Wrestling | 12/6/2015 1:00:00 PM

PHILIPPI, W.Va. – The West Liberty University wrestling team swept the final two matches to hand Alderson-Broaddus only its second loss of the season, 22-15, Saturday night in dual meet action at Rex Pyles Arena.
    Coach Mitch Smith's Hilltoppers (2-5) seemed to have things well in hand with a 15-6 lead heading into the 174-pound match but a narrow decision at 174 and a first-period fall at 184 allowed the host Battlers (8-2) to square the match at 15-15.
    Former Brooke High standout came up big for the Black and Gold in his 197-pound match, dominating Nathan Cunningham throughout a convincing 13-6 win to put West Liberty up, 18-15, with the 285-pound finale to follow.
    True freshman Tyler Dodd took it home for the Hilltoppers in style, rolling to a 13-5 major decision against Tyler Arnett for the clincher.
    Also picking up wins for West Liberty were Anthony Craig (149), David Schlieper (157) and DeMadre Turner (165). Zach Brown collected a forfeit at 125.
    "It was a pretty hostile crowd at AB," Smith said, "but after giving up the first two matches, our next three guys – Craig, Schlieper and Turner – responded very well. Then, at the end, Tyler Dodd at heavyweight did a good job sealing the victory with a major decision.
    "We've been tweaking our lineup in the early going and we'll keep doing that until we get the right guys in the right weight classes and are winning matches on a consistent basis. We compete against one of the toughest schedules in the nation but we are getting better every week and I'm convinced we will continue to do so."
    Coach Smith and his Hilltoppers will be idle this week for semester exams but return to action on Saturday when Mercyhurst (Pa.) invades the ASRC for a 7 p.m. match.
 
WRESTLING
West Liberty 22, Alderson-Broaddus 15
125: Zach Brown (WLU) won by forfeit
133: Cody Buchanan (AB) d. Dominic Vagnier, 8-7
141: Micah Powell (AB) d. Josh Cornell, 7-4
149: Anthony Craig (WLU) d. Chris Brent, 8-5
157: David Schlieper (WLU) d. Keith Stednitz, 4-2
165: DeMadre Turner (WLU) d. Logan Shurina, 5-1
174: Davis Solak (AB) d. Daniel Carpenter, 6-2
184: Cody Spinks (AB) p. Eric VandenBossche, :26
197: Nate Dawson (WLU) d. Nathan Cunningham, 13-6
285: Tyler Dodd (WLU) md. Tyler Arnett, 13-5