Men's Wrestling | 1/4/2020 8:55:00 PM

 
2020 Spartan Mat Classic Brackets - Final
 
    MANCHESTER, Ind. – Head coach Danny Irwin was more than pleased with the performance of his West Liberty University wrestling team at Saturday's Spartan Mat Classic inside Staffer-Wolfe Arena on the campus of Manchester (Ind.) University.
    The No. 12-ranked Hilltoppers won three individual titles and had 10 wrestlers place in their respective weight classes to take runner-up honors among the nearly 20 teams that made the Indiana facility a beehive of non-stop wrestling action throughout the day.
    "The extra work we've been able to get in the last few days while school wasn't in session really showed up for us today," Irwin said. "Those improvements enabled us to build off each other's efforts and really made for a fun day of competition.
    "Specifically, I thought our attack rate from the neutral position is continuing to improve and we were very stingy in the top position today, which allowed us to do a better job closing out periods. We also created more tilts and that helped break open some close matches for us."
    Wabash, ranked No. 4 in NCAA Division III, edged out the Black and Gold for the team title with 164 points. West Liberty was a close second at 154 with Indiana Tech right behind at 148. Host Manchester (92) and Bellarmine (87.5) rounded out the top five.
    Claiming individual championships for the Black and Gold were senior All-American Darius Bunch at 141 pounds, sophomore 157-pounder Blake Miller and true freshman 184-pounder Zane Lanham.
    The 141-pound final was an All-Hilltopper affair as Bunch prevailed via medical forfeit over teammate Jacob Simpson.
    Miller made a strong run through the 157-pound field to claim his first collegiate tournament title. The Kingwood, W.Va. native outlasted Ohio Wesleyan's Bryce Wittman, 13-11, in a highly-entertaining championship bout.
    "Winning my first college tournament was a real testament to all the hard work we do day in and day out in our program," Miller said. "I'm really happy I was able to compete the way I did today and see this as taking the next step forward in my wrestling."
    After breezing through his first two matches, Lanham had to survive a 10-7 donnybrook with Marian's Jack Servies in the semifinals before dominating Lincoln's Brian Holloway, 6-1, in the championship final to claim his first collegiate crown.
    "I just feel really blessed to finally win my first collegiate tournament," said Lanham, a two-time state champion at Huntington (W.Va.) High School. "I had to get through some really tough matches today that should help prepare me for the next couple of weeks."
    Two other West Liberty wrestlers joined Simpson as runner-up at their weights. Junior Corey Secrist placed second to Wabash's Kory Cavanaugh at 125 pounds while senior Chris Cook closed out the tournament with a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Wabash's Max Bishop in the 285-pound title match.
    West Liberty's other place-winners included Chase Morgan (third at 165), Isaiah Myers (fourth at 197), Tommy Curtin (sixth at 133) and Parker Mazik (eighth at 149).
    "The schedule really picks up now," Irwin said. "We have a big dual coming up Friday night at (No. 8-ranked) Ashland which could have big implications in our region. At the same time, the rest of our team will be competing in an open tournament at Indianapolis.
    "The hard work is paying off. We're getting better. I think by the time we get back home in a couple of weeks, fans will see a much-improved West Liberty wrestling team."
       1. Wabash 161; 2. WEST LIBERTY 154; 3. Indiana Tech 148; 4. Manchester 92; 5. Bellarmine 87.5; 6. Marian 85.5; 7. Davenport 68.5; 8. Unattached 56; 9. Ohio Wesleyan 50.5; 10. Thomas More 39; 11. Toledo 30.5; 12. Lincoln 27.5; 13. Trine 24.5; 14. Mott CC 21; 15. Macomb 11.5; 16. Grand Valley State 7; 17. Ancilla CC 3.5 125: Kory Cavanaugh (Wabash) md. Corey Secrist (West Liberty), 15-6
141: Darius Bunch (West Liberty) won by medical forfeit over Jacob Simpson (West Liberty)
157: Blake Miller (West Liberty) d. Bryce Wittman (Ohio Wesleyan), 13-11
184: Zane Lanham (West Liberty) d. Brian Holloway (Lincoln), 6-1
197: Josh Hill (Indiana Tech) d. Ronnie D'Amico (Unattached), 8-5
285: Max Bishop (Wabash) d. Chris Cook (West Liberty), 3-2 141: Marcus Jean-Baptiste (Unattached) p. Jordan Napier (Manchester), :41
165: Chase Morgan (West Liberty) md. Rahman Johnson (Indiana Tech), 11-1
197: Mykiel Stallings (Indiana Tech) p. Isaiah Myers (West Liberty), 2:59 133: Evan Burge (Wabash) d. Tommy Curtin (West Liberty), 7-4 149: Chase Bates (Mott CC) d. Parker Mazik (West Liberty), 14-7