Men’s wrestlers open season at Messiah Invitational before traveling to Cougar Open in Danville this weekend

Saturday, November 1

Mechanicsburg, PA

8:00 AM

Liberty University Club Sports

Messiah University

Liberty's men's wrestling team, led by Head Coach Chris Williamson (left) and assistant coach Josh McIlhenny (back right) features 32 wrestlers with 12 of those being newcomers. (Photos by Travis Clayton)

Men’s wrestlers open season at Messiah Invitational before traveling to Cougar Open in Danville this weekend

11/4/2025 2:18:00 PM | Men's Wrestling

The Flames, under first-year Head Coach Chris Williamson, are undergoing a youth movement that will be baptized by fire for the rest of the fall semester and again in the spring.

Flames All-Americans — Returning All-Americans (from left) Ron Black, Wade Wheeler, Jalen Fyffe, Chase Arnestad, Matox Allen, Drake Bowers, Zach Kaminski

Reloaded with several promising recruits and a few other newcomers, Liberty University's men's wrestling team opened its season Saturday by entering 19 competitors — including 15 underclassmen — into the 10-team Messiah (Pa.) University Invitational at first-year Head Coach Chris Williamson's alma mater.

"We've got a lot of material to work with," Williamson said, noting that freshmen walk-ons Nick Schmucker and Sebastian Cambray, among others, were added through tryouts. "We have 11 or 12 newcomers out of 32 wrestlers on the roster. It's heavy on the young side. We're very young as a team, but I think that's a good thing. We're set up well for the future."

They are following the lead of the Flames' team captains — senior Chase Arnestad, who is redshirting this season, sophomore Matox Allen, and freshman Braden Ewing, a transfer from NCAA Division I Brown University — and Disciple Makers, seniors Jordan Scott and team manager Harrison Hardin, who is on injured reserve.

"We're requiring a lot of the returners, but most of our team is freshmen and sophomores," Williamson said, noting they rose to the challenge against NCAA Division III competition at Messiah, despite not always winning their matches. "I was happy considering the youth and inexperience of this team. The effort was definitely there, and I am excited to see how they build upon that this season. The young guys are going to need to step up and make a difference. We're going to count on them a lot."

Allen, the Flames' only individual champion (at 157 pounds) at last spring's NCWA Grand National Championships near Baton Rouge, La., had the best showing Saturday, finishing 5-1 to place fourth at 165 pounds after reaching his six-match limit and having to forfeit his consolation final match.

"He was a bright spot in a bracket that was a little bit bigger than most," Williamson said, noting Allen lost to Washington & Lee's No. 2-seeded Mark Troni in the quarterfinals before working his way through the consolation rounds. "He placed fourth, but I think he would have won his consolation final against (Justice) Hockenberry-Folk from Elizabethtown."

Two other Liberty sophomores, Paul Moore and Ron Black, both wrestled well at 184 pounds, recording some "good pins and gutsy wins," Williamson said. They would have met in the fifth-place bout, but Williamson pulled Black out of the match to protect him from further straining a lower-body injury.

"Ron is fun to watch," Williamson said, noting he bumped up from 174 pounds, where returning sophomore All-American Drake Bowers will likely bump up from 165 pounds to fill his shoes. "Ron loves to wrestle, and he's really creative. He sees wrestling differently, so he's got an unorthodox style and kind of is always in the match because of that. Wrestling for the first time at this weight, he did well."

Besides returning All-Americans Zach Kaminski at 197 pounds and Wade Wheeler at heavyweight along with fellow senior Josh Herrmann, Ewing has emerged as a force in the upperweight classes. At Messiah, with no 235-pound division as there will be in NCWA tournaments, Ewing excelled at heavyweight despite weighing in at around 225 pounds.

He advanced to the quarterfinals before being forced to withdraw by injury default after aggravating meniscus damage in his left knee that will require arthroscopic surgery over Christmas Break.

"He looked really good all day and only lost to another very good Washington & Lee wrestler (No. 2-seeded, eventual champion Carter Stack) in the quarterfinals," Williamson said.

While senior Jalen Fyffe, another former All-American, anchors Liberty's lightweights at 125 pounds, the Flames entered four freshmen in the 149-pound bracket, where they struggled but gained valuable experience.

"There's a lot of learning and growing they'll all have to do," Williamson said. "They all had good spots. Christian Knuckles had a horrible first match and wasn't in the right frame of mind, but he got better. And Justin Root didn't have a good day, going 0-2, but we're happy with that little burst that we saw. There's a lot left in the tank for all of them, and they're going to get better."

