West Liberty, W.Va. – Another top-20 tilt awaits the No. 2 West Liberty University wrestling team when they travel to the shores of Lake Erie on Thursday evening, squaring off against No. 20 Mercyhurst. The Hilltoppers will look to secure their second straight ranked dual win to open the 2023-24 season when they toe the line with the Lakers at 7 p.m. in the Mercyhurst Athletic Center in Erie, Pennsylvania.

MATCH DETAILS
Location: Erie, Pa. (Mercyhurst Athletic Center)
First Serve: 7 P.M.
 
#2 WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters their first road dual of the 2023-24 season with the No. 2 ranking in the NWCA polls and a 1-0 dual record on the year following last week's 20-14 defeat of No. 14 Pitt-Johnstown.
• Ty McGeary, the No. 1 ranked wrestler and defending national champion at 184 pounds, continued to do what he did all last year with picking up bonus point wins as he notched a 22-5 tech fall against Noah Gnibus of UPJ in the season opener.
• No. 3 ranked Alec Cook began the 2023-24 season at 165 pounds with the lone overtime match of the night against the Mountain Lions as he defeated Dillon Keane 4-1 in sudden victory to move to 1-0.
• Returning All-American and No. 4 ranked Vincent Scollo, picked up the first win of the season for the Black & Gold as he defeated Chad Ozias of UPJ by decision (10-6) in last Thursday's 133 pound bout to start the year 1-0.
• Regionally ranked wrestlers for the Hilltoppers include Khyvon Grace who is No. 3 at 141 pounds and Jordan Watters who is No. 4 at 149 pounds. Both enter Thursday night's dual with a record of 1-0 on the year, as Grace defeated Mason Myers of UPJ by decision (7-5) and Watters defeated Cooper Warshel of UPJ by decision (2-0) at 157 pounds in the season opener.
• The biggest highlight from the opening dual of the year came at 149 pounds when true freshman Nico Taddy upset No. 3 ranked and 3-time All-American, Jacob Ealy of Pitt-Johnstown by a 6-4 decision in his first career collegiate match. The win propelled him to being named the MEC Wrestler of the Week on Monday afternoon.
• The only wrestler to compete against Pitt-Johnstown and at the Mount Union Invite in the opening week was freshman Mason Christian at 197 pounds. After a hard fought 4-2 loss to No. 9 Dakoda Rodgers of UPJ in the season opener, Christian went 4-0 in Alliance, Ohio to claim the first title of his collegiate career. He tallied two wins by decision, one by major decision, and one by medical forfeit.
• Danny Irwin enters his fifth season as the head coach at West Liberty, leading the Hilltoppers to a 46-15 dual meet record and three consecutive top-6 finishes at the NCAA Division II National Championships. Overall, Irwin enters his seventh season as a head coach after spending his first two seasons at Wheeling and has compiled a 66-24 career dual meet record and four total top-6 national championship finishes.

#20 MERCYHURST STORYLINES

• Mercyhurst enters their first meet of the 2023-24 season at No. 20 in the NWCA poll with a pair of individuals ranked in their respective weight classes.
• The Lakers return two All-Americans on this year's squad with Jake Niffenegger qualifying a year ago and Dillon Walker made the national tournament in 2021-22.
• Niffenegger enters the season ranked No. 3 in the 141 pound weight class after totaling a record of 25-9 during his freshman season in 2022-23, leading to being named NWCA Rookie of the Year, PSAC Freshman of the Year, and All-PSAC First Team.
• Walker is currently ranked No.6 in the 165 pound weight class after recording a record of 19-7 en route to his second All-PSAC First Team accolade.
• After posting a record of 20-14 in 2021-22 to earn All-PSAC Third Team as a freshman, Max Stedeford was only able to notch a record of 14-15 last season.
• Newcomers Nate Knowlton (Fr., 133 lbs.), Vincent Scaramuzzino (Jr., 184 lbs.), and Parker Wood (Jr., 285 lbs.) are all in the lineup for Mercyhurst on Thursday night.
• Mike Wehler enters his 17^th season as the head coach at Mercyhurst, totaling a career dual meet record of 181-84-2 during his time with the Lakers. He has coached his teams to five top-10 finishes at the NCAA Division II National Championships.

SERIES HISTORY

• Since the 2011-12 season West Liberty has dropped eight straight duals to Mercyhurst, including a 31-9 defeat in their last meeting on December 8, 2019 in the Storm Duals hosted by Lake Erie College.

POTENTIAL LINEUPS

Weight Class	#2 West Liberty	#20 Mercyhurst
125	Alexander Crane (0-1)	William Smith (7-12)
133	#4 Vincent Scollo (1-0)	Nate Knowlton (N/A)
141	Khyvon Grace (1-0)	#3 Jake Niffenegger (27-9)
149	Nico Taddy (1-0)	Bret Minnick (5-5)
157	Jordan Watters (1-0)	Max Stedeford (14-15)
165	#3 Alec Cook (1-0)	#6 Dillon Walker (19-7)
174	Caden Kenworthy (0-1)	Chase Stein (9-9)
184	#1 Ty McGeary (1-0)	Vincent Scaramuzino (N/A)
197	Mason Christian (4-1)	Trever Begin (9-11)
285	Jamie Kilmer (0-1)	Parker Wood (N/A)