The Elizabethtown College Blue Jays wrestling team took to the Messiah Invitational at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4. This was an away match at Messiah University. Overall, Etown came out of the event with a third-place finish in a competition that consisted of eight teams. Many of our wrestlers placed highly in each of the weight classes. This gave them 117.5 total points at the event by the end of the day. Many Etown wrestlers had successful days, and several came out victorious in their matches and overall weight classes.
Two Blue Jays would take the top spot in their respective weight classes with junior Braden Schuyler and graduate student Brian Schneider. Schuyler won the 133 class with a 10-6 in the first place match, and Schneider’s was a dominant win in the form of a technical fall. The win gave him the top spot in the 165 class.
Senior Dylan Waller was also successful in the invitational. He came close to taking the top spot in his 285 weight class, but fell short. He did earn second place though, helping the Blue Jays secure more points in the overall team leaderboard.
Two other Blue Jays secured top three finishes on the day. Senior Ethan Liptzin, of the 125 weight class, faced a worthy opponent in his third-place match. It was a good bout between the two, and Liptzin would come out on top, winning 8-3. This helped earn him third place for his weight class. Senior Trai Roland, of the 197 weight class, was the other Etown competitor to earn third place in his class. It was another dominating win for placing, in which Roland took the win in 5:29.
The other Blue Jays to compete over the weekend were sophomore Jimmy Yeingst and senior Kurt Driscoll. Both competing in the 285 weight class, Yeingst came out of the event in sixth place and Driscoll would secure a fourth place spot, as the event wrapped up.
This opening event turned out to be a solid start to the season for the Jays. We will see how the season goes from here. Next weekend, the Blue Jays will travel to Collegeville, Pa. for the Racich Rumble. The Racich Rumble Invitational will take place at Ursinus College on Saturday, Nov. 11. Good luck to the Etown wrestling team!
