Men's Wrestling | 5/3/2021 10:44:00 AM

    WHEELING, W.Va. – Head coach Danny Irwin and his record-setting West Liberty University wrestling team celebrated their unforgettable season with the annual Awards Banquet at the Wild Wild West Restaurant and Sports Bar.
    Dozens of family members, wrestling alumni, former coaches and friends of the program were on hand to help the program recognize its high achievers and hand out several prestigious awards - made all the more prestigious because they were voted on by their teammates.
    "Outside of the statistical awards - most takedowns, most falls, etc. - all of the major awards were voted on by the team itself," Irwin said. "Ownership of the program is big for us and we believe having that input from each person really adds to the value of what each award represents."
    It was a season of firsts for Coach Irwin and his rising mat program as West Liberty notched its highest finish ever at the NCAA Division II Nationals, had multiple national champions for the first time in school history, won its first NCAA Division II Super Regional and Mountain East Conference championships and finished the season with an unbeaten dual meet record.
    "The banquet was amazing as we were not only able to celebrate an historic year for Hilltopper wrestling but more importantly recognize the process and the people who helped make it such an historic season," said Irwin. "The fact that we had more than 100 people in attendance – including alumni and even two former coaches – shows the world that wrestling on the Hilltop is a very big deal!"
    Here's a list of the award winners from the 2020-21 WLU Wrestling Awards Banquet:
       - Cole Laya
     - Tyler Warner
     - Connor Craig      - Marcus Jean-Baptiste      - Chase Morgan      - Jacob Simpson      - Jordan Watters      - Cole Laya      - Francesco Borsellino      - Chase Morgan      - Cole Laya      - Francesco Borsellino