Cedar Falls, Iowa – After receiving their first-ever No. 1 ranking in program history prior to the winter break, the West Liberty University wrestling team went 1-2 on Friday afternoon at the NWCA National Duals inside the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Hilltoppers dropped their first dual of the day in a 30-14 loss to No. 18 Northern State. The Black & Gold then momentarily bounced back with a top-10 win over No. 8 Indianapolis by a score of 25-20 but then fell in the night cap to No. 10 McKendree 30-8.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score (Dual 1): No. 1 West Liberty 14, No. 18 Northern State 30
Final Score (Dual 2): No. 1 West Liberty 25, No. 8 Indianapolis 20
Final Score (Dual 3): No. 1 West Liberty 8, No. 10 McKendree 30
 
HOW IT HAPPENED VS. NO. 18 NORTHERN STATE

• Northern State gained an 8-0 advantage with wins at 125 and 133 pounds as Landen Fischer won by a 6-3 decision over Alexander Crane and Teagan Block won 15-0 by tech fall over Matt Englehardt.
• Khyvon Grace earned the first win of the day for West Liberty as he battled to a 4-2 win by decision over Braydon Mogle at 141 pounds.
• The Wolves then rattled off four consecutive wins to mount a 30-2 lead with No. 1 Wyatt Turnquist defeating No. 5 Nico Taddy by fall (4:33) at 149 pounds, No. 5 Devin Bahr won by injury default over No. 2 Jamar Williams at 157 pounds, Chase Bloomquist won by a 13-4 major decision over No. 9 Alec Cook, and Mason Fey won by fall over Breagan Pearson (2:35) at 174 pounds.
• At 184 pounds, Ty McGeary was the first of three straight wins for the Hilltoppers to end the dual, winning by injury default of Treyton Cacek. Mason Christian and Jamie Kilmer then followed it up with a 7-3 decision over Ryan Hirschkorn and an 8-3 decision over Ayden Viox respectively.
• West Liberty had one team point deducted following the 157 pound bout.
• NSU earned bonus points in five matches compared to over one for WLU.

Match Summary		NSU	WLU
125	Landen Fischer (Northern State) over Alexander Crane (West Liberty) Dec 6-3	3.0	0
133	Teagan Block (Northern State) over Matt Englehardt (West Liberty) TF 15-0	5.0	0
141	Khyvon Grace (West Liberty) over Braydon Mogle (Northern State) Dec 4-2	0	3.0
149	Wyatt Turnquist (Northern State) over Nico Taddy (West Liberty) Fall 4:33	6.0	0
157	Devin Bahr (Northern State) over Jamar Williams (West Liberty) Inj 4:41	6.0	0
165	Chase Bloomquist (Northern State) over Alec Cook (West Liberty) Maj 13-4	4.0	0
174	Mason Fey (Northern State) over Breagan Pearson (West Liberty) Fall 2:35	6.0	0
184	Ty McGeary (West Liberty) over Treyton Cacek (Northern State) Inj 4:17	0	6.0
197	Mason Christian (West Liberty) over Ryan Hirschkorn (Northern State) Dec 7-3	0	3.0
285	Jamie Kilmer (West Liberty) over Ayden Viox (Northern State) Dec 8-3	0	3.0
unsportsman like conduct head coach			-1.0
Dual Meet Score		30.0	14.0

 
HOW IT HAPPENED VS. NO. 8 INDIANAPOLIS

• Indianapolis started the second dual of the day with Nathan Smith winning 15-0 by tech fall over Alexander Crane in the 125 pound bout.
• West Liberty then secured three straight wins with a win by fall for Matt Englehardt over Nick Varanelli (1:08) at 133 pounds, Khyvon Grace earned a 5-4 win by decision over Ray Rioux at 141 pounds, and No. 5 Nico Taddy earned a 9-1 major decision win over No. 6 Jackson Hoover at 149 pounds.
• The teams went back and forth the next three as Owen Zablocki earned a win by fall over Jordan Watters (4:20) at 157 pounds, No. 9 Alec Cook earned a 7-2 win by decision over Nathan Conley at 165 pounds, and No. 6 Trey Sizemore notched UIndy's second pin with a win Christian Chavez (5:57) at 174 pounds.
• The Hilltoppers won back-to-back at 184 and 197 pounds as No. 1 Ty McGeary recorded a first period pin over Aidan Petersen (0:44) and Mason Christian secured a 4-1 win by decision over Phoenix Rodgers.
• Jay Thompson closed the dual with a 9-5 win by decision for the Greyhounds at 285 pounds over Jamie Kilmer.
• Both teams earned three bonus point victories in the dual.

