West Liberty, W.Va. – The No. 3 West Liberty University wrestling team fell short of their fourth consecutive MEC title on Saturday afternoon inside the ASRC as they finished second in the team race to No. 23 Glenville State with a total of 136.0 points compared to 153.5 for GSU. The Hilltoppers and Pioneers faced off in seven of the ten title bouts with the Black & Gold on the winning end of four of the head-to-head battles.
Ty McGeary headlined the group of five wrestlers to claim a conference title for West Liberty, while also being named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. Joining McGeary as a repeat champion was Franchesco Borsellino (3-time) and
Khyvon Grace (2-time). Freshmen
Nico Taddy and
Mason Christian claimed their first career MEC Championships. Earning Second Team All-MEC and falling in the title bouts were
Alexander Crane,
Alec Cook, and
Christian Chavez.
QUICK DETAILS
Team Standings: 2
nd (136 points)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- At 125 pounds Alexander Crane received a bye through the quarterfinals and semifinals into the conference title match where he fell in an 11-2 major decision to Hunter Ross of Glenville State.
- Matt Englehardt wrestled to a 1-2 record on the day as he started the day with a win in the quarterfinals by way of a 15-2 major decision over Jett Pattison of Davis & Elkins. He then fell in his final two matches of the day, a 17-2 loss by tech fall (5:11) to No. 3 Gavin Quiocho of Glenville State and then in the third place match in an 8-7 decision to Nathan Pelesky of Fairmont State.
- Khyvon Grace defended his title at 141 pounds and won his second MEC Championship. With a 15-0 win by tech fall (7:00) over Caden Canning of Wheeling he advanced to the title match where he won his fourth bout of the year in overtime as he defeated Sean Johnson of Glenville State 4-1 in sudden victory-1.
- No. 6 Nico Taddy earned his first career conference title on Saturday afternoon with a 16-1 win by tech fall (4:39) against Gage Heilbrun of Frostburg State. He then avenged a loss from earlier in the season at the NWCA National Duals, defeating Ethan Hardy of Glenville State by an 8-4 decision.
- At 157 pounds, AJ Nettey earned fourth place at the conference championships with a 1-2 record on the day. After losing in an 18-3 tech fall (18-3) to Matthew Kaufmann of Notre Dame, he notched a 2-0 decision over Kolton Parsons of Fairmont State to reach the third place match. He fell in his final match-up of the day as he was pinned by Mason Buckler of Frostburg State in 2:36.
- In the 165 pound bracket Alec Cook wrestled to a 2-1 mark on the day and a runner-up finish. He opened the day with a 17-0 win by tech fall (5:53) over Brian Crevar of Wheeling and then a 4-3 win by decision over Navid Ighani of Fairmont State to reach the title match. He fell just short of his third career MEC title, losing 5-2 in sudden victory-1 to Brady Ross of Glenville State.
- Christian Chavez was one of three freshmen in the West Liberty lineup to reach the finals as he defeated Alec Hall in a 7-3 decision in the semifinals. In the title match he fell by a 12-3 major decision to Isaiah Casto of Glenville State.
- No. 1 Ty McGeary notched a pair of first period falls to become a 3-time MEC champion inside the ASRC, pinning Nick McCarthy of Frostburg State (1:30) and Drake De La Cruz of Glenville State (1:44) in the semifinals and finals.
- Mason Christian became the second freshman to win a title for WLU on Saturday afternoon as he went 3-0 on the day. He opened his run with a win by fall (4:15) over Joshua Sanders of Davis & Elkins before using a 10-7 win in sudden victory-1 over Dwayne Johnson of Fairmont State to reach the finals. He won the title bout with a 9-7 win by decision over Nicholas Johnson of Glenville State.
- No. 2 Francesco Borsellino helped the Hilltoppers end the MEC Championships with winners in each of the final three weight classes, becoming a 3-time conference champion in the 285 pound weight class. He earned a 6-4 win by decision over Jake Powell of Wheeling in the semifinals and closed the night with a win by fall (6:34) over La'ron Parks of Notre Dame.
HEAD COACH DANNY IRWIN INTERVIEW
FRANCESCO BORSELLINO, KHYVON GRACE, AND TY MCGEARY INTERVIEW
NICO TADDY AND MASON CHRISTIAN INTERVIEW
UP NEXT
No. 3 West Liberty will return to action next Saturday, February 3, as they travel to Berea, Ohio, to compete at the John Summa Invitational. The action will get underway with a 10 a.m. start time for the Hilltoppers.
