WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – After claiming West Liberty's first regional wrestling championship of the NCAA Division II era a year ago, the No. 4-ranked Hilltopper mat squad will try to defend that title at home on Saturday when WLU hosts the 2022 Super Region 3 Championships.
    The 11-team field hits the ASRC mats at 9 a.m. with the top three finishers in each of the 10 weight classes heading to St. Louis next month for the 2022 NCAA D2 Nationals.
    Irwin has five nationally-ranked wrestlers, the most of any school in the region. Eight of West Liberty's 10 regional wrestlers from a year ago are back in Black and Gold and know exactly what will be at stake when they hear the first whistle on Saturday.
    "We had a strong team last year but this weekend will tell us a lot about ourselves," said Irwin, the reigning Super Region 3 Coach of the Year. "We may look the same but did we use our experiences last year to learn valuable lessons and can we apply them this year to achieve the goals we want to achieve.
    "That's why we put in all the months of training and preparation. It's about being the best version of ourselves, not only to qualify for nationals but to go on to St. Louis and become All-Americans. Winning a regional championship is a stepping stone to our ultimate goal."
    West Liberty is one of four nationally-ranked teams in the field with two other squads among those receiving votes. No. 15 Ashland, last year's Super Region 3 runner-up, is right behind the Hilltoppers with four nationally-ranked wrestlers while Findlay is ranked No. 8 nationally and features the nation's No. 1-ranked 157-pounder in James Wimer.
    "Ashland has a great team," Irwin said. "They were kind of like us this season, beat up at times and not able to put their best on the mat every time out but that's a lot of firepower with four nationally-ranked guys, three of whom are returning All-Americans. Findlay has some really good guys, as well. You can't afford to let your guard down at any point."
    Tickets for the one-day event will be available at the gate on Saturday, priced at $10 per session for adults and $5 for children, students and senior citizens. Doors open at 8 a.m. for the marathon first session with wrestling getting under way at 9 a.m. The ASRC will be cleared following the opening session to prepare for the place matches and finals in the afternoon session, which is tentatively scheduled for a 5 p.m. start.
    The tournament will not be live-streamed on hilltoppersports.com or Topper Station due to NCAA restrictions. Live results, brackets and other information will be loaded onto the Tournament Central page at hilltoppersports.com as they become available.
    Here's a link: 2022 Super Region 3 Tournament Central.
    As Irwin noted, eight of West Liberty's 10 starters contributed to last year's first NCAA D2 regional championship. Here's a look at the Hilltoppers who will be trying to go back-to-back on Saturday with comments from Coach Irwin.     Defending national champion Cole Laya is the No. 1-ranked 125-pounder in the nation as well as the region. Ranked No. 1 by the NWCA and Intermat, Laya is also the defending regional champion.
    "We're excited to have Cole leading off for us," Irwin said. "He's the defending regional and national champion but he does things the right way. Cole understands that a new year brings a new opportunity to be a champion again and that's his total focus. The 125-pound class is pretty strong in this region so it should be a good challenge for him."     Luke Miller doesn't bring a national or regional ranking into his first regional tournament but Irwin has been impressed by the true freshman's work ethic throughout the challenging transition from the high school to collegiate mats.
    "Luke has made a difference in our program by the way he comes into the room and takes care of business day in and day out," Irwin said. "He's perfectly capable of picking up some points for us and every point counts when you're chasing a regional championship."     A two-time defending regional and national champion at 133 pounds, Warner (5-1) has battled injuries throughout his final season and only recently returned to the mat. In a sport that thrives on toughness, Irwin says Warner may be the toughest wrestler he's ever coached.
    "Ty's had a remarkable career and I know he's excited and hungry," Irwin said. "He's only had a handful of matches this year but he's looked better and better every time out. If that holds up, Saturday could be a really tough day for everybody else at 141."     Making his first regional appearance, Watters comes into the tournament ranked No. 3 in the region at 149. Irwin likes what he's seen from the rising sophomore and says he's a contender to punch his ticket for St. Louis.
    "Going all the way back to last year, Jordan has really put the time in with all the detail work," Irwin said. "He's strong in all of his positions, hard to score on and will be a tough out. In a weight class with three or four guys who could get to nationals, Jordan is definitely in that mix."     Coming off a near-miss in the 2021 Super Regional, Rivera is back for one more run at qualifying for nationals. He's ranked No. 4 in the region but Irwin says Rivera has done everything necessary to put himself in position.
    "Christian just missed getting to St. Louis last year with a double-overtime loss in the championship semis," Irwin said, "but he's had a good year in training and is coming on strong. Once again, this is a weight class with probably four guys wrestling for two spots but Christian is definitely one of them."     A returning regional qualifier and ranked No. 4 at 165 pounds, Morgan is gunning for a repeat trip to St. Louis. It's definitely a numbers game at 165 as Morgan is one of four past national qualifiers in the bracket and only the top three 165-pounders advance to nationals.
    "This is probably the most evenly matched weight class in the region," Irwin said, "but Chase is always at his best at the end of the year. He might be a little overlooked but I don't mind seeing that. I think Chase will be a dangerous man on Saturday."     Left on the outside looking in a year ago when the regional coaches didn't vote him an at-large bid to nationals, McGeary has been a man on a mission. He's ranked No. 2 in the region, No. 4 in the nation by Intermat and No. 6 nationally by the NWCA. Irwin says the sophomore is ready to prove it on the mat.
    "Ty wasn't the only one who thought the coaches in the region did him wrong in that vote a year ago and he's used that as motivation all year," Irwin said. "He wants to win a national title and has been a big scorer for us all year. Saturday is his first step to St. Louis."     Craig is a former national champion, the defending regional champion and a consensus pick as the No. 1 ranked 184-pounder in the region and in the nation. Undefeated and basically unchallenged thus far this season, Irwin said Craig is looking forward to Saturday's action.
    "Connor's another veteran who has had just a ton of post-season success," Irwin said. "He gets really excited about this time of year because he wants to wrestle the best. He's one of our main hammers in terms of bonus points, as well, and they play a big role in the team race."     A three-time national qualifier, Kemp is back for one more run at a spot on the NCAA Division II All-America podium. He's ranked No. 2 in a loaded region and also No. 5 nationally on Intermat and No. 11 on the NWCA board.
    "This might be the strongest weight class in the region," Irwin said. "Logan's one of three nationally-ranked guys and there's also a former national champion and a returning All-American in the bracket who aren't nationally-ranked. Logan has looked really good the last couple of weeks and I think he's excited to wrestle at home one last time. That will give him a bump."     A 2-time MEC champion and returning All-American who was regional runner-up a year ago, Borsellino (14-0) enters Saturday's event unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the region. He's also the No. 4-ranked heavyweight in the nation according to Intermat and checks in at No. 7 with the NWCA.
    "It's not easy to get through a season undefeated but Borso made some decisions since last year on things he wants to do and has consistently worked in that direction," Irwin said. "He's wrestled hard all year and scored a lot of bonus points for us. We'll need that from him again on Saturday. I give a lot of credit to Coach Carpenter and Coach Logan for their hard work with him on the mat."