Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Flames grapple past W.Va. Tech, SVU in rare tri-match
2/3/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Wrestling
Competing in its first tri-match of the season after placing fourth at the Virginia Duals and third at the NCWA National Duals, Liberty University's wrestling team improved to 9-3 with a sweep of West Virginia Tech (31-18) and host Southern Virginia University (48-6) on Wednesday night.
"They're an NCAA Division II team and they're not bad," Liberty Head Coach Jesse Castro said. "We knew it was going to be the better match of the two. We came out a little flat and I didn't like our intensity at the start, but our middle weights shifted the momentum back into our favor after Logan (Smith, a 12-1 winner over Robert Pritt at 141 pounds) put us back on track."
At 165 pounds, Flames sophomore Michael Bryant overcame an early deficit to score a 13-7 victory over the Golden Bears' Corey Palmer.
"He was in a battle and he forced the issue and took a late lead by putting the guy on his back (for a three-point nearfall) and pulled out a nice win," said Castro, who said the highlight of the night for the Flames was junior 174-pound Josh Ferenczy recording two second-period pins — over WVT's Colton Rowe in 4 minutes, 42 seconds and over SVU's Jarod Watts in 4:00.
Southern Virginia forfeited five of the 10 matches on the night, leading to the lopsided final score.
Now the Flames will gear up for Friday's trip to the Messiah Open, their final invitational of the regular season featuring a few NCAA Division I schools, including American, Maryland, and Penn State.
"That'll be a good training tournament to up the ante," Castro said. "Hopefully, our starters will get in four or five matches apiece."
"Messiah's a really tough tournament, open to NCAA Div. I, II, and III schools," added Flames Assistant Coach Chris Williamson, who wrestled at Messiah last season. "We're throwing our starters out for a last test, expecting our top guys to do well and our non-starters to treat it like their championship."
Next Wednesday night, the Flames will host Ferrum College, the No. 23-ranked NCAA Division III team in the country, at the LaHaye Multipurpose Center, where they will roll out their new, extremely large mat, before traveling to Middle Tennessee State for the Feb. 13 Mid-Atlantic Conference tournament.
Liberty 31, West Virginia Tech 18
125: Tristan Bean (WVT) d. Dell Ngonga 7-4
133: Othniel Edmond (WVT) p. Brian DiCesare 3:20
141: Logan Smith (L) m.d. Robert Pritt 12-1
149: Ike Podell (L) by forfeit
157: Conrad Lacey (WVT) p. Jacob Brooks 1:42
165: Michael Bryant (L) d. Corey Palmer, 13-7
174: Josh Ferenczy (L) p. Colton Rowe, 4:42
184: Taylor Westlake (L) by forfeit
197: Terry Nance (WVT) d. Eric Porch 8-4
HWT: Evan Canady (L) p. Jon Boarman, 4:00
Liberty 48, Southern Virginia 6
125: Ngonga (L) by forfeit
133: DiCesare (L) by forfeit
141: Christopher Fletcher (SV) d. Noel Cordero, 7-2
149: Podell (L) by forfeit
157: Brooks (L) p. Travis Tranam, 6:00
165: Josh McIlhenny (L), by forfeit
174: Ferenczy (L) p. Jarod Watts 4:00
184: Westlake (L) p. Nathan Rogers, 6-02
197: Caleb West (SV) d. Porch, 13-10
HWT: Joshua Travers (L), by forfeit
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
