Flames wrestlers go 3-3, win fifth-place final at Blithe Duals in Michigan

Saturday, December 2

Grand Rapids, MI

10:00 AM

Liberty University Club Sports

Blithe Duals

Graduate students Josiah Murphy (left) and Reid Stewart both finished 5-0 over the weekend to help the Flames place fifth. (Photos by Chase Gyles)

Flames wrestlers go 3-3, win fifth-place final at Blithe Duals in Michigan

12/3/2023 12:27:00 AM | Men's Wrestling

Liberty graduate 197-pound wrestler Josiah Murphy and 157-pounder Reid Stewart went 4-0 and 5-0 in their respective weight classes to lead the Flames.

Liberty University's men's wrestling team finished fifth out of 12 teams in Friday's and Saturday's Blithe Memorial Duals, hosted by Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Mich.

"This tournament has a very special meaning to me due to it being named after my late grandson whom we lost at birth," Flames Head Coach Jesse Castro said noting that Blithe was the son of Cornerstone Head Coach Chris Williamson, his son-in-law who formerly served as assistant coach at Liberty.

Castro said the tournament field was a step up from last year's eight-team draw, and that the Flames lost to both the eventual champion and runner-up team.

"Going 3-3 on the weekend to earn fifth place out of 12 teams was a fair indicator to where we are as a team right now," he said.

Liberty opened dual competition in Pool C with a 33-11 victory over Wheaton (Ill.) College before finishing runner-up to Grand Valley State (Mich.) University after Friday's 28-15 setback.
The top two teams out of each of the four three-team brackets advanced to the championship bracket, where the Flames again finished with a .500 record, winning two matches and losing two others.

Both Liberty and host Cornerstone were dominated in the first round of bracket duals, with the Flames falling to Campbellsville (Ky.) University — the fifth-ranked team in NAIA and the eventual tournament champion — 47-3, and the Golden Eagles beaten by the No. 3-ranked NCAA Division III team, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 37-22.

Liberty then overcame an early 10-0 deficit by winning five of the next six matches, including a pin by senior 165-pounder David Over, to edge Cornerstone, 23-17. The Flames advanced to a consolation semifinal match against Albion (Mich.) College, which prevailed, 33-15, before overcoming St. Ambrose (Iowa) University in the fifth-place final, 31-14, sparked by pins from graduate Reid Stewart (157 pounds), senior Garrett Good (149), and sophomores Zach Kaminski (184) and Wade Wheeler (285).

Stewart went 5-0 and Josiah Murphy (197) finished 4-0 over the two-day tournament in their respective weight classes while two freshmen, Carder Miller (2-0 at 197) and Jahleel Armstrong (4-1 at 133) also posted strong individual showings.

Following this week's finals in Lynchburg, Va., Liberty will have an action-packed Christmas Break, including a trip to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for the Citrus Classic on Dec. 29-30, before facing its biggest dual meet challenges of the season back-to-back at the Jan. 5-6 NCWA National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and the Jan. 12-13 Virginia Duals at the Hampton Coliseum.

Blithe Duals Pool Matches
Liberty 33, Wheaton 11
125: Brendan Johnston (W) t.f. Aiden Scheeringa, 18-3; 133: Jahleel Armstrong (L) d. Anthony Zamora, 5-4; 141: Jakob Brown (L) p. Aidan Laird, 6:08; 149: Cale Coppess (W) d. Garrett Good, 5-2; 157: Reid Stewart (L) m.d. Taggart Kazmierczak, 11-3; 165: David Over (L) p. Daniel Thaler, 1:44; 174: Jacob Kraker (W) d. Syler Weber, 14-7; 184: Zach Kaminski (L) t.f. Sean King, 18-1; 197: Josiah Murphy (L) d. Jackson Punzel, 8-6; 285: Wade Wheeler (L) p. Joseph Kruse, 0:41.

Grand Valley State 28, Liberty 15
125: Zack Lovell (L) t.f. Preston Sokolowski, 15-0; 133: Collin Twigg (GV) m.d. Armstrong, 18-7; 141: Jak Keller (GV) m.d. Blake Schmidt, 11-1; 149: Eran Marx (GV) d. Good, 10-3; 157: Stewart (L) m.d. Caden Jacobs, 13-5; 165: Trammel Robinson (GV) d. Over, 9-4; 174: Joshua Kenny (GV) t.f. Weber, 15-0; 184: Seth Konynenbelt (GV) d. Kaminski, 4-0; 197: Murphy (L) by forfeit; 285: Owen Hawley (GV) p. Wheeler, 3:42.

Championship bracket
Campbellsville 47, Liberty 3
125: Izaeah Beavers (C) t.f. Scheeringa, 28-8; 133: Troy Kennedy (C) m.d. Chase Arnestad, 14-3; 141: Nicholas Yancey (C) m.d. Schmidt, 19-4; 149: Jose Milord (C) m.d. Good, 16-6; 157: Antwuan Burns (C) t.f. Connor McCann, 21-6; 165: Shadrick Slone (C) p. Over, 5:15; 174: Gabe Martinez (C) p. Weber, 4:58; 184: Kiernan Sherwood (C) p. Kaminski, 4:42; 197: Murphy (L) d. Samuel Bertin, 9-3; 285: Gabe Craig (C) p. Wheeler, 4:52.

Liberty 23, Cornerstone 17
125: Trevor Marsman (C) m.d. Scheeringa, 12-0; 133: Devan Johnson (C) d. Armstrong, 4-2; 141: Ian Boden (C) d. Schmidt, 10-5; 149: Good (L) t.f. Luke Jaworski, 15-0; 157: Stewart (L) d. Thade Radosa, 4-0; 165: Joseph Lashuay (C) m.d. Jordan Scott, 12-3; 174: Over (L) p. Cooper Mansfield, 4:18; 184: Kaminski (L) t.f. Brady Heckathorn, 17-1; 197: Murphy (L) m.d. Jackson Turner, 16-6; 285: Sterling McLaughlin (C) d. Wheeler, 4-1.

Albion College 33, Liberty 15
125: Cade Odrobina (A) d. Scheeringa, 20-14; 133: Armstrong (L) t.f. Jeremy Sarter, 15-0; 141: Austin Matheney (A) t.f. Schmidt, 20-5; 149: Max Honiss (A) m.d. Good, 12-4; 157: Stewart (L) t.f. Justin Gorman, 17-0; 165: Peyton Brooks (A) p. Over, 4:08; 174: Jack Smith (A) p. Christopher Harbin, 1:06; 184: Owen McDaniel (A) m.d. Kaminski, 10-2; 197: Carder Miller (L) p. Bode Brown, 0:24; 285: Christopher Krum (A) t.f. Josh Hermann, 20-3.

Fifth-place final
Liberty 31, St. Ambrose 14
125: Steele Dias (SA) d. Scheeringa, 10-3; 133: Armstrong (L) m.d. Isaac Martinez, 12-3; 141: Guiseppe Guerra (SA) d. Schmidt, 6-4; 149: Good (L) p. Reese Finch, 1:53; 157: Stewart (L) p. Slade Dias 2:27; 165: Diego Machado (SA) d. Over, 9-6; 174: Jayden Terronez (SA), by forfeit; 184: Kaminski (L) p. Dylan Meiners, 3:30; 197: Miller (L) d. Tyreese Johnson, 18-13; 285: Wheeler (L) p. Jeremiah Morris, 0:37.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer