Men's Wrestling | 11/12/2018 12:17:00 PM

    CLEVELAND – Several members of the West Liberty University wrestling team made their presence felt here Sunday in the massive Ohio Intercollegiate Open hosted by Case Western Reserve University.
    "This was an extremely competitive event with a lot of wrestlers from NCAA Division I programs in the mix," WLU head coach Mitch Smith said. "Ohio State, which is ranked No. 2 nationally in Division I, brought their whole team. We had several wrestlers place in their weight classes and some other guys found success, as well, so it was a pretty good day.
    "This was a great challenge and every one of the guys who competed here gained some very valuable experience."
    Austin Loew was the highest placer for the Black and Gold. The freshman from Wheeling Park High School was fourth in the White Division at 197 pounds.
    Loew beat Notre Dame's Dennis Whitehead, 6-2, in the championship quarterfinal before falling to Mercyhurst's Jeff Thompson in the semifinal match. He battled back with a win in the consolation round to advance to the Third Place match, where he lost to another Mercyhurst wrestler and finished fourth.
    Chance Morgan and Ronnie D'Amico notched 8th-Place finishes at 174 and 285 pounds, respectively.
    Morgan, a sophomore from Ripley, W.Va., dropped a tough decision to a Michigan State wrestler in his opening match but reeled off three straight wins in the consolation rounds to earn his place.
    D'Amico, a sophomore from Pittsburgh, made it to the second round of the championship bracket before losing to a Kent State grappler. D'Amico worked his way through the wrestlebacks with three straight wins to finish eighth.
    Two members of the Hilltopper program who are redshirting this season also impressed while wrestling unattached.
    Darius Bunch, a 2018 All-American at 133, placed sixth at 141 pounds in the Gold Division while Owen Zeiders was sixth at 157 pounds in the White Division.
    The Hilltoppers will be back in action on Saturday when they head to northwest Ohio to compete in the Findlay Open.