ALLIANCE, Ohio - Fifth-ranked Messiah collected four wins in Saturday's Mount Union Duals against Lycoming (28-13), Muskingum (40-9), Thiel (21-15), and Mount Union.
Among those collecting pins throughout the day were Lucas Malmberg (125), Kaleb Loht (141), Josh Thomson (184), Jason Wright (197), and Charles Jones (285). Kyle Coblentz (133) secured a come-from-behind pin in his bout against Thiel to give the Falcons the edge in the win.
Against Lycoming, Messiah found themselves in a tight battle, and down 13-10, through the first six bouts. Ben Kramer (174) then won his match with a 10-3 decision and Thomson (184) also won his with a 6-3 decision. Now up just 16-13, Lycoming committed a costly error resulting in a disqualification giving the Falcons six points to go up 22-13. Jones (285) finished off the Warriors with a pin at 2:46, providing the final six points.
The Falcons were once against down 13-10 against Mount Union later in the day, this time with three matches left to go. Thomson (184), in his fourth match of the day, secured a huge pin at 6:08 to turn the tables and give Messiah a 16-13 lead. Jason Wright (197) then just egded out his opponent, 10-8, giving the Falcons a six-point advantage. Jones (285) did what he needed to do to give Messiah the 19-16 win, despite losing a close 4-3 decision.
Malmberg (125) continued his winning streak, going 3-0 for the day, and collected his only pin on the day at 133 pounds one weight class above his normal. Loht (141) and Thomson (184) were also undefeated for the day at 3-0 and 4-0, respectively, and collected the two Outstanding Wrestler Awards.
No. 8 Coe at Turkey Open
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Three Kohawk wrestlers earned individual titles at the Coe College Invitational on Saturday afternoon. An additional six Coe wrestlers battled their way to second-place finishes.
Senior Beau Westpfahl earned the title at 141 pounds. After a first-round bye, Westpfahl pinned Dan Roach of Harper College in just 46 seconds. In his second bout of the day he earned an 11-0 major decision against Jeff Sand of Simpson. A pin of Missouri Baptist's Esmond Ford at 4:24 earned Westpfahl a trip to the final. He earned the title at 141 pounds after Gresh Henderson of Harper was unable to start the match due to an injury suffered earlier in the day.
Sophomore Farai Sewera defeated Nathaniel Stadeker of Grandview 6-4 in the championship match at 165 pounds. Sewera started his day with a pin of Ryan Thomas of Missouri Baptist at 1:03. He then defeated Spencer Ward of Simpson 18-4 to earn a major decision. Sewera earned another major decision, this one 12-3 against Tristin Luther of NIACC, before defeating Stadeker in the finals.
Coe's third individual champion was senior Cory Becker at heavyweight. Becker began the day with a bye but in his first match he pinned Ryan Dugar of NIACC in 3:53. He then earned a 4-1 win against Julius Anglikas of Missouri Baptist to advance to the finals where he won due to teammate Creighton Fox suffering an injury in an earlier bout and being forced to forfeit.
Two events for No. 9 Wisconsin-Whitewater
OLIVET, Mich.- Wisconsin-Whitewater went 2-1 at the Olivet College Comet Duals on Saturday, beating Alma 21-18 and Heidelberg 31-7 while falling to Olivet 19-15.
Meanwhile, Matt Dwyer finished second in the 197-pound weight class to lead the Warhawks at the Concordia-Wisconsin Open. The open tournament featured bracketed competition in each weight class including attached and unattached wrestlers from a number of colleges and universities.
Dwyer opened the open with a bye followed by an 8-4 decision of Elmhurst's Luis Montoya and a pin in 2:20 of Jake Barclay of Wabash. He topped Mitchell Steed of Wheaton in a semifinal before falling to Puna Soriana of Wartburg 11-9 in overtime.
