West Liberty, W.Va. – The No. 1 West Liberty University wrestling team returns to the hilltop for their first home dual of the 2024 calendar year when they host No. 20 Ashland on Thursday evening. The Hilltoppers look to get back on track following the NWCA National Duals as they square off with the Eagles at 6:30 p.m. inside the ASRC where they are 16-2 in duals since the start of the 2021-22 season.
DUAL DETAILS
Location: West Liberty, W.Va. (Academic Sports & Recreation Complex "ASRC")
Start Time: 6:30 P.M.
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#1 WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES
- West Liberty enters Thursday with an 8-6 record in dual meet competition following a 1-4 weekend at the NWCA National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa. During their two days at the UNI-Dome, the Hilltoppers defeated No. 8 Indianapolis (25-20) but fell to No. 10 McKendree (30-8), No. 18 Northern State (30-14 and 36-13), and No. 25 Glenville State (24-18).
- The Black & Gold are tied for the No. 1 ranking in the NWCA Coaches' Poll, the highest ranking in program history, as they share the top spot with Central Oklahoma. It is the first time since October of 2007 that there has been a tie for the No. 1 national ranking.
- Alexander Crane enters the 125 pound bout with a record of 5-12 on the season after a 1-4 record at last weekend's national duals. In his lone win in the UNI-Dome, Crane battled back from a 13-1 deficit in the third period to record the fall (6:45) over Hunter Ross of Glenville State with only 15 seconds remaining in the bout. The pin was his first bonus point win of the season.
- At 133 pounds Matt Englehardt has wrestled to a 6-9 record on the year. In his last outing at the national duals, he went 1-4 during the weekend with his lone win occurring by fall (1:08) over Nick Varanelli of No. 8 Indianapolis. To start the day on Saturday, he was faced with the task of facing the No. 5 Gavin Quiocho (2023 National Champion) and ultimately fell 16-1 by tech fall. He has recorded two bonus point wins this season.
- At 141 pounds Khyvan Grace has posted a record of 14-5 on the season following a 3-1 mark at the NWCA National Duals. He was consistently in tight matches in Cedar Falls as he earned 4-2 and 5-4 wins by decision on the opening day and ended the tournament with back-to-back matches going to overtime. In his final bout on Friday night, he fell 2-1 in TB-1 to No. 5 Ronan Schuelke of No. 10 McKendree, however he was able to regroup and edge out a 7-4 win in SV-1 over Sean Johnson of No. 25 Glenville State. Grace owns four bonus point wins this season, all by way of tech fall, and he has posted one ranked win and a win over a DI opponent this season as he defeated No. 3 Jake Niffennegger of Mercyhurst at the Findlay Open and Tre Varndell of Clarion at the Drexel Duals.
- Nico Taddy is the No. 5 ranked wrestler at 149 pounds and has posted a record of 6-2 on the year following a 3-2 performance at the national duals. He opened the weekend with back-to-back bouts against ranked opponents, losing by fall (4:33) to No. 1 Wyatt Turnquist of No. 18 Northern State and rebounding to defeat No. 6 Jackson Hoover of No. 8 Indianapolis by a 9-1 major decision. He is now 2-1 against ranked opponents this season and owns four bonus point wins on the year.
- At 157 pounds Jordan Watters is 5-5 during the 2023-24 season, after an 0-4 weekend at the NWCA National Duals. Included in his four bouts was a 5-2 loss by decision to No. 10 Guy Deleonardis of No. 25 Glenville State. He owns one bonus point victory this season, which occurred by fall.
- At 165 pounds, Alec Cook is the No. 10 wrestler in the country with a 12-8 record on the year following a 2-3 weekend at the national duals. Highlighting his five bouts was a top-10 battle against No. 4 Corey Peterson of No. 10 McKendree, however he fell 4-1 in SV-1 to drop to 0-3 against ranked opponents on the year. With a 14-2 win by major decision over Spencer Roth of No. 18 Northern State to end the weekend he brought his season total to eight bonus point victories. Cook is one of several wrestlers on the team to record a victory over a DI opponent as he defeated Trevor Elfvin of Clarion in an 8-3 decision at the beginning of December.
- At 174 pounds Christian Chavez owns a 12-10 record during his freshman campaign, competing in both the 174 and 184 pound weight classes. In his most recent outing went 1-3 at the national duals, with his lone win coming against MEC foe Drake De La Cruz of No. 25 Glenville State in a 17-2 tech fall. He owns seven bonus point victories this season.
- Ty McGeary remains the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 184 pounds with a 19-0 start to the season after going 5-0 at the NWCA National Duals. Following a win by injury default in his opening match-up against Treyton Cacek of No. 18 Northern State, he used four bonus point wins to bring his season total up to 13. He ended Friday with a first period win by fall (0:44) over Aidan Petersen of No. 8 Indianapolis and a 19-4 win by tech fall over Lucas Wendling of No. 10 McKendree. Then on Saturday he picked up right where he left off as he earned an 11-0 win by major decision over Isaiha Casto of No. 25 Glenville State and later recorded his second tech fall of the weekend in a 16-1 win over Tyler Voorhees of No. 18 Northern State. On Monday he earned his fourth MEC Wrestler of the Week honor of the 2023-24 season. He is 2-0 against ranked opponents this year.
