THE FACTS
Gettysburg (1-1) 20, Messiah (4-6) 19 (Criteria 3.21.c)
What: Non-conference wrestling match
When: Friday, Jan. 6
Where: Gettysburg, Pa.
THE SKINNY STORY
Gettysburg won the final two matches of the night by decision to draw even with Messiah at 19-all, forcing the match to go to criteria. With each team winning five bouts, including one by fall, the Bullets prevailed on tiebreaking criteria 3.21.c after earning more match points than the Falcons in the other eight bouts and were declared winners, 20-19.
THE LEADERS
•
Luke Kowalski (Derwood, Md./St. John's College) locked down the lone pin for Gettysburg, winning in the first period at 133.
•
Eric Mougalian (Kinnelon, N.J./Kinnelon) added an 18-4 major decision win at 149 that ultimately proved to be the difference when the rulebook came out.
FOR THE FOES
• Mason Casey led the Falcons with a 4-minute, 14-second fall at 141.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• At 125,
Antonio Abate (Northvale, N.J./Don Bosco Prep) got a takedown with 10 seconds remaining in the third period to force the first sudden-victory period. A minute into the extra session, Caiden Heller got a takedown for a 6-4 win, giving Messiah a 3-0 lead in the match.
•
Luke Kowalski and Mason Casey traded pins to keep the Falcons in front by three. Kowalski recorded his fall midway through the first period at 133 before Casey's pin in the second period.
•
Eric Mougalian put Gettysburg back in front with his major decision at 149 and
Heath Rudolph (Winchester, Va./Roanoke) extended the lead to 13-9 with a 7-5 victory, fighting off a match-changing takedown late in the third period, before Zach Needles once again made it a one-point deficit with a 6-2 win at 165.
• Ryder Slayton made it three straight wins for the Falcons, earning a pair of third-period takedowns to grab a major decision 11-2 and extend the lead to six.
•
Brendan Loder (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) put the result of the match squarely on the final bout of the night after recording a 12-5 win at 197, just missing the major decision.
• In a tightly-contested heavyweight bout,
Phil Nave (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) forced Hayden Benner to take his shot in the waning seconds of the second period and turned that in a takedown of his own just before the horn, taking a 2-0 lead into the final period. An escape made it 2-1 but Benner could never get a clean takedown in the final two minutes and the riding time point gave Nave a 3-1 win, drawing the match deadlock at 19-all.
THE INSIDE STORY
• The victory for Gettysburg marked the first win over Messiah since a 24-23 win on Jan. 22, 2004, snapping a streak of 13 straight Falcon victories.
125: Caiden Heller (M) dec.
Antonio Abate 6-4 (SV1);
133: Luke Kowalski (G) pinned Joshua Flores 1:30;
141: Mason Casey (M) pinned
Jake Stein (G) 4:14;
149: Eric Mougalian (G) maj. dec. Clay Gainor 18-4;
157: Heath Rudolph (G) dec. Garret Cornell 7-5;
165: Zach Needles (M) dec.
Justin Richey 6-2;
174: John Sumner (M) dec.
Michael Daugherty 11-5;
184: Ryder Slayton (M) maj, dec,
Justin Rhyne 11-2;
197: Brendan Loder (G) dec. Joe Embleton 12-5;
HWT: Phil Nave (G) dec. Hayden Benner 3-1.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg returns to action at home against Elizabethtown on Wednesday. Match time is 7 p.m.
