Christian Smith

Height:
5-7
Weight:
133
Class:
Redshirt Senior
Hometown:
Suffolk, Va.

2008 (Sr.): Named to the NWCA All-Academic Team, helping Liberty finish the year ranked No. 3 nationally in the final NWCA 2007-08 All-Academic Wrestling Team listing with a 3.286 team GPA … selected as a member of the Big South Presidential Honor Roll … one of six grapplers to advance to the NCAA National Championship following a victory at the NCAA East Regionals hosted by Liberty … had the misfortune of being declare ineligible by the NCAA after posting a 16-14 record to open the year at 133 pounds, resulting in all 30 matches being forfeited … prior to the NCAA ruling, he finished third at the Brockport-Oklahoma Gold Classic with a 4-1 record (11/10) … placed fifth at the Navy Classic, which included two wins by decision and a 14-2 major decision victory … posted a 3-2 record in five dual match-ups at the Hoosier Duals (11/24) … was 2-2 at the Reno Tournament of Champions (12/18) … captured the 133 pound title at the NCAA East Regoinal by virtue of a 22-4 technical fall victory over Wagner's Nicholas Boghos and a 10-2 major decision over Duquesne's Kevin Chapman (3/9).
2007 (Jr.): Named to the Big South Presidential Honor Roll … selected to the VaSID academic all-state team … named to the NWCA All-Academic team, an honor bestowed upon the top student-athlete wrestlers in the country … was one of three Liberty wrestlers to garner regional rankings during the course of the season, as listed by WrestlingReport.com … one of four Liberty wrestlers to advance to the NCAA National Championships … had to sit out the first part of the season due to NCAA transfer rules … competed as an individual prior to becoming eligible for team competition on Dec. 16 … ranked fourth on the team with 26 individual victories … posted a 26-12 record at 125 pounds on the year (68.4 winning percentage) … posted an 8-3 record in dual matches … 7-3 in matches determined by fall … ranked fifth on the team with victories by fall … placed in four tournaments throughout the year, including individual weight-class championships in three different tournaments … opened the year with a perfect 5-0 record competing as an individual at the East Stroudsburg Open (11/18), claiming the championship at 125 pounds … picked up two wins by major decision, one by technical fall and another by fall at the East Stroudsburg Open … posted a 5-3 record at the Nittany Lion Classic to place eighth at the event (12/3) … was one of two Liberty wrestlers to compete at the Midland Championships (12/28), posting a 2-2 record at the event … posted a perfect 3-0 record at the Virginia State Intercollegiates to claim the championship at 125 pounds (1/6) … claimed two of his three victories at the event by fall, while claiming the weight class championship with a 3-2 decision over Virginia's Ross Gitomer … 2-2 at the Virginia Duals (1/12-13), including decision victories over The Citadel's Tyler Sim (6-4) and Bucknell's Greg Hart (9-4) … 3-0 at the East Regional Duals (2/4), opening with a win by fall (2:38) over Gardner-Webb's Cortney Roberts … … was a perfect 2-0 at the NCAA East Regional to claim the title at 125 pounds (3/4) … bested Gardner-Webb's Roberts again by fall (1:10) to claim the weight class championship … named Co-Most Outstanding Wrestler at the event … entered the NCAA National Championship having won nine out of his last 10 matches.
Previous Schools: Transferred to Liberty from Virginia Tech … sat out his only season at Virginia Tech after suffering a preseason injury … transferred to Virginia Tech from Duke where he was a two-year member of the Blue Devils' squad … posted a 42-17 record at Duke … started off his collegiate career with a 30-12 record as a freshman, going undefeated in ACC action to claim a conference championship at 125 pounds … was a NCAA Tournament qualifier … was named Duke's Freshman of the Year … tied for the nation's lead in falls at 125 pounds … posted a 12-5 record as a sophomore, before being granted a medical redshirt … placed second at the West Virginia Open and claimed the championship at UNC Pembroke.
Prep: Graduated from Western Branch High School … finished his four-year career with a 176-16 record (91.7 winning percentage) … posted a 21-1 record as a freshman at 103 pounds … three-time state champion (103 pounds as a sophomore, 112 pounds as a junior and 119 pounds as a senior) … named a High School All-American as a senior by USA Wrestling Magazine … ranked as high as fourth nationally by Wrestling USA Magazine during senior year.
Personal: Son of Daniel Wayne and Shelia Smith … birthday is on Nov. 1 … has a previous tie to the program as his father wrestled for Liberty from 1975-77 … Daniel Smith was a two-time NCCAA national champion (118 pounds in 1976 and 126 pounds in 1977) … majored in business management at Liberty … completed his undergraduate degree in business during the spring of 2007 … currently pursuing his master's in business administration … his favorite memory while competing in his sport is doing hundreds of "spin drills" at pee-wee club practice … would love to see his coaches cut weight at two-a-days if he was named "Coach for a Day".