ASHLAND, Ohio - The No. 4 ranked West Liberty University wrestling team earned bonus points in each of the first five matches and never looked back on way to a 30-10 victory over No. T24 Ashland Thursday night on the road.

"For our guys to respond after being up for National Duals last weekend and put another 10 matches on the board tonight, I'm really proud of the effort," said Head Coach Danny Irwin.

Freshman Alexander Crane began the Hilltoppers' strong start with a 12-3 major decision at 125. Sixth ranked Vincent Scollo followed with a tech fall shutout of his opponent at 133, 15-0, ending the bout in the second period after a near fall. A second straight second period tech fall in the next match by freshman Khyvon Grace put West Liberty ahead 14-0. Grace had a pair of near falls in the opening three minutes and finished the bout off 55 seconds into the second with a reversal and takedown taking it by a score of 16-1.

Ashland forfeited at 149 and sixth ranked Jamar Williams made it five straight Hilltopper wins to start the match with an 11-3 major. A 4-1 match after two periods was broken open by Williams with three takedowns and a riding time advantage point was added to secure the bonus point and put WLU up 24-0 at the halfway point in the dual.

The Eagles got on the board at 165 with a decision, but then the Hilltoppers answered back with three more points of their own. Chase Morgan stuffed a late takedown attempt and completed one of his own late in the third period to score a 4-3 victory in the 174 pound match. Ashland strung together two wins behind a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers at 184 and 197 to bring their match total to 10 points.

Sixth ranked heavyweight Francesco Borsellino capped off the night with a 1-0 decision thanks to a second period escape. West Liberty improves to 18-4 in duals this season.

The Hilltoppers are back in action on Saturday at the Spartan Mat Classic, an individual tournament in North Manchester, Ind.

Follow Hilltopper wrestling all season online at HilltopperSports.com as well as on Twitter (@wluwrestling | @wlathletics), Instagram (@wluwrestling | @wlu_athletics), and Facebook.

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Head Coach Danny Irwin