Anthony Matas won the 174-pound title to lead the Misericordia University men's wrestling team to a third-place finish at the MAC Championships, Saturday at Messiah.

Matas became the first MAC champion the two-year history of the MU program and was joined on the podium by seven other place-winners.

The Cougars had 109.5 points to finish behind Messiah and Stevens.

Michael Williams finished second at 149 while Robbie Anderson (184) and Aiden Hidlay (285) both finished third.

Jaydin Barreto was fourth at 125 and Kruz McCusker was fifth at 133 while Nikosh Marston (141) and Chase Stephen (157) were both sixth.

The top seed at 174, Matas took an early lead in his opening bout before advancing on a medical forfeit.  He followed with a 16-1 technical fall and a 13-1 major decision to reach the finals.

In the championship bout, Matas knocked off second-seeded Andrew Kozubal of Messiah, 5-0.

Matas countered a shot midway through the first period and turned the scramble into a double-leg takedown with 1:30 left in the first period.

Matas picked up a quick escape to open the second period and used a tight-waist and a cross body ride to maintain control throughout the third period.

Williams, the second seed at 149, opened with a 7-1 win and picked up three takedowns in the second period before winning by fall in the quarterfinals. 

He got an early takedown and made it stand up in a 4-2 win over second-seeded Chance Babb in the semifinals before losing by tech. fall in the title match.

Anderson won his first two matches at 184 before losing to top-seeded Hayden McLellan of Alvernia in the semifinals.  He won two straight consolation matches to finish third.

After dropping a major decision to eventual champion Logan Flynn of Arcadia in his first bout, Hidlay won five straight bouts to finish third at 285.

Barreto reached the semifinals but dropped two straight bouts to finish fourth at 125 while Marston lost three straight after reaching the semi's at 141.

McCusker won his first three bouts in the consolation bracket to finish fifth at 133.

Stephen medically forfeited his last two bouts to finish sixth at 157.