Wrestling honors seniors, battles No. 8 Messiah to the end

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. -- Junior Quinn Ruble scored the biggest win of his career with a 51-second fall over nationally-ranked Kyle Koser in Elizabethtown's 29-20 loss to No. 8 Messiah Friday night at Thompson Gymnasium.

Ruble's victory was a shot in the arm for the Blue Jays, who wrestled hard all night against the powerhouse Falcons on Senior Night. In his last dual match, at King's, Ruble had to feel robbed of a pin two different times before the tables got turned on him.

Friday, he went on the attack right away and stunned the returning NCAA Championships qualifier, Koser, in the match's opening minute. Koser came into the match ranked eighth by both the NWCA and D3wrestle.com and with more than 20 wins to his credit in 2016-17.

Another junior, Chris Kummerer, wrestled up at 165 for the first time, where he overwhelmed Josh Toal in an 18-1 victory by technical fall that went the distance. Just like Ruble, Kummerer started fast. The Hamburg native recorded a takedown less than 15 seconds into the match and added six back points to his total for an 8-0 lead after the first period. Kummerer extended his lead to 12-1 with two more takedowns in the second and kept the pressure on with a fourth takedown and a two-point near fall before the clock hit zeros in the third.

Kummerer improved to 13-7 on the season and is two wins away from 50 in his Blue Jay career.

Eric Eckstein has already ensured himself a new career-high in wins, but the junior wants more. Eckstein's breakout season continued with a 5-2 decision over Nick Havener in the heavyweight match. Following a scoreless first period, Eckstein and Havener traded escapes early in the second and third periods. A pair of takedowns in the final minute proved to be the difference for Eckstein, who won for the 18th time this season.

Philip Torresani was also a winner for E-town, scoring max points for the team with a forfeit victory at 125.

Prior to Friday night's match, Elizabethtown honored seniors Luke Fernandez, Bryan Pflanz and Josh Stencler with a small ceremony.

Fernandez, E-town's active career wins leader with 84, missed his second straight dual. While the Blue Jays missed one of their leaders, Messiah was also without some firepower in returning 125-pound national champion Lucas Malmberg and returning 165-pound All-American Larry Cannon.

Messiah's win over E-town was its fourth in a row and improved the Falcons' dual record to 16-3 on the season. The Blue Jays fell to 2-12 with the loss, but will have one more shot to get a dual win in their regular season finale next Tuesday, Feb. 14, at home against Wilkes at 7 p.m.

Elizabethtown vs. #8 Messiah Friday, February 10, 2017 // Elizabethown, Pa. (Thompson Gymnasium)
Wt.		EC	MC
125	Philip Torresani (EC) won by forfeit	6	0
133	#NR/CT Hunter Harris (MC) pinned #NR/HM Bryan Pflanz (EC), 6:08	6	6
141	Lee Cassel (MC) dec. Josh Paisley (EC), 9-5	6	9
149	Stephen Maloney (MC) technical fall Dan Smith (EC), 16-0 (2:37)	6	14
157	#NR/CT Jeff Hojnacki (MC) won by forfeit	6	20
165	Chris Kummerer (EC) technicall fall Josh Toal (MC), 18-1 (7:00)	11	20
174	#1/1 Ben Swarr (MC) won by forfeit	11	26
184	#NR/CT Derek Beitz (MC) dec. Rocco Hladney (EC), 9-4	11	29
197	Quinn Ruble (EC) pinned #8/8 Kyle Koser (MC), 0:51	17	29
285	Eric Eckstein (EC) dec. Nick Havener (MC), 5-2	20	29
Exhibitions
149	Matt Darok (MC) dec. Chad Rosenberger (EC), 10-8
149	Adam Peris (MC) dec. Chad Rosenberger (EC), 10-5
Rankings: NWCA / d3wrestle.com NR - Not ranked CT - Contender HM - Honorable Mention

13665 — Elizabethtown's 2016-17 wrestling seniors (L to R with family members):
Josh Stencler, Bryan Pflanz and Luke Fernandez.

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Players Mentioned

Eric Eckstein: 285; 5' 10"; Junior

Luke Fernandez: 197; 6' 2"; Senior

Rocco Hladney: 184; 5' 11"; Junior

Chris Kummerer: 157; 5' 7"; Junior

Bryan Pflanz: 133; 5' 5"; Senior

Quinn Ruble: 174/197; 6' 0"; Junior

Dan Smith: 141/149; 5' 8"; Sophomore

Josh Stencler: 174/184; 5' 8"; Senior

Philip Torresani: 125; 5' 3"; Junior

Josh Paisley: 133/141; 5' 5"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Eric Eckstein
: 5' 10"; Junior
: 285

Luke Fernandez
: 6' 2"; Senior
: 197

Rocco Hladney
: 5' 11"; Junior
: 184

Chris Kummerer
: 5' 7"; Junior
: 157

Bryan Pflanz
: 5' 5"; Senior
: 133

Quinn Ruble
: 6' 0"; Junior
: 174/197

Dan Smith
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: 141/149

Josh Stencler
: 5' 8"; Senior
: 174/184

Philip Torresani
: 5' 3"; Junior
: 125

Josh Paisley
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: 133/141