Messiah College has announced the hiring of Bryan Brunk as the head
wrestling coach
Messiah College has announced the hiring of Bryan Brunk as the head
wrestling coach and adjunct instructor in the Health and Human Performance
Department. Brunk has been the assistant wrestling coach for the past five
years under Maine Amateur Wrestling Hal of Fame Coach Ted Reese at the
University of Southern Maine. Brunk was a three time state champ for Coach
Reese at Bonny Eagle High School in Standish, Maine. He then wrestled for
Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL) for two years before transferring to Western
New England College (Springfield, MA) for his junior and senior season. At
WNEC, Brunk won two New England Championships, qualified to the NCAA D.III
Nationals each year, and was named Academic All-American. This May, Brunk
earned a Master's Degree from the University of Southern Maine in Education.
Outgoing coach Neil Turner is heading back to Lock Haven where he will
continue to be involved in wrestling by developing and directing Mat Town
USA Wrestling Club. He will also be working with Lock Haven University to
run summer wrestling camps.
Messiah to Host Messiah-Petrofes Invitational on Dec. 6th and 7th
November 29, 2002
Thane N. Turner, Messiah College Wrestling Office
Hitchcock Arena on the campus of Messiah College (Grantham, PA) will be the site of the annual Messiah-Petrofes Invitational on Dec. 6th and 7th, 2002. This event is one of the premier Division III tournaments in the early season. This year marks the 33rd edition of the tournament that was founded by Jerry Petrofes. Mr. Petrofes is a member of the Division III National Wrestling Hall of Fame and retired coach of Lebanon Valley College wrestling. The tournament was started while Mr. Petrofes coached at Lebanon Valley and has featured some of the top Division III teams and athletes in its stored history. Lebanon Valley College dropped wrestling in 1999 and the following year Messiah College picked up the event.
This year's event again looks to be filled with some of the top Division III talent in the country. Brockport University (Brockport, NY) leads the field as they are presently ranked 4th in the latest Brute-Adidas/NWCA rankings. Looking to also challenge for the team title is Springfield College (Springfield, MA) currently ranked 11th, Messiah College (Grantham, PA) currently ranked 23rd, and Oneonta State University (Oneonta, NY) currently ranked 25th. Last years champion McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland, Westminster, MD), will be looking to again surprise the front-runners and repeat as champions. Completing this year's field are: Albright College (Reading, PA), Baptist Bible College (Clarks Summit, PA), Gallaudet University (Washington, D.C.), Gettysburg College (Gettysburg, PA), Johns Hopkins (Baltimore, MD), Mount Union College (Alliance, OH), Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA), Thiel College (Greenville, PA), Ursinus College (Collegeville, PA), Washington and Jefferson College (Washington, PA).
The Messiah-Petrofes Invitational has seen many future NCAA Champions and All-Americans in it field over the years and this year's event looks to be the same. Heading into this weekend's event 9 wrestlers are ranked in the latest Brute-Adidas/NWCA Rankings. The top ranked wrestlers are 141-pounder Keith Poloskey (Springfield College) and 149-pounder Lenny Baker (SUNY-Brockport) who are both ranked second in the most recent rankings. Poloskey is a two-time All-American and Baker was the NCAA Champion at 141 pounds in 2001. Also ranked at 149 pounds is two-time All-American from Messiah Andy Vogel, who is 3rd in the latest rankings. SUNY Brockport has four other wrestlers ranked in the latest rankings: Dan Roberts 4th at 133, Kris Harrington 4th at 141, Dan Favro 3rd at 174, and Tevon Fordyce 8th at 184. Favro was an All-American in 2002. Returning All-American from Washington and Jefferson Kevin DeJulius is ranked 8th at 133. Messiah College also has Ben Ewig ranked 8th at 125 pounds.
Wrestling begins on Friday, Dec. 6th at Noon with the Pig-tail and Preliminary round matches. The Quarterfinals and Consolations through to the Consolation Semi-Finals will be wrestled Friday night starting at 6pm. Wrestling will start at 9am on Saturday, Dec. 7th with the Semifinals, Finals and all remaining Consolation matches. Complete results throughout the tournament can be found at http://www.messiah.edu/sports/wrestlin/main.html