By Zion Williams, Staff Writer
Luke Kowalski ’24 and Phil Nave ’26 earned falls for the Gettysburg wrestling team, but the Bullets ultimately fell 31-15 to Messiah. The two teams traded matches early in an out-of-conference matchup on Friday, December 8th.
Gettysburg’s Antonio Abate ’24 competed against Messiah’s Tyler Ratledge in the 125-pound weight class, the first of the ten bouts. Abate earned three points for his takedown in the first period, but Ratledge retaliated in the second period and earned eight total points, including a takedown. Abate overpowered Ratledge in the final period with two takedowns and a point for his control of the match to eventually secure the 12-9 victory, and win three points for the Bullets.
In the 133-pound weight class, Gettysburg’s Brendan Callahan ’27 fell to Messiah’s Caiden Heller in a match that went into overtime. Callahan scored his only points of the match with a takedown in the first period. Heller tied it up in the third period with a reversal and a point for riding time. He eventually beat Callahan in overtime with a takedown to win the bout 6-3 and secure three points for Messiah.
Kowalski tipped the scales back in favor of the Bullets in a quick matchup against Asa Brunk in the 141-pound weight class. In the first period, Kowalski earned a takedown and eventually secured the win with a fall, pinning his opponent in two minutes to win six points for Gettysburg.
After the early back and forth, Messiah went on to win six out of the last seven matches, which was led by Noah Rice.
Rice responded to Kowalski’s efforts in the next round when he faced off against Ethan Composto ’27 in the 149-pound weight class. In the second period, Rice earned a fall in a little under five minutes, which meant six points for Messiah.
In a close matchup, Gavin Pascoe ’27 fell to Messiah’s Garret Cornell. Pascoe earned two takedowns and two reversals, but the match went to the end of the third period, where Cornell eventually won 14-10 and secured three points for Messiah. Then, Zach Needles earned a forfeit, which added an extra six points for Messiah.
In the 174-pound weight class, Gettysburg’s Graham Chandler ’25 fell to a dominant performance by Messiah’s Austin Brass. In the first period, Brass registered a takedown and two four-point near falls to secure the victory with a fall in just under two minutes to give Messiah six more points.
Rider Slayton of Messiah put on another dominant performance against Gettysburg’s James Doliscar ’27 in the 184-pound weight class. He earned a major decision victory for his team, as he won 14-1 and earned 4 points for Messiah.
Nave earned a fall for the Bullets in the 197-pound weight class in a quick 44 seconds to give Gettysburg six points. Despite Nave’s efforts, Messiah’s Hayden Benner defeated Simon Taylor ’26 in the 285-pound weight class, which was the last bout of the night. He needed an overtime effort, which included points for locked hands and an escape to win 3-2 and secure a final three points for Messiah. This solidified their 31-15 victory over Gettysburg.
The Bullets return to action on January 6th, as they hit the road to take on Elizabethtown at 1 p.m.
