Disc golfers sweep D1, D2, D3 men’s, women’s divisions at Flamethrower

Saturday, March 16

Lynchburg, VA

Liberty University Club Sports

Liberty Flamethrower Regional Championships

Liberty's Division 1 men's players (from left) Jonah Burdick, Evan Riley, Clayton Lewis,and Tim Schmidt

Disc golfers sweep D1, D2, D3 men’s, women’s divisions at Flamethrower

3/19/2024 10:26:00 PM | Disc Golf

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Liberty had already qualified for the April 3-6 College Disc Golf (CDG) National Championships in Rock Hill, S.C., and used its annual regional tournament in nearby Bedford County as a tune-up.

Disc-golf-Division-2 — The Flames' Division 2 men's lineup featured (from left) Grayson Fortin, Andrew Sherwood, John Weathersby, and Greyson Lifto

For the first time in program history, Liberty University's men's and women's disc golf teams swept the four divisions of Saturday's and Sunday's Flamethrower Regional Championships, as well as all three singles titles.

"We had a good mix and good team dynamics with the upperclassmen playing doubles with the underclassmen," Liberty Head Coach Steve Bowman said.

For the second consecutive spring, the Flamethrower was held on the same courses in Bedford County that will host the 2024 Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) World Championships in August — at New London Tech and Ivy Hill Golf Club in Forest — as well as Independence Park in Bedford for women's and Division 3 men's competition. The home-course advantage at New London, where the Flames often practice, played in Liberty's favor.

"Ivy Hills played really nice with new tee pads down (on the back nine of the golf course)," Bowman said, noting the Flames had not been able to practice on the course due to recent renovations to prep it for the world championships. "We went in blind."

The tournament served as a qualifier for the College Disc Golf (CDG) National Championships set for April 3-6 in Rock Hill, S.C. The Flames and Lady Flames had already qualified based on their showings at last month's Bluegrass Regional Championships hosted by the University of Kentucky.

That left 12 teams vying for three Division 1 national bids from a field that included Appalachian State, Eastern Mennonite, Houghton (N.Y.) University, Michigan, Michigan State, Milligan (Tenn.) University, UNC Chapel Hill, North Carolina State, Ohio University, Ohio State University, Penn State, Taylor (Ind.) University, Temple (Pa.) University, Virginia Tech, Western Carolina, and the College of William & Mary.

In the Division 1 men's play, Liberty senior Clayton Lewis, graduate Tim Schmidt, and sophomores Jonah Burdick and Evan Riley clinched first place over Virginia Tech by shooting a total of 21-under-par for the weekend. Lewis was the combined DI and DII singles champion, carding a 12-under-par 56.

Disc-golf-Division-1 — D3 men's champs (from left) Kaden McInerney, Christian Wilson, Johnny Bennett, and Sam Vilcek

Virginia Tech earned the first nationals bid while Penn State, William & Mary, and Houghton finished in a three-way tie behind the Flames and Hokies. Penn State and William & Mary emerged with the second and third bids after a playoff.

Liberty graduates Grayson Fortin and Andrew Sherwood teamed with Flames juniors Greyson Lifto and John Weathersby to win Division 2 over NC State, firing 10-under-par for the weekend. That was one shot better than Liberty's Division 3 championship tandem of sophomore Johnny Bennett, junior Christian Wilson, and seniors Kaden McInerney and Sam Vilcek, which won by four strokes over Flames senior teammates Graham Clawson and Ian Rankin, juniors Elijah Persson and Ethan Burgin and sophomore Kyle Sennett, with the Wolfpack six strokes back at 1-over par.
Clawson was the D3 singles champion, shooting a 7-under 49.

In the women's division, Liberty graduate Julia DiMartino and senior Presley defeated EMU by combining to fire even par for the weekend. In singles play, DiMartino was the Ladies Champion with her 5-over 61, surpassing her doubles partner with an ace on Hole No. 17 before clinching the win with her birdie on No. 18.