Men's wrestlers overtake Builders, Panthers to win MAC Tournament crown

Saturday, March 14

Lynchburg, VA

9:00 AM

Liberty University Club Sports

Mid Atlantic Conference Tournament

Flames senior heavyweight Wade Wheeler defeated the defending champion from the Apprentice School in the semifinals and top seed from Ferrum College in the final. (Photos by Travis Clayton)

Men's wrestlers overtake Builders, Panthers to win MAC Tournament crown

3/15/2026 6:48:00 AM | Men's Wrestling

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The Flames won five individual titles and qualified 16 men’s wrestlers while the Lady Flames won three crowns and will send eight women to the March 27-28 NCWA Grand National Championships in Louisiana.

Gallery: (3-15-2026) Men's wrestling in MAC tournament

Liberty University's men's wrestling team won five of its seven finals matches and reclaimed its Mid-Atlantic Conference Tournament championship from Apprentice School, Saturday at the Liberty Indoor Track & Field Complex. The Builders, who totaled 183 points compared to the Flames' 204, had ended Liberty's 12-year run as champions last season at the LaHaye Multipurpose Center.

"Our guys had a very strong showing in the finals," said Flames first-year Head Coach Chris Williamson, who was named the MAC Coach of the Year. "They did a good job, and I'm happy for the guys, I'm happy for the program. It's good to see the guys really struggle the whole year and come on strong at the end. They look better now than they have all season."

Ferrum College, which is transitioning from NCAA Division III to Division II, placed third with 169 points, followed by Virginia Tech (66.5), the University of Tennessee (64.5), and James Madison University (61.5).

Williamson said upsetting Apprentice in the consolation final at the NCWA National Duals at Utah Tech University gave the Flames confidence that they could beat the Builders in an open tournament.

"Going into the year, we probably were the third best team behind Apprentice and Ferrum, which beat Apprentice in a dual match two or three weeks ago," he said. "That's when we knew this was going to be a dogfight, for sure."

The Flames qualified 16 wrestlers for the March 27-28 NCWA Grand National Championships near Shreveport, La., with top-six individual showings at the MAC meet and Williamson expects to get a few more national bids through wildcards.

"We're going to get in a little better shape and clean up some technical areas and feel really good and relaxed and fresh going into the national tournament," he said. "We're going to need to wrestle well if we want to get a team trophy. We can't afford to just show up. It's going to be a very tough team tournament. We've got to get points out of everybody."

Freshman Brodie Altman claimed the Flames' first individual title Saturday with a 1-0 decision over Clemson's Kenneth Lambert. Sophomore Matox Allen, the Flames' only NCWA Grand National champion last season, defended his 157-pound MAC crown with a 2-0 decision over Ferrum's Andres Cortes after pinning his way to the final.

"The 157 bracket was loaded," Williamson said. "Those top three guys were very good. They were tight matches, but (Allen) dominated positions and was in the driver's seat that whole (final) match."

At 184 pounds, sophomore Ron Black pinned Apprentice's Lucas Sumners 46 seconds into their final.

"My competition was great," Black said. "He put up a great fight. I've learned never to underestimate your opponent, ever. It was a great match. I just tried to keep him guessing. I was able to take him down at the end, cradle him, and pin him in the first period. All glory to God, my Lord and Savior. I wouldn't be anywhere without Him."

He said the Flames are ready to return to the NCWA Grand Nationals and to contend for a top-three team finish, as they did for a 15th year in a row at the NCWA National Duals. Last year in Shreveport, the five-time national champions finished fourth.

"We're ready to go," Black said. "Our key goal is to stay humble and let God guide us through our matches. Do what we've worked for. We've worked so hard. We're peaking at the right time, and we're itching to get out there. I'm glad that we could get this (MAC Tournament title) back. I genuinely wanted to do it for our old coach Jesse Castro."

Freshman Braden Ewing, a transfer from NCAA Division I Brown University, won dropped down from heavyweight to 197 and captured the tournament crown with three straight decisions, including a 4-2 final over South Carolina's top-seeded Aaron Coverdell.

"I came in ranked sixth and he was seventh, but he was seeded first in this tournament after he got second here last year," Ewing said. "I was just patient and executed my moves."

He said the coaching staff has done a "wonderful job of making sure we were pushed enough to maintain our conditioning, but not too much to get worn down."

"We have the longest season in collegiate wrestling, but a lot of the guys wrestled their best at this tournament," Ewing said. "Our conditioning, compared to other teams, there's major debt. People were gassing out in the second period, and we just kept going and going. That's all credit to the coaches."

