WILKES-BARRE, Pa. -- Messiah displayed dominant performances against Centenary (N.J.) and Oneonta State at the John Reese Duals, hosted by Wilkes. The scores were 39-10 against Centenary and 40-6 against Oneonta.
The Messiah wrestlers won 17 of 19 total bouts and collected seven total pins in the two duals, not including the exhibitions. Against Oneonta there were four major decisions, two pins and one tech fall, meaning all of the Falcons' wins included extra points.
Standouts from the Oneonta match included a pin to start it off from Kurt Rodriguez (125) at 2:02 against Dominic Degraba. Larry Cannon (157) also secured a pin in the match, wrestling in his first year. Josh Thomson (184) had the quickest pin though, at 1:25 against Anthony Marino.
Chris Williamson (149) scored the most points in the match with 19, giving him the lone tech fall for Messiah, winning against Nicholas Heck in seven minutes.
Against the 20th-ranked Centenary College later on, Messiah continued the dominating performance from the previous match, losing just one bout.
Lucas Malmberg (125) started things off with an 18-7 major decision against Erick Orellana. One more major decision would follow in the match from Kaleb Loht (141).
The Falcons would also collect three pins in the match from Kyle Coblentz (133), Kalann Washington (157), and Josh Thomson (184).
No. T6 TCNJ
COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. -- TCNJ had a pair of wrestlers place in the top three of their respective weight classes as the Lions opened the season competing at the Ursinus College Fall Brawl on Saturday.
The tournament was a non-team scoring event.
Junior Nathaniel Leer advanced to the finals at 197 and finished in second place.
Sophomore Dylan Thorsen boasted a third-place effort taking the mat at 149 pounds.
No. T6 Springfield
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Both Tom Casper and Iraka Kakauridze won their individual weight classes to help Springfield finish third at the Ithaca Invitational this weekend.
Ithaca won the two-day event with 177 points, followed by Johnson and Wales total of 164.5 and Springfield's score of 159 points. The Pride opened up the season as the nation's sixth-ranked team according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division III Preseason Poll.
Casper, who last year qualified for the NCAA championships last season, had a great season-opening showing at 125. After a pair of major decision victories on Friday, he won by a 6-2 decision in the semifinals before cruising to a 5-0 decision win for the 125 title.
Kakauridze had a terrific start to his sophomore season by snagging the title at 285. On Friday, he had a pair of decision wins and a victory by fall in just 1:12 before moving on Saturday's semifinals. On Saturday, Kakauridze delivered a 5-2 and 6-0 decision win for his collegiate individual title.
Erik Hamrick finished as the runner-up at 157 and wrestled very well all weekend. He cruised into the finals after posting three consecutive pins to start his year before dropping a 7-4 decision.
No. 8 Coe at Loras Open
DUBUQUE, Iowa -- Eighth-ranked Coe opened its 2013 season at the Loras Open on Saturday. The Kohawks had two wrestlers make finals and nine more place.
At 174 pounds, senior Ethan Ball placed second in the gold bracket, falling to Illinois' Tony Dallago 8-1 in the finals. Ball started the day by defeating Luis Alba of McKendree 8-6, before beating Dubuque's Elton Turnage 12-6. His next opponent was Thomas Moman of Grandview, whom he defeated 4-1. Prior to facing Dallago in the finals, Ball dismantled Jake Stilling of Wisconsin 11-3.
Fellow senior Cory Becker also garnered runner-up status but at heavyweight. Becker fell to Chris Lopez, another Illinois grappler, 4-0 in the finals. He began his day with a 6-0 win against Upper Iowa's Jeremy Brazil. He then beat Zach Schroeder of McKendree 9-0 before earning a 3-1 win in sudden victory of Schroeder's teammate, Ross Janney, to advance to the finals.
