GREENWOOD, S.C. – The No. 4-ranked West Liberty University wrestling team won three of its four matches on Saturday at the inaugural Carolina Clash Duals hosted by Lander University.
    Coach Danny Irwin's Hilltoppers opened with an impressive 32-12 romp past No. 18 UNC Pembroke before dropping a 26-12 verdict to No. 2-ranked defending national champion St. Cloud State (Minn.). The Black and Gold rebounded with a 29-12 thumping of a host Lander squad that is receiving votes in the NWCA National Top 25 before finishing off the day with a 34-15 win against Mount Olive (N.C.).
    "I thought we took a big step forward as a team today," Irwin said. "You want to compete against big-time competition and this weekend provided that to us. It helps us build to the next big marker this season which is the NWCA National Duals (in January)."
    West Liberty fell behind early in the opener against UNC Pembroke. Defending national champion Cole Laya dropped a tough 12-6 decision to Nick Daggett in a rematch of March's 125-pound final in St. Louis and a fall at 133 gave the Braves a 9-0 lead after the first two matches.
    Marcus Jean-Baptiste stopped the bleeding with a first-period fall at 141 and after UNC Pembroke eked out a narrow decision at 149 for a 12-6 lead, it was all Hilltoppers the rest of the way as the Black and Gold swept the final six matches. Highlighting the WLU surge were a second-period fall at 174 by No. 7-ranked Ty McGeary and a 10-0 major decision by No. 9-ranked 285-pounder Francesco Borsellino.
    The most anticipated match was a showdown of nationally-ranked wrestlers at 197 and West Liberty veteran Logan Kemp didn't disappoint. The No. 10-ranked Kemp dominated No. 8 Bryce Walker from start to finish and rolled to a 10-2 major decision.
    "Pembroke has a really good team that brings a ton of energy to the mat," Irwin said. "They're a fun team to compete against. Our guys came out swinging from 141 on and took control. That final score doesn't really reflect how hard-fought of a win that was."
    Next up for the Black and Gold was defending national champion St. Cloud State. Laya bounced back with a 3-1 win against a talented Paxton Creese at 125 and McGeary impressed again with a 3-2 decision against No. 10-ranked Dominic Murphy at 174. Kemp was locked in a scoreless duel with No. 5-ranked Noah Ryan when the WLU veteran suffered an injury that ended his day. Borsellino finished the match on a high note for the Black and Gold with a first-period fall at 285.
    "Having the opportunity to compete against the defending national champions is the main reason we made this trip," Irwin said. "I wanted to see them earlier than potentially January and every one of our guys fought their tails off. That's the type of match that will pay dividends for us in the future."
    West Liberty had no problem taking care of business against Lander and Mount Olive to come out of the power-packed event with a 3-1 record.
    McGeary and Borsellino each posted perfect 4-0 records on the day. McGeary muscled out a pair of one-point decisions against quality grapplers to go along with a second-period fall and a technical fall. Borsellino continued to make quite an impression as the Hilltoppers' cleanup hitter. The junior standout had a shutout major decision and three falls – two of them in the first period and the other just 23 seconds into the second frame.
    "McGeary showed today that he's not just a flash in the pan," Irwin said. "He beat three really high-quality opponents out of his four wins. What coach wouldn't love to have an anchor like Borso? He has grown so much mentally and never stops hustling to score points."
    Several members of the WLU wrestling team headed west to compete in the Indiana Little State event hosted by Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind.
    A trio of Hilltoppers made their way to the podium in Indiana.
    Brayden Johnson posted a fall and two shutout decisions on his way to a runner-up finish at 141 pounds. Blake Miller was third at 165, going 2-1 on the mat with a tough loss in the championship semis but prevailed in the Third Place match by injury default. Jamie Kilmer took fourth place in the 285-pound division. After a loss in the championship semis, he scored a fall in the consolation semis to vault into the Third Place match.
    The West Liberty wrestlers return to action on Dec. 12 with a dual meet at No. 12-ranked Findlay. First bout is set for 2 p.m. on the Oilers' home mat.
