Manheim, Pa. – The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) has announced the NCAA Division II Men's Bracket for next week's National Duals tournament in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The No. 1 West Liberty University wrestling team will face off against No. 18 Northern State University from Aberdeen, South Dakota, on Friday, January 5. The Hilltoppers and Wolves will square off at 2 P.M. (C.S.T.) / 3 P.M. (E.S.T.) on mat 16 inside the UNI-Dome.

West Liberty will compete in their first dual as NCAA Division II's No. 1 ranked team next Friday afternoon with a 7-2 (1-0 MEC) record on the season. The Hilltoppers own top-25 dual wins over No. 11 Millersville (28-9), No. 14 Pitt-Johnstown (20-14), and No. 20 Mercyhurst (24-17), and have a win over Ohio Northern (36-11) who was NCAA Division III's No. 18 team at the time. WLU's lone two losses of the season came against NCAA Division I foes, Clarion (30-13) and Drexel (42-3).

The Hilltoppers currently have five individual wrestlers ranked in the NWCA polls, led by Ty McGeary (14-0) and Francesco Borsellino (5-0) who are each ranked No. 1 at 184 and 285 pounds respectively. Jamar Williams (3-0) follows closely behind at No. 2 in the 157 pound weight class following his season debut at the Hilltopper Duals. Freshman Nico Taddy (3-2) remained at No. 5 in the 149 pound weight class and Alec Cook (10-5) is the No. 10 wrestler at 149 pounds.

Northern State enters the National Duals with a 3-3 (1-1 NSIC) record on the season, and recently finished ninth at the 44^th annual Midwest Classic in Indianapolis. The Wolves own a 1-3 record against top-25 competition with their lone win occurring against No. 25 Fort Hays State (35-6). Of their three ranked losses, two have come against Augustana, once when the Vikings were No. 15 (26-18) and again when they were No. 18 (21-13). Their third ranked loss came at the hands of NCAA Division I's No. 12 ranked South Dakota State (33-6).

The Wolves currently have three individual wrestlers ranked in the NWCA polls, led by Wyatt Turnquist (14-1) who is No. 1 in the 149 pound weight class and a returning All-American. Devin Bahr (9-2), who was a national qualifier for NSU last season and previously spent time at the University of Wisconsin, is No. 5 at 157 pounds. 2-time NJCAA National Runner-Up, Jason Henschel Jr. (11-3) is currently No. 12 at 133 pounds.

The first-ever meeting between the programs will feature a match-up of former college teammates turned head coaches as WLU's Danny Irwin and NSU's Rocky Burkett both stared at Manchester College in North Manchester, Indiana, from 2002-04. Irwin, who was a 2-time NCAA DIII National Qualifier for the Spartans, is now in his fifth season leading the Hilltoppers and Burkett, who was a 2003 NCAA DIII National Qualifier for the Spartans, is now in his ninth season leading the Wolves.

The winner of No. 1 West Liberty vs. No. 18 Northern State will move on to face the winner of No. 8 Indianapolis vs. No. 17 Augustana at 4 p.m. (C.S.T.) / 5 p.m. (E.S.T.) on mat 12 Friday evening, while the loser of the two matches will meet on mat 16 at 4 p.m. (C.S.T.) / 5 p.m. (E.S.T.) on Friday evening. Teams who advance to Saturday's rounds will see matches start at 9 a.m. (C.S.T.) / 10 a.m. (E.S.T.) in the consolation bracket and 11 a.m. (C.S.T.) / 12 p.m. (E.S.T.) in the winners bracket back in the UNI-Dome.

In the 2024 bracket, 15 of the 16 programs are currently ranked within the top-25 of the NWCA Coaches' Poll and includes seven of the top-9 finishing teams at the 2023 NCAA Division II National Championships.

Fans making the trip to Cedar Falls, Iowa, can purchase tickets online at the attached link through the University of Northern Iowa which includes tickets for Friday, Saturday, or a 2-day weekend pass. Fans not in attendance can watch the action online through FloWrestling, a pay-per-view platform, or can follow the live results on TrackWrestling.