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Gin Takes Title, Messiah Finishes Third At ECWC Championships
Senior Craig Gin will head to the NCAA National Championships by virtue of his 157-pound ECWC title.

Oswego, NY — Senior Craig Gin won the 157-pound weight class at this weekend’s Empire Wrestling Conference Championships, pacing a third-place finish for Messiah at the event.

By virtue of his individual championship, Gin receives an automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Division III National Championships, marking his first appearance at the big event.

Gin lead the way for the Falcons with a victory by fall (6:57) over William Horwath of Ithaca College in the 157-pound title bout, knocking off Oswego State University’s Anthony DeFranco by a 10-2 score and Cortland State University’s Kevin Sackett by a 7-2 count to advance to the final match.

Gin’s top finish was one of six all-conference performances on the day for Falcons’ head coach Bryan Brunk, as junior Domineak Commodore placed third at 133 pounds. Sophomore Mike Bressler (149) also earned bronze along with sophomore David Jones at 165. Freshman Tim Stewart had an impressive first ECWC Championships appearance, taking third in the 184 class. Senior Nathan Deisem rounded out the Messiah top four place finishers taking fourth in the 197-pound bracket.

“We wrestled extremely well today,” Brunk said. “We had a number of guys finish above where they were seeded coming in, and that’s always a good thing. For Craig Gin, it’s awesome. The opportunity to wrestle at nationals couldn’t happen to a better kid. He’s worked so hard for four years.”

Ithaca took top honors in the team competition with 143.5 points. Cortland State finished second at 113 points. Messiah garnered 72 team points along with former MAC rival Lycoming College. Host Oswego State finished sixth overall with 51 points, just behind Rochester Institute of Technology with 52 points. All wrestling occurred in the Bombers’ Max Ziel Gymansium.

Gin will next travel to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the NCAA Division III National Championships to be hosted by Coe College and Cornell College. Wrestling will begin on Friday, March 6 at the U.S. Cellular Center and the finals will be held on Saturday, March 7. Complete information for the event can be found at the official championships website.