Match Summary		UINDY	WLU
125	Nathan Smith (Indianapolis) over Alexander Crane (West Liberty) TF 15-0	5.0	0
133	Matt Englehardt (West Liberty) over Nick Varanelli (Indianapolis) Fall 1:08	0	6.0
141	Khyvon Grace (West Liberty) over Ray Rioux (Indianapolis) Dec 5-4	0	3.0
149	Nico Taddy (West Liberty) over Jackson Hoover (Indianapolis) Maj 9-1	0	4.0
157	Owen Zablocki (Indianapolis) over Jordan Watters (West Liberty) Fall 4:20	6.0	0
165	Alec Cook (West Liberty) over Nathan Conley (Indianapolis) Dec 7-2	0	3.0
174	Trey Sizemore (Indianapolis) over Fabian Chavez (West Liberty) Fall 5:57	6.0	0
184	Ty McGeary (West Liberty) over Aidan Petersen (Indianapolis) Fall 0:44	0	6.0
197	Mason Christian (West Liberty) over Phoenix Rodgers (Indianapolis) Dec 4-1	0	3.0
285	Jay Thompson (Indianapolis) over Jamie Kilmer (West Liberty) Dec 9-5	3.0	0
Dual Meet Score		20.0	25.0

 
HOW IT HAPPENED VS. NO. 10 MCKENDREE

• McKendree opened up a 12-0 advantage with wins in the first three matches of the final dual of the day. No. 4 Christian Meja recorded a 16-1 tech fall win over Alexander Crane at 125 pounds, Ryan Ripplinger notched a 9-1 major decision win over Matt Englehardt at 133 pounds, and No. 5 Ronan Schuelke earned a 2-1 win in tiebreaker-1 over Khyvon Grace at 141 pounds.
• West Liberty's first win of the dual was an 8-2 win by decision for Nico Taddy over Joey Semerad at 149 pounds.
• The Bearcats once again earned three consecutive wins in the 157, 165, and 174 pound weight classes as Josh Lauback earned a 6-3 win by decision over Jordan Watters, No. 4 Corey Peterson earned a 4-1 win in sudden victory-1 over No. 9 Alec Cook, and No. 7 Matt Ortiz notched a 9-2 win by decision over Christian Chavez.
• No. 1 Ty McGeary ended the day 3-0 and earned another bonus point win with a 19-4 tech fall victory over Lucas Wendling at 184 pounds.
• McKendree won the final two bouts with a 7-3 win by decision for Logan Kvien over Mason Christian and Tyler Haynes won by fall over Jamie Kilmer (1:51).
• The Bearcats earned three bonus point wins compared to one for the Hilltoppers.

Match Summary		WLU	MCK
125	Christian Mejia (McKendree) over Alexander Crane (West Liberty) TF 16-1	0	5.0
133	Ryan Ripplinger (McKendree) over Matt Englehardt (West Liberty) Maj 9-1	0	4.0
141	Ronan Schuelke (McKendree) over Khyvon Grace (West Liberty) TB-1 2-1	0	3.0
149	Nico Taddy (West Liberty) over Joey Semerad (McKendree) Dec 8-2	3.0	0
157	Josh Laubach (McKendree) over Jordan Watters (West Liberty) Dec 6-3	0	3.0
165	Cory Peterson (McKendree) over Alec Cook (West Liberty) SV-1 4-1	0	3.0
174	Matt Ortiz (McKendree) over Fabian Chavez (West Liberty) Dec 9-2	0	3.0
184	Ty McGeary (West Liberty) over Lucas Wendling (McKendree) TF 19-4	5.0	0
197	Logan Kvien (McKendree) over Mason Christian (West Liberty) Dec 7-3	0	3.0
285	Tyler Haynes (McKendree) over Jamie Kilmer (West Liberty) Fall 1:51	0	6.0
Dual Meet Score		8.0	30.0

 
HEAD COACH DANNY IRWIN POST DUALS INTERVIEW


UP NEXT
The West Liberty University wrestling team will be back in action at the NWCA National Duals tomorrow as they wrestle in the 9-12^th place bracket. The Hilltoppers open the day at 11 a.m. CST (12 p.m. EST) against No. 25 Glenville State and will then wrestle either No. 5 Lake Erie or No. 18 Northern State at 3 p.m. CST (4 p.m. EST) in the UNI-Dome.