2022 Greyhound Open Results (West Liberty)
    INDIANAPOLIS – West Liberty University head wrestling coach Danny Irwin liked what he saw from his No. 4-ranked Hilltoppers here at Sunday's mammoth Greyhound Open hosted by the University of Indianapolis.
    "From top to bottom, this was a really good day of wrestling for us," Irwin said. "We had to put a few of our guys on a 'pitch count' since we have a quick turnaround to a very talented Baldwin Wallace team on Friday but I saw what I wanted to see from my team today."
    Sunday's meet featured more than 240 wrestlers from 26 teams blanketing the entire NCAA Division I, II, III and NAIA spectrum so there was no lack of quality competition for the Black and Gold.
    Several members of Irwin's nationally-ranked squad rose to the challenge. Among the highlights:
    - Two-time national champion Tyler Warner bounced back from a tough outing at the MEC Championships by breezing into the championship semifinals at 141 pounds after posting a second-period fall in the quarterfinals
    - Nationally-ranked Ty McGeary was also unbeaten on the day, starting his run through the 174-pound field with back-to-back falls before decisioning an NCAA Division I wrestler in the championship quarterfinals
    - Christian Rivera advanced to the championship semifinals at 157 with three straight narrow decisions – including a sudden-victory quarterfinal thriller against teammate Alec Cook, who also had a strong showing with two bonus point wins and a shutout decision.
    - Jordan Watters went 5-1 with an impressive run through the consolation bracket at 149, including a major decision against an NCAA Division I wrestler from Purdue
    Warner, McGeary, Rivera and Watters were all credited with 6th-Place finishes after hitting their respective "pitch counts" for Coach Irwin and shutting it down for the afternoon.
    While the Hilltoppers wound up with four placers at the huge meet, Irwin was quick to note that a number of his wrestlers continued to progress in their drive to prepare for the end of the regular season and the NCAA regional and national championships to follow.
    "This competition concluded a challenging cycle of training for our team," Irwin said. "Our staff is really proud of the way the team has responded to the adversity we have had over the past month.
    "I thought Warner, Chase Morgan and McGeary all took positive steps forward today. Those guys really have high expectations of themselves which can lead to not noticing the progressions they're making but that would be the case across the board for our entire team today."
    As Irwin noted, the West Liberty wrestlers close out the home portion of their 2021-22 schedule on Friday when they host Baldwin Wallace in a 7 p.m. dual inside the ASRC.