Men's Wrestling | 2/6/2016 6:51:00 PM
WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University wrestling team grabbed an early lead but couldn't hang on Saturday afternoon as Shippensburg rallied to a 31-12 victory in dual meet action at the ASRC.
Coach Mitch Smith's Hilltoppers (4-11) got off to a fast start as Zach Brown rolled to an 11-3 major decision against David Reagan in a battle of regionally-ranked 125-pounders and WLU teammate Bryce Humphreys dominated Dante Steffenino in a 23-8 technical fall. The visiting Raiders (10-6) won the next three matches to take a 10-9 lead but West Liberty's DeMadre Turner, the region's No. 5-ranked 165-pounder, gutted out a 7-6 win against Mark Lentz to put the Black and Gold back on top, 12-10, heading into the final four weight classes. That proved to be the high-water mark for the hosts, however, as Shippensburg pulled out last-minute falls in each of the next two bouts to lock up the win. A decision at 197 and a WLU forfeit at 285 wrapped up the scoring.
West Liberty will close out its dual meet schedule at home on Friday when the Hilltoppers host Gannon in a 7 p.m. match.
The Hilltoppers will observe "Team Holdyn Night" on Friday as part of their fundraising efforts in support of Holdyn Keefer, a 4-year-old wrestling fan who was recently diagnosed with leukemia.
WRESTLING
Shippensburg 31, West Liberty 12
174: Shane Springer (Ship) p. Daniel Carpenter, 6:47
197: Evan Ramos (Ship) d. Nate Dawson, 10-3
285: Shaheed Hill (Ship) won by forfeit
