One medical condition won't define the life of Kent State Tuscarawas freshman Zion Clark.

The wrestler was born with a condition called caudal regression syndrome, a congenital disorder in which there is abnormal fetal development of the lower spine.

“My diagnosis hasn’t really affected my life good or bad, it’s just a day-to-day thing ...” Clark said. “I just kind of figured out how to do a lot of things, like when it comes to riding a bike, I can do it.”

Around age eight, Clark was introduced to a sport that would eventually impact his life forever: wrestling.

Liberty is the new #1 team as they had an impressive National Duals defeating the #8, #1, #3, and #4 seeds to capture the Duals title. Liberty also added several new individuals into the upper rankings which bolstered their lead in the power rankings.

The field of 490 wrestlers in the NCWA Men's National Championship has not been set, but the amount of qualifying bids for each conference has been released.

LYNCHBURG, Va. -- No one repeats as the NCWA National Duals champion. No one.

That played out again this year as Liberty won the final six bouts to rally and beat defending champion Emmanuel College, 30-15, for the Duals title and a leg up on the field heading into the NCWA Championships in March. Grand Valley State took third, beating surprising Springfield Tech 28-18.

Top-seeded Central Florida took a tumble Friday in the opening rounds of the NCWA National Duals, and now faces a much tougher road Saturday if the Knights are to reach the championship match for the second time in three years. The rest of the top-seeded teams all advanced through round-robin pool play as expected into the quarterfinals that begin Saturday morning at the LaHaye Center at Liberty University.

LAS VEGAS - BYU won the first two bouts to gain an 11-0 lead, and then clinched the NCWA Regional Duals by sweeping the last four matches from Colorado State in a 39-10 win. The win is the Cougars' first NCWA title of any kind, and earns six team points that will carry forward into the start of the NCWA Championships next month.

The 2018 NCWA National Duals will be held at the LaHaye Ice Center on the campus of Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA) this weekend, Jan. 26-27. This is the second time for Liberty to host the National Duals following a six-year run in Dalton, Ga., and two years at Middle Tennessee. The top-four seeds in the tournament are (1) Central Florida, (2) Liberty, (3) Grand Valley State and (4) Emmanuel College.

The 2018 Regional Duals begin Saturday at Western High School in Las Vegas. This is the third season that the western schools in the NCWA have competed in a duals tournament that has been a part of the NCWA Collegiate Cup Series. The top six teams placing from the 12-team bracket will earn team points that will carry over to the 2018 NCWA Championships in March -- 6 team points for the champion, 5 points for the runner-up, 4 for third-place and so on to 1 point for sixth place.

There is a new sheriff in town and it turns out it's the old sheriff as well. Two-time defending National Champion Emmanuel College (SEC) has taken over the #1 spot from perennial contender UCF. Ten of the eleven weight classes remain stable at the top with the same #1 wrestlers as in late November. The only new #1 is at 149 where Freshman standout Zach Blevins of the University of Toledo took over but is followed closely by another Freshman, Nick Puliti of Temple University.

Midway, Ky. -- Midway University athletic director, Rusty Kennedy, has announced the hiring of Jake Brumbelow as the first-ever head coach for the inaugural Midway wrestling program, which is set to make its debut in fall 2018.

"I am excited to welcome Jake Brumbelow to Midway University as our first-ever head wrestling coach," said Kennedy. "Jake stood out among a very impressive pool of applicants we had for our position."

Kennedy added, "His history of success and experience of starting two prior wrestling programs at the college level really impressed us and

The 2018 NCWA National Duals field has officially been selected! The event will take place at the LaHaye Ice Center on the campus of Liberty University on January 26-27, 2018.

Emmanuel and Liberty will look for a rematch in the finals while Washington State will be making its first appearance at the duals. Three other teams return from a hiatus with RPI being back for the first time since the 2009 event.

The Builder Wrestling team traveled to the University of Southern Maine Saturday to compete in the Ted Reese Invitational, placing 6th out of 16 teams. The young team saw some new variety this weekend, seeing competitors from NCAA div3 and NCWA programs all based in New England. The US Coast Guard Academy (NCAA D3) won the event with 166 team points, followed by host Southern Maine with 159 points. Apprentice edged Trinity College of Connecticut for the top-six finish.

Central Florida remains atop the NCWA-D1 team rankings (43 pts) with 3 individuals ranked #1 including the top-2 wrestlers at 125. The top-10 for NCWA-D1 are rounded out by Emmanuel and Grand Valley State tied at 2nd (42 pts), Middle Tennessee (4th-39 pts), Liberty (5th-35 pts), Apprentice (6th-32 pts), Toledo (7th-27 pts), Springfield Tech (8th-24 pts), Queens of Charlotte (9th-23 pts), and BYU (10th-22 pts).

Matthew Chun, from Arlington, Virginia, is an MIT senior majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in management science. As a Rhodes Scholar, Chun seeks to further his knowledge of policy and law, with the goal of advising organizations that bring life-improving technologies to countries around the world. At Oxford, he will pursue a second BA in jurisprudence before returning to the U.S. to enroll in law school with a focus on intellectual property.

Two competitions into the season, the Wayne State College wrestling team hosted their first of two events competing at the WSC Mort Harris Center this past weekend. On Friday and Saturday, the National Collegiate Wrestling Association took over the west end of the hall battling teams such as Colorado State University, Missouri

The Georgia Open hosted by 2x defending NCWA National Champion Emmanuel College was the site of the latest triumph for the NCWA as wrestlers from Emmanuel, Florida, Middle Tennessee, South Florida, Tennessee, North Georgia, Georgia Southern, and Florida A&M attacked the field.

Four members of the UCF wrestling squad placed in the tough UNC-Pembroke Braves Classic on Sunday November 12 featuring some of the top programs in the southeast portion of the United States ranging from NJCAA to NCAA-D1. Jacob Toledo defeated fellow teammate Tim Sakow 7-2 at 125 on his way to placing 5th. Sakow is currently ranked #1 in the NCWA at 125.

The Builders traveled to Collegeville, PA this past weekend to compete in the annual Fall Brawl at Ursinus College. The young team had mixed success at the largely NCAA div III dominated event.

Two Builders advanced to the semi-final round before being knocked into the consolation bracket, as Chad Simmons and Kolin Johnson won their first two bouts at 174 and 125 lbs respectively.

Every season includes some growing pains early on, and the Grand Valley State wrestling program is no exception.

The Laker team is relatively young but also showing glimpses of its potential. But for the team members, continued improvement is the number one focus as the season is just getting underway.

Six young Laker wrestlers competed at the Ben McMullen Open this past

Liberty University's men's wrestling team tried to divide and conquer the opposition at Saturday's Messiah (Pa.) Invitational and Virginia Beach Nationals, sending split squads to the two season-opening tournaments and experiencing mixed results.

The Flames' 10 individuals combined for an eighth-place showing at Messiah in Grantham, Pa., where they were