CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - West Liberty's Ty McGeary headlined the first session Saturday at the NCAA DII National Championships by earning a bid to the 184 lb national finals.

The Hilltoppers had four wrestlers competing in the "All-American Round". Vincent Scollo (133) and Alec Cook (165) finished sixth in their respective brackets, then Cole Laya medically forfeited to eighth place after coming up just short in the semifinals (4-3). 

West Liberty sits in fifth place in the team standings with 51.0 points heading into the final bouts.
 
Ty McGeary, the No. 3 seed, took on No. 2 Daniel Beemer, of Ashland, in the semifinal. The match was scoreless after one period, then McGeary chose bottom and escaped to open the scoring in the second. Less than 30 seconds later, McGeary was back on the board with a takedown and took a 3-1 lead into the third. Right after an escape for Beemer, McGeary slammed him down for a second takedown to go up 5-2. With 15 seconds left McGeary maintained the three-point lead, but was called for stalling twice, then a Beemer escape tied the match at five with five seconds remaining. Riding time proved to be the difference, as McGeary racked it up in the second period and it came back to be the deciding factor in advancing to the national title match.

McGeary will face off against the No. 4 seed, Logan Hall of Lander, in tonight's 184 lb national championship. They met once earlier this season in December at the Carolina Clash Duals. McGeary edged out a 3-2 win in that meeting, four of the five points in the match came in the third period.

Alec Cook started the day with a thrilling pin after trailing late in the third period to secure a top-six finish. He advanced to battle the No. 7 seed, Ty Lucas of Central Oklahoma, and they went to overtime tied up at 1. Lucas fended off a takedown attempt and secured one of his own to end the match 30 seconds into the extra frame. In the fifth place match, Cook was tied with the No. 2 seed, Alex Farenchak of Gannon, after two periods, but Farenchak started the final period with a reversal then added five more points to claim an 8-3 decision. Cook finished his first national tournament with a 3-3 record and an All-American honor.

Vincent Scollo dropped three matches to finish in sixth. The top-six finish is the highest of his career and his first All-American honor. Scollo, the No. 7 seed, lost to MEC rival Gavin Quiocho, the No. 3 seed from Glenville State, in the semifinals, then dropped a pair of hardfought consolation matches, 5-2 and 4-1, to the No. 8 and No. 5 seeds.

Cole Laya, a now five time All-American and two-time national champion, ends his career as one of the most accomplished wrestlers not only in West Liberty program history, but NCAA Division II history as well. 

Laya, the top seed in the bracket, was the first match of the day on mat 3 and it was a battle from the start against No. 5 Jaxson Rohman, of Augustana (SD). Both sides picked up two points in the first period. Rohman got a takedown just over a minute in, then Laya was quick to answer with a reversal. Rohman chose neutral in the second period and neither wrestler could get a point, sending it to the final two minutes knotted at two. Laya took the lead at the start of the third period with an escape and held it until less than a minute remaining. Rohman turned the tide and forged ahead with 30 seconds left on a takedown, then kept Laya on the mat to close it out, 4-3.

The national finals will take place tonight at 8 pm est. McGeary will be the eighth match, out of 10, inside the Alliant Energy Powerhouse. Fans can follow live results on TrackWrestling and watch live on NCAA.org.

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

Interview with Head Coach Danny Irwin

Interview with Ty McGeary