Freshman 157-pound wresler Matox Allen (top) was one of several Flames who made their Flames debuts at Saturday's season-opening tournament in Grantham, Pa. (Photos by Robert Leek)
Men’s wrestlers nab two fourth-place finishes at Messiah Invite
11/2/2024 10:14:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
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Liberty placed seventh out of nine schools, mostly NCAA Division III opponents, at the season-opening tournament.
Facing predominantly NCAA Division III opponents in Saturday's season-opening Messiah Invitational in Grantham, Pa., Liberty University's men's wrestling team placed seventh out of nine teams and had two individual place winners.
The Flames scored 66.5 points to finish behind host Messiah (162.5), Washington & Lee (161), Ursinus (Pa., 121), Elizabethtown (Pa., 115), McDaniel (Md., 110), and Brockport (N.Y., 86.5), and ahead of Johns Hopkins (Md., 58.5) and Wheaton (Ill., 35.5).
"A young Liberty team got baptized by fire in their first tournament of the season today," Liberty Head Coach Jesse Castro said. "It was our first opportunity to see where we are as a team in the context of competition. Though we only placed two wrestlers, senior Gabe Hayes and freshman Drake Bowers, we had some other good performances nonetheless, and the coaching staff is excited to build on the results of this first competition of the year."
Bowers reached his NCAA six-match limit before the consolation semifinal, so he had to forfeit his third-place match and settle for fourth, but still earned a team-high 20 points. He racked up two pins (the last over Johns Hopkins Jake Hoffmann in 6 minutes, 58 seconds), two technical falls (one over junior teammate Josiah Foss), a major decision, and a medical forfeit.
Hayes, meanwhile, competing near his hometown of Mechanicsburg, Pa., also landed in fourth place in his first tournament wrestling up at 197 pounds, adding 13.5 points to Liberty's team total. He won his consolation semifinal match by fall over Ursinus' Jake Gross in 2:19 before losing his third-place bout to Messiah's Sawyer Dereszyski by pin in 2:25.
Flames 125-pound sophomore Aiden Scheeringa went 2-1, winning both of his matches by fall, before dropping out due to sickness. Freshmen Aidan Cali finished 4-2 and Blaise Verdino 3-2 against some strong competition at 125 and 133, respectively. Junior Syler Weber and freshman Ronald Black also went 3-2 at 165 and 174, respectively. Weber landed a technical fall, a pin, and a sudden 10-7 victory over Washington & Lee's Sam Tiger before being eliminated by 14-4 major decision to Messiah's Jared Butler.
Liberty will next send several of its wrestlers to the Cougar Open hosted by Averett University in Danville, Va., on Nov. 10.
By Ted Allen/Staff WriterJosiah Foss earned four team points for the Flames, competing in the 165-pound division at the Messiah Invitational.
