Disc golf team opens season with split squads in Kansas, at Eastern Mennonite

Saturday, November 15

Kansas City, MO

8:00 AM

Liberty University Club Sports

Kansas Disc Golf Tournament

Disc golf team opens season with split squads in Kansas, at Eastern Mennonite

11/25/2025 10:36:00 PM | Disc Golf

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The Flames’ top two Division I men’s teams finished tied for first and fourth at the Mid-Atlantic Championships in Kansas, while the Lady Flames’ returning national championship tandem placed first in Harrisonburg.

A two-stroke penalty against host Emporia State University's first flight team in the final round of doubles play moved Liberty University's men's Division I Red disc golf team from second place, two strokes back, into a tie for first place out of more than 15 teams at the Nov. 15-16 Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships in Emporia, Kansas.

Complete results are available on the PDGA website.

"Our guys showed up that weekend, and we got our bid for nationals," Flames Head Coach Steve Bowman said. "It was exciting. They were already super pumped after landing in second place, which was good, playing against high-rated players. We're excited about how well everyone worked together, developed their chemistry, and the way they played together."

The Flames' Red team, which featured graduate Jonah Burdick as its top-rated player, complemented by sophomore Addison Sells, freshman Tyler Peterson, and senior Kyle Sennett, placed first with a combined score of 28-under 162.

"Jonah (Burdick) was playing really good doubles against Minnesota, and the other guys (on the Blue team) were hanging with Oklahoma and Emporia, which played a great last three holes to take a two-shot lead on us," Bowman said.

In men's singles division play, Sennett finished in a three-way tie for third place out of 51 players with his 10-under total of 51. Freshman John Wakimura — who played on the Flames' Blue team, which finished fourth among Division I men's teams at 22-under 168 — placed sixth with his 9-under 52.

Emporia features the highest-ranked individual player in the country, Carter Ahens (1,024). Liberty's Blue team, led by Wakimura, graduate John Weathersby, junior Andrew Hathaway, and freshman Casey Stoope, finished in a three-way tie with Emporia and the University of Wisconsin Madison's A team for first place after the first round with a 56.

That was one stroke in front of Liberty's Red team, which tied Emporia with second- and third-round totals of 51 and 54. Liberty's Blue team fired a 49 in the second round before struggling on the final day with a 63 that left it in fourth place, three strokes behind Oklahoma Christian's A team (165).

"We feel good about both teams being in the top four all weekend," Bowman said, noting both Liberty teams received two of the three national bids as Emporia had already qualified. "We're in a good spot. We have three freshmen among those top eight, and they all played well together, showing they are able to handle that pressure."

Meanwhile, two Lady Flames tandems finished first and fourth, respectively, in a Blue Ridge Conference event, the Nov. 15-16 Royals Fall Classic, hosted by Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va. Liberty also sent two of its men's Division III teams to that event, where competition included the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State, Appalachian State, and host EMU.

"That was one of the first times we've had two different teams in two different events," Bowman said, noting both tournaments held singles and doubles play on Saturday, followed by a second round of doubles on Sunday.

The reigning CDG women's Division I national champions, Cami Burdick and fellow graduate Grace Wilson, finished first at 13-under 158 while senior Bethanne Castiglione and graduate Gracie Hall combined for a fourth-place showing at 199.

In singles play, Burdick and Wilson finished first and second, respectively, out of 10 players at 3-under 52 and even-par 55.

Complete results are posted on the PDGA website.

Three Liberty men's players, senior Mitchell Lange, graduate Zach Polignone, and Sells competed in the amateur divisions, and the coaches and several other players volunteered in a variety of roles at the PDGA World Cup at New London Tech and Ivy Hill Golf Course in mid-October. Those are two of the same courses Liberty will likely use March 7-8 for its annual Flamethrower National Qualifier set for, along with its East Campus and Hydaway Outdoor Center courses.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Photos courtesy of Roy Wakimura