He gave glory to God for the team's strong finish and said the team's strength derives from Him.

"Putting our faith in Christ is where the mental fortitude comes from," Ewing said. "Being a team centered around Jesus is definitely an advantage, coming to Liberty with the faith community that you get here. Ultimately, the only reason we do the sport is to glorify God with our bodies."

Senior Wade Wheeler, ranked sixth in the NCWA, captured his first MAC Tournament title after back-to-back runner-up finishes, turning the tables on Apprentice's fourth-ranked Dustin Uribes with a 10-4 decision in the semifinal rematch of last year's final, won by Uribes in overtime.

"It just took a little bit of will power," Wheeler said. "The guys really rally around each other, and I had some good people in my corner when it was tied up, and I ended up getting a reversal and putting him to his back."

He proceeded to pull out a 6-5 decision over Ferrum's top-seeded and third-ranked Braeden Fluke in the final.

In the women's tournament, Liberty (39.5 points) finished runner-up to Apprentice (55), which dominated the four lower weight classes before the Lady Flames won three of the four upper weight divisions.

Six of Liberty's eight national qualifiers finished in the top three.

"I was proud of the girls," Lady Flames Head Coach Charisse McIlhenny said. "They did a good job. Obviously, we wanted to be the champions, but I'd rather take the losses now and make adjustments for nationals when it truly matters."

Senior Chloe Rowland at 138 pounds and freshman Ellie Shoemaker at 145 pounds joined sophomore Faith Kiefer, who pinned both of her opponents to defend her championship at 180 pounds.

"It was very exciting," said Shoemaker, who pinned East Carolina's Brianna Home in the third period in their first meeting and second in the final. "All of us qualified for nationals, and we're very excited. We've been working really hard the past couple of weeks, and we're going to continue working on our aggression and working on our feet the next week and a half over spring break to prepare for nationals."

The Lady Flames are coming off an eighth-place finish at nationals last season.

"We would love to score higher," McIlhenny said. "The top five would be awesome, with a few All-Americans for top-eight finishes. We were definitely the best conditioned team here today. I'm very happy with where the girls are at physically. Now we just have to work on positioning."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer

Mid-Atlantic Conference Tournament

Men's team scores: Liberty 204, Apprentice School 183, Ferrum College NCAA 169, Virginia Tech 66.5, Tennessee 64.5, James Madison 61.5, Ferrum College NCWA 53, Clemson 50.5, South Carolina 38.5, East Carolina 35.5, UNC Charlotte 31.5, High Point 23.5, Virginia Commonwealth 14, Guilford College 4.
Men's championship finals involving Liberty wrestlers: 133: Brodie Altman (L) d. Kenneth Lambert (Cle), 1-0; 157: Matox Allen d. Andres Cortes (Fer), 2-0; 165: Owen Cherry (App) d. Jordan Scott (L), 9-5; 174: Logan Eastman (App) d. Paul Moore, 5-1; 184: Ron Black (L) p. Lucas Sumners (App), 0:46; 197: Braden Ewing (L) d. Aaron Coverdell (SC), 4-2; 285: Wade Wheeler (L) d. Braeden Fluke (Fer) 6-5.
Men's third-place bouts involving Liberty wrestlers: 125: Bryson Gresham (ECU) d. Jalen Fyffe (L), 9-6; 133: Josiah Canales Maldona (Fer) p. Wayshaun Hicks (L), 5:49; 141: Gordon Watson (L) m.d. Landon Yoder (App), 15-1; 165: Drake Bowers (L) t.f. Brendan Hawley (VT), 18-3; 235: Jack Eckerson (VT) m.d. Zach Kaminski, 12-2; 285: Dustin Uribes (App) d. Josh Hermann (L), 7-2.
Men's fifth-place bouts involving Liberty wrestlers: 125: Landon Starnes (L) p. Logan Smith (UNCC), 1:33; 149: Christian Knuckles (L), by forfeit; 235: Carson Meadows (L) p. Noah Richardson (HP), 3:35.

Women's team scores: Apprentice School 55.5, Liberty 39.5, Clemson 11, High Point 11, East Carolina 6, Virginia Tech 6, Tennessee 4, UNC Charlotte 2, Guilford College 0.
Women's championship finals: 138: Chloe Rowland (L), by forfeit; 145: Ellie Shoemaker (L) p. Brianna Home (ECU), 4:36; 180: Faith Kiefer (L) p. Amanda Walker (L), 0:37.