Men's Wrestling | 11/28/2019 1:38:00 PM

NCAA D2 Individual Rankings - Nov. 28, 2019 (TheOpenMat)

    CULVER CITY, Calif. – The West Liberty University wrestling program made a big splash on Thanksgiving morning when TheOpenMat.com national wrestling website released its first set of NCAA Division II individual rankings for the 2019-20 season.
    Coach Danny Irwin's fast-rising Hilltoppers, who cracked the Top 10 in the NWCA Top 25 rankings earlier this week, had two wrestlers pull down No. 1 national rankings with another returning All-American checking in at No. 3 at his weight.
    Darius Bunch, a senior from Baltimore, Md., is the No. 1-ranked 141-pounder in the nation while fellow senior Logan Kemp, who hails from Centerville, Ohio, is No. 1 at 197 pounds. Cole Laya, a sophomore from Fairmont, W.Va., is ranked No. 3 at 125 pounds.
    An eye-catching photo of Kemp in action during a 2018-19 match accompanies the rankings on TheOpenMat.com website.
    West Liberty joins two-time defending national champion and No. 1-ranked St. Cloud State (Minn.) as the only two programs with multiple No. 1-ranked wrestlers.
    The Minnesota powerhouse has eight wrestlers in the individual rankings, led by a pair of unbeaten No. 1s in sophomore 133-pounder Garrett Vos and junior 157-pounder Jake Barzowski.
    West Liberty wasn't the only Super Region 3 squad with a No. 1-ranked wrestler. Mountain East Conference rival Notre Dame (Ohio) has the No. 1-ranked 184-pounder in Tony Vezzetti. The returning All-American placed second at 184 in last year's nationals at Cleveland.
    The Hilltopper wrestling team will be idle over the Thanksgiving break but returns to the mat on Dec. 7 at the Little State Invitational in Indianapolis.