Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Flames wrestlers enjoy dominant opening day at NCWA Grand Nationals
3/10/2023 12:04:22 AM | Men's Wrestling
Shooting for a record fifth consecutive NCWA Grand National championship, Liberty University’s men’s wrestling team jumped out to a fast start on Thursday’s opening day of the tournament, held for the first time at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan, where a record 613 men's and women's wrestlers are gathered for the 26th annual three-day event.
The Flames advanced 12 of their 18 wrestlers into Friday’s championship quarterfinals and racked up 99.5 points to build an early advantage on Grand Valley State (75.5) and Mid-Atlantic Conference rival Apprentice School (73).
“There’s a lot wrestling to do tomorrow, but it was a good first few sessions,” Liberty Head Coach Jesse Castro said, noting that the Flames have six more wrestlers still alive in the consolation rounds. “They’re all important rounds from here, but if they win this (championship quarterfinal) round, they are guaranteed All-American (status for a top-8 finish).”
There is a tight pack in the fourth through eighth positions led by Springfield Tech (Mass., 57) Community College, Grays Harbor (Wash., 56), Washington State (55), Ohio State (53.5), and Bellarmine (Ky., 52.5) University, the team transitioning to NCAA Division I status that ended Liberty’s four-year NCWA National Duals winning streak on Jan. 7.
“Don’t be deceived, they’ve got seven guys that they’re probably going to get through (to Saturday’s championship finals),” Castro said, noting that a highlight of the day for Liberty was freshman Blake Schmitt’s 3-1 upset of Bellarmine’s fifth-seeded Michael Schiffhauer. “It was 1-1 going into overtime and it was a scramble. Fortunately, Blake wrestled through the scramble and came out on top.”
At 125 pounds, Liberty advanced both of its competitors through to Friday’s quarterfinals. Graduate Dante Minnino, a No. 3 seed, pinned Liam Campbell from UMass 3 minutes, 44 seconds into their first-round match before scoring a 12-4 major decision over Tanner Higa from Dubuque (Iowa) reach Friday’s quarterfinal against Apprentice’s Caleb Olgers. Meanwhile, freshman Chase Arnestad pinned Washington State’s Tyson Russell in 2:36 before scoring a 7-5 decision over Treasure Valley (Ore.) Community College’s Avian Martinez to set up a quarterfinal showdown with Bellarmine’s Jack Parker.
Schmitt won his first three matches at 133 pounds to qualify for quarterfinal competition, decking Rowan (N.J.) University’s Lawrence Mendoza in 4:05 before recording a 16-5 major decision over Jeremy Roberts of Grays Harbor and the overtime decision of Schiffhauer to set up a quarterfinal clash with Springfield Tech’s Michael Gonzalez.
Flames second-seeded 149-pound senior Charlie Hudson won his first two matches by first-period fall — over Joe Podolak of Springfield Tech in 1:24 and Rowan’s Kenny Lowry in 1:05 — before scoring a 5-3 decision over Allen (S.C.) University’s Drevon Wallace to earn a quarterfinal match against Central Florida’s Thomas McCane.
At 165, Liberty’s second-seeded senior David Over defeated Dylan Mullen from Slippery Rock (N.Y.), 9-2, before scoring a 16-6 major decision over Clemson’s Isaac Manning to set up a showdown with Apprentice’s Landon Kissell.
Third-seeded 174-pound freshman Zach Kaminsky won his first three matches by technical fall, not surrendering a single point. He blanked Noah Ramadan from Montclair State (N.J.), 15-0, and Ohio State’s Adam Gluck and Derrick Andolsek from Akron (Ohio) by 18-0 scores to advance to a quarterfinal showdown with Florida’s sixth-seeded Riley Hackworth.
At 184, sophomore Gabriel Hayes needed just 13 seconds to pin UConn’s Robert Dejesus before earning a 13-5 major decision over Washington State’s David Darroch to set up a quarterfinal bout with Nicholas Franco from Rutgers (N.J.).
Graduate Josiah Murphy and senior Sean Gillespie both reached the 197-pound quarterfinals. Murphy, one of the Flames’ four top seeds, pinned Anthony Taylor from Ottawa (Ariz.) in 1:24 and Rutgers’ Kareem Othman in 1:01 before scoring a 15-3 major decision over UConn’s Andrew Nanai, setting up a quarterfinal clash with Matthew Micale from West Chester (Pa.). Gillespie sandwiched pins of Rowan’s Adien Sim in 1:34 and Maine Maritime Academy’s Nathan Schobel in 3:39 around a medical forfeit win over Texas Tech’s Joseph Rhyse. Seeded sixth, he will meet No. 3 Matthew Abraham from Toledo next.
The Flames also had two quarterfinal qualifiers at 235 pounds. No. 1-seeded senior Jeff Allen, who is gunning for an NCWA men’s record fourth straight Grand National crown, started off on the right path with a pin of Wayne State (Neb.) College’s Tyler Dawe in 23 seconds followed by an 8-1 decision over Washington State’s Keelan Mitcham to advance to a quarterfinal matchup with Maine Maritime’s Jeffery Worster.
Senior Seth Ellsmore started his day with a 9-0 major decision over Rowan’s Dan Corrigan before scoring an 8-1 decision over Florida A&M’s Amir Burgess and landing a third-period fall over Grand Valley State’s Zac Foote to punch his ticket to the quarterfinals, where he will wrestle Rhode Island’s Ed Wild.
Finally, at heavyweight, Flames top-seeded senior Rick Weaver, a two-time NCWA Grand National champion, pinned Donovan Litteral from Ferris State (Mich.) in 2:02 before recording an 8-2 decision over Penn State’s Elias Khamisy to advance to a quarterfinal bout against Rowan’s Caleb Corrigan.
Complete results are available on FloWrestling.org.
Friday’s weigh-ins are scheduled for 9 a.m. EST before men’s consolation rounds begin at 10 a.m. and women’s preliminary matches at 11 a.m.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
