Flames dominate their pool on opening day at NCWA National Duals

Friday, February 13

St. George, UT

8:00 AM

Liberty University Club Sports

Utah Tech

Men's wrestling team photo for NCWA Dual Nationals

Liberty's wrestlers have noticeably matured since their team photo was taken at the start of the season. (Photo by Travis Clayton)

Flames dominate their pool on opening day at NCWA National Duals

2/13/2026 11:44:00 PM | Men's Wrestling

The third-seeded Flames only lost six bouts in three duals wrestled against Colorado State, host Utah Tech, and UCLA, winning most of their matches by fall.

Liberty University's men's wrestling team opened competition in the NCWA National Duals with an overpowering showing in its pool, Friday at Utah Tech University's Human Performance Center in St. George, Utah. The third-seeded Flames overwhelmed No. 9 Colorado State University, 52-3, before holding off the fourth-seeded host Trailblazers, 34-24, and outmanning No. 10 UCLA, 59-6.

"The guys looked good today," first-year Head Coach Chris Williamson said. "Utah Tech definitely was a test. They match up well against us, and our guys responded well. I don't know if we're peaking. We're not at our absolute final form or best, but we are certainly moving in the right direction."

Liberty dominated Colorado State in the first round, fueled by first-period falls by 125-pound sophomore Landon Starnes and 133-pound freshman Brodie Altman just 51 seconds into their bouts against Sawyer Speer and Zachary Esses, respectively, and 141-pound freshman Nicholas Schmucker's pin of Gabriel Allen in 1:55.

Sophomore Matox Allen, the Flames' lone reigning NCWA Grand National champion at 157 pounds, scored a 16-1 technical fall over Kade Haselman before the Flames won three of their last six matches by fall — junior Drake Bowers over Machaon Puga at 174, senior Zach Kaminski over Spencer Ainsworth in 40 seconds at 235 pounds, and senior Wade Wheeler over Nicholas Silva 1:46 into their heavyweight bout. Sophomore Ron Black scored a 17-1 technical fall over Colorado State's Anthony Caso at 174 pounds.

In its second-round showdown with Utah Tech, Liberty opened a 34-12 advantage on the strength of Altman's pin of Isaac Jensen in 1:15 at 133 and third-period falls by Allen 4:43 into his 157-pound match against Ryan Reay, Bowers 5:46 into his 174-pound bout against Kody Whited, and Black 5:23 into his 184-pound showdown with Cael Houston.

Freshman Braden Ewing, a transfer from NCAA Division I Brown University, also recorded an 18-2 technical fall over UTU's Brit Sorenson at 197 before Kaminski and Wheeler were pinned in back-to-back bouts to end the match.

Finally, in Friday night's third round of pool play against the Bruins, Liberty steamrolled its way to a 59-6 triumph — winning five matches by fall, four by forfeit, and one by technical fall.

Starnes and sophomore Wayshaun Hicks opened the match with first-period pins of Crisanthony Flores-Ramos in 1:08 at 125 and Darien So in 1:11 at 133, respectively.

Schmucker won his 141-pound bout over Liam Tran by fall in 2:40 before freshman Justin Root scored a 19-4 technical fall over Armann Gir at 149. At 157, Flames freshman Anthony Saget followed with a second-period pin of Brandon Chiang in 2:18 before Black decked William Smith in 1:05 at 184.

Complete results are available on the FloWrestling.org website.

Liberty will open Saturday's championship bracket competition with a dual against No. 6-seeded University of Central Florida starting at 1 p.m. EST.

"It's not going to be an easy task," Williamson said. "UCF is always very well coached. We've seen (the Knights) a bunch of times over the years at the national duals, and we have had a back-and-forth relationship. We've had some heartbreaking losses and some hard-fought wins."

He said unlike in Friday's pool play, Saturday's duals could be decided in the final few bouts.

"In wrestling, matchups are so key," Williamson said. "We're going to have to face some tough teams, but these duals will be dependent on matchups and whether or not our guys are ready to go when they step onto the mat."

He said he has seen signs that his wrestlers are ready to rumble with the best of them.

"They are starting to believe what we're telling them, that they are in amazing shape, they can outlast anybody, and they can bring the battle to anyone," Williamson said.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer