GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Shenandoah wrestling was back on the mat competing in the Chocolate Duals hosted by Messiah University.  This is the second year the Chocolate Duals have moved back to Grantham, as they were originally hosted at a local high school in Hersey, Pa.  The Hornets would take the second dual of the day beating Penn College by criteria, but would fall in the opening dual to Messiah and the final duel to Johnson and Wales.
 
DUAL 1: Messiah defeats Shenandoah 35-9.
This was the second time Shenandoah had made the trip to Messiah, as the Hornets competed in the Petrofes Invitational back on December 1^st.  A few Hornets and Falcons faced off that day, and today we had a few repeats.  Tyler Ratledge got the better of Anakin Burks in their first meeting with a 14-11 decision.  However, it would be Burks who would get the better of Ratledge in the most recent matchup with Burks picking up the 5-3 decision to give the Hornets an early 3-0 lead.  In the next match, Sean Rinebolt (133) wrestled Caiden Heller with Rinebolt taking the 7-6 decision, after being down 6-0 early.  In a rematch of the Petrofes Invitational 174 championship match, Dylan Weaver and Austin Brass would square off again, and for the second straight time, Weaver would win a tight match this time by a 3-2 decision.  The last time the Hornets and Falcons squared off was in Shenandoah's first-ever dual, a 51-0 loss back in February of 2021.
 
DUAL 2: Shenandoah defeats Penn College 25-24 on criteria.
In the second dual of the afternoon, the Hornets fought back to take a one-point victory over of the Penn College Wildcats.  After the Hornets suffered back-to-back major decisions at 125 and 133 pounds, Shenandoah would pick up their first win of the dual with a 17-10 high-scoring decision from Hunter Ballantine.  Penn College would pick up a major decision at 149 pounds and Shenandoah would be down 12-3 halfway through the match.  Cannon Long picked up a victory via fall in the first period and the Hornets were right back in the dual down 12-9.  Penn College fought back to pick up a pin victory at 165, but then Dylan Weaver would win his second match of the day by decision.  Hunter Thompson won via forfeit at 184, and then George Vrachnos picked up a huge victory via pinfall as the Hornets took a six-point team lead into the final bout.  Penn College once again answered with a pin victory of their own and the match was tied at 24.  The Hornets gained the extra point victory on criteria B which is combined pinfall victories and forfeits.
 
DUAL 3: Johnson and Wales defeats Shenandoah 40-8.
In the final dual of the afternoon, the Hornets would fall to the Wildcats, but the Hornets would score the first two victories of the match starting at 174 pounds.  Dylan Weaver picked up his third victory of the afternoon with a 10-3 decision over Dominic Pugliese.  Hunter Thompson followed that up with a 16-1 tech fall victory over Louis Paradiso.  However, it would be all Wildcats the rest of the way.

EXHIBITION DUAL: Messiah 2 defeats Shenandoah 2 42-6.
In an exhibition match with Messiah, the Hornets would fall to the Falcons by a score of 42-6.  Anakin Burks picked up a fall in the 125-weight class in the first round.  At 149 pounds, Manny Lucas would lose by decision to Levi Synder 8-3.  Xavier Lock was defeated by tech fall at 157.  Christopher Johnson-Hunte at 165 would also lose by tech fall.  In the final two weight classes of the day, Davion Barlow would lose by fall and Robert Keener would drop his match by tech fall.

UP NEXT
That was the final competition of the fall semester, the Hornets will now take a few weeks off before they head to Washington & Lee to participate in their invitational in the new year.

RESULTS
Messiah defeats Shenandoah 35-9.
125 – Anakin Burks (Shen) dec. (5-3) over Tyler Ratledge (Mess)
133 – Sean Rinebolt (Shen) dec. (7-6) over Caiden Heller (Mess)
141 – Josiah Gehr (Mess) pins (3:59) Hunter Ballantine (Shen)
149 – Noah Rice (Mess) tech fall (15-0) over Brendan Orr (Shen)
157 – Clay Gainer (Mess) maj. (14-6) over Cannon Long (Shen)
165 – Zach Needles (Mess) pins (1:00) Dylan Wiegert (Shen)
174 – Dylan Weaver (Shen) dec. (3-2) over Austin Brass (Mess)
184 – Ryder Slayton (Mess) dec. (4-0) over Hunter Thompson (Shen)
197 – Micah Kunkle (Mess) tech fall (23-7) over George Vrachnos (Shen)
285 – Hayden Benner (Mess) pins (4:30) Daniel Basil-Barker (Shen)
 
Shenandoah defeats Penn College 25-24 on criteria.
125 – Luke Heimbach (Penn) maj. (15-6) over Elliot Riveria (Shen)
133 – Kaden Ware (Penn) maj. (16-3) over Sean Rinebolt (Shen)
141 – Hunter Ballantine (Shen) dec. (17-10) over Patrick Snoke (Penn)
149 – TJ Martin (Penn) dec. (4-0) over Brendan Orr (Shen)
157 – Cannon Long (Shen) pins (1:42) Cavin Napoletano (Penn)
165 – Liam Goodrich (Penn) pins (4:26) Dylan Weigert (Shen)
174 – Dylan Weaver (Shen) dec. (9-6) over Travis Green (Penn)
184 – Hunter Thompson (Shen) wins by forfeit
197 – George Vrachnos (Shen) pins (4:03) Gabriel Kennedy-Citeroni (Penn)
285 – Nicholai Brotzman (Penn) pins (:44) Daniel Basil-Barker (Shen)
 
Johnson and Wales defeats Shenandoah 40 – 8.
125 – Harrison Gordon (JWU) maj. (17-3) over Anakin Burks (Shen)
133 – Joziah Fry (JWU) maj. (17-4) over Sean Rinebolt (Shen)
141 – Jake Eckerle (JWU) maj. (15-7) over Hunter Ballantine (Shen)
149 – Jordan Suarez (JWU) pins (1:34) Brendan Orr (Shen)
157 – Thomas DiResta (JWU) maj. (10-2) over Cannon Long (Shen)
165 – Patrick Wisniewski (JWU) pins (2:39) Dylan Weigert (Shen)
174 – Dylan Weaver (Shen) dec. (10-3) over Dominic Pugliese (JWU)
184 – Hunter Thompson (Shen) tech fall (16-1) over Louis Paradiso (JWU)
197 – Dylan Harr (JWU) pins (3:38) George Vrachnos (Shen)
285 – Adolfo Betancu (JWU) pins (:43) Daniel Basil-Barker (Shen)