Verdino, Arnestad highlight men’s wrestling team’s showing at Cougar Open

Sunday, November 10

Danville, VA

TBD

Liberty University Club Sports

Cougar Open

Blaise Verdino finished fifth at 133 pounds and Chase Arnestad landed in seventh at 141 pounds at Sunday's Cougar Open in Danville.

Verdino, Arnestad highlight men’s wrestling team’s showing at Cougar Open

11/11/2024 4:45:00 PM | Men's Wrestling

Liberty only sent 15 members of its team to Sunday's tournament, with many projected starters resting up for the upcoming trip to the Life (Ga.) University Open.

Freshman Blaise Verdino finished fifth at 133 pounds and junior Chase Arnestad landed in seventh at 141 to lead 15 members of Liberty University's wrestling team in Sunday's Cougar Open at Averett University in Danville, Va.

After dropping a 7-5 decision in his first match of the day against Roanoke College's Elijah Smoot, Verdino won all five matches in the consolation bracket and received a forfeit to finish fifth, starting with a 24-9 technical fall of Randolph College's Zakariya Gurban and a forfeit win over East Stroudsburg's Eugene Donnelly.

He then scored a 16-0 technical fall against East Carolina's Bryson Gresham and pinned Roanoke College's Sean Hall in 3:52 and Averett's Jesse Lemon in 5:47 to advance to the fifth-place final against Roanoke's Michael Policarpio. Verdino defeated Policarpio to secure fifth place and a total of 18.5 team points for the Flames.

Arnestad, meanwhile, overcame a 17-0 technical fall setback in his first-round match against St. Andrews University's David Coptsias — who qualified for last month's Beach Wrestling World Championships in Greece — to pin four different opponents in the consolation bracket, clinching seventh place and 16 team points.

Arnestad only needed 44 seconds to deck Roanoke's Jack MacDonald before dispatching Miles Williams in 2:01 and Roanoke's Jake Yowell in 2:04. Shenandoah University's Sean Rinebolt knocked Arnestad into the seventh-place bout by pinning him in 4:35 before he ended his night on a winning note with a 46-second pin of Roanoke's Alex Choi.

Head Coach Jesse Castro didn't send many of its other starting wrestlers to Danville, opting to let them rest in preparation for the upcoming Life (Ga.) University Open on Nov. 23 before ending the fall semester at the Rocky Top Duals on Dec. 14 in Gatlinburg, Tenn., and the Chocolate Duals on Dec. 21 in Hershey, Pa.