Flames, Lady Flames slip to fifth, 11th on second day at NCWA Grand Nationals

Thursday, March 26

Bossier City, LA

TBA

Liberty University Club Sports

NCWA National Championships

Sophomore Matox Allen at MAC Championships

Flames 157-pound sophomore Matox Allen (right), who defended his MAC Championship crown on March 15 was derailed from his NWCA Grand National Championship defense on Friday near Shreveport, La. (Photoi by Travis Clayton)

Flames, Lady Flames slip to fifth, 11th on second day at NCWA Grand Nationals

3/27/2026 10:29:00 PM | Men's Wrestling

For the first time, Liberty was left without a championship finalist in either the men’s or women’s brackets.

It was a difficult second day of competition for Liberty University's men's and women's wrestling teams at the NCWA Grand National Championships in Bossier City, La., with neither team advancing a single competitor to Saturday's championship finals.

The Flames started Friday's competition with six wrestlers still alive in the championship bracket, and another seven in the consolation brackets. But all six lost in either the quarterfinal or the semifinal rounds, and Liberty is left with five survivors in the wrestle-backs, with the team fading from fourth to fifth place in the standings with 109 points.

Menlo (Calif.) College, the reigning NCWA Grand National team champion that is transitioning to the NCAA Division II ranks next season, strengthened its lead with 202 team points, sending seven wrestlers to Saturday's championship finals. Life (Ga.) University remained within striking distance with 172 points, followed by Tarleton (Texas) State University (148.5) and the Apprentice School (116).

The Flames defeated the Builders in the third-place match at the NCWA National Duals before reclaiming their Mid-Atlantic Conference tournament championship from them on March 15 at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex.

Individually for Liberty, 133-pound freshman Brodie Altman won his quarterfinal match over Florida A&M's Gaetano Tedesco, 6-1, before dropping a 7-3 semifinal decision to Life's Adrian Morales. After losing his 157-pound quarterfinal match by 12-4 major decision to Life's Jaden New, sophomore Matox Allen — the Flames' only returning national champion — defeated Tarleton's Lane Snyder, 8-3, setting up a consolation semifinal match against UNLV's Sam Gallardo.

At 184 pounds, sophomore Ron Black won his championship quarterfinal match by 2-1 decision over Ohio State's Kyle Sandborn before falling by 7-4 score to West Chester (Pa.) University's Edward Davis. At 174 pounds, sophomore Paul Moore bounced back from a loss in his opening match on Thursday to win his fourth straight match by fall — over Utah Tech University's Cael Houston in 3:23 — and a fifth by 9-1 major decision over UNLV's Leonardo Salzano before dropping a 10-2 major decision to Hillsdale (Mich.) College's Matthew Riehle in the consolation quarterfinals.

Liberty's two senior heavyweights both suffered 4-1 setbacks in their final matches Friday, with Wade Wheeler pinning Tarleton State's Jackson Phillips in 2 minutes, 17 seconds in his championship quarterfinals before coming up short in his semifinal showdown with Menlo's Javier Martinez; and Josh Hermann pinning Friday's first two opponents — UConn's Anthony Berruecos in 1:29 and Apprentice's Landon Michael in 4:39 — before falling to Grand Valley State (Mich.) University's Josh Smith in the consolation quarterfinals.

The Lady Flames, meanwhile, slipped from eighth to 11th place with 40 points after their two wrestlers who were still in the championship brackets after Thursday's opening day both sent to the consolations.

At 131 pounds, sophomore June Welch nearly went the distance with Menlo's Lastevia Muir before being pinned 8:39 into their championship quarterfinal match. She bounced back with a 4:20 fall over Treasure Valley (Ore.) Community College's Elena Flores before dropping a 7-3 decision to UConn's Keagan Alatiw in the consolation semifinals.

Sophomore Faith Kiefer, Liberty's highest finisher at nationals last season, lasted nearly as long before dropping her championship quarterfinal match to Utah Valley University's Tayleigh Robertson by fall in 6:56. She rebounded to pin Florida International University's Emily Pomar in 4:07 to reach the consolation quarterfinal round.

Complete results are available online. Consolation action continues Saturday morning from the Brookshire Grocery Arena.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer