WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The No. 12-ranked West Liberty University wrestling team opened the 2019-20 in dominating fashion here Wednesday night, rolling to a 48-3 victory against WVU Tech before a large crowd at the ASRC.
    "No matter how good you might think you are going against each other during the preseason, you don't really know until you get a chance to get out on the mat against a team that fights back to start getting some idea of where you're at," head coach Danny Irwin said.
    "We will be going up against a lot of nationally-ranked teams and nationally-ranked wrestlers down the road but (WVU Tech) had some pretty good guys and they competed hard tonight."
    Two of Irwin's three nationally-ranked wrestlers dominated from the opening whistle before winning by falls.
    Darius Bunch, the nation's No. 3-ranked 141-pounder returning after redshirting a year ago, raced out to a 14-4 lead before stacking Golden Bear junior Nathan McClaugherty at the 6:34 mark. Logan Kemp, ranked No. 7 at 197, blitzed Vincent DeVaney in the night's penultimate match, with the referee slapping the mat at 2:42 of the first period.
    Cole Laya, No. 3 at 125, won by forfeit as Tech was unable to fill its 125-pound slot.
    "It would have been nice to see Cole get a chance to wrestle since he's such a sparkplug for our team," Irwin said. "Coming off the redshirt, I kind of expected Darius to come out like that because that's the way he pushes himself in the room. Logan has been working on some things and you can see them starting to come together for him. He was excellent tonight."
    There was no shortage of bright spots for the Black and Gold. Bunch's fall at 141 combined with forfeits at 125 and 149 put WLU on top, 18-3, heading to the 157-pound bout. Sophomore Blake Miller was tied with WVU Tech's Clayton Stewart heading into the third period but a reversal and four back points propelled Stewart to an 11-4 decision.
    The Hilltoppers shifted into overdrive following a performance by West Liberty's Acrobatics and Tumbling team at intermission.
    Chase Morgan led wire-to-wire in a 15-3 runaway major decision over Cameron Crislip at 165 pounds and twin brother Chance Morgan raced out to a 12-5 lead over Leslie Campbell at 174 before ending matters with a second-period fall at 4:45.
    Senior 184-pounder Isaiah Myers dominated WVU Tech freshman Jacob Thomas throughout their match, notching four back points as time expired to seal an 18-3 technical fall.
    Kemp kept things rolling with his first period fall at 197 and 285-pounder Chase Logan brought down the curtain and nearly brought down the house with a first period fall against Golden Bear freshman Prestin Rose off a takedown that resembled a quarterback sack.
    Irwin, who was making his West Liberty coaching debut, was as impressed by the crowd as he was by the wrestling.
    "I was really thrilled to see the turnout we had tonight," Irwin said. "Kudos to the administration and the athletic support staff for helping create such a great atmosphere. With the video board, the music and the Acrobatics and Tumbling team at intermission combined with the way our guys wrestled down the stretch, it was a heck of a show.
    "I think the people who were here tonight are going to come back for more and we're really looking forward to seeing more people from the valley come out to climb the hill with us."
    125: #3 Cole Laya (WLU) won by forfeit
133: Logan Robertson (WVT) d. Nate Keaton, 9-5
141: #3 Darius Bunch (WLU) p. Nate McClaugherty, 6:34
149: Jamie Ward (WLU) won by forfeit
157: Blake Miller (WLU) d. Clayton Stewart, 10-4
165: Chase Morgan (WLU) md. Cameron Crislip, 14-3
174: Chance Morgan (WLU) p. Leslie Campbell, 4:45
184: Isaiah Myers (WLU) tf. Jacob Thomas, 18-3
197: #7 Logan Kemp (WLU) p. Vincent DeVaney, 2:42
285: Chase Logan (WLU) p. Prestin Rose, 1:41