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Slow Start Trumps Attempt At Second Consecutive Win Over Lyco
Junior Mike Bressler claimed a 9-6 win at 157, helping the Falcons to four wins over the last six matches Friday night.
Williamsport, PA — Recent history failed to repeat itself Friday night at Lycoming College, as Messiah dropped a 12-22 decision to the host Warriors – thwarting the Falcons’ attempt to knock off their rivals for the second straight time. Following a 20-13 win over Lycoming in Brubaker Auditorium last season, Messiah (7-8) was unable to garner points in any of the opening four matches Friday, falling behind by a 16-0 count. Looking for the program’s second-ever win over the Warriors (11-5), it was simply not to be on this evening. “It was kind of an up and down battle tonight, said Bryan Brunk, Messiah head coach. “The team wrestled with a lot of confidence, a lot of effort. I was proud of those things. We have a lot of work to do, for sure, but we did some good things tonight. I think we’re headed in the right direction.” Friday’s dual was largely a case of what might have been for Brunk’s club, as a second-period misstep from sophomore Danny Lethbridge led to a takedown in the match-opening 125-pound card — resulting in an eventual 8-6 loss to Lycoming’s Stephen Hinton. Lethrbridge lost his balance midway through the stanza, giving Hinton a shift in both points and momentum. Junior Andrew Clark followed with a 5-1 loss at the 133-pound match up, and when senior Alex DeHart was pinned at the 5:17 mark at 141, Brunk realized his hopes of a team win were seriously in jeopardy. “Alex was in an absolutely sensational match with (Lyco’s) Mike Maurer, an all-conference wrestler,” Brunk said. “He got behind 1-0 in the third period and got caught on his back in a scramble and got pinned. That was really tough. It was a winnable match. We went from maybe going out on top to losing bonus points. At that point we knew it was going to be tough to win.” After senior Domineak Commodore suffered a major decision defeat at 149, Brunk’s squad finally got rolling, winning four of the final six bouts. Junior Mike Bressler opened with a 9-6 decision at 157 pounds, while senior Trent Zempel finalized a 6-4 win over the Warriors’ Jefferson Thomas — a match not nearly as close as the score indicated. “Trent was pressing a little bit, trying to get us some bonus points,” Brunk said. “We were really looking forward to Trent facing (Lycoming senior and fifth-ranked) Chris Dahlheimer, but he’s a little banged up right now so they went to their backup. Trent gave up a takedown late, trying to press a little bit. It was a pretty one-sided match with a close final score.” Messiah suffered another near miss in the 174 card, as sophomore Davin Okerblom filled in admirably for junior and usual starter Dave Jones, absent from the lineup due to a nagging injury. Okerblom recorded a takedown and possessed a 3-2 lead in the waning moments of the second period, only to give up a reversal to Lycoming’s Kyle Crouthamel with 13 seconds remaining — falling behind by a 4-3 count to start the third period. Like Lethbridge’s match-opening bout at 125, Okerblom was unable to overcome the change of pace in his event, dropping an eventual 5-3 decision. “Davin really wrestled well,” Brunk said. “He had the match in hand, but kind of moved the wrong way at the very end of the second and gave up a reversal.” The bright spot of the evening may have occurred immediately following Okerblom’s loss, as sophomore Tim Stewart claimed a 6-4, overtime win over Lycoming’s Troy Hayre at 184, a “very tough kid” according to Brunk. “Timmy showed a great deal of heart,” he said. “He stepped behind (Hayre) in overtime and got a single-leg takedown … it was awesome. Timmy’s been wrestling really well lately. I think the turning point came a couple weeks ago for him. He’s started to win some of these close matches against really good opponents.” With Messiah dealing with injuries at the bottom of its lineup, junior Tim Hopkins moved up a weight to face Lycoming’s Russel Korbul at 197, but the difference in size was just too great for the Thiells, N.Y. native, and he dropped a 7-1 decision. That mathematically eliminated Messiah from contention for the team win, but it didn’t stop junior Zane Bachert from picking up a solid, 3-1 win in the heavyweight class, evening his season record at 13-13. “The team showed a lot of heart after we got down early,” Brunk said. “Both physically and mentally, we have to get sharper over these next four weeks. There’s a lot of work to do in the wrestling room in terms of strategy. But I’m pleased with the steps we’re making, and we’re going to continue to push through until the end.” Messiah will host its annual Messiah Open tomorrow in Hitchcock Arena, an individual tournament which will give some of the Falcons’ younger wrestlers an opportunity to compete. Messiah’s next team scored matches will take place the following weekend, as the squad travels to the Chicago area to compete in the Wheaton College Pete Wilson Invitational. Wrestling is slated to begin at 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29. Results: Lycoming College 22 over Messiah College 12
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