Complete results are available online.

Williamson said the Flames left plenty of room for improvement and will get another chance to test their mettle at this Sunday's Cougar Open at Averett University.

"Overall, we were not satisfied with our performance by any stretch of the imagination," Williamson said. "We've got to get more physical, get tougher as a team. I know the guys saw that, and we're going to get there. We've got to hold each other more accountable. It starts in practice. We've got to challenge ourselves to be way more physical in battle, like we're in a war. Psychologically, we've absolutely got to be tougher. The best wrestlers that we have are strong mentally, they've got strong hearts, and a lot of intestinal fortitude."

Liberty was the only non-NCAA Division III program at Messiah. For this weekend's Cougar Open, a better mix of opposition is expected, with wrestlers from Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia likely to be in the field.

"We had to hold back a few of our guys due to illnesses and injuries," Williamson said of the Messiah Invite. "We'll save them for next week at Averett University. We'll see who's available, who's healthy, and who we want to send down there."

While Liberty was celebrating its Homecoming this past weekend in Lynchburg, Va., Williamson experienced a homecoming of sorts himself, catching up with his former coaches and teammates at Messiah.

"It's always exciting to go back," said Williamson, who spent the past four seasons founding and serving as head coach of Cornerstone University's NAIA wrestling program in Michigan. "I haven't been (to Messiah) in a couple of years, so it was really good to see everybody. I have lot of friends up there, so it was cool."

After serving as an assistant coach at Liberty for four seasons under Head Coach Jesse Castro — who retired over the summer and now serves as a mentor to Club Sports student-athletes and coaches on the Holistic Development staff — Williamson has continued to develop a solid Christian culture in the Flames' wrestling room as he did at Cornerstone.

While he has not developed a mission statement or theme for this year's team, he has instilled in his young wrestlers a drive to overcome adversity through sanctification.

"We've been talking about struggling and being discipled by the Lord and allowing Him to use difficulties in our life to shape us into the people He wants us to be," Williamson said.

Ewing, who is pursuing a B.S. in Christian Leadership & Church Ministries, said the team is focused on the Apostle Paul's charge in Galatians 6:9-10 to "not grow weary in doing good, for in due time, if you do not give up or lose heart, you will reap a reward."

"I love (the Rawlings School of Divinity), and the culture of the wrestling team is awesome, with a lot of solid spiritually-fed guys who are always able to pour into each other with really good conversations after practice, at dinner," he said. "I've seen a lot of guys grow spiritually in the two or three months that we've been training in here. Some may be new to their faith and older guys have taken them under their wing and are discipling them right now, helping them establish spiritual disciplines, staying accountable, getting into the Word, and praying. It's really cool to watch what happens on and off the mat."

As a team captain, he is focused on becoming a leader by example, one that his teammates would want to follow.

"I haven't been very vocal yet, but I'm trying to set the precedent in the weight room and on the mat and after practice," Ewing said. "If there's something that needs to be said, or if there's encouragement that needs to be given, I'll give it."

His aspirations reflect the character and heart of Champions for Christ that Williamson wants to develop in the Flames.

"On the mat, my goal individually is to win a national championship," Ewing said. "As a team, that's our goal, too. But more importantly, rather than looking at accolades, the most important thing for us is effort and discipline. If we can give 100% effort with 100% discipline every time we do something, then we can be happy when we walk off the mat, win or lose."

The Flames' remaining fall schedule will be action-packed. After the Cougar Open, they will travel to the King (Tenn.) University Open on Nov. 16, and the Life (Ga.) University Open on Nov. 22, hosted by the perennial NAIA power, before concluding the semester after their final exams at the Rocky Top Duals in Gatlinburg, Tenn.

Then in the spring semester, the Flames will continue to be tested by fire as they enter the 45th annual Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va., and visit the Apprentice School — which finished second to Life University at last year's NCWA National Duals — for its annual Builder Invitational in January. They will then travel to the NCWA National Duals at Utah Tech University in St. George, Utah, before returning to Messiah University for an Open tournament in February. Finally in the postseason, Liberty will attempt to regain its Mid-Atlantic Conference crown from Apprentice School while qualifying as many wrestlers as possible for the NCWA Grand National Championships in Shreveport, La.

"The only way to get into wrestling shape is to wrestle, and we've been doing a lot of that lately," Williamson said. "We're not where we should be yet (technically), but we've got the whole season to get there."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer