Flames wrestlers in Puerto Rico to challenge for fifth straight NCWA Grand National crown
3/8/2023 1:45:50 PM | Women's Wrestling, Men's Wrestling
As it contends for a fifth consecutive NCWA Grand National Championships team title this Thursday through Saturday in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Liberty University’s men’s wrestling team will have four No. 1 seeded, defending champions in the field.
That includes senior 235-pounder Jeff Allen (25-2), the four-time Mid-Atlantic Conference champion who will be challenging for a record fourth consecutive NCWA men’s title to tie Head Coach Jesse Castro, who won four NCCAA national crowns from 1977-81, for the most in program history. Former Lady Flames wrestler and current Assistant Coach Cendall (Manley) Murphy became the first NCWA women’s four-time national champion in 2020.
Her husband, graduate Josiah Murphy, will be vying for his second NCWA crown at 197 pounds, as will 157-pound senior Ian McIlhenny, younger brother of Flames Assistant Coach Josh McIlhenny. Meanwhile, senior heavyweight Rick Weaver (18-1), Liberty’s fourth No. 1 seed, will look to cap his career with a third consecutive NCWA championship belt.
“Having four No. 1 seeds helps, but the guys have got to go out and earn it,” Castro said. “They’re in a good position.”
Liberty has a total of 18 men’s wrestlers competing in Puerto Rico, with two contestants in seven of the 11 weight classes — all but 133, 141, 149, and 157 — including 125 and 165 pounds, where graduate Dante Minnino and senior David Over are seeded second, and 174, where freshman Zachary Kaminski and senior Ethan Martin are seeded third and fourth, respectively.
Bellarmine (Ky.) University, which is competing in the NCWA this year as it transitions to the NCAA Division I level next year, ended Liberty’s four-year run as NCWA National Dual champions by defeating the Flames, 29-21 in the final held Jan. 7 in Louisville, Ky.
“We’ve had some drag-out fights with (Mid-Atlantic Conference rival) Apprentice School over the years, but Bellarmine’s a different animal,” Castro said.
The Knights, who finished second to Grand Valley State at their conference tournament as they sat out three wrestlers with injuries, also received four No. 1 seeds — at 125, 149, 165, and 174 pounds. They earned 16 bonus points for this week’s tournament by winning the NCWA National Duals, one more than runner-up Liberty’s 15. However, they will not have the depth that the Flames bring to Puerto Rico.
“As a transitional team, it is only allowed to bring one per weight class, whereas we can have two but only can score one,” Castro said.
On the women’s side, the Lady Flames have a record nine national qualifiers, including junior captain Maile Ka’ahauni, a returning NCWA All-American who is seeded No. 1 at 170 pounds.
Complete brackets are available online.
In all, the Flames and Lady Flames have 29 wrestlers (including two men’s alternates) and six coaches (four men’s and four women’s) on hand as the tournament is held for the first time outside of the continental United States, in the Puerto Rico Convention Center.
“It’s definitely different,” Castro said. “San Juan doesn’t have the amenities that you do in the mainland and there are a lot of unknowns being in a new place that we are not sure of from a logistics standpoint.”
There will be a total of seven collegiate programs from Puerto Rico represented — the University of Puerto Rico’s satellite campuses in Arecibo, Humacao (men and women), Mayaguez, and Rio Piedras, as well as Interamerican University of Puerto Rico and Ana G Mendez University — which will have to make the adjustment to wrestling folkstyle.
“They do wrestle freestyle normally, so that will be a disadvantage, for sure, having to learn the collegiate rules,” Castro said.
The Flames planned to work out with a run after arriving on Tuesday, when afternoon temperatures were in the 80-degree range, before getting onto the mats on Wednesday.
Competition will start at 9 a.m. EST on Thursday with wrestling continuing through the championship rounds of 32 and 16 and preliminary consolation rounds beginning at 7 p.m. EST. It will start back up on Friday at 8 a.m. EST with consolation and championship quarterfinals and with semifinals set for 5:30 p.m. EST. Women’s preliminaries will begin at 10 a.m. EST Friday with consolations set for 5:30 p.m. EST. On Saturday, the women’s championship finals and men’s consolation finals will start at 12:30 p.m. EST followed by the men’s championship finals at 5 p.m. EST
“It will be grueling,” Castro said.
The tournament will be streamed live by FloWrestling, which will also provide match results.
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer