Wrestlers take individual and team NCWA championship titles

Top-seeded senior 235-pound wrestler Austin Amos pulled out a miraculous reversal in the closing seconds of his NCWA Grand National Championship final match against second-seeded defending champion Stevan Webb of UConn to lift Liberty University over Mid-Atlantic Conference rival Apprentice School, 157-156.5 in the final team standings, Saturday night at the Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas.

“It couldn’t have gotten any closer than it was,” Flames Head Coach Jesse Castro said. “I’m real proud of the guys.”

Liberty took the NCWA Grand Nationals trophy for the second time, after winning the men’s NCWA National Duals in January.

Lady Flames second-seeded sophomore 170-pounder Cendall Manley defended her national championship, pinning Southwestern Oregon’s top-seeded Saydie Kala in 4 minutes, 50 seconds in the final.

As a team, Liberty’s men came away with nine all-Americans (top-eight finishes), including two consolation champions — 141-pound freshman Reid Stewart, a 5-2 winner over East Carolina’s Wesley Hollingsworth, and 165-pound sophomore Joe Scott, who scored a 7-6 decision over Brigham Young University’s Bailey Carlson in the duel for third place.

Read the full story on Liberty’s Club Sports team page.