GRANTHAM, PA – Jacob Pomykata placed fourth at 285 and Connor Powell (165), Freddy Pimental (157) and Giorgio Difalco (149) added top-six finishes to lead the way for the Johns Hopkins wrestling team at the season-opening Messiah Invitational on Saturday.
 
Pomykata went 4-2 on the day to earn his fourth-place finish.  He scored three consecutive wins by pin, including one in just 96 seconds, before falling in the semifinals by decision to top-seeded Logan Flynn of Arcadia. He then grabbed a win by medical forfeit in the consolation semifinal before McDaniel's Kaden Bryan scored a third-period pin in the third-place match to end his day.
 
Powell also advanced to the semifinals with three consecutive wins – two by fall and one by major decision – before falling to top-seeded and eventual champion Kyle Demarest of Messiah.  He dropped a major decision in the consolation semifinals to move into the fifth-place match, where he Drew Washington & Lee's Devin Sweeney, who was unable to wrestle the match due to the NCAA limit on bouts in a single day.  Powell had defeated Sweeney, 12-3, in the quarterfinals earlier in the day.
 
Like Pomykata and Powell, Pimental opened with three consecutive wins, including two by technical fall and one by pin, to advance to the semifinals, where he dropped a tough 8-4 decision to Messiah's Clay Gainer.  Gainer used an escape and takedown in the third period and a point of riding time to secure the win.  Pimental then fell in the consolation semifinals before grabbing fifth, like Powell, when his opponent, Braden Kmak of Ursinus, was unable to wrestle due to the NCAA single-day bout limit.
 
Difalco went 4-2 with three decisions and major decision to his credit.  He won his first two bouts on the championship side of the bracket and added two more wins after being bounced to the consolation bracket.  He was unable to wrestle the fifth-place match against Messiah Dalton Monger as he had already wrestled six times on the day.
 
Other highlights for the Blue Jays on Saturday included:
• Graduate student Rob Moretz (184) posted a 3-2 record with all three wins by technical fall.  He fell win shy of earning a top-six finish.
 
• Freshman Tavian Melvin (125) went 2-2 in his Blue Jay debut with one win by decision and another by technical fall.
 
• Max Apsel (141) went 2-2 with a pair of bonus-point wins to his credit with one technical fall and one major decision.
 
• Eric Gendlin (157) finished 2-2 on the day with a pair of wins by decision.
 
What's Next
The Blue Jays will return to action on Saturday, November 8, when they travel to Ursinus to participate in the Racich Rumble.