ST. LOUIS – The West Liberty University wrestling team capped a magical season with a historic finish here Saturday night in the 2021 NCAA Division II Nationals at the America's Center.
    Not only did Coach Danny Irwin's Hilltoppers power their way to a fourth-place finish in the team standings – the highest ever by a WLU team during the program's NCAA era – but they scored multiple national champions for the first time in the long and storied history of West Liberty wrestling.
    Junior Cole Laya won his first national championship at 125 pounds and senior 133-pounder Tyler Warner followed up with a win in his championship match, making him a two-time national champ. Senior Connor Craig was national runner-up at 184 pounds, falling by a razor-thin margin in his title tilt, and sophomore Francesco Borsellino finished seventh at 285 pounds in his first trip to nationals.
     "I was thinking about that great tradition this morning," Irwin said. "They talk about waking up the echoes and those echoes are loud with the great teams of the past and our alumni who are so supportive of our program. They care a ton about the hilltop and knowing how excited they are for us just makes what we did tonight even more fabulous.
    "With that in mind, our coaches and student-athletes are tremendously grateful for the support of our administration, our athletic training staff, our alumni and even our parents for helping make this happen under such challenging circumstances. It's what makes the hilltop such a special home and it's a big reason our 'climb the hill' mentality is growing and growing fast."
    While St. Cloud State edged out Nebraska-Kearney for the national championship trophy in the final match of the night but the three-way battle between Lindenwood, West Liberty and McKendree to walk away with the third- and fourth-place trophies was even tighter.
    Lindenwood finished third with 72.5 points while WLU picked up the fourth-place trophy with 72 points – just a half-point better than McKendree, which made the short trip home empty-handed with 71.5 points.
    "I can't say enough about these four guys," Irwin said. "Laya, Warner and Craig really showed out today. They're racking up bonus point wins in the semifinals of a national tournament. You never see that. As it turned out, every one of those bonus points mattered for us at the end of the night."
    Here's a look at what West Liberty's four All-Americans accomplished on a very special Saturday:     Cole Laya (18-1) came up with a big effort in the afternoon semifinals to earn a third-period fall against upset-minded Paxton Rosen of Central Oklahoma. That sent the three-time All-American into his first national championship bout – ironically enough, a rematch of last month's MEC Championship final against UNC Pembroke's Nick Daggett. Laya controlled Daggett throughout the match and pulled away to a 12-2 major decision.
    "We thought Cole could have won it last year before the nationals were canceled and he didn't get a chance as a freshman due to a rule that's since been changed," Irwin said, "so this is something he's been chasing for a long time. He not only wins, he gets a bonus point win in a national championship match! Cole never shows emotion but he showed a little tonight – and it was great!"
    "This weekend was magnificent to say the least," Laya said. "I finally turned my dream into a reality. Not only did I do this for myself but I got to do it with my team. There is no greater feeling in the world."     Now a four-time All-American, Tyler Warner (11-0) was looking for back-to-back championships after winning the 133-pound title in 2019. He certainly looked like a man on a mission in the semifinal as he rolled to a 10-0 major decision against Nebraska-Kearney's Wes Dawkins. That set up a showdown with unbeaten No. 1 seed Garrett Vos of St. Cloud State in the finals. A gutsy bridge through to put Vos on his back briefly exposed Warner's shoulders to the mat but the move paid off with major back points and led directly to his 9-4 win.
    "Tyler has got ice water in his veins to get those back points the way he did took a lot of guts," Irwin said, "but there's nothing Tyler can't do. In fact, I thought he might have even had the fall but it was a tough angle. He's a stone cold killer out there."
    "This was a weekend I'll never forget," Warner said. "We showed up as a team, did our part as individuals and ended up bringing home a team trophy. I want to thank Coach Irwin for everything he does for this program. He may be a young coach but he's the best coach in the country. Climbing the hill was the best decision I've made in a long time."