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Messiah Hangs On For Narrow Win At King's, 18-17
Freshman Bryce Stever gave the Falcons another fast start Saturday, winning the 125 card by a 7-2 score.
Wilkes-Barre, PA — Despite being without one of its best wrestlers, the Messiah College wrestling team picked up an 18-17 dual match decision at King’s College Saturday afternoon, getting back to the winning side of things with just two regular-season matches to go. The 26th-ranked Falcons survived a late-match push from the host Monarchs — and the absence of eighth-ranked 165 sophomore Trent Zempel — to come away with the narrow victory. After splitting five matches with King’s, it was Messiah (10-11) that picked up just enough bonus points to earn the close-knit victory on the road. “There were a lot of good matches today, and we were fortunate to come away with the team win,” said Bryan Brunk, Messiah head coach. “This was a big win for us, as it puts us in line to finish strong as we move toward the post-season.” Brunk’s squad got on the board first as freshman Bryce Stever earned a 7-2 win over King’s Ricky Doresy for a 3-0 team lead. Ironically, it was a defeat that may have spurned Messiah to the team win, as senior Josh Cragg dropped an extremely tight 8-7 decision to 2007 National Champion and fourth-ranked David Morgan in the 133 bout. “I thought we gained a lot of momentum after watching the way Josh wrestled Dave Morgan,” Brunk said. “It was a back and forth match that could have gone either way. Even though (Cragg) lost the match by a point, wrestling him so close really fired us up as a team for the rest of the match.” Following a 5-2 loss from junior Barry Thrush in the 141 weight class, it was clear that Brunk’s team had found the collective momentum. A 6-2 decision from junior Craig Gin tied the match at 6-6 following the 149 card, while a 5-0 blanking courtesy of freshman Mike Bressler put the Falcons up 9-6 at the meet’s midway point. With Zempel’s position up next — the sophomore missed the event due to a pre-existing commitment — Messiah received its biggest performance from a reserve. Filling in for Zempel, sophomore Arthur Milner delivered in a major way, pinning King’s Ryan Trees at the 5:12 mark, giving Messiah a 15-6 lead. In hindsight, the win couldn’t have been more important, as King’s would go on to claim three of the final four matches. “The highlight of the match for us came from Arthur, who filled in for Trent very, very well,” Brunk said. “His pin proved to be pretty important. That came on the heels of Mike Bressler’s win over Taylor Green at 157, who is a really tough kid. We were really pleased with his performance as well.” Messiah’s last points came from sophomore Matt McHugh in the 184 bout, as the Lowville, New York native captured an 8-4 decision over the Monarchs’ Zach Martinez. McHugh used a late rally to earn that match, as after being down by a point McHugh earned a reversal and nearly pinned Martinez, eventually settling for the double-up win. After sophomore Dando Speers dropped an 8-5 decision in the 197 class, Messiah’s team lead was trimmed to just 18-13. Knowing that a fall would cost his squad the overall decision, Brunk placed freshman Tim Hopkins in the heavyweight bout, hoping for anything but. His move proved worthwhile. Hopkins hung in with King’s Justin Bender until the end, dropping a 9-1 defeat but avoiding the would-be six-point loss via pin. Messiah had escaped Scandlon Gymnasium with a needed victory. “Tim usually is our back-up wrester at 184 and he wrestled a great match in heavyweight,” Brunk said. “He kept it close and put forth an awesome performance.” With an overall record of 10-11, Messiah still has the mathematical chance of finishing its dual-match season with a wining record, a goal Brunk said his team had set from the beginning. “We’ve had too good of a season not to finish with a winning record,” Brunk said. “Today puts us in line to finish strong. We’re really excited to finish our regular-season with a good push into the post-season.” Messiah will next travel to Gettysburg College on Tuesday for another dual match. Event time is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. Results: #26 Messiah College 18 over King's College 17 |
