Lady Flames 131-pound junior June Welch records a takedown on the edge of the mat during Saturday's season-opening Strong & Courageous Women's Duals at the Liberty Football Indoor Practice Facility. (Photos by Savannah Graves)
Lady Flames’ wrestlers open season with three victories at Strong & Courageous Duals
11/13/2026 6:30:00 PM | Women's Wrestling
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The women’s team finished 3-2 at Saturday’s season-opening tournament held in the Liberty Indoor Football Practice Facility.
Liberty University's women's wrestling team opened its 2026-27 season with a 3-2 record at the Strong & Courageous Women Duals this past Saturday at the Liberty Indoor Football Practice Facility, earning victories over East Carolina University, Concord (W.Va.) University, and Virginia Tech.
The Lady Flames began the competition with a 26-8 victory over ECU before dropping a 23-16 decision to Mid-Atlantic Conference rival The Apprentice School from Newport News, Va.. Liberty then fell to cross-town rival Randolph College, 27-21, before responding with a 25-9 victory over Concord and closed the event with a 20-15 win over Virginia Tech. The official prepares to slam the mat as Welch records one of her four pins in Saturday's Liberty Strong & Courageous Duals tournament.
Head Coach Charisse McIlhenny said this competition provided an opportunity to evaluate the team's progress and identify areas that need improvement before conference and NCWA National Duals and NCWA Grand Nationals competition in the spring semester.
"ECU is actually in our league, the NCWA, so it's good to just kind of meet up with them before (the Feb. 12-13 NCWA National Duals at the Liberty Multipurpose Center) and (March 6 Mid-Atlantic Conference Championships at the Liberty Indoor Track & Field Complex)," McIlhenny said of the qualifier for the March 18-20 NCWA Grand Nationals in Bossier City, La. "Our girls came out wrestling well, but definitely need to do some work to make adjustments."
Liberty 180-pound junior Faith Kiefer presses her opponent into submission during one of her three matches that she won by fall.
Liberty's opening victory over ECU featured several strong individual performances. At 131 pounds, Lady Flames junior June Welch pinned the Pirates' Aoife Brown in 2 minutes, 2 seconds before 160-pound junior Faith Kiefer followed with a pin over Carissa Lopez in just 43 seconds. Freshman Natalie Lewis secured an even faster fall against Zaria Reid at 180 pounds, requiring just 27 seconds to pin her back to the mat.
Liberty 117-pound sophomore Julia Silva and 207-pound junior Langley Amiss also contributed victories by forfeit as Liberty established an early advantage.
Against The Apprentice School, Liberty earned individual victories from Welch, Kiefer, sophomore Elizabeth Shoemaker, and Amiss, but the team ultimately fell by seven points as the Builders were able to hold off the Lady Flames down the stretch.
Welch had a strong performance at 131 pounds, pinning Amber Glass in 1:25. Kiefer added another fall at 160 pounds, defeating Ida Pellei in 2:10. Amiss also earned a victory by forfeit at 207 pounds.
McIlhenny said narrow defeats in the dual against The Apprentice School showed the team where small adjustments could make a difference.
"We had a couple close matches that we just need to make some small adjustments and could come out with the win on that," McIlhenny said.
Against Randolph College, Welch and Kiefer recorded their third consecutive pins, with Welch leveling Jaden Kopalchick in 5:44 and Kiefer pinning Madelyn Korvink in 1:50. Lewis also earned a decision victory over Stella Nelson, 8-6, before Amiss pinned heavyweight Sloan Moon in 52 seconds.
The Lady Flames built an early lead against Concord by collecting wins by forfeit from Silva, Shoemaker, and Lewis before Amiss closed out the decisive match victory by adding another fall, decking Lucy Farris in 1:31. Liberty 117-pound sophomore Julia Silva, who finished 3-2 with two forfeits, works for a takedown in one of her three matches on the day.
For Liberty's final match against Virginia Tech, Welch moved up to 138 pounds and pinned Ella Friedman in 1:00. Silva, Lewis and Amiss also earned victories by forfeit.
Welch finished the event with a 5-0 individual record, including four wins by fall. Kiefer (3-0) and Amiss (5-0 with two pins) also finished undefeated and Lewis contributed four victories, including a pin, a decision, and two forfeits. Lady Flames wrestlers huddle up with Assistant Coach Cendall Murphy.
Moving forward, the Lady Flames will focus on building confidence in their offensive abilities and becoming more comfortable executing their moves during competition.
"It's a good way to start out the season for the girls to have a temperature check, like where we're at," McIlhenny said, "and to realize, you know, 'Hey, we've still got a long way to go, but, like, we got it. We have the capacity within us.'"
McIlhenny emphasized that improvement comes through experience and competing in multiple matches, allowing wrestlers to become more polished in their execution and quicker in their decision-making.
"Just to believe in that and to grow in their confidence on the mat," McIlhenny said, describing the team's focus in practice.
Liberty will next travel to the East Stroudsburg (Pa.) University Warrior Women's Dual Invitational next Saturday, Nov. 22.
