Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Friday, April 24
Chapel Hill, NC
Liberty University Club Sports
vs
NCTA Collegiate Championships
Liberty's 14 team members combined for a sixth-place team showing out of nearly 100 programs at the NCTA Championships at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (Photos courtesy of Katrina McMillen)
Taekwondo team matches medal count from last year to place sixth at NCTA Championships
4/28/2026 5:26:00 PM | Taekwondo
Liberty’s 14 student-athletes combined for 12 gold, silver, or bronze medal showings in various divisions at UNC Chapel Hill.
Members of Liberty University's taekwondo team rose to the occasion and overcame the odds to place sixth out of nearly 100 colleges and universities represented at this past weekend's National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) Championships, hosted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Though the Flames and Lady Flames entered only 14 student-athletes into the tournament that featured approximately 650 from around the United States, they recorded 12 podium finishes for top-three performances, matching their medal count from last season.
"Most every year, we have been able to crack the top 10 and are almost always in that sixth- to seventh-place range, though we can't quite seem to get to the podium," Liberty Head Coach Tom Childress said of breaking into the top three as a team. "It was a big turnout with lots of schools and competitors, and it was very competitive, so I am very happy with how we performed. We had very good performances from everybody, even those who didn't medal."
The Flames and Lady Flames entered 10 color belt competitors and six of them medaled to combine for a fourth-place finish in the color belt division behind the University of Texas-Austin, Brown (R.I.) University, and Northeastern (Mass.) University, the defending champion after hosting the national tournament last spring.
University of California-Davis finished first in the black belt division while Liberty's four black belt competitors combined for an 11th-place total. Overall, UT-Austin captured its seventh consecutive national championship with its 65 competitors.
"They are a very tough team and very well coached," Childress said of the Longhorns. "It is always a fun competition to have with them."
The Flames and Lady Flames had opened their season on Oct. 10 with a second-place team showing at their first ACATA tournament hosted by UNC Chapel Hill, the overall champion at that event with more than twice as many competitors as Liberty.
"That's tactical advantage of having a very large participating body, particularly against all 65 of (UT-Austin's) athletes, giving them more opportunities to make it to the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals," Childress said. "It is hard to compete against schools that bring 40-50 athletes, including (former ECTC rivals) Brown, Princeton, and MIT, because they have that many more athletes in the running."
Liberty was able to showcase its quality over quantity of competitors, and it met or exceeded the cumulative medal count of all but five much larger programs.
"When you have a relatively small team that is able to step up, anything is possible," Chidress said. "It is all about execution on competition day. Numbers help, but if you don't make the podium, you are not going to get in the top 10. We are very blessed with our kids, with how hard they work and how dedicated they are, that they able to finish in that percentile. Because we had a smaller team, we got closer and fought harder for each other, and I love seeing that. It was a good experience."
Senior Emily Sloane was Liberty's only multiple medalist, starting with a gold medal in Friday's red-belt breaking division. The Flames and Lady Flames had two medalists in the Poomsae, or forms, competition, including a first-ever gold medal from senior Katrina McMillen in the women's green belt division.
"Poomsae has not been our strong suit, but we have really been working on it with help from volunteer Assistant Coach Cameron Connelly," Childress said. "We had never had two forms medalist in the same year, not to mention a gold medal, so we broke that mold there."
Senior Ricardo Huezo finished in third place in the men's green belt forms division after McMillen had earned a bronze in the yellow belt division at last year's nationals.
Connelly, who coaches remotely, received assistance from a trio of black belts — junior Ericson Lehmann, who competes in forms, and seniors Joseph Kim and Jackson Hale, who specialize in fighting — along with graduate team captain Sophia Varrati and graduate volunteer Assistant Coach Julia (Eesley) Bearchell, a two-time national gold medalist in sparring who married former teammate Paul Bearchell after graduating with a B.S. in Nursing in December and now works full-time locally for Centra.
Saturday was fight day at nationals and Liberty came ready to rumble with six medalists in various divisions of sparring, including Sloane, who placed second in women's red belt.
Graduate David Varner also struck silver in men's yellow belt sparring while senior Heaven Alexander (women's red belt), junior Sarah Hoell (women's green belt), Kim (men's black belt welterweight), and Hale (men's black belt lightweight) captured bronze medals.
Sloane defeated Alexander in an all-Liberty semifinal round match, sending her to the consolation final.
Lehmann advanced out of the round of 16 before being eliminated in the quarterfinals, and Varrati received a difficult draw but fought well in her black belt matches.
In Sunday's second annual President's Cup, which featured the same best-of-three fighters format as in ECTC and ACATA tournaments, Liberty's green-belt Poomsae team of McMillen, Hoell, and Huezo finished third. The Flames' men's C division sparring combination of Huezo and Varner placed second, and the women's C duo of McMillen and Hoell took third.
Liberty will graduate seven seniors in May, more than a third of the 18-member roster that started the school year with 32 before attrition due to academic demands and injuries.