    125: #2 Nick Daggett (UNC-P) d. #1 Cole Laya (WLU), 12-6
133: Anthony Carter (UNC-P) p. Luke Miller (WLU), 6:17
141: Marcus Jean-Baptiste (WLU) p. Shane Chavis (UNC-P), 2:39
149: Jake Piccirilli (UNC-P) d. Jacob Simpson (WLU), 3-1
157: Jonah Smith (WLU) d. Cliff Owens (UNC-P), 8-7
165: Chase Morgan (WLU) over Rashaan Vereen (UNC-P), DQ
174: #7 Ty McGeary (WLU) p. Garrett Hill (UNC-P), 4:49
184: Drake Kendrex (WLU) d. Jovaun Johnson (UNC-P), 6-1
197: #10 Logan Kemp (WLU) md. #8 Bryce Walker (UNC-P), 10-2
285: #9 Francesco Borsellino (WLU) md. Marcus Bell (UNC-P), 10-0 125: #1 Cole Laya (WLU) d. Paxton Creese (SCSU), 3-1
133: Daniel Valeria (SCSU) d. Luke Miller (WLU), 7-1
141: #1 Joey Bianchini (SCSU) md. Marcus Jean-Baptiste (WLU), 16-5
149: #10 Jake Barzowski (SCSU) d. Jacob Simpson (WLU), 6-4
157: Anthony Herrera (SCSU) d. Jonah Smith (WLU), 7-3
165: #8 Devin Donovan (SCSU) d. Chase Morgan (WLU), 8-4
174: #7 Ty McGeary (WLU) d. #10 Dominic Murphy (SCSU), 3-2
184: #9 Billy Pitzner (SCSU) md. Drake Kendrex (WLU), 8-0
197: #5 Noah Ryan (SCSU) won by inj. default #10 Logan Kemp (WLU), 1:28
285: #9 Francesco Borsellino (WLU) p. Kaleb Haase (SCSU), 2:05 125: #1 Cole Laya (WLU) md. Isham Peace (LU), 8-0
133: Elijah Lusk (LU) d. Luke Miller (WLU), 6-1
141: Marcus Jean-Baptiste (WLU) d. Ezekial Marquez, 8-6
149: Jacob Simpson (WLU) d. Randy Meyers (LU), 1-0
157: Jonah Smith (WLU) md. Chandler Smalley (LU), 12-2
165: #11 Gage Bernall (LU) d. Chase Morgan (WLU), 11-7
174: #7 Ty McGeary (WLU) d. Jack Bond (LU), 4-3
184: Drake Kendrex (WLU) won by inj. default Ethan Lopez (LU), 3:13
197: Darius Parker (LU) won by forfeit
285: #9 Francesco Borsellino (WLU) p. Cameron Coffman (LU), 3:23 125: #1 Cole Laya (WLU) tf. Lens Mathurin (UMO), 16-0
133: Isaiah Olive (UMO) p. Luke Miller (WLU), 4:11
141: Marcus Jean-Baptiste (WLU) p. Jeremy Mahoney (UMO), 5:45
149: Jacob Simpson (WLU) tf. Cody Smith (UMO), 16-1
157: Jake Nicolosi (UMO) d. Jonah Smith (WLU), 7-5
165: Chase Morgan (WLU) md. Dimitri Naimi (UMO), 9-0
174: #7 Ty McGeary (WLU) tf. Colby Teague (UMO), 17-2
184: Drake Kendrex (WLU) d. Isaiah Manning (UMO), 10-4
197: Slade Watkins (UMO) won by forfeit
285: #9 Francesco Borsellino (WLU) p. Jayln McClammy (UMO), 2:40 141: Ray Rioux (Indianapolis) d Brayden Johnson (West Liberty), 8-2 165: Blake Miller (West Liberty) won by injury default over Sam York (Indiana Tech)
285: Braydon Erb (Indiana Tech) p. Jamie Kilmer (West Liberty), 4:59