- Another freshman in the lineup is Mason Christian, who has battled to a 14-5 record to start the year at 197 pounds. In his last outing he went 2-2 at the NWCA National Duals, winning his first two bouts by decision before falling in his final two by decision and major decision. He has totaled seven bonus point victories in 2023-24. In open tournaments this season he has won the Mount Union Open and was fourth at the Findlay Invitational.
- Francesco Borsellino, the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 285 pounds, enters Thursday with a record of 5-0 this season and has made quick work of a majority of his matches. In his last outing he went 3-0 at the Hilltopper Duals as he opened the day with a win by fall over Terrance Davis of Mount Union (0:47), followed by a 3-1 win by decision over Bishop McCoy of Millersville. He ended the day with his second pin, a victory over Hunter Probasco of Ohio Northern (1:40). All four of his wins by fall this season have occurred in the first period and three of those came within the first 50 seconds of action. He is one of three different Hilltoppers to have been named MEC Wrestler of the Week this year (12-11-2023).
- Danny Irwin is in his fifth season as the head coach at West Liberty, leading the Hilltoppers to a 52-21 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 72-30 career dual meet record and four total top-6 national championship finishes.
#20 ASHLAND STORYLINES
- Ashland enters Thursday's dual with a 1-7 record in dual meet competition this season and owns a top-25 victory over No. 21 Mercyhurst (20-19) back in December.
- In their last outing, the Eagles went 0-4 at the NWCA National Duals with a 36-13 loss to No. 10 McKendree, a 38-4 loss to No. 12 Upper Iowa, a 27-16 loss to No. 8 Indianapolis, and a 27-15 loss to (RV) Newberry.
- In the NWCA Coaches' Poll released on December 22, AU was tied for 20th in the nation with Tiffin. Not in the probable lineup for Ashland are No. 8 Drew Wiechers (10-3) at 157 pounds and No. 2 Daniel Beemer (2-0) at 184 pounds.
- The lone ranked wrestler for Ashland in the probable lineup is No. 11 Luke Acuna who has posted a 15-6 record this season. In his last outing he finished sixth at the Midwest Classic with a 4-3 record during the weekend.
- At 133 pounds Tyler Masters has a mark of 7-9 on the year and was 2-2 in his last action at the national duals. In his final day in Cedar Falls he notched a pair of major decisions over Nick Varanelli of No. 8 Indianapolis and Ben Guilliam of (RV) Newberry.
- Jeremiah McKee enters the 141 pound bout with a 3-7 record on the season and was 0-4 in his bouts at the NWCA National Duals.
- Zander Graham enters Thursday's dual with a 4-7 mark in 2023-24 and was 1-3 in competition at the national duals. His lone win of the tournament came in a win by fall (3:40) over Joshua Ramos of No. 10 McKendree.
- At 157 pounds for Ashland, it will be either Evan Daivs or Nick Carbone. Carbone went 0-3 last weekend in Cedar Falls, while Davis earned a 10-9 win by decision over Patrick Wunderlich of (RV) Newberry.
- Sevi Garza is 4-8 in 2023-24 at 165 pounds for the Eagles. He went 3-1 at the NWCA National Duals with his lone loss occurring in a 5-4 decision to No. 2 and defending national champion Chase Luensman of No. 12 Upper Iowa.
- AU will decide between Nate Barrett or Hayden Flynn at 174 pounds. Barrett is 10-4 this season while Flynn is 4-10. Barrett went 4-0 in the UNI-Dome last weekend with three wins by decision and a 19-7 win by major decision over Cael Meyer of No. 12 Upper Iowa.
- Peyton Lemon will wrestle for Ashland at 184 pounds, bringing in a record of 9-8 this season. He was 1-3 at last weekend's national duals with his lone win being an 11-4 win by decision over Owen Butler of No. 8 Indianapolis.
- Ricky Legg enters the 197 pound bout with a 6-6 record this year following an 0-4 weekend at the national duals.
- At 285 pounds Wyatt Bailey enters with a 13-7 record, tied for the most wins on the team in 2023-24. Last weekend in the UNI-Dome he went 1-3 with his lone win occurring in a 2-1 decision over Jay Thompson of No. 8 Indianapolis.
- Colt Sponseller is in his fourth season as the head wrestling coach at Ashland and has posted a 19-22 record in dual meet competition during his time with the Eagles.
SERIES HISTORY
- Thursday will be the tenth dual match-up since the 2011-12 season between West Liberty and Ashland, and the Eagles enter with a 6-3 advantage since then.
- The Hilltoppers won their second straight dual in the series on January 12, 2023, in Ashland, Ohio, as WLU defeated AU 30-10.
PROBABLE STARTERS
