MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — No. 15 Averett University wrestling dropped a highly contested 24-21 decision to No. 20 Messiah College in southeast region wrestling on Saturday. 
 
Averett (10-1) got off to a 5-0 start when senior Sam Braswell (ranked No. 1 in the nation by d3wrestle.com) tech falled Asa Brunk 20-5 to remain unbeaten on the year. 
 
Junior Joseph Jones increased the Cougars advantage to 9-0 with a major decision victory over Hunter Rinehart and senior Brandon Woody (ranked No. 7 in the nation by d3wrestl.com) earned a hard-fought 5-2 victory over Dalton Daugherty to put Averett up 12-0. 
 
Messiah (5-3) got on the board at 149 pounds when Garrett Cornell (ranked No. 9 in the nation by d3wrestle.com) picked up a first period pin over junior Tony Blackman to pull within 11-6. 
 
The Falcons tied the match 12-12 following the 157-pound weight class when Nick Barnhart (receiving votes by d3wrestle.com) made it back-to-back first period fall victories for Messiah. 
 
Freshman Alex Turley put the Cougars back up 15-12 with an impressive 5-2 win by decision over Matt Prangle (ranked No. 5 in the nation by d3wrestle.com) to record arguably his most notable victory in the blue and gold. 
 
Brian Shermeyer (ranked No. 7 in the nation by d3wrestle.com) put the Falcons back up 18-15 with a third period pin over sophomore George Moseley (ranked No. 8 in the nation by d3wrestle.com) in one of the more highly anticipated matches on the afternoon. 
 
Messiah increased its lead to 21-15 with a 6-4 win by decision over freshman Zion Carpenter at 184-pounds and iced the match with a 9-4 decision at 197 pounds over sophomore Billy Baldwin to take a 24-15 edge. 
 
Sophomore Trent Ragland (receiving votes by d3wrestle.com) ended the Cougars dual on a high note when he pinned Carter Urich in the first minute to pull the matchup within 24-21.
 
In exhibition action, freshman Jamar Christian impressed going 2-0 on the afternoon with an 8-3 win by decision over Christian Conner and a 7-3 win over Hayden Benner. 
 
Braswell added to an already astonishing perfect senior campaign with a 13-6 win over Corey Morabito to conclude the Cougars afternoon.
 
Averett returns back to the mat on March 12-13 when it travles to Coralville, Iowa for the NWCA National Championships. 
 
Match-by-match results:
125 Sam Braswell def. Asa Brunk, TF 20-5 7:00
133 Joseph Jones def. Hunter Rinehart, MD 11-2
141 Brandon Woody def. Dalton Daugherty, Dec. 5-2
149 Garrett Cornell def. Tony Blackman, Fall 2:26
157 Nick Barnhart def. Landon Childress, Fall 2:24
165 Alex Turley def. Matt Prangle, Dec. 5-2
174 Brian Shermeyer def. George Moseley, Fall 6:37
184 Dan Swarr def. Zion Carpenter, Dec. 6-4
197 David Stevens def. Billy Baldwin, Dec. 9-4
285 Trent Ragland def. Carter Urich, Fall 0:49
 
Extras:
157-165 John Sumner def. Tommy Baldwin, Dec. 7-1
197-285 Jamar Christian def. Christian Conner, Dec. 8-3
125 Asa Brunk def. Alex Logsdon, Dec. 4-3
141 Nick Nunez def. Kyle Sanders, Fall 6:32
125 Sam Braswell def. Corey Morabito, Dec. 13-6
184 Max Martin def. Nasser McCummings, Dec. 9-2
285 Jamar Christian def. Hayden Benner, Dec. 7-3
157-165 Jake Coniglio def. Tommy Baldwin, Fall 3:39