Elkins, W.Va. – The No. 3 West Liberty University wrestling team earned another decisive victory on Friday night as they defeated Davis & Elkins 49-3 in their final dual meet of the 2023-24 season. The Hilltoppers won five of the six head-to-head match-ups on the evening while earning wins by forfeit in the remaining four bouts. Of WLU's five wins, three were of the bonus point variety as Matt Englehardt led the way with a pin and Armon Nettey and Jalen King recorded tech falls.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: No. 3 West Liberty 49, Davis & Elkins 3
Team Records: No. 3 West Liberty 14-6, Davis & Elkins 0-3
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• To start the dual at 125 pounds, Alexander Crane received a win by forfeit to put West Liberty in front 6-0.
• In the first head-to-head bout of the night, Matt Englehardt picked up a win by fall (4:50) over Jett Pattison at 133 pounds. After entering the second period tied at six, Englehardt notched an escape and then proceeded to score on a takedown and a 4-point near fall before ending the match with a pin.
• In back-to-back weight classes at 141 and 149 pounds, Chris Barthelemy and Brock Wygle received wins by forfeit to extend the Hilltopper lead to 24-0 on the night.
• Armon Nettey secured the second bonus point win of the night for the Hilltoppers as he won 17-0 by tech fall (3:41) over Gabriel Pujadas. He racked up a pair of 4-point near falls following his initial takedown in the first period to take an 11-0 advantage and he ended it early in the first minute of the second period with a reversal and his third 4-point near fall of the bout.
• Davis & Elkins' lone win of the night came at 165 pounds as Bradden Galassi defeated Breagan Pearson by a 9-8 decision. Galassi held a narrow 4-3 advantage after one period of action and extended it to 8-4 after two, however Pearson fought back and tied it at eight with an escape and takedown in the third period. As Pearson was attempting to get a turn and back points in the final seconds, Galassi was able to slip out of his grasp and escape with one second left on the clock for the win.
• Jalen King got West Liberty back into the win column with their third bonus point win of the night, a 17-0 tech fall (4:39) over Gavin Rodriguez-Cavro. Similar to Nettey at 157, King racked up the near fall points in the opening period as he tallied a 3-point near fall and a pair of 4-point near falls off his initial takedown to make it 14-0 after one. He then decided to start the second period neutral and won on a takedown with just over 20 seconds remaining in the period.
• The final of four wins by forfeit for WLU came at 184 pounds for Caden Kenworthy to push the score to 40-3.
• At 197 pounds it took overtime for Anthony Gencarelli to earn the victory over Joshua Sanders