Men's Wrestling | 3/12/2020 11:13:00 AM
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – West Liberty University wrestling coach
Danny Irwin and Hilltopper mat standouts
Cole Laya and
Chase Logan are ready to make a run at this weekend's NCAA Division II National Championships.
"It's time to put an exclamation point on our season," Irwin said. "We've worked through a handful of obstacles but it has been a season to remember. We are looking forward to these guys capitalizing on the opportunity to cut it loose one more time!"
The 2020 NCAA Division II Nationals will be held Friday and Saturday at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. Augustana University is serving as the host institution. Friday's opening session, featuring 120 matches spread across six mats, gets under way at 11 a.m. (CDT) with Session Two set for a 5 p.m. start. The championship semifinals, third-round consolations, consolation semifinals and Third-, Fifth- and Seventh-place matches begin at 10 a.m. Saturday. The traditional Parade of All-Americans kicks off the final session at 6:40 p.m. with the first of 10 championship finals getting under way at 7 p.m.
Laya and Logan punched their tickets to the national championship meet with strong performances in last month's Super Region 3 Championships at Indianapolis. Laya settled for runner-up honors at 125 pounds while Logan wrestled his way to a third-place finish at 285.
This is the second trip to nationals for Laya, a returning All-American from Fairmont, W.Va., while Logan, a senior 285-pounder from Greensburg, Pa., is a first-time qualifier.
Laya (14-2), ranked No. 10 nationally by the NWCA, was the only true freshman at any weight to earn NCAA Division II All-America honors a year ago when he placed third at 125 pounds in Cleveland. He just missed claiming his second straight Super Region 3 title last month when he dropped a 3-2 decision to Indianapolis' Ana Abduljelil in the regional championship match.
Abduljelil is the No. 4 seed this week in what may be the most competitive weight class of the tournament. The 16-man field at 125 pounds features six returning All-Americans – including Laya – along with four 2-time All-Americans and a pair of nationally-ranked freshmen.
Laya's first-round opponent is a challenging one as he faces No. 6 seed Carlos Jacquez (19-4), the defending national champion and a 2-time All-American from Lindenwood (Mo.). The fifth-year senior was the 2019 NWCA Division II National Wrestler of the Year after completing a perfect 30-0 season with a national championship in Cleveland. Laya gave Jacquez one of his toughest matches a year ago, coming out on the short end of a 4-1 decision in the championship semifinals.
"Cole is absolutely ready to go," Irwin said. "This is a business trip for him. He's completely tuned in to the positions he needs to wrestle in this weekend and our staff is excited to see him execute. We think it's going to lead to some awesome moments."
Logan (17-14) lost to eventual champion Jared Campbell of Notre Dame in the regional semifinals but bounced back impressively to earn his shot at nationals. The WLU senior didn't give up an offensive point the rest of the day, posting a 3-1 win against Davenport's River Fox before knocking off first-team All-G-MAC standout David Henson, 2-1, in the Third Place match.
Logan will also have to fight his way through a deep and talented weight class in order to make his way to the podium on Saturday night, starting with a stiff test in Friday's first round match. The Hilltopper big man will make his NCAA Nationals debut against No. 4 seed Courvoisier Morrow of Lindenwood (Mo.). Fresh off his second straight Super Region 2 championship, Lindenwood's redshirt junior brings a sparkling 16-2 record into the tournament.
Defending national champion Andrew Dunn (20-0) hasn't lost a match all season and is the No. 1 seed while Super Region 3 champion Campbell (23-2) is the No. 2 seed. He hasn't lost a match on the mat this season as both of his setbacks came via medical forfeit. No. 3 seed Jacob Robb (31-5) has put together back-to-back 30-win seasons and battled the unbeaten Dunn to the wire in the Super Region 1 final before falling by a 3-2 count.
"Logan being here this week may be a surprise to a lot of people but not to us," Irwin said. "We expected him to qualify at regionals and now we expect to see him on the podium this weekend. He needs to open up his offense a little more than he did in the regional but when he does that here, I think he's going to surprise a lot more people."
