Gehr did not give up a point in a 15-0 technical fall at 141 lbs. After back-to-back Ithaca decisions at 149 and 157 lbs., the Bombers tied the match at 10-10.
The two sides traded falls at 165 and 174 lbs. with
Zach Needles pinning his opponent at 165 lbs in exactly four minutes. Heading to 184 lbs., the match was tied once again at 16-16.
Ryder Slayton earned a big decision at 184 lbs. to give Messiah the lead back at 19-16 before
Sawyer Dereszynski put things away with a 17-2 technical fall at 197 lbs. Even with the Bombers claiming a decision at 285 lbs., Messiah earned the 24-19 victory in the dual. The win gave the Falcons a perfect 3-0 day on Mat One.
Results
125 -
Tyler Ratledge (Messiah) tech fall (18-3) over Kendricks Pellicci (Ithaca)
133 - Isaias Torres (Ithaca) maj. dec. (14-0) over
Caiden Heller (Messiah)
141 - Josiah Gehr (Messiah) tech fall (15-0) over Matt Haycook (Ithaca)
149 - Matthew Beyer (Ithaca) dec. (4-0) over
Noah Rice (Messiah)
157 - Wenchard Pierre-Louis (Ithaca) dec. (3-1) over
Garret Cornell (Messiah)
165 -
Zach Needles (Messiah) fall (4:00) over Konrad Parker (Ithaca)
174 - Jackson Gray (Ithaca) fall (1:26) over
Austin Brass (Messiah)
184 -
Ryder Slayton (Messiah) dec. (5-2) over Jake Jones (Ithaca)
197 -
Sawyer Dereszynski (Messiah) tech fall (17-2) over Ryan Galka (Ithaca)
285 - Jeremy Mazzella (Ithaca) dec. (8-3) over
Hayden Benner (Messiah)
Blue Team In Action
The Falcons also had their Blue Team in action, competing in three duals against squads from Johnson & Wales, Shenandoah, and Penn College. The Falcons went 2-1 on the day, picking up victories against Shenandoah (42-6) and Penn College (33-22) while dropping their dual against Johnson & Wales (41-9).
While these Blue Team duals do not count toward Messiah's team record, the individual results impact wrestlers career records.
Johnson & Wales (B) defeats Messiah (B) – 41-9
Nick Montanye (165 lbs.) and Nathan Kovalcik (184 lbs.) highlighted Messiah's effort against Johnson & Wales. Montanye got the Falcons on the board at 165 lbs., earning a 9-4 decision against the Wildcats' Jesse Baldwin. Just two bouts later at 184 lbs., Kovalcik wasted little time, picking up a fall in 27 seconds. The pair of victories were not enough as the Falcons dropped the dual by a final score of 41-9.
Results
125 - Mason Franklin (Johnson & Wales B) fall (1:26) over
Corbin Hutchison (Messiah B)
133 - Christopher Gomez (Johnson & Wales B) forfeit win
141 - Noah Krakower (Johnson & Wales B) maj. dec. (10-2) over
Mason Casey (Messiah B)
149 - Vincent Faldetta (Johnson & Wales B) dec. (10-7 sv-1) over
Jacob Cunningham (Messiah B)
157 - Gabriel Case (Johnson & Wales B) tech fall (16-0) over
Charles Lepage (Messiah B)
165 -
Nick Montanye (Messiah B) dec. (9-4) over Jesse Baldwin (Johnson & Wales B)
174 - Dominic Pugliese (Johnson & Wales B) tech fall (19-4) over Chris Cratsley (Messiah B)
184 - Nathan Kovalcik (Messiah B) fall (0:27) over Jonathan Charles (Johnson & Wales B)
197 - Brandon Toscano (Johnson & Wales B) fall (0:44) over
Donte Hibbert (Messiah B)
285 - John Iglesias (Johnson & Wales B) fall (2:24) over
Christian Conner (Messiah B)
Messiah (B) defeats Shenandoah (B) – 42-6
The Blue Squad fared a bit better against the Hornets of Shenandoah University. After the Hornets picked up a fall at 125 lbs. and the two squads double forfeited at 133 lbs., Messiah won the final eight bouts to earn a 42-6 victory over Shenandoah. While the Falcons did claim three forfeits in the dual (141 lbs., 197 lbs., and 285 lbs.), they went 5-1 in the six bouts contested. Chris Crastley picked up a first-period fall at 174 lbs. to highlight the upper weights, defeating Shenandoah's Daiveon Barlow. Additionally, Messiah earned three technical falls from
Joshua Rosado (157 lbs.),
Mikey Hollar (165 lbs.), and
Donte Hibbert (184 lbs.) on their way to the convincing win.
Levi Snyder also earned a decision for the Falcons at 149 lbs., winning by an 8-3 final.
Results
125 - Anakin Burks (Shenandoah B) fall (1:50) over
Corbin Hutchison (Messiah B)
133 - Double Forfeit
141 -
Malachi Harvey (Messiah B) forfeit win
149 -
Levi Snyder (Messiah B) dec. (8-3) over Manny Lucas (Shenandoah B)
157 -
Joshua Rosado (Messiah B) tech fall (16-0) over Xavier Locke (Shenandoah B)
165 -
Mikey Hollar (Messiah B) tech fall (18-1) over Christopher Johnson-Hunte (Shenandoah B)
174 - Chris Cratsley (Messiah B) fall (1:58) over Daiveon Barlow (Shenandoah B)
184 -
Donte Hibbert (Messiah B) tech fall (17-2) over Robert Keener (Shenandoah B)
197 - Nathan Kovalcik (Messiah B) forfeit win
285 -
Isaiah Durham (Messiah B) forfeit win
Messiah (B) defeats Penn College (B) – 33-22
A total of four bouts were forfeited in the Blue Squad's dual with Penn College, however of the six contested weight classes, Messiah claimed four victories. The Falcons earned a trio of falls from
Mikey Hollar (165 lbs.),
Joshua Rosado (184 lbs.), and
Dalton Monger (197 lbs.) to highlight their efforts against Penn College.
Camerin Deville also picked up a decision at 149 lbs. as the Falcons rolled to the 33-22 victory.
The three falls along with a forfeit at 174 lbs. helped the Falcons climb out of a 16-9 hole. After four-straight falls or forfeits, the Falcons build a 33-16 lead before forfeiting the 285 lbs. match to Penn College.
Results
125 - Michael Sandacz (Penn College B) fall (2:20) over
Corbin Hutchison (Messiah B)
133 - Charles Trimber (Penn College B) forfeit win
141 -
Malachi Harvey (Messiah B) forfeit win
149 -
Camerin Deville (Messiah B) dec. (12-6) over Ayden Sprague (Penn College B)
157 - Anton Esterbrook (Penn College B) maj. dec. (18-10) over
Shaun Quirk (Messiah B)
165 -
Mikey Hollar (Messiah B) fall (3:50) over Logan Ledebohm (Penn College B)
174 - Andrew Kozubal (Messiah B) forfeit win
184 -
Joshua Rosado (Messiah B) fall (3:55) over Daniel Clark (Penn College B)
197 -
Dalton Monger (Messiah B) fall (0:44) over Jonathan Altamirano Bautista (Penn College B)
285 - Brett Patton (Penn College B) forfeit win
