Flames 141-pound senior Garrett Good finished 4-0 over the weekend in the Virginia Duals including a 4-1 decision over Marymount (Va.) University's Temuujin Erdenetuya. (Photos by Robert Leek)
Men’s wrestlers finish 2-2, settle for 11th place at 44th Virginia Duals
1/11/2025 8:53:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
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Liberty bounced back from losses to Frostburg (Md.) State and Marymount (Va.) with wins over Buena Vista (Iowa) and Coker (S.C.) Friday and Saturday in Hampton, Va.
Fresh off of a shortened Christmas Break, Liberty University's men's wrestling team opened spring semester competition with mixed results at Friday's and Saturday's Virginia Duals at the Hampton Coliseum. The Flames settled for 11th place out of 19 teams in the American College Division, dominating the 11th-place match against Coker (S.C.) University, 32-13, to end the tournament on a winning note.
"Our last match against Coker University, an NCAA Division II program, was sort of redemption after what I felt was not the best overall performance," Liberty Head Coach Jesse Castro said. "We have a lot of work cut out for us. Fortunately, we got better as the evening progressed."
The Flames opened the 44th annual event with a lopsided loss to Frostburg State (Md.) University, with sophomore Aiden Scheeringa's 15-0 technical fall over Nate Wilhelm at 125 pounds providing a promising start to a 34-11 setback. Decisions by a pair of seniors — Garrett Good at 141 and Gabe Hayes at 197 — accounted for Liberty's final six points. Good and Hayes both finished 4-0 in the tournament, with both picking up one win by forfeit. Flames 197-pound senior Gabe Hayes finished 4-0 in the two-day tournament with one fall and one win by forfeit.
"Garrett Good, a senior, had a stellar weekend and our other upperclassmen, including Gabe Hayes and (junior heavyweight) Wade Wheeler, stepped up," Castro said.
In its consolation bracket first-round match against Buena Vista (Iowa) University, the Flames bounced back with a 32-18 triumph, sparked by 157-pound freshman Matox Allen's 17-1 technical fall win over Jaxon Mikolyzk and back-to-back pins by Hayes over Reise Davis in 5 minutes, 39 seconds and Wheeler over Colton O'Hern in 39 seconds.
Decisions by Good, 165-pound junior Josiah Foss, and Hayes offered the only glimmers of hope for Liberty in a 32-9 defeat at the hands of Marymount (Va.) University, before the Flames closed out the competition with a solid showing against Coker.
"They came together that last match after I had the captains talk with the team," Castro said.
Scheeringa started that match by pinning Corey Gallivan in 5:27 before Wheeler ended it with a 17-1 technical fall of Kevin Mood. In between, 133-pound freshman Blaise Verdino, Good, and 149-pound sophomore Lucas Viana scored decisions and 174-pound junior Syler Weber and Hayes received forfeits. Complete results are available online.
Liberty returns to action this Thursday at 6 p.m. with its only home dual meet of the season against West Virginia Tech in the LaHaye Multipurpose Center.
Flames freshman 133-pound wrestler Blaise Verdino picks up Marymount's Joseph Custodio, who earned a 9-4 decision Saturday. Frostburg State (Md.) University 34, Liberty 11 125: Aiden Scheeringa (L) t.f. Nate Wilhelm,15-0; 133: Garhett Dickenson (FS) d. Blaise Verdino, 4-3; 141: Garrett Good (L) d. Dylan Montgomery 4-1; 149: Gage Heilbrun (FS) p. Lucas Viana 1:58; 157: John D'Amico (FS) t.f. Matox Allen, 17-2; 165: John Reho (FS) m.d. Josiah Foss, 16-2; 174: Owen Butler (FS) t.f. Ronald Black, 15-0; 184: Andrew Wolfanger (FS) t.f. Paul Moore,18-2; 197: Gabriel Hayes (L) d. Alex Hoy, 8-7; 285: William Longhurst (FS) p. Josh Hermann, 1:46.
Liberty 32, Buena Vista (Iowa) University 18 125: Tyler Japp (BV) t.f. Aidan Cali, 19-1; 133: Verdino (L) d. Nolan Nguyen, 8-3; 141: Good (L), by forfeit; 149: Hayden Stout (BV) m.d. Viana, 11-1; 157: Allen (L) t.f. Jaxon Mikolyzk, 17-1; 165: Aiden Kirk (BV) p. Jordan Scott, 3:28; 174: Syler Weber (L), by forfeit; 184: Trevor Kruse (BV) d. Moore, 3-2; 197: Hayes (Liberty) p. Reise Davis, 5:39; 285: Wade Wheeler (L) p. Colton O'Hern, 0:39.
Marymount (Va.) University 32, Liberty 9 125: Ian Morales (M) m.d. Scheeringa, 13-5; 133: Joseph Custodio (M) d. Verdino, 9-4; 141: Good (L) d. Temuujin Erdenetuya, 4-1; 149: Mateo Hernandez (M) p. Viana, 2:06; 157: Tallion Elliott (M) p. Allen, 1:25; 165: Foss (L) d. Xavier Castaneda, 8-5; 174: Julian Schott (M) m.d. Weber, 9-1; 184: Rylan Moose (M) m.d. Moore (Liberty), 13-4; 197: Hayes (L) d. Joseph Redden, 5-1; 285: Edgar Lagos (M) t.f. Carson Meadows, 19-3.
Liberty 32, Coker (S.C.) University 13 125: Scheeringa (L) p. Corey Gallivan, 5:27; 133: Verdino (L) d. Weston Bare, 5-1; 141: Good (L) d. Frank Bianco, 8-6; 149: Viana (L) d. Rucker Beck, 12-7; 157: Noah Korenoski (C) p. Allen, 3:47; 165: Austin Collins (C) m.d. Josiah Foss, 11-1; 174: Weber (L), by forfeit; 184: Cephus Deas (C) d. Moore, 7-2; 197: Hayes (L), by forfeit; 285: Wheeler (L) t.f. Kevin Mood, 17-1. Record: Liberty (5-6)
