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Team Heads To Conference Championships On Heels Of E'Town Win
Junior Logan Putnam picked up a crucial decision at 157, filling in admirably for the fallen Mike Bressler.
Grantham, PA — Things appear to be falling into place for Messiah wrestling. The timing could not be better. Despite injuries to some crucial individuals, the Falcons continued to shine Saturday, knocking off arch rival Elizabethtown College by a 21-14 score — concluding the regular-season on a high note: Coupled with Messiah’s rout of Muhlenberg College Friday night, the program finished the season with a 10-9 record overall, heading into next week’s Empire Conference Championships. “Beating E’Town is always good, finishing with a winning record is always good, but it’s the way we’re wrestling right now,” said Messiah head coach Bryan Brunk, “that’s really good.” Messiah (10-9) used a dominant surge midway through the lineup to knock out Elizabethtown in Hitchcock Arena Saturday, coming back from a pair of losses at 125 and 133 to win the 141 through 174 weight cards. Senior Alex DeHart got things started with a 10-4 win over E’Town’s Jordan Stepanchick at 141, while classmate Domineak Commodore followed with an impressive 10-6 win over the Blue Jays’ Tye Boyer at 149. In that bout, Commodore used a pair of two-point takedowns to ice things, turning a 7-6 advantage into the final margin over the last minute of the third period. “(Tye Boyer) is a very tough wrestler with a lot of good wins this year,” Brunk said, “but Dom is wrestling very well right now. He’s peaking at the right time. He was on offense from the get-go today, and he kept attacking all the way through. When things got close in the third, he kept attacking. It’s something we’ve been preaching, and he was just great today.” Perhaps the most surprising result came in the 157-pound class, where junior Logan Putnam earned a 16-10 decision over Elizabethtown senior Bud Croswell — a result that sent shockwaves to the visitors. With junior and usual 157-pound starter Mike Bressler suffering a dislocated shoulder in Friday’s match with Muhlenberg, Putnam stepped in and delivered with incredible efficiency, garnering five near fall points in the second period to swing the momentum in his favor. “Croswell is another very good wrestler,” Brunk said. “Logan threw him and got back points midway through the second, and then did the same thing with about 10 seconds left.” Senior Trent Zempel made it a 13-7 Messiah lead following his 8-0 major decision at 165, and when sophomore Matt Cross earned a 17-4 major at 174, Brunk’s squad was rolling. Junior Pat Hogan then iced things mathematically with a 15-5 major decision over E’Town’s Anthony DiMarco at 197. “The liquid snake,” Brunk said while chuckling, eluding to Cross. “It’s one of his many nicknames. He looked like that today. A week ago, he was wrestling 157 at King’s. But he saw a need for us at 174, and stepped into a need. He’s been wrestling great.” With junior Dave Jones most likely unable to return from a nagging shoulder injury, Cross looks to be Messiah’s 174-pounder at next week’s conference championships. If Bressler is unable to go at 157 — which is likely — Brunk has decisions ahead of him, but he says it’s a problem with a variety of good solutions. “We’re going to try to have a good week of practice, and we’ll go from there,” Brunk said. “If we can build off this weekend, we’ve got a number of guys who are looking to place in the conference and make it to the national level. Overall though, we’re wrestling disciplined and aggressive. We’re really doing the things we preach. We’re peaking at the right time, and that’s exciting to see.” Messiah will compete in the Empire Conference Championships next Saturday, a day-long event to be held at Rochester Institute of Technology. Wrestling is slated to begin at 11 a.m. Results: 125 - Will Bentley (EC) maj. dec. Danny Lethbridge (MC) 12-4 (0-4) EXHIBITION:
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