Early January is always an exciting part of the wrestling calendar for Liberty head coach Brandon Hall. The Hurricanes will trek to the Virginia Duals this weekend to compete in the dual event and rub shoulders with collegiate wrestlers from the likes of Navy, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, as they compete in duals this weekend too in Hampton.

Outside of the actual wrestling experience on the mat, Hall enjoys the road trip and team bonding that the event presents to the program.

“I enjoy the conversations among the team on the van ride down, in the hotel lobby or out to eat as a team,” said Hall. “It often centers on wrestling, life, or music and how short sighted most of the kids are on 80s-90s Hip Hop. The opportunity for our program to watch various college programs compete and warm up in the same arena we compete in is another great experience. It really is a positive experience for Liberty wrestling to wrestle against teams other states in a format like this.”

Liberty opens with Heritage-Lynchburg (VA) in the 16 team bracket, being one of only two Pennsylvania schools in the Townebank High School Division.

Being able to compete in an arena under bright lights is a chance for Liberty wrestlers to warm up for the second half season run.

“This is another opportunity for our program to compete on a big stage,” Hall said. “These types of environments can help speed up the learning process for many of our young and/or inexperienced wrestlers. That certainly was the case last year. Trips like these also come with other challenges. The coaching staff and wrestlers appreciate the work it takes for our booster club to make trips like this possible.”

Before they head off, Liberty (2-2) has a home tussle with Nazareth (3-1) on Wednesday. The ‘Canes have gone through an EPC gauntlet thus far on the season, wrestling Bethlehem Catholic and Parkland in their limited dual meets.

Going up against another perennial district contender in the Blue Eagles will pose nothing short of a massive challenge for the program.

“You want to see the kids go out looking to score and take some chances and compete,” said Hall. “Regardless of who the competition is, outside of the Parkland dual, I feel like we’ve done that. That is what we will expect to do Wednesday against Nazareth and in Virginia.”