Freedom came home from the Virginia Duals as champions over the weekend, winning four matches, including a 31-28 victory over Haddonfield (NJ) in the championship meet to take home the American Tournament crown.

Cordell Cotto's pin over Hunter Fasolo in 1:29 at heavyweight finished off the bout in dramatic fashion, as Freedom took home the championship and improved their mark to 15-0 on the season.

The Pates triumph was made even more special for head coach Brandon Hall due in part to them forfeiting 182 and 195 the entire tournament, as Evan and John Callahan couldn't make the trip to Virginia for personal reasons.

"I couldn't be more proud of our guys and the way they competed and stayed focused down there," said Hall. "We didn't know that we'd be missing the Callahan brothers, so it was a surprise, but it didn't change our goals. I think winning the way we did just reinforced what this team is all about."

The Patriots also knocked off Westfield (Va.) 46-27, Lexington (SC) 42-27 and Floyd E Kellam (Va.) 43-27 en route to the finals.

"Our guys wrestled hard all weekend and that's what I'm most proud of," Hall said. "Guys just stepped up and they didn't let the fact that we were giving up 12 points in each bout be an excuse. They just competed really well and that's all you can ask as a coach."

Now the Pates set their sights on Pocono Mountain West this week before heading off to the Juniata Duals, where they hope they can claim another dual meet tournament title heading into next week's massive home match against Easton.

"This weekend is going to be important for us for team districts," said Hall. "We need to take care of business this week because it'll have an effect on our rankings. We just need to keep getting better."

Liberty (5-5, 2-3) suffered their second straight East Penn Conference defeat last weekend when they fell to Emmaus 30-29, days after battling Nazareth to a 34-25 defeat.

The Hurricanes take on Stroudsburg (6-5) tonight in an important match for both teams district duals hopes.