Liberty’s 2015-16 college signing class had 25 seniors recognized during last Friday’s press conference, but among the Division-II and Division-III athletes in the room, one athlete stood out, just like he did in his respective sport this season, to receive a full-ride to a Division-I college.

Andrew Gunning, who became Liberty’s first state champion wrestler in 31 years after winning the PIAA heavyweight title in March, earned some kind words from athletic director Fred Harris about his scholarship to the University of North Carolina.

“We’re always lucky to have one Division-I athlete in the mix,” said Harris. “Andrew has done a great job this season on the wrestling mat and he’s very deserving to have a full-ride to the University of North Carolina.”

While Gunning may have had a smile on his face after winning the state championship in Hershey, Friday’s ceremony left a mark on him as well.

“I think this ceremony made me soak it up even more,” said Gunning of his scholarship to UNC. “It makes me look back at the last four years and all the work that I put in to get to this point. It’s pretty special.”

Doug Erney was one of six football players moving on to the next level, as he’ll attend East Stroudsburg this fall with an opportunity to compete for the starting quarterback job right away.

Erney was a four-year starter at Liberty, coming away as the all-time leading passer with 6,675 yards and 70 touchdowns (another record). He also rushed for more than 1,000 yards as a four-year starter.

With his graduation from Liberty imminent, Erney still can’t believe how quickly his high school career flew by.

“I can remember freshman year and my first varsity game,” said Erney. “It goes by so quickly, but now I’m going to college, which is something I always wanted to do and I’m making my parents proud. I’m ready for the next challenge.”

Other Liberty students that are headed to college for athletics include: Jalen Wilcher (Shippensburg University, football); Justin Haynes (East Stroudsburg University, football); Michael Lehman (Widener, football); Devin Lindeman (Susquehanna University, football); Alex Mack (Muhlenburg College, football);

Dayvon Reimert (Moravian College, football); Zach Roman (Juniata College, football); Jacob Siegfried (Penn State Berks, golf); Martina Gale (Kings College, tennis); Madelyn Conrad (Franciscan University, tennis); Samantha Peterson (Penn State University, tennis); Cailey Sanchez (Ursinus College, soccer); Colin Muller (Monmouth University, soccer); Andrew Hudak (King’s College, basketball); Kayla Drago (Arcadia University, swimming); Shannon Hogan (Wilkes University, swimming);

Erin Wetmore (Susquehanna University, swimming); Abigail Zerbe (Alvernia University, swimming); Victoria Zerbe (Alvernia University, swimming); Maddie Capuano (Moravian College, swimming); Alexis Calderon (Manhattan College, baseball); Ben Hudock (IUP, baseball); Maggie Connelly (East Stroudsburg University, cheerleading); Alexis Morales (Cedar Crest College, softball); Dallas Horning (Cetinary, softball) and Jesse Claudio (Geneva College, tennis).