Wrestling team wins first national tournament title

Overcoming injuries and rising to the challenge, Liberty University’s wrestling team crowned two individual champions and wrapped up its first National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) National Championship tournament title, Saturday at the Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas.

Flames sophomore defending 133-pound NCWA national champion Ryan Diehl (22-3) wrestled through an ankle injury that sidelined him for much of the past two months to win the 141-pound title. He scored an 11-1 major decision over Naval Academy Prep’s Adam Connell in the final and became the first to earn NCWA Championship tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler honors two years in a row.

At 174 pounds, Liberty freshman Josh Llopez capped a 24-2 season by capturing an NCWA national championship with an 8-2 decision over Penn State-New Kensington’s Phil Marra.

After posting third-place team finishes in their first two years in the league and finishing runner-up last season, the Flames finally broke through for a team championship on the NCWA’s grandest stage.

Liberty, ranked No. 1 since the preseason, rolled to the team title with 194 points, pulling away from Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC) tournament runner-up Middle Tennessee State University (127.5).

• Read the full story on the Club Sports website.