The Blue Jays went up against the Messiah College Falcons at Friday night’s wrestling match in Thompson Gymnasium. The final score was 25-16 with the win going to Messiah.
Messiah entered the contest as the number eight team in the nation according to the Division III NCAA rankings on NCAA.com.
Before the meet started, the Blue Jays honored the five graduating seniors. Collin James, Jordan Moser, Jeremy Reith, Jared Weaver and Zeke Zimmer.
Even with a loss, the team had a few standout performance from junior Mike Lammer and sophomore Luke Fernandez. Lammer put the first points on the board for the Blue Jays, with a takedown in the second period. With a close pin, he tied the score at 4-4. Later, Fernandez won a 9-2 decision to make the score 13-10.
“Wrestlers that have been wrestling better this second semester are Luke Fernandez, Bryan Pflanz, they have been wrestling at another level. Zeke Zimmer is Mr. Consistency; he has been the wins leader the past three years,” Head Coach Eric Walker said. “Chad Lammer has looked the best he has since his freshman year.”
Walker was right. These four had an excellent match. Fernandez contributed a win with a 9-2 decision and junior Bryan Pflanz earned a win from a 6-1 decision. Zimmer, who is the teams career active wins leader, did not disappoint. Zimmer had four takedowns and two escapes for a 10-6 decision victory. This win earned Zimmer his 75th career victory. Lammer hung tough but lost his match, as he put up a fight against a defending National Champion.
“With the end of the season approaching and the National Championships just around the corner, the team has been gelling more than ever. I’m not sure if it is the finish line in-sight or the fact that we are going to be hosting the Championships, but all the members are starting to rise up and take initiative,” Walker said.
Leading up to the match, the team new it would be a battle. Knowing the intensity of competition against Messiah, Etown did not easy back down.
With the high number of students in attendance on Friday, it gave the coaching staff and the team hope that students will come out and support them at the National Championships.
“We would love to have some support out at the National Tournament since it is in our backyard, at the Giant Center,” Walker said. “To get some of the school community there would be huge to our team. We are trying to break the attendance record for a division three championships, and we have a good chance to do it, but we need the help of the students.”
Etown will be hosting the National Championships on March 13 and 14 at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa., and the team is ready to enter the competition with a winning mindset.
In the team’s final dual match of the season, the Blue Jays defeated Muhlenburg 26-13. The victory helped Etown improve to 5-12 this season, heading into the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional Championships on Sunday, March 1.
The loss dropped Muhlenberg to 4-8 this season with one dual match left at home against King’s College on Saturday.
