West Liberty, W.Va. – The No. 2 ranked West Liberty University wrestling team opened the 2023-24 season with a major win on Alumni Night, taking down regional rival No. 14 Pitt-Johnstown 20-14. The Hilltoppers secured wins in 6-of-10 matches on the night, including big performances by Nico Taddy at 149 pounds and No. 1 Ty McGeary at 184 pounds.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: No. 2 West Liberty 20, No. 14 Pitt-Johnstown 14
Team Records: No. 2 West Liberty 1-0, No. 14 Pitt-Johnstown 0-1
Attendance: 891
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Pitt-Johnstown opened the dual meet with a 13-2 major decision win at 125 pounds as No. 7 Trevon Gray defeated Alexander Crane. Gray tallied three first period takedowns to grab the momentum and added one more in the third period. Crane scored on two first period escapes.
• Returning All-American, Vincent Scollo energized the crowd in what would be the first of five consecutive wins for the Toppers. Scollo set the tone with a pair of takedowns in the opening period and added a reversal in the second after starting on the bottom. He then held off a late rally by Chad Ozias to earn a 10-6 victory by decision.
• Khyvon Grace kept the momentum going at 141 pounds for WLU, earning a come-from-behind 7-5 victory over Mason Myers. Grace entered the third period trailing 4-1 and immediately went to work, notching a reversal only ten seconds in. Myers put in a shot attempt at the ankles, however Grace circled around for the takedown to give himself the lead with 30 seconds remaining. He ended the match with a big mat return as time expired and added a riding time point.
• The upset of the night came at 149 pounds as Nico Taddy, making his collegiate debut, knocked off No. 3 and 3-time All-American Jacob Ealy. Each wrestler notched only one takedown in the match, with Ealy's occurring early in the first period and Taddy's in the second, which momentarily put Ealy on his back. The difference came with Taddy scoring a reversal with 1:08 remaining as they restarted from the center logo.
• A low scoring match at 157 pounds went the way of Jordan Watters, a 2-0 decision over Cooper Warshel. Watters picked-up two minutes of riding time in the second period and added an escape in the third period.
• No. 3 Alec Cook won the lone overtime match of the night with a 4-1 sudden victory-1 win over Dillon Keane. Cook earned one escape in the second period and in the overtime period found Keane's ankle and finished the takedown in a scramble.
• UPJ won the first of the three in the final four matches at 174 pounds as Anthony Salopek defeated Caden Kenworthy 4-0. Salopek recorded the lone takedown of the match less than a minute into the opening period and added one point via riding time.
• Ty McGeary, the No. 1 wrestler at 184 pounds, opened the season in dominating fashion. The defending champion totaled six takedowns, including one right before the final period ended to pick-up the extra team point via a 22-5 tech fall over Noah Gnibus of UPJ.
• Pitt-Johnstown ended the night with a pair of wins at 197 pounds and 285 pounds. Hilltopper freshman, Mason Christian (197 pounds), looked to become the second wrestler of the night to score a top-10 upset in his collegiate debut, however he was unable to find a takedown of No. 9 Dakoda Rodgers in a 4-2 defeat. At 285 pounds Jamie Kilmer was unable to keep up with the fast paced approach of No. 7 Isaiah Vance of UPJ, falling 8-0 by major decision in the final match of the dual.

MATCH RESULTS             

Weight	Summary	WLU	UPJ
125	Trevon Gray (Pitt-Johnstown) over Alexander Crane (West Liberty) (MD 13-2)	0	4
133	Vincent Scollo (West Liberty) over Chad Ozias (Pitt-Johnstown) (Dec 10-6)	3	0
141	Khyvon Grace (West Liberty) over Mason Myers (Pitt-Johnstown) (Dec 7-5)	3	0
149	Nico Taddy (West Liberty) over Jacob Ealy (Pitt-Johnstown) (Dec 6-4)	3	0
157	Jordan Watters (West Liberty) over Cooper Warshel (Pitt-Johnstown) (Dec 2-0)	3	0
165	Alec Cook (West Liberty) over Dillon Keane (Pitt-Johnstown) (SV-1 4-1)	3	0
174	Anthony Salopek (Pitt-Johnstown) over Caden Kenworthy (West Liberty) (Dec 4-0)	0	3
184	Ty McGeary (West Liberty) over Noah Gnibus (Pitt-Johnstown) (TF 22-5 7:00)	5	0
197	Dakoda Rodgers (Pitt-Johnstown) over Mason Christian (West Liberty) (Dec 4-2)	0	3
285	Isaiah Vance (Pitt-Johnstown) over Jamie Kilmer (West Liberty) (MD 8-0)	0	4
Team Score:		20	14

 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will continue action in the opening week of competition as they travel to the Mount Union Invite on Saturday. The Hilltopper wrestlers will get the day underway at 10 a.m. in Alliance, Ohio.

Head Coach Danny Irwin Post Match Interview vs. Pitt-Johnstown


Nico Taddy (149 pounds) Post Match Interview vs. Pitt-Johnstown