West Liberty, W.Va. – The No. 2 West Liberty University wrestling squad looks to get back into the win column after dropping a pair of dual meets last weekend to NCAA Division I competition, as they travel to face (RV) Findlay on Sunday afternoon. The Hilltoppers and Oilers are set for a 2 p.m. start time inside the Koehler Fitness and Recreation Center.

MATCH DETAILS
Location: Findlay, Ohio (Koehler Fitness and Recreation Center)
First Serve: 2 P.M.
 
#2 WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Sunday with a 2-2 record in dual meet competition following their first two losses of the season last weekend as they fell to NCAA Division I Clarion (30-13) and Drexel (42-3) at the Dragon Duals.
• The No. 2 team in the NWCA Division II Coaches' Poll, the Hilltoppers are tied for the most individuals ranked with seven.
• Alexander Crane enters the 125 pound bout with a record of 1-6 on the season. His lone win of the year came at the Findlay Open in a 7-6 win by decision over Nicholas Barber of Ashland.
• At 133 pounds, Vincent Scollo remains the No. 4 wrestler in the country after an 8-1 start to the season. He remained undefeated up until a hard fought 3-2 loss by decision to DI Drexel's John Hildebrandt last weekend. He owns a pair of bonus point wins this season, both of which occurred en route to a Findley Open title.
• Khyvan Grace enters the rankings for the first time this season at No. 12 at 141 pounds after posting a record of 6-4 through the opening month of action. He has gone 1-2 against ranked competition, with his lone win being a win by decision over No. 3Jake Niffennegger of Mercyhurst at the Findlay Open. Last weekend he earned a 4-1 win in sudden victory-1 over Tre Varndell of DI Clarion. Grace has one bonus point win this season.
• At 149 pounds for West Liberty it will be either No. 5 Nico Taddy or Brock Wygle. Taddy has burst onto the scene as a freshman on the hilltop as he opened his career with a 6-4 win by decision over No. 3 Jacob Ealy of Pitt-Johnstown. He owns a 3-2 record with a pair of bonus point wins, while his only two losses have come due to medical forfeit. Wygle, the other probable starter at 149 pounds, has posted a record of 2-6 in 2023-24. Both of his wins came at the Mount Union Open where he went 2-2 with a pair of pins.
• At 157 pounds it will be either No. 4 Jamar Williams or Jordan Watters for the Hilltoppers. Williams has yet to make his season debut but remains ranked within the top-5 nationally after a trip to the national tournament a year ago. Watters has posted a record of 6-2 thus far in 2023-24. He has earned wins in both dual wins over No. 14 Pitt-Johnstown and No. 20 Mercyhurst, and also went 4-2 at the Findlay Open. He has earned one bonus point win this year.
• At 165 pounds, Alec Cook remains in the national rankings but has fallen six spots to No. 9 in the country after a 6-4 start to the season. He was one of several wrestlers to go 1-1 against NCAA Division I competition a week ago as he picked up an 8-3 win by decision over Trevor Elfvin of Clarion. He owns three bonus point victories on the year.
• At 174 pounds for WLU it will be Breagan Pearson or Christian Chavez. Pearson has recorded a record of 4-5 with three of those wins occurring at the Mount Union Open. Three of his four victories have resulted in bonus points for the team. Chavez owns an 8-6 record this season at the 174 and 184 pound weight classes. He earned three wins at both the Mount Union Invite and Findlay Open, while picking up two more at the Little State Invite. He has posted four bonus point wins this year.
• Ty McGeary remains the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 184 pounds with a 9-0 start to the season. He earned his second consecutive MEC Wrestler of the Week honor on Monday following a pair of wins over DI competition at the Dragon Duals. He owns six bonus point wins this season.
• Another freshman in the lineup is Mason Christian who has battled to a 7-3 to start the year at 197 pounds. Four of his wins came at the Mount Union Open as he went a perfect 4-0 to win the title. He also went 3-2 at the Findlay Open for a fourth place finish at the invitational. He owns three bonus point victories on the year.
• Francesco Borsellino, the No. 4 ranked wrestler at 285 pounds, will make his second appearance of the season on Sunday. He ended his lone match of the season in a matter of only nine seconds as he defeated Parker Wood of No. 20 Mercyhurst to secure the dual win and move to 1-0 on the year.
• Danny Irwin enters his fifth season as the head coach at West Liberty, leading the Hilltoppers to a 46-17 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 66-26 career dual meet record and four total top-6 national championship finishes.

