No. 1 Liberty men, with 12 in quarterfinals, leads No. 3 Apprentice School on day one of NCWA Nationals
Share:
by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Liberty University logo, next to a picture of the Puerto Rico Convention Center. Photo courtesy of the NCWA.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The No. 1 ranked Liberty men’s team, led by 12 in the quarterfinals and six more in the consolation rounds, leads No. 3 Apprentice School by 24 points after the first day of the three-day NCWA National Championships which started Thursday.
Liberty, the returning team champion, has accumulated 99.5 points already, with The Apprentice School next with 75.5 points. Grand Valley State is third with 75 points, Springfield Tech in fourth with 57 points and Grays Harbor is fifth with 56 points.
Four returning or past NCWA champions are in the quarterfinals, Thomas McCane of Central Florida (149), Josiah Murphy of Liberty (197), Jeffrey Allen of Liberty (235) and Frederick Weaver of Liberty (285). In addition, a 2022 NJCAA Junior College national champion, Josh Kenny of Grand Valley State (174) is also a quarterfinalist.
Returning NCWA champion and No. 1 seed Ian McIlhenny of Grand View was upset in the round of 16 by No. 17 seed Joseph Miranda of Rowan. The only quarterfinalist with a lower seed is No. 20 Kenneth Lambert of Clemson at 141 pounds.
On Friday, the women’s division begins. Both the men and the women will compete through the semifinals on the winners side, and through the blood round on the consolation side, which will determine the 2023 NCWA All-Americans by the end of the day.
The event is broadcast live on FloWrestling, with results on FloArena.
NCWA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
At San Juan, Puerto Rico, March 9
Men's Quarterfinal pairings
125
No. 1 Jack Parker (Bellarmine) vs. No. 9 Chase Arnestad (Liberty)
No. 5 Aiden Connors (North Texas) vs. No. 4 Dylan Beddow (Springfield Tech)
No. 3 Dante Mininno (Liberty) vs. No. 11 Caleb Olgers (Apprentice)
No. 7 John Tesoriero (Rowan) vs. No. 2 Bruno Alves (Apprentice)
133
No. 1 Dillon Messick (Apprentice) vs. No. 9 Caleb Hernandez (Ohio State WC)
No. 12 Blake Schmitt (Liberty) vs. No. 4 Michael Gonzalez (Springfield Tech)
No. 3 Andrew Holladay (Virginia Tech WC) vs. No. 6 Gabriel Martinez (Grand Valley State)
No. 10 Kyle Hansberger (James Madison) vs. No. 2 Kaden Blair (Toledo)
141
No. 1 Parker Watson (Ohio State WC) vs. No. 9 Scott Kilian (Texas A&M)
No. 5 Alfonso Vargas (Florida) vs. No. 20 Kenneth Lambert (Clemson)
No. 3 Jordan Robins (Apprentice) vs. No. 6 Kalil Shabazz (Springfield Tech)
No. 7 Braeden Amole (Penn State WC) vs. No. 2 Elijah Gandert (Grays Harbor)
149
No. 1 Zac Cowan (Bellarmine) vs. No. 9 Daniel Veleas (UCONN)
No. 5 Jacob Grogan (Texas A&M) vs. No. 4 Joey Murphy (Grand Valley State)
No. 3 Zachary Ortega (Apprentice) vs. No. 6 Caden Jacobs (Grand Valley State)
No. 10 Thomas Mccane (Central Florida) vs. No. 2 Charles Hudson (Liberty)
157
No. 17 Joseph Miranda (Rowan) vs. No. 8 Wayne Lamont (Stony Brook)
No. 5 Ezekiel Burkholder (Toledo) vs. No. 4 Moustapha Bal (Ohio State WC)
No. 3 Alex Rivera (Bellarmine) vs. No. 6 James Lunt (Springfield Tech)
No. 7 Christian Govan (East Carolina) vs. No. 2 Nicholas Martino (Fresno State WC)
165
No. 1 Cole Nance (Bellarmine) vs. No. 9 Charles Roche (Central Florida)
No. 5 Yury Pozdneev (Ohio State WC) vs. No. 4 Ethan Baker (Apprentice)
No. 14 Bobby Shepard (Washington State) vs. No. 6 Talon Pisarchuk (Williamson College of Trades)
No. 10 Landon Kissell (Apprentice) vs. No. 2 David Over (Liberty)
174
No. 1 Devan Hendricks (Bellarmine) vs. No. 8 Keith Brubach (Slippery Rock)
No. 5 Benjamin Blickle (Ohio State WC) vs. No. 13 Sean Haas (Rensselaer Polytechnic)
No. 3 Zachary Kaminski (Liberty) vs. No. 6 Riley Hackworth (Florida)
No. 10 Ricardo Magny (Springfield Tech) vs. No. 2 Josh Kenny (Grand Valley State)
184
No. 1 Michael Jackson (Allen) vs. No. 9 Aaron Whear (James Madison)
No. 5 Ben Liss (Rutgers WC) vs. No. 4 Graham Carson (Ohio State WC)
No. 3 Nicholas Franco (Rutgers WC) vs. No. 6 Gabriel Hayes (Liberty)
No. 10 Stephano Magny (Springfield Tech) vs. No. 2 Kennedy Wyatt (Bellarmine)
197
No. 1 Josiah Murphy (Liberty) vs. No. 9 Matthew Micale (West Chester)
No. 5 Dominic Love (Florida A&M) vs. No. 4 Derek Yingling (Slippery Rock)
No. 3 Matthew Abraham (Toledo) vs. No. 6 Sean Gillespie (Liberty)
No. 7 Caleb Hartung (Apprentice) vs. No. 2 Seth Konynenbelt (Grand Valley State)
235
No. 1 Jeff Allen (Liberty) vs. No. 8 Jeffrey Worster (Maine Maritime Academy)
No. 12 Landon Gray (East Carolina) vs. No. 4 Shawn Conniff (Springfield Tech)
No. 3 Zeke Alleman (Utah Tech) vs. No. 11 Jacob Westfall (Western Washington)
No. 10 Seth Ellsmore (Liberty) vs. No. 15 Ed Wild (Rhode Island)
285
No. 1 Frederick Weaver (Liberty) vs. No. 8 Caleb Corrigan (Rowan)
No. 12 Jacob Gariepy (Springfield Tech) vs. No. 4 Jacob Meek (Toledo)
No. 3 Thaddeus Huff (Bellarmine) vs. No. 6 Michael Morales (Central Florida)
No. 7 Brett Boudreau (Grand Valley State) vs. No. 2 Peter Cortapasso (Apprentice)
Men's Team Standings (after day one)
1 Liberty 99.5
2 Apprentice 75.5
3 Grand Valley State 75
4 Springfield Tech 57
5 Grays Harbor 56
6 Washington State 55
7 Ohio State WC 53.5
8 Bellarmine 52.5
9 Central Florida 50
10 Toledo 44.5
(of 73 teams)
Read More#
Graber, Casey headline double champions at USA Wrestling Northern Plains Regional
Age-group wrestlers make their mark at 2025 USA Wrestling Beach Nationals in Carolina Beach
Engel, Guilford receive AAC Athlete Leadership Award, presented by the Greg Strobel Leadership Academy
Six talented U.S. athletes to compete in first 2025 Beach World Series event in Monterrey, Mexico, May 12-13
