Liberty University Club Sports
LU Tri-Meet
Men’s wrestlers manhandle Golden Bears in season’s final dual match
2/11/2023 5:05:19 PM | Men's Wrestling
In its first home competition of the season, Liberty University’s men’s wrestling team made quick work of West Virginia Tech in a dual meet held Saturday afternoon at the LaHaye Multipurpose Center, taking advantage of four forfeits, one fall, one technical fall, and one injury default to prevail, 42-10.
After Chase Arnestad won the 125-pound bout by forfeit, fellow freshman Blake Schmitt scored a 6-2 decision at 133 and junior Grant Brammer dominated Zack Mullins by 14-2 major decision at 141 to build an early 13-0 Liberty lead.
“Grant Brammer wrestled hard and did a tremendous job as he always does,” senior heavyweight Rick Weaver said.
The Flames extended it to 30-0 with back-to-back forfeits at 149 and 157 before junior Connor McCann won his 165-pound bout by 17-1 technical fall in 4:26. Following West Virginia Tech’s only two victories — Drake Delacruz’s pin of Liberty senior Ethan Martin in 3:39 at 174 and Isaiah Casto’s 8-0 major decision over Flames freshman Jackson Wakeland at 184 — Liberty closed out the match with a forfeit win by Gabe Hayes at 197 pounds and Weaver’s triumph by first-period injury default.
“At the end of the first period, I was trying to get him to come around me, but he wasn’t budging, so I kept yanking his arm and dislocated his elbow,” Weaver said.
Emory & Henry College dropped out of the scheduled tri-match on Thursday due to a bout with stomach flu that was going around its team.
Liberty is the No. 1 team in the regular season’s final NCWA rankings, three points ahead of Bellarmine (Ky.) University, which ended the Flames’ four-year run as NCWA National Dual meet tournament champions on Jan. 7 in Louisville, Ky. Liberty has 22 wrestlers ranked in the top 25 individually, including the No. 1 ranked trio of Weaver and graduates Josiah Murphy at 197 and Jeff Allen at 235. Allen, a three-time national champion, is one win away from establishing the Flames’ all-time record and one national title away from joining Head Coach Jesse Castro in the ranks of four-time national champion. Castro accomplished the feat at the NCCAA level from 1977-81 and Allen will look to break a tie with Austin Amos (2018-20), a three-time champion at the NCWA Division I ranks, when Liberty travels to Puerto Rico for this year’s Grand National tournament. First, the Flames will host the Mid-Atlantic Conference on Feb. 25, seeking a 12th consecutive tournament crown and as many national qualifiers as possible with top-five individual showings.
“It should be fun,” Weaver said. “We need to get at least two guys for each weight class to qualify.”
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
