Graduate 197-pound wrestler Josiah Murphy (left) shares his testimony before being baptized, joined by one of seven other teammates (right) in a ceremony performed by Liberty's coaches. (Photos courtesy of Kyle Jackson)
Eight men’s wrestlers show their commitment to follow Christ by being baptized at Hydaway Lake
9/26/2023 11:57:00 AM | Men's Wrestling
In the midst of preseason training, the Flames ran as a team to witness their teammates' step of faith in the company of their coaches.
Eight members of Liberty University's men's wrestling team — nearly a quarter of its roster — made public professions of their faith on Saturday morning by being baptized by Head Coach Jesse Castro and Assistant Coach Josh McIlhenny at Hydaway Lake.
After completing their workout session from 8-9 a.m. in the Liberty Club Sports Complex weight room, the 32 team members ran more than a mile through the rain on the fire road from the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre to the lake, where Castro and McIlhenny met them after driving the team vans to the Hydaway Outdoor Center. The wrestlers each shared short testimonies on the beach before walking out into the lake to be immersed by their coaches.
"We had four wrestlers who requested to be baptized and then four other guys made a last-minute decision to join them," Castro said. "I am so excited for the team, and so excited to share in that. It clearly was a special time for the whole team, one of those memorable times you will never forget. You can't go through one of these ceremonies and not be changed, to be moved. It kind of spurs you on to good works and to renew your personal commitment to Christ."
Castro said it was the first time he had officiated an event of this nature with members of his team.
"When we wrestled at (NCAA) Division I, we had three or four guys get baptized, but they did it at Thomas Road (Baptist Church) during a service," he said.
The team members making the commitment out of their obedience to Christ included graduate Josiah Murphy, Liberty's head captain this season, sophomores Chase Arnestad, Harrison Harbin, and Syler Weber, and freshmen Gio DeGeorge, Jack Eastman, Tim Goddard, and Dom Picinetti.
The Flames are training five to six days per week in their preparations for the NCWA regular season that starts with the Messiah (Pa.) Invitational on Nov. 4.
"We're less than six weeks from opening our season and we have one more week of preseason workouts, where we're doing a lot of conditioning outside and a lot of lifting, and twice-a-week technical training," Castro said. "We're going to hit it hard after this week."
He said the freshmen, who made up half of those who were baptized, have shown excellent commitment to the program so far as well.
"More than a third of our roster are freshmen and they really are bonding and buying in quickly," Castro said. "We'll see. Whenever we start to pick up and going really hard day in and day out, guys question whether they really want to do this. But for the most part, they're in this for the long haul."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video edited by Bobby Leek
After completing their workout session from 8-9 a.m. in the Liberty Club Sports Complex weight room, the 32 team members ran more than a mile through the rain on the fire road from the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre to the lake, where Castro and McIlhenny met them after driving the team vans to the Hydaway Outdoor Center. The wrestlers each shared short testimonies on the beach before walking out into the lake to be immersed by their coaches.
"We had four wrestlers who requested to be baptized and then four other guys made a last-minute decision to join them," Castro said. "I am so excited for the team, and so excited to share in that. It clearly was a special time for the whole team, one of those memorable times you will never forget. You can't go through one of these ceremonies and not be changed, to be moved. It kind of spurs you on to good works and to renew your personal commitment to Christ."
Castro said it was the first time he had officiated an event of this nature with members of his team.
"When we wrestled at (NCAA) Division I, we had three or four guys get baptized, but they did it at Thomas Road (Baptist Church) during a service," he said.
The team members making the commitment out of their obedience to Christ included graduate Josiah Murphy, Liberty's head captain this season, sophomores Chase Arnestad, Harrison Harbin, and Syler Weber, and freshmen Gio DeGeorge, Jack Eastman, Tim Goddard, and Dom Picinetti.
The Flames are training five to six days per week in their preparations for the NCWA regular season that starts with the Messiah (Pa.) Invitational on Nov. 4.
"We're less than six weeks from opening our season and we have one more week of preseason workouts, where we're doing a lot of conditioning outside and a lot of lifting, and twice-a-week technical training," Castro said. "We're going to hit it hard after this week."
He said the freshmen, who made up half of those who were baptized, have shown excellent commitment to the program so far as well.
"More than a third of our roster are freshmen and they really are bonding and buying in quickly," Castro said. "We'll see. Whenever we start to pick up and going really hard day in and day out, guys question whether they really want to do this. But for the most part, they're in this for the long haul."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video edited by Bobby Leek
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