Senior Kyle Sennett tees off during the Flamethrower Collegiate Regional Championships at New London Tech Course. (Photos by Ethan Smith)
Disc golf teams off to strong starts at CDG National Championships
4/9/2026 9:11:00 PM | Disc Golf
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The Flames’ D1, 2, and 3 teams stand in seventh, third, and first place, respectively, while the D1 women’s tandem leads by four shots after two days.
After two days of competition at the College Disc Golf National Championships, played on six courses in Rock Hill, S.C., members of Liberty University's men's and women's disc golf teams are all either in the lead or within striking distance of the first-place teams in their respective divisions.
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Graduates Cami (Lazo) Burdick and Grace Wilson are defending D1 women's champions.Â
Rounds of 59 on Wednesday and 48 on Thursday have helped the Lady Flames' defending Division 1 women's national champion doubles tandem of graduates Cami (Lazo) Burdick and Grace Wilson to open a four-stroke lead (at 11-under-par 107) on Milligan (Tenn.) University and Emporia (Kansas) State University's Black team (111). Emporia is three strokes ahead of its Gold squad (114) in a field of 32 collegiate pairs. Burdick and Wilson will tee off in Round 3 on Friday at 10:30 a.m.
Liberty's Division 3 men's Light Blue team, which finished runner-up last year, currently sits in first place out of 66 four-man squads (at 11-under 60-48-108), one shot in front of the University of California-Davis and North Carolina State's C and D teams, in a three-way tie for second.
The lineup is completely different from last season, with sophomore Jay Norton complemented by freshmen Thomas Job and Eston Garcia, and senior Liam Spillane. They will tee off in Round 3 on the Westminster Long course at 1:20 p.m. Friday.
A second D3 Blue squad, featuring senior Mitchell Lange, sophomores Benjamin Mathews and Kal Essenmacher, and freshman Caleb Muleta, is in a three-way tie for16th place with Ohio State and Michigan State at 5-under 114 and will tee off at 12:10 p.m.
Meanwhile, Liberty's Division 2 men's lineup of graduate John Weathersby, freshmen Casey Stoope and John Wakimura, and junior William Hathaway moved into a tie for third place with Ohio State at 1-under 119 on the Winthrop Lake course with rounds of 66 and 53. The Flames trail only NC State's B team (3-under 117) and Emporia State (2-under 118) and will tee off in Round 3 at 11:40 a.m. Friday.
Last, but not least, Liberty's Division 1 team, which placed fifth at nationals last year, currently sits in a tie with Mississippi State for seventh place out of 48 teams at 2-under 118 on the Canaan Gold course after carding rounds of 67 and 51. The Flames feature graduate Jonah Burdick, sophomore Addison Sells, freshman Tyler Peterson, and senior Kyle Sennett and will tee off in Round 3 at 11:20 a.m. Friday.
On Thursday night, the Flames and Lady Flames participated in a chapel service led by Eagles Wings, also known as Push the Rock ministries, attended by players from many of the teams in the tournament. Over the summer, members of Liberty's team traveled to Finland to serve with the ministry in helping to run the PDGA World Championships.
