DANVILLE, Va. — The Averett University wrestling team countered its way to an impressive 27-16 victory over Division I Liberty University on Wednesday evening in dual action to improve to a perfect 10-0 on the season. 
 
The Cougars benefitted early from a strong showing by senior Sam Braswell (ranked No. 1 in the nation by d3wrestle.com) who put Averett up 4-0 with a 14-4 victory over Dante Minnino for his 100th career victory, becoming just the second Cougar in program history to eclipse the century mark. 
 
Liberty (3-1) made the dual score 4-3 following a 10-6 victory over junior Joseph Jones at 133 pounds, however, senior Brandon Woody (ranked No. 6 in the nation by d3wrestle.com) proved why he's one of the top wrestlers in the nation rolling to a 22-3 tech fall victory over John Stuart to push his team lead to 13 wins on the year and gave Averett a 9-3 edge on the night. 
 
Junior Tony Blackman capped off arguably the Cougars most pivotal match of the night at 149 pounds, as the junior trailed Brandon Ahlemann 8-0 with time winding down in the second period. But, an Ahlemann miscue and an impressive capitalization by Blackman allowed him pick up an escape, earn a quick takedown of Ahleman and collect the fall victory to increase Averett's lead to 15-3. 
 
The Flames cut into the deficit with a major decision victory over freshman Tommy Baldwin at 157 pounds, however, freshman Alex Turley who trailed for much of his match against David Over, managed to capitalize late with a four-point near fall to hang on for the 13-6 victory. Turley's win tied him with Woody for the team lead and erased his only loss on the season which came by pin against Over at the Star City Open. 
 
Sophomore George Moseley continued his notable sophomore campaign with a second period pin over Ethan Martin to improve to 12-1 on the year and help put crucial points on the board that allowed the Cougars to extend it's advantage to 24-7.
 
Liberty mounted a comeback at the 184 and 197-pound weight classes with a pin victory over freshman Zion Carpenter, Carpenter's first dual loss on the year, followed by a hard-fought 3-2 decision over freshman Jamar Christian, who got his first start on the season to pull within 24-16.
 
However, Moseley's pin at 174 pounds proved to be the deciding points in Wednesday's match as sophomore Trent Ragland iced the dual for the Cougars with a hard-fought 2-1 overtime victory over Jeffery Allen to pick up his 12th win on the year. Giving Averett seven of its starting 10 wrestlers with 10 victories or more on the year. 
 
In exhibition action, Braswell added to his perfect 13-0 mark with a victory by forfeit, tying by Woody and Turley for the team lead, while freshman Kyle Sanders continued his stellar freshman season with three victories on the night. 
 
Additionally, Jones picked up an 18-0 tech fall win to improve to 7-4 on the season, while sophomore Malik Reaker finished 1-2 and sophomore Landon Childress earned his 10th win on the year going 1-1. 
 
Senior Caleb Harmon added to his third place career victories total with a first period pin over Thomas Waddy and freshmen Anthony Reese, Jovante' Hobbs and Jaleel Jones all added Cougar wins. 
 
Sophomore Billy Baldwin inched closer to his 10th with on the season with a 3-1 decision over Sean Gillespie to pick up his ninth win, while fellow sophomore Kowan Lee went 2-1 and junior Nasser McCummings added a win. 
 
Overall, Averett finished 15-16 against Liberty in exhibition action, but the damage had been done early in dual competition. 
 
Averett returns to the mat on Feb. 27 when it travels to Grantham, Pennsylvania to battle Messiah College at 2 p.m. in a showdown of two regional powerhouses. 
 
 
Match-by-match results:
125 Sam Braswell def. Dante Minnino, MD, 14-4
133 Logan Robertson def. Joseph Jones, Dec. 10-6
141 Brandon Woody def. John Stuart, TF, 22-3 4:38
149 Tony Blackman def. Brandon Ahlemann, Fall 4:07
157 Chad Cantrell def. Tommy Baldwin, MD, 14-6
165 Alex Turley def. David Over, Dec. 13-6
174 George Moseley def. Ethan Martin, Fall 3:28
184 Blake Barrick def. Zion Carpenter, Fall 4:38
197 Josiah Murphy def. Jamar Christian, Dec. 3-2
285 Trent Ragland def. Jeff Allen, SV-1 2-1
 
Extras:
125 Sam Braswell def. Unknown, For.
133 Jalen Fyffe def. Alex Logsdon, Fall 0:45
133 Kyle Sanders def. Justin Mutter, Fall 1:45
133 Damian Thayer def. Olli Karjalainen, Dec. 7-0
133 Justin Mutter def. Olli Karjalainen, Fall 2:20
133 Damian Thayer def. Alex Logsdon, Dec. 9-2
133 Joseph Jones def. Justin Mutter, TF, 18-0 3:30
141 Malik Reaker def. Garrett Good, Dec. 3-2
141 Kyle Sanders def. Garrett Good, Dec. 5-4
141 Robert Leek def. Malik Reaker, Dec. 6-2
141 John McCann def. Malik Reaker, Fall 4:34
141 Kyle Sanders def. Robert Leek, Fall 1:56
149 Connor McCann def. David Shelton Jr., Dec. 7-5
149 Charles Hudson def. Tony Blackman, Dec. 7-4
149 Charles Hudson def. David Shelton Jr., TF, 16-0 2:24
157 Landon Childress def. Ian McIlhenny, MD, 11-0
157 Caleb Harmon def. Thomas Waddy, Fall 0:53
157 Brandon Ahlemann def. Landon Childress, Dec. 10-7
165 David Over def. Anthony Reese, Fall 2:46 
165 Anthony Reese def. Thomas Waddy, Dec. 10-5
174 Jovante' Hobbs def. Ethan Martin, Dec. 5-0
197 Sean Gillespie def. Sheldon Davis, Dec. 6-0
197 Jesse Redding def. Jaleel Jones, Dec. 4-0
197 Jesse Redding def. Billy Baldwin, Dec. 7-0
197 Jaleel Jones def. Jesse Redding, Dec. 4-2
197 Billy Baldwin def. Sean Gillespie, Dec. 3-1
197 Sean Gillespie def. Jamar Christian, Dec. 6-5
285 Kowan Lee def. Nickalus Estes, Dec. 6-1
285 Nasser McCummings def. Nickalus Estes, Dec. 11-4
285 Rick Weaver def. Kowan Lee, Dec. 6-1
285 Kowan Lee def. Alex Hicks, Dec. 3-2