On Feb. 14, the Elizabethtown College wrestling team traveled to rival Messiah College, number three in the nation, for their last regular season match of the year. The Blue Jays were unable to score a single point as they fell 49-0.
The atmosphere and intensity of an already bitter rivalry between the two schools was heightened due to the senior night ceremony for Messiah that was held before the meet. The Messiah Falcons line up included four nationally-ranked wrestlers and two All-Americans, while the Etown team has been plagued with injuries throughout the season and were missing multiple wrestlers from their usual starting line up. The match included 10 weight classes including a forfeit from Etown for not representing the 157 weight class.
The Falcons came out with high energy looking to score points as quickly as possible. This strategy and high energy proved to be successful immediately when Messiah’s Lucas Malmberg defeated senior Kyle McNulty with a 19-6 major decision in the 125-pound weight class during the first match of the night. Malmberg is ranked number five in the nation.
Of the five pins on the night, the first came in the 133 weight class when Kyle Coblentz pinned first-year wrestler Ryan Harter in the second round. This sparked a domino effect for the Falcons as they won the next three bouts.
The Blue Jays were out-wrestled throughout the entire meet, but a glimpse of hope came in the sixth match up when junior Woodie Hermann sized up Messiah senior Ricardo Plummer, who is ranked eighth in the nation for the 174 weight class. Hermann was able to take Plummer all three rounds and keep it close until the end when he went for a takedown to salvage a tie but was unable to do so. Plummer won the match with a score count of 5-3, the closest of the night.
Another Blue Jay to suffer a defeat against a nationally-recognized opponent was senior Michael Henning who faced number one Kaleb Loht. Loht won the 141 weight class with a pin, which was the third of the night for the Falcons.
There isn’t too much time for the Blue Jays to sulk over the loss because it’s time for them to regroup and refocus with the national qualifiers in just two weeks. “We have our regional tournament on March 2 at York College. This tournament decides who will continue on to the NCAA tournament. Our wrestlers must place in the top three of an 18-man bracket to qualify for the NCAA tourney,” Head Coach Eric Walker said.
Although the loss to Messiah may seem detrimental to the morale of the team, senior Julian Meaney disagrees. “After the loss to Messiah, I think the team really recognizes that there is room for improvement. We have two weeks to prepare for our national qualifier, and this was a great way to get everyone firing on all cylinders.” With much more opportunity left in the season, the wrestling team understands there are plenty more positives to come.
This regular season meet wraps up the Blue Jays’ record at 3-9 in dual competition. The team now moves on to the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in early March with roughly 10 wrestlers competing.
