ST. LOUIS – With eight national qualifiers and a pair of No. 1 seeds, the No. 4-ranked West Liberty University wrestling team is going trophy hunting this weekend.
    Coach Danny Irwin and his Super Region 3 champions are once again pegged as one of the top contenders in the NCAA Division II National Tournament, which runs Friday through Saturday at the Chaifetz Center.
    The Hilltoppers won't lack for support in the Gateway City. West Liberty family, friends and alumni have already purchased more than 100 tickets for the weekend event and plan to make their presence felt on Friday and Saturday.
    "Our guys are really fired up about so many of our fans following us out here," Irwin said. "Just like we had for the regional, that adds to the championship atmosphere and our guys really feed off that energy. Having that many people following us all the way to St. Louis is a huge step for our program and a tremendous positive for the university."
    This is the Hilltoppers' second consecutive trip to St. Louis for the D2 Nationals. After returning home last year with a fourth-place trophy under his arm, Irwin is optimistic about the Black and Gold's chances this weekend.
    "All of our guys are looking really good," Irwin said. "They're coming on strong at the right time and a number of them have the potential to go really deep. I like where we are in the brackets and I also like that we're maybe being overlooked a little bit out here. We're definitely going to make some noise and maybe surprise some people."
    Leading West Liberty's 8-man contingent are the two No. 1 seeds, Cole Laya (21-4), the defending national champion at 125, and unbeaten Connor Craig (10-0), last year's 184-pound runner-up and a former national champion at 174. Ty Warner (8-2) won the last two 133-pound national championships and may be the sleeper of the tournament after being seeded 15th in the 141-pound bracket.
    Logan Kemp (16-4) is a rare 4-time national qualifier at 197, Chase Morgan (17-8) has qualified for the second straight year at 165 and unbeaten Francesco Borsellino (17-0) is a returning All-American and the No. 8 seed at 285. Two Hilltoppers are making their first appearance at Nationals. Sophomore Ty McGeary (20-1) is the No. 5 seed at 174 as the Super Region 3 champion while freshman Jordan Watters (12-3) is another sleeper after an impressive regional showing.
    "I've never had eight qualifiers before so it's a bit of a different feel," Irwin said. "Having 8 guys gives us enough bullets in the gun that we don't have to be perfect to make a run. We can just go out there and have some fun."
    Friday's opening session, featuring 120 preliminary and first-round matches spread across six mats, gets under way at noon (EST). Session Two, the championship quarterfinals, first- and second-round consolations, is set for a 6 p.m. (EST) start. Saturday's mammoth third session, which starts with championship semifinals and third-round consolations and runs through consolation semifinals and the Third-, Fifth- and Seventh-place matches begin at 11 a.m. Saturday.
    That sets the stage for Saturday night's championship session. The Parade of All-Americans kicks things off at 7:40 p.m. with the first of 10 championship finals getting under way at 8 p.m.
    Irwin provided brief capsule previews for each of his eight national qualifiers:      A 3-time All-American, Laya is the defending national champion at 125 and is coming off his third regional title. Jacquez is a fifth-year junior who placed third in the Super Region IV following a loss to McKendree's Christian Mejia in the regional semifinal. Mejia is the No. 4 seed in St. Louis.
     "Cole looked really good at the regional and has been looking good all week. He's spent a lot of time with Coach (Cam) Timok on the mat and has been getting the better of him so that's a very good sign. Cole is in position to do what he does best; beat people up on the mat and get his hand raised again on Saturday night."      Warner is a 4-time All-American, 3-time regional champion and 2-time national champion at 133 pounds. He was runner-up at this year's Super Region 3 event, falling 3-2 to Findlay's Branson Proudlock. Proudlock is the No. 2 seed in this bracket. Warner's first-round opponent, No. 6 seed Nick James of Nebraska-Kearney needed a total of just 17:12 to pin his way through four straight matches and win the Super Region 6 title.
