Flames sophomore Josiah Foss ducks under to try to score a takedown against eventual tournament champion Alvenia. (Photos by Robert Leek)
Flames wrestlers place sixth out of 16 teams at 43rd annual Virginia Duals
1/13/2024 10:31:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
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Liberty went 2-2 for the tournament, including 1-1 against NCAA Division II and Division III programs, to repeat its finish from last season.
In Saturday's second and final day of the 43rd annual Virginia Duals at Hampton Coliseum, Liberty University's men's wrestling team erased an early 16-0 deficit to stage a dramatic 29-22 victory over Centenary (N.J.) University in the consolation semifinals.
That triumph sent the Flames to the fifth-place final against King (Tenn.) University, an NCAA Division II opponent, which won, 29-18, as Liberty repeated its sixth-place showing from last year in the American College division.
Flames 149-pound senior Garrett Good grabs the leg of Centenary's Aaron Briscoe.
"That was a very competitive tournament for us," Liberty Head Coach Jesse Castro said. "We needed that. It was a bigger tournament than last year with 16 teams. Why I like it is there are a lot of different schools from different areas, including three NCWA teams. This tournament is very important to us, being in the state of Virginia. It is a great recruiting tool for us with three divisions of high school teams (competing)."
Against Centenary, the Flames lost two of their first three matches to the Gents by technical fall and the other by pin to dig themselves an early hole before winning six of their final seven matches, including pins by graduate 157-pound wrestler Reid Stewart, 165-pound senior David Over, and senior heavyweight Wade Wheeler after 184-pound senior Timothy Goddard and 197-pound graduate Josiah Murphy both won by major decision.
Josiah Murphy bounced back from his first loss to win his last two.
"Hats off to Murphy, who probably had the toughest tournament of any of our wrestlers," Castro said. "He lost to the No. 2 nationally ranked kid from Alvernia, his first loss of the year, and came back and beat the No. 11-ranked kid from Centenary. It was a very tough weight class but he needed that and he had a very respectable showing."
On Friday, the Flames split their two matches, defeating NCAA Division II Frostburg (Md.) State University, 28-13, before giving up four technical falls and one pin in a 36-11 loss to Alvernia (Pa.) College, the eventual tournament champion ranked 8th in NCAA Division III in tournaments and 13th in duals.
Liberty has two weeks before its next tournament, when it will send mostly its reserve wrestlers to Virginia Beach to compete in the Sword and Hammer Invitational. Graduate heavyweight Wade Wheeler won two of his three matches this weekend by fall, clinching Liberty's win over Centenary University. Friday's first round Liberty 28, Frostburg State University 13 125: Aiden Scheeringa (Lib) d. Alex Bellarin, 6-4; 133: Thierno Diallo (FSU) t.f. Walker Chambers, 18-0; 141: Jakob Brown (Lib) m.d. Logan Intrieri, 11-0; 149: Gage Heilbrun (FSU) d. Garrett Good, 5-1; 157: Reid Stewart (Liberty) d. Mason Buckler, 2-0; 165: David Over (Lib) t.f. Liam Debaugh, 19-4; 174: Zach Kaminski (Lib) p. Duncan Kammar, 0:24; 184: Timothy Goddard (Lib) d. Nick McCarthy, 6-3; 197: Carder Miller (Lib) m.d. William Applegarth, 14-6; 285: Gabriel Elfiky (FSU) t.f. Josh Hermann, 18-3.
Championship quarterfinals Alvernia 36, Liberty 11 125: Keito Shaw (Alv) m.d. Scheeringa, 14-6; 133: Anthony Portillo (Alv) t.f. Chambers, 16-1; 141: Avery Leonard (Alv) t.f. Blake Schmitt, 15-0; 149: Brandon Flores-Salazar (Alv) d. Good, 4-1; 157: Jason Rezac (Alv) p. Stewart, 1:55; 165: Matt Lackman (Alv) t.f. Josiah Foss, 17-0; 174: James Circle (Alv) t.f. Syler Weber, 15-0; 184: Gabriel Hayes (Lib) t.f. Daniel Schweitzer, 18-3; 197: Mauro Pellot (Alv) d. Josiah Murphy, 6-3; 285: Wade Wheeler (Lib) p. Aiden Homan, 2:42.
Saturday's Consolation semifinals Liberty 29, Centenary University 22 125: Jack Thode (CU) t.f. Scheeringa, 20-5; 133: Daniel Haws (CU) p. Chambers, 1:12; 141: Xavier Pena (CU) t.f. Brown, 16-1; 149: Good (Lib) d. Aaron Briscoe, 4-2; 157: Stewart (Lib) p. Mark Venson, 4:22; 165: Over (Lib) p. Tim Pawlicki, 1:46; 174: Hunter Cleaver (CU) p. Kaminski, 3:39; 184: Goddard (Lib) m.d. Aaron Llanas, 9-0; 197: Murphy (Lib) m.d. Keevon Berry, 12-4; 285: Wheeler (Lib) p. Arik Hums, 3:44.
Fifth-place final King University 29, Liberty 18 125: Scheeringa (Lib) p. Tyson Upchurch, 0:58; 133: Preston Soriano (King) t.f. Chambers, 18-2; 141: Nico Crosnoe (King) m.d. Brown, 13-4; 149: Demetri Teddlie (King) t.f. Schmitt (Liberty), 21-4; 157: Stewart (Lib) m.d. Brennan Watkins, 10-0; 165: Trent Mahoney (King) p. Over, 3:50; 174: Kaminski (Lib) t.f. Ethan Narro, 15-0; 184: Clinton Morrisette (King) p. Hayes, 3:50; 197: Murphy (Lib) d. Ethan Lopez, 11-7; 285: Jacob Telles (King) d. Wheeler, 4-1.
