Liberty remains hot heading to postseason
Liberty’s wrestling team is feeling good about themselves as they prepare for the individual postseason, but last week’s win over city rival Freedom certainly helped push them into the final stages of the season with momentum.
The Hurricanes took nine of 13 bouts in last week’s regular season finale against Freedom, posting a convincing 39-20 win on the Patriots home floor.
“It’s our rivalry match so of course it’s a date the team looks forward to,” said Liberty head coach Brandon Hall. “We feel we have been wrestling well and the last week was proof for people on the outside. We talked about making that match feel like a home match with our bench (“bench-ergy”) and fan support. This team’s support for one another in a dual has been unmatched this season. We felt that at team districts and knew it would lay the foundation for the Freedom match.”
The highlight of the night came at 215 when Dante Morrison pinned Jared Karabinus in 5:04 to seal the win for Liberty.
Liberty (13-7) led 30-20 going into the match, but Karabinus, who usually wrestles at 189, bumped up for the showdown and needed bonus points against the bigger Morrison to keep Freedom’s chances alive.
That never came to fruition, as Morrison was able to register the fall and cement the win.
Jack Evans (127) and Kam Abboud (145) also tallied decisive victories, as Evans scored a late reversal over Nicholas Lyden to register a 6-4 win and Abboud battled back from a 4-0 first period deficit to win 7-6.
With Hall being in his fifth year with the program, the momentum the team has gearing up for districts might be at the highest point during his tenure.
“Again, the plan is always to be wrestling your best as the postseason arrives,” said Hall. “We have planned for this and look forward to the district tournament at Liberty. With a couple weeks to go before districts, we certainly are wrestling well right now but that has been the game plan all along. I wouldn’t trade wins in December or early January for where we are currently. The plan is always to peak for the postseason.”