THE FACTS
Gettysburg finishes fifth at championship
What: Centennial Conference wrestling championship
When: Saturday, Feb. 11
Where: Collegeville, Pa. – Ursinus

THE SKINNY STORY
Gettysburg had four individual earn top-three finishes to led the way to a fifth-place finish at the 2023 Centennial Conference wrestling championship hosted by Ursinus. The Bullets scored 47.5 points.

THE LEADERS
• Luke Kowalski (Derwood, Md./St. John's College) led the Bullets with the individual title at 133. The top seed, he recorded a 42-second pin of fourth-seeded Jagger Clapsadle (Ursinus) to advance to the title bout. In the championship match, Kowalski made it 2-for-2 in first-period falls, taking down second-seeded Brett Lorin (Johns Hopkins) in 1:06. For his performance, Kowalski earned Most Outstanding Performer honors.

FOR THE FOES
• Ursinus earned the team title, scoring 84 points behind eight wrestlers who finished in the top three but just one champion. McDaniel finished second with 73.5 points on the strength of a conference-best four individual champions.

THE REST OF THE STORY
• Brendan Loder (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) added a runner-up showing at 197. As the third seed, Loder opened his day with a 6-minute, 14-second pin of second-seeded Angelo Mahaffey (Ursinus) in the semifinals. In the title bout, McDnaiel's Jaedyn Harris, the top seed, edged out a 4-1 victory.
• At 141, Jake Stein (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge), who entered the tournament as the fifth seed, dropped a 3-1 decision to No. 4 Chris Dalmau (Muhlenberg). In the consolation semis, Stein edged third-seeded Joe McKneely (McDaniel) 9-5 to advance to the third-place bout. There, Stein avenged an earlier loss to Dalmau with a 4-1 victory to finish third.
• Phil Nave (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) made it a pair of third-place showings with a pair of decisions in the consolation bracket. The fourth-seed, Nave dropped an 8-3 decision to fifth-seeded Ben Krauss (Muhlenberg). In the consolation semis, Nave upended second-seeded Jacob Pomykata (Johns Hopkins) 4-0 and the topped Val Prior (McDnaiel), the sixth seed, by a 5-3 margin.
• Heath Rudolph (Winchester, Va./Roanoke) placed fourth at 157. After opening his day with a 5-3 win over third-seeded Austin Manning (Merchant Marine), he dropped a 10-6 decision to second-seeded Xavier Howard (McDaniel). In the consolation bracket, Rudolph defeated No. 5 Luke Hirtzel (Johns Hopkins) by major decision 12-2 but Manning exacted revenge with a late escape to capture third place, 7-6.
• Justin Richey (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley), the fifth seed at 165, had both of his losses at the hands of No. 4 Ivan Corral (Merchant Marine). Corral knocked off Richey 3-1 in the opening round before Richey defeated Johns Hopkins Jake Hoffman, the third seed 8-4. Corral then needed sudden victory for a 7-5 win in the third-place bout.
• Justin Rhyne (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield Memorial) also had both of his losses come to the same individual. He drew the top seed at 184, Ursinus' Gary Nagle, in the opening round and Nagle recorded a 2-minute, 18-second pin. Rhyne then topped Muhlenberg's Ryan Fairchild, the third seed, 8-7 in the consolation semis before Nagle recorded another pin of Rhyne in 4:40.

THE INSIDE STORY
125: none
133: #1 Luke Kowalski (Gettysburg) pinned #4 Jagger Clapsadle (Ursinus) 0:42, #1 Luke Kowalski (Gettysburg) pinned #2 Brett Lorin (Johns Hopkins) 1:06.
141: #4 Chris Dalmau (Muhlenberg) dec. #5 Jake Stein (Gettysburg) 3-1, #5 Jake Stein (Gettysburg) dec. #3 Joe McKneely (McDaniel) 9-5, #5 Jake Stein (Gettysburg) dec. Chris Dalmau (Muhlenberg) 4-1.
149: #4 Connor Powell (Johns Hopkins) dec. #5 Eric Mougalian (Gettysburg) 7-1, #3 Dante Monaco (Ursinus) pinned #5 Eric Mougalian (Gettysburg) 1:06.
157: Heath Rudolph (Gettysburg) dec. #3 Austin Manning (Merchant Marine) 5-3, #2 Xavier Howard (McDaniel) dec. Heath Rudolph (Gettysburg) 10-6, Heath Rudolph (Gettysburg) maj. dec. #5 Luke Hirtzel (Johns Hopkins) 12-2, #3 Austin Manning (Merchant Marine) dec. Heath Rudolph (Gettysburg) 7-6.
165: #4 Ivan Corral (Merchant Marine) dec. #5 Justin Richey (Gettysburg) 3-1, #5 Justin Richey (Gettysburg) dec. #3 Jake Hoffman (Johns Hopkins) 8-4, #4 Ivan Corral (Muhlenberg) dec. #5 Justin Richey (Gettysburg) 7-5 (SV1).
174: #2 Joe Paul (Johns Hopkins) maj. dec. Michael Daugherty (Gettysburg) 10-1, #4 Yoann Olympio (McDaniel) dec. Michel Daugherty (Gettysburg) 15-8.
184: #1 Gary Nagle (Ursinus) pinned Justin Rhyne (Gettysburg) 2:18, Justin Rhyne (Gettysburg) dec. #3 Ryan Fairchild (Muhlenberg) 8-7, #1 Gary Nagle (Ursinus) pinned Justin Rhyne (Gettysburg) 4:40.
197: #3 Brendan Loder (Gettysburg) pinned #2 Angelo Mahaffey (Ursinus) 6:14, #1 Jaedyn Harris (McDaniel) dec. #3 Brendan Loder (Gettysburg) 4-1.
285: #5 Ben Krauss (Muhlenberg) dec. #4 Phil Nave (Gettysburg) 8-3, #4 Phil Nave dec. #2 Jacob Pomykata (Johns Hopkins) 4-0, #4 Phil Nave (Gettysburg) dec. #6 Val Pryor (McDaniel) 5-3.

NEXT UP
Gettysburg returns to action at the Futures Tournament hosted by Muhlenberg on Sunday, Feb. 19. Action begins at 10 a.m.