Men's Wrestling | 1/18/2018 10:31:00 PM

    FAYETTE, Iowa – The West Liberty University wrestling team has moved up to No. 16 and a trio of WLU grapplers have cracked the national rankings in the latest set of NCAA Division II team and individual rankings released by the NCAA D2 Wrestling Coaches Association.
    Coach Mitch Smith's rising Hilltopper program jumped three spots to move into a tie with Minnesota State for No. 16 in the nationwide team rankings while the individual rankings found Corey Secrist and Logan Kemp joining Darius Bunch among the top 12 in their respective weight classes.
    Bunch, a junior transfer from Emmanuel (Ga.) College who was named Most Outstanding Wrestler at last month's prestigious Midwest Classic in Indianapolis, earned his second consecutive No. 1 ranking at 133 pounds. Bunch owns wins over the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 wrestlers in this week's rankings.
    Secrist, a freshman from Petersburg, W.Va. who won nearly 200 high school matches, has his collegiate career off to a flying start. Secrist opened West Liberty's thrilling 20-19 road win at East Stroudsburg earlier this month with a key first-period fall. He's ranked No. 12 nationally at 125 pounds.
    Kemp, a sophomore letterman from Centerville, Ohio, is also making his debut in the national rankings. Kemp, who placed 7^th at 197 pounds in the Midwest Classic, impressed with a key major decision at East Stroudsburg and is now the nation's No. 12-ranked 197-pounder.
    West Liberty faces a big challenge on Friday when Coach Smith and his Hilltoppers head north to take on No. 2-ranked Notre Dame (Ohio). The first match is set for 7 p.m. in South Euclid, Ohio.
  Team                                               Pts                Pvs
  1 St. Cloud State                        103               1
  2 Notre Dame                             80                 8
  3 Wis.-Parkside                          60                 2
  4 Ashland                                     57                 3
  5 CSU-Pueblo                              50                 7
  6 McKendree                              47                 5
(tie) Upper Iowa                          47                 10
  8 Simon Fraser                           46                 11
  9 California Baptist                   41                 4
10 Central Oklahoma                 37                 13
11 Pitt-Johnstown                       35                 6
12 Nebraska-Kearney                 31                 12
13 Indianapolis                             30                 9
(tie) Newberry                              30                 14
15 Western State                        26                 17
16 WEST LIBERTY                        22                 21
(tie) Minnesota State                 22                 20
18 Findlay                                      21                 16
19 WHEELING JESUIT                 20                 24
20 Lindenwood                            19                 23
21 Adams State                            17                 RV
22 King                                            16                 RV
23 Lake Erie                                   14                 15
(tie) Maryville                               14                 19
25 Shippensburg                          13                 RV
     Others Receiving Votes: Mary 12, Coker 12, Colorado Mesa 12, Gannon 11, Kutztown 10, LIU-Post 10, East Stroudsburg 10, Ohio Valley 9, Newman 8, Augustana, S.D. 7, Fort Hays State 6, Limestone 6, Tiffin 6, Mercyhurst 4, Millersville 4, MSU-Moorhead 3, San Francisco State 2.   1. Jordan Simpson, Newberry
  2. Eli Hale, Central Oklahoma
  3. Ivan McClay, Notre Dame
  4. Carlos Jacquez, Lindenwood
  5. Brett Velasquez, St. Cloud State
  6. Maleek Williams, Upper Iowa
  7. Darek Huff, Adams State
  8. Trent Piatt, Western State
  9. Josh Portillo, Nebraska-Kearney
10. Blake Glogouski, Lake Erie
11. Joe Arroyo, Wis.-Parkside
12. COREY SECRIST, WEST LIBERTY   1. DARIUS BUNCH, WEST LIBERTY
  2. Dustin Warner, Wheeling Jesuit
  3. Airk Furseth, Wis.-Parkside
  4. Dustin Kirk, King
  5. Anthony Sparacio, LIU-Post
  6. Josh Walker, Upper Iowa
  7. Paul Garcia, CSU-Pueblo
  8. Hunter Haralson, Lindenwood
  9. Tate Barnhardt, Mary
10. Kelan McKenna, Notre Dame
11. Bryce Shoemaker, Nebraska-Kearney
12. Lawrence Dudgeon, Ashland   1. Luke Cramer, Ashland
  2. Morgan Smith, Simon Fraser
  3. Evan Ramos, Shippensburg
  4. Luis Peguero, Coker
  5. Konnor Schmidt, Western State
  6. Vince Dietz, St. Cloud State
  7. Levi Niebauer, Pitt-Johnstown
  8. Matt Rudy, Limestone
  9. Matt Blome, MSU-Mankato
10. Wes Phipps, Mercyhurst
11. Nicholas Mason, Tiffin
12. LOGAN KEMP, WEST LIBERTY