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Messiah Finishes Seventh At Conference; Zempel Moves On
Senior Trent Zempel earned an NCAA National Championships berth at 165, but junior Matt Cross (pictured) may have had the most impressive day at the Empire Wrestling Conference Championships.

Rochester, NY — Three all-conference finishers highlighted an otherwise disappointing day for Messiah at the Empire Wrestling Conference Championships, as the Falcons finished seventh overall in the nine-team tournament Saturday at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Senior Trent Zempel’s runner-up finish at the 165-pound weight class eventually earned him a wild card berth in the NCAA National Championships, while junior Matt Cross finished third at 174 and sophomore Tim Stewart fifth at 184 — rounding off Messiah’s all-conference honorees.

The remainder of the Falcons’ lineup went a cumulative 2-14 on the day, however, leaving head coach Bryan Brunk somewhat frustrated at the event’s conclusion.

“It just wasn’t our day today,” Brunk said. “We had some guys that expected to place that didn’t place, and we just couldn’t get things rolling. It was a bit of a tough weekend for the team as a whole, but you can’t hang your head. You can only thank God for the opportunity and move on.”

Zempel will move on — to the NCAA Division III National Championships in two weeks — by virtue of his 2-1 afternoon at 165. Entering the conference tournament as the second seed in his weight class, Zempel pinned Oneonta State University’s Jimm Neal in 6:15 before cruising past the College at Brockport’s James Forsyth by a 15-6 score in the semi-finals.

Zempel then squared off against top-seeded and two-time defending champion Christopher Dahlheimer of Lycoming College in the championship bout, leading by a 4-2 score after the first period.

A brief lull in the second period helped Dahlheimer gain three near fall points, however, and when Zempel failed to card an escape as the second period buzzer went off, the Warriors’ senior possessed a 5-4 lead.

Zempel then let Dahlheimer go in the third period, looking for a takedown, but it would not come.

“It was a great match between Trent and Chris,” Brunk said. “It went back and forth, and it really could have gone either way. Dahlheimer got the first takedown, but Trent reversed him, and it just stayed neck and neck from there.”

The remainder of the league’s coaches were obviously impressed with Zempel — a 2007 national qualifier — naming him as one of the Empire Conference’s five wild card selections to advance to this year’s national championships.

Zempel missed the majority of last season with a leg injury, but went 2-2 in the 2007 national championships, coming just one win away from earning All-American status.

The Conrad, Montana native will get another opportunity in two weeks, as he will be Messiah’s lone representative on this year’s national stage in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

“It’s always good to be wrestling at the end of the year,” Brunk said. “Obviously, we would have liked to have multiple guys going and done better at these conference championships, but we’re excited for Trent.”

Perhaps the Falcons’ next-best hope came at the 174-pound class, where Cross put on what Brunk called “a sensational tournament.” Losing to the class’s eventual runner-up in the opening round, Cross went on to win his next three matches — a stretch that included a 5-2 win over Ithaca College’s David Priest — a two-time national qualifier in his own right.

Cross eventually beat Brockport’s Clayton Neivert by a 2-0 score to secure third place in the class, his first all-conference award at the collegiate level.

“Matt had an outstanding day,” Brunk said. “He bumped up (to 174) from 157 after (normal starter and junior) Dave Jones got injured, and for him to wrestle like this was outstanding.”

Cross’ only loss was to Oneonta’s top-seeded Chris Wade, a 9-4 decision that was eventually decided in the middle of the action.

“Matt got a takedown early in the match, but Wade got Matt in a five-point move late in the first period,” Brunk said. “That was the difference. The match was much closer than the score indicated.”

Stewart complemented a third-place finish from a year ago with his fifth-place effort Saturday, winning a pair of matches in the winner’s bracket before splitting a pair in the consolation bracket. A 6-4 win over Ithaca’s Josue Mendez was followed by a 17-2 thrashing of Morrisville State College’s Wheeler Brunschmid, and only Oneonta’s second-seeded Josh Wake could stop the momentum with a 6-3 win in the quarter-finals.

Stewart then dropped a 10-3 decision to fifth-seeded Jared Myhrberg of Cortland State University, responding to hang a 12-1 win over the hosts’ Tyler Brent in the fifth-place bout.

In other action, Messiah had its share of heartbreak. Senior 141-pounder Alex DeHart saw his day end with a double-overtime loss by fall to Morrisville State’s Brian Latham, an opponent he defeated by a 10-2 score just two weeks earlier. Classmate Domineak Commodore — perhaps the Falcons’ most momentum-fueled wrestler — dropped a pair of close decisions to eventual place-winners in the 149-pound weight class, concluding his career well before he would have liked.

“Alex got pinned on a defensive fall in the second OT, and that was tough,” Brunk said. “Dom sort of wrestled tight today, and just didn’t come out the way he had been over the last several weeks. It was a tough way to finish, but he has so much to be proud of.”

Senior Arthur Milner picked up Messiah’s only other win on the day, a 5-3 win over Oswego State University’s Nick Rodgers at 157.

The Falcons finished with 41 team points on the day, defeating Morrisville State (27 points) and Rochester Tech (five points). Cortland State won the team championships with 141.5 points. The College of Brockport (126), Ithaca (124.5), Lycoming (117), Oswego State (76) and Oneonta State (72.5) followed. A complee breakdown of the day’s action can be viewed at the official site of the Empire Wrestling Conference Championships.

Zempel will now gear up for the 2010 NCAA Division III National Championships, taking place at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Mar. 5-6. Fans can acquire information at the official site of the national championships. Event times, lodging and brackets will be provided.