(RV) FINDLAY STORYLINES

• Findlay enters Sunday with a 1-0 record in dual meet competition following a 21-20 win on the road over No. 13 Pitt-Johnstown just last night. The Oilers defeated the Mountain Cats on criteria as they won six bouts compared to only four for UPJ.
• The Oilers are receiving votes in the most recent NWCA Division II Coaches' Poll and have one individual wrestler ranked.
• Findlay will open the dual with either No. 9 Graham Shore or Caleb Schroer at 125 pounds. Shore is the lone ranked wrestler by the NWCA for the Oilers and has posted a 3-2 record in the opening month of the season. Last night he defeated No. 5 Trevon Gray of Pitt-Johnstown with a 22-8 major decision, bouncing back from a 7-1 loss by decision to Aaron Lucio of Grand Valley State at the Findlay Open. Schroer has recorded a record of 1-4 on the year. With his lone win occurring by way of a fall (1:26) over Dalton Boyd of Tiffin at the Findlay Open.
• Gavin Ritter enters the 133 pound match with a record of 5-4 and has won his last two bouts entering the day. Yesterday he defeated Bryon Daubert of Pitt-Johnstown in a 7-0 decision after ending the Findlay Open with a 16-1 tech fall against Parker Lee of Indianapolis.
• It will be either Ashton Anderson or Alex Epstein at 141 for the Oilers. Anderson has posted the most wins on the team thus far in 2023-24 with a record of 9-5. He is 1-1 in his two most recent bouts. Winning a 14-0 major decision over Mason Myers of UPJ after falling in a 10-6 decision to Connor Thorpe of DI Northern Iowa at the Jim Koch Open. Epstein has only competed in three matches this season and has a record of 1-2 on the year. In his last outing at the Findlay Open he ended the day with a win by fall (1:22) over Ryan Parton of Jamestown CC after falling in a 6-3 decision to Joel Huck of Gannon.
• Mason Kleinberg enters the 149 pound bout with a record of 7-6 this season and has split his two most recent matches. Yesterday he lost by fall (1:27) to No. 7 Jacob Ealy of UPJ after winning by fall (0:18) over Cody Ueberroth of Davenport at the Jim Koch Open.
• At 157 pounds, senior Logan Sanom has posted a record of 5-4 to begin the 2023-24 season. He has split a pair of close decisions in his two most recent matches. Defeating Cooper Warshel of Pitt-Johnstown in a 5-2 win in sudden victory-1, after falling in a 14-13 decision to Max Stedeford of Mercyhurst in the Findlay Open.
• Gary Nilson has collected a record of 7-5 in the first month of the season. In his most recent match, he defeated Dillon Keane of UPJ by a 4-0 decision.
• At 174 and 184 pounds for Findlay it will either be Kenny Snyder or Andrew Knick. Snyder has recorded a record of 4-3 on the year and has picked up bonus point victories in his two most recent matches. He won by an 18-7 major decision over Tony Salopek of Pitt-Johnstown and won by tech fall of 22-4 over his teammate, Knick, at the Jim Koch Open. Knick has posted a record of 5-8 on the year and owns recent losses to Noah Gnibus of Pitt-Johnstown in a 3-1 decision and a 18-1 defeat by tech fall to Devin Wasley of DI Minnesota.
• At 197 pounds for the Oilers, Jake Kowalski has notched a record of 3-5 this season. He is 1-1 in his last two bouts, losing by a 16-1 tech fall to No. 8 Dakoda Rodgers of Pitt-Johnstown and his last win was a win by fall (1:45) over Tyler Brooks of Cleary (Mich.).
• Giulian Bodiu enters the 285 pound bout with a record of 2-5. He is 1-1 in his last two matches, losing by fall (4:43) to No. 7 Isaiah Vance of UPJ and winning by fall (0:54) over Kyle Magyar of Tiffin at the Findlay Open.
• Shawn Nelson is in his 27^th season as the head coach at Findlay, posting a 181-217 dual meet record during his time with the Oilers. The 2019 Jim Koch NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductee has coached 12 national champions and led UF to the 2006 NCAA Division II team title.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty and Findlay have competed in dual meet competition four times since the start of the 2011-12 season, with the Oilers holding a 3-1 advantage in the series.
• In last season's match-up in the ASRC, the Hilltoppers took down the Oilers 33-10 on December 11, 2022.
• Ty McGeary and Francesco Borsellino picked up bonus point wins in last year's meeting, winning their matches by way of tech fall 16-1 and major decision 9-0 respectively.

POTENTIAL LINEUPS

Weight Class	#2 West Liberty	(RV) Findlay
125	Alexander Crane (1-6)	#9 Graham Shore (3-2) OR Caleb Schroer (1-4)
133	#4 Vincent Scollo (8-1)	Gavin Ritter (5-4)
141	#12 Khyvon Grace (6-4)	Ashton Anderson (9-5) OR Alex Epstein (1-2)
149	#5 Nico Taddy (3-2) OR Brock Wygle (2-6)	Mason Klienberg (7-6)
157	#4 Jamar Williams (0-0) OR Jordan Watters (6-2)	Logan Sanom (5-4)
165	#9 Alec Cook (6-4)	Gary Nilson (7-5)
174	Breagan Pearson (4-5) OR Christian Chavez (8-6)	Kenny Snyder (4-3) OR Andrew Knick (5-8)
184	#1 Ty McGeary (9-0)	Kenny Snyder (4-3) OR Andrew Knick (5-8)
197	Mason Christian (7-3)	Jake Kowalski (3-5)
285	#4 Francesco Borsellino (1-0)	Giulian Bodiu (2-5)