"We will be actively recruiting from the campus community to grow the sport, among those who have competed in the past and others who are new to the sport," Childress said, noting the fall semester-opening Block Party is a key event for attracting team members. "We would love to see the team grow in numbers, with the more the merrier scenario. Having more diversity, from different backgrounds, makes for a better team, a stronger team."
By Ted Allen/Staff WriterGallery: (4-28-2026) Taekwondo at NCTA Nationals
Though the Flames and Lady Flames entered only 14 student-athletes into the tournament that featured approximately 650 from around the United States, they recorded 12 podium finishes for top-three performances, matching their medal count from last season.
"Most every year, we have been able to crack the top 10 and are almost always in that sixth- to seventh-place range, though we can't quite seem to get to the podium," Liberty Head Coach Tom Childress said of breaking into the top three as a team. "It was a big turnout with lots of schools and competitors, and it was very competitive, so I am very happy with how we performed. We had very good performances from everybody, even those who didn't medal."
The Flames and Lady Flames entered 10 color belt competitors and six of them medaled to combine for a fourth-place finish in the color belt division behind the University of Texas-Austin, Brown (R.I.) University, and Northeastern (Mass.) University, the defending champion after hosting the national tournament last spring.
University of California-Davis finished first in the black belt division while Liberty's four black belt competitors combined for an 11th-place total. Overall, UT-Austin captured its seventh consecutive national championship with its 65 competitors.
"They are a very tough team and very well coached," Childress said of the Longhorns. "It is always a fun competition to have with them."
The Flames and Lady Flames had opened their season on Oct. 10 with a second-place team showing at their first ACATA tournament hosted by UNC Chapel Hill, the overall champion at that event with more than twice as many competitors as Liberty.
"That's tactical advantage of having a very large participating body, particularly against all 65 of (UT-Austin's) athletes, giving them more opportunities to make it to the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals," Childress said. "It is hard to compete against schools that bring 40-50 athletes, including (former ECTC rivals) Brown, Princeton, and MIT, because they have that many more athletes in the running."
Liberty was able to showcase its quality over quantity of competitors, and it met or exceeded the cumulative medal count of all but five much larger programs.
"When you have a relatively small team that is able to step up, anything is possible," Chidress said. "It is all about execution on competition day. Numbers help, but if you don't make the podium, you are not going to get in the top 10. We are very blessed with our kids, with how hard they work and how dedicated they are, that they able to finish in that percentile. Because we had a smaller team, we got closer and fought harder for each other, and I love seeing that. It was a good experience."
Senior Emily Sloane was Liberty's only multiple medalist, starting with a gold medal in Friday's red-belt breaking division. The Flames and Lady Flames had two medalists in the Poomsae, or forms, competition, including a first-ever gold medal from senior Katrina McMillen in the women's green belt division.
"Poomsae has not been our strong suit, but we have really been working on it with help from volunteer Assistant Coach Cameron Connelly," Childress said. "We had never had two forms medalist in the same year, not to mention a gold medal, so we broke that mold there."
Senior Ricardo Huezo finished in third place in the men's green belt forms division after McMillen had earned a bronze in the yellow belt division at last year's nationals.
Connelly, who coaches remotely, received assistance from a trio of black belts — junior Ericson Lehmann, who competes in forms, and seniors Joseph Kim and Jackson Hale, who specialize in fighting — along with graduate team captain Sophia Varrati and graduate volunteer Assistant Coach Julia (Eesley) Bearchell, a two-time national gold medalist in sparring who married former teammate Paul Bearchell after graduating with a B.S. in Nursing in December and now works full-time locally for Centra.
Saturday was fight day at nationals and Liberty came ready to rumble with six medalists in various divisions of sparring, including Sloane, who placed second in women's red belt.
Graduate David Varner also struck silver in men's yellow belt sparring while senior Heaven Alexander (women's red belt), junior Sarah Hoell (women's green belt), Kim (men's black belt welterweight), and Hale (men's black belt lightweight) captured bronze medals.
Sloane defeated Alexander in an all-Liberty semifinal round match, sending her to the consolation final.
Lehmann advanced out of the round of 16 before being eliminated in the quarterfinals, and Varrati received a difficult draw but fought well in her black belt matches.
In Sunday's second annual President's Cup, which featured the same best-of-three fighters format as in ECTC and ACATA tournaments, Liberty's green-belt Poomsae team of McMillen, Hoell, and Huezo finished third. The Flames' men's C division sparring combination of Huezo and Varner placed second, and the women's C duo of McMillen and Hoell took third.
Liberty will graduate seven seniors in May, more than a third of the 18-member roster that started the school year with 32 before attrition due to academic demands and injuries.
"We will be actively recruiting from the campus community to grow the sport, among those who have competed in the past and others who are new to the sport," Childress said, noting the fall semester-opening Block Party is a key event for attracting team members. "We would love to see the team grow in numbers, with the more the merrier scenario. Having more diversity, from different backgrounds, makes for a better team, a stronger team."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
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