     "Ty is always at his best this time of year," Irwin said. "As a two-time national champion, I'm pretty sure nobody wanted to be drawn against him. He looked the best he's looked all year at the regional and has been stringing some consistent training days together. I think he'll do even better with finishing his attacks in St. Louis. Not being seeded higher in the bracket doesn't bother Ty. You still have to beat him on the mat."      A first-time national qualifier, Watters opened a lot of eyes when he came within seconds of upsetting nationally-ranked Craig Cook of Davis & Elkins in the regional final. Watters' first-round foe, No. 2 seed Brik Filippo of Central Oklahoma, is a fifth-year junior with a 68-19 career record. He carries a 12-match winning streak into Nationals after claiming the Super Region 4 crown. Cook is seeded #6 here this week.
     "Other teams may think Jordan came out of nowhere to almost win a regional title but it didn't surprise us at all," Irwin said. "Jordan just did what he's capable of doing and feels like he gave that match away in the finals. This weekend is another opportunity for him and I think he's much more prepared after getting that first set of big matches under his belt at the regional. He's in a strong position after wrestling so well at the regional. He's going to be a tough out for anybody."      Morgan, the 2022 MEC champion at 165 pounds, earned his second straight trip to Nationals with a third-place finish at the Super Region 3 event. His first-round opponent, Wisconsin-Parkside's Shane Gantz, is a fifth-year junior and returning All-American who rolled to the Super Region 5 title with three straight wins, two by major decision, to remain unbeaten on the season.
     "Chase was lights out at the regional," Irwin said. "Even in the match he lost, I thought he dictated the pace all the way through. He may have felt some jitters in St. Louis last year with it being his first trip to nationals, but now he knows he belongs. He's beaten some really good guys this year and has been looking more and more dangerous every day. It will be exciting for us and our fans to see how high Chase can fly this weekend."      Following a near-miss last year, McGeary is packing plenty of momentum for his first trip to the national stage as the once-beaten sophomore and No. 5 seed is the reigning MEC and Super Region 3 champion. His first-round opponent, Colorado Mesa's Seth Latham, is a fifth-year junior who earned his second trip to Nationals with a third-place finish at the Super Region 6 event.
     "Ty has done everything he set out to do so far this year," Irwin said. "He wanted to win a regional title to prove he is 'the guy' and he did that, avenging his only loss of the season. Now he's setting his sights on a national championship. Starting with the opening whistle on Friday morning, he knows that he has to stay consistent with his spots. If he stays with that, it will be really challenging for anyone to outscore him. I saw a lot of really good things from Ty as we tapered off this week."      Unbeaten and virtually unchallenged all season, this 3-time All-American and 4-time regional champion will be gunning for his second national title as the No. 1 seed at 184. His opening opponent, Gannon's Cam Page, is a fifth-year junior and returning national qualifier. Ironically, it's a rematch of last year's first-rounder in St. Louis that saw Craig blitz Page from start to finish in a 19-3 technical fall.
     "After a one-point loss in the finals last year, Connor's focus has been on preparing to get back to this stage," Irwin said. "He's done everything right all season and it's great for our team because they feed off Connor just like they do Cole. Connor goes out there with a nasty attitude and forces his opponents to pick their spots. When they do, it usually doesn't go too well for them."      Kemp was the last Hilltopper to punch his ticket to Nationals with a thrilling come-from-behind win in his Super Region 3 third place match and is now a four-time national qualifier. His first-round opponent, No. 6 seed Hayden Prince of Nebraska-Kearney, is also seeking his first trip to the All-America podium in his second trip to Nationals. Prince was the 197-pound champion in Super Region 6.
     "Just making it to Nationals four times is a pretty special feat in itself," Irwin said. "Logan could have graduated and moved on but made the decision to come back and has had a really good year. He had to fight his way out of a very difficult regional by stringing together three really tough wins and that puts him in a really good place to make some noise this weekend. I'm really excited for him."      Unbeaten in 17 matches, Borsellino is tied for first among all NCAA D2 285-pounders with 10 wins by fall. A returning All-American, he rolled to MEC and Super Region 3 titles and is the No. 8 seed this weekend. He'll be tested by his first-round foe as Augustana's Steven Hajas, is a 2-time national qualifier and returning All-American after placing 3rd in St. Louis a year ago.
     "Borso is every bit as good as advertised," Irwin said. "Non-stop action, always wrestling hard and on the hunt for bonus points. I think all of our guys have a little chip on their shoulders coming into this weekend but as an undefeated heavyweight, Borso definitely believes he was overlooked as the No. 8 seed. I think he's going to have a fun weekend in St. Louis."