Messiah won the Southeast Regional title (Photo/Josh Whitelaw)ROCKY MOUNT, Va. -- No. 15 Messiah wrestling put together an historic weekend at the Southeast Regional Championship, with a program-record eight Falcons qualifying for the NCAA Division III National Championship next month. Messiah also captured it's fifth-straight regional title, and it's first in the newly-arranged Southeast grouping. The Falcons scored 147 points, with York picking up 133 points and being the only-other team to reach triple digits.
The eight NCAA qualifiers by the Falcons eclipses the previous record of seven, which was accomplished during the 2015-16 season. The National Championship will be held March 9-10 at the Cleveland Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio.
Repeat Performers
Hunter Harris (133) qualified for his second-straight NCAA Championship with a runner-up finish this weekend. The Falcons' all-time leader in pins picked up a single fall in the quarterfinal, and his most impressive performance came in the semifinal. In that match against Delaware Valley's Brenden Velez -- the MAC Champion from earlier this season -- Harris earned an 8-6 decision in sudden victory. That put him in the NCAA tournament, even as he was pinned by Johns Hopkins' Ricky Cavallo in the final.11201
Ben Swarr (174), Derek Beitz (184), and Kyle Koser (197) all made good on their high expectations by earning qualification to the NCAA Championship. For Swarr and Koser, this marked three-straight qualifications. Swarr's showing was especially dominant as he earned three-straight tech falls by a combined score of 50-0 before winning 6-0 over Lycoming's Brandon Conrad in the final.
Koser also earned a regional title with a 6-0 win over Antavian Leary of Ferrum. Like Swarr, Koser won four-straight bouts, and he didn't give up a point by going fall, major (13-0), and decision (5-0) to get into the final.
For Beitz, the qualification was undoubtedly extra sweet considering his march back from a mid-season injury. He was outstanding in the quarterfinal (10-1 major decision) and semifinal (fall, 3:50) to earn his qualification, and he withdrew early in the final against Isaac Morales from Johns Hopkins.
Back on Board
Jeff Hojnacki (165) qualified for both the second time in his career and the first time since 2016. He had a big start with a tech fall (18-2) in the Round of 16, and he followed that up with a major decision (16-3) in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal he was matched up with Gettysburg's Colin Kowalski, and it was a must-watch rematch of Hojnacki's 7-6 decision over Kowalski on Dec. 8. The rematch didn't disappoint, as Hojnacki earned a 3-1 sudden victory decision to earn the NCAA qualification. In the final Hojnacki lost 8-7 to Ferrum's Andrew Tolbert.
New to the Show
Messiah's lineup is full of big names, but the biggest highlights of the weekend may very well have come from some new faces. Surely among that group is Sean Redington (125), who lost his opening bout on Friday and fought all the way back through the consolation bracket to take third place. Redington's march to an NCAA qualification included five wins in the wrestleback rounds, and he was nothing short of dominant on that path.
His first three victories went 15-6 decision, 19-2 tech fall, and fall (2:40) to put him into a match with Lenny Ogozalek of Gettysburg. The loser of that bout would go to the fifth-place match, but Redington kept his streak going with a 7-0 decision. That put him into the third-place bout with Samuel Braswell of Averett, and Redington kept his momentum with an impressive 27-14 major decision to secure a spot at the National Championship.
Redington's noteworthy streak will get plenty of attention, but two other Falcons --
Stephen Maloney (149) and Kevin Edwards (157) -- also qualified for the first time in their respective careers -- albeit by a more-traditional route. Maloney took second overall, with his only loss (5-2) coming in the final to Gregory Warner of York. Warner also defeated Maloney earlier this month by an 8-3 score. On his path to the runner-up finish, Maloney collected two pins, including one at 4:15 in the semifinal over Trevor Corl of Lycoming.
Edwards was the third Falcons to earn a first-ever qualification to the National Championship, and he did so with a title win at 157. Like Maloney before him, he also faced a York Spartan (Eric Hutchinson), and he came away with a 6-3 win.
Coaching Honors
Messiah's outstanding weekend was preceded by head coach Bryan Brunk being named Southeast Region Coach of the Year, and Craig Hogan being named Assistant Coach of the Year. They, along with the rest of the coaching staff, led Messiah to a 16-5 record this season, with Brunk picking up his 200th career win. With a program-record eight NCAA qualifiers this season, Brunk has now coached 43 qualifiers during his 14-plus seasons with the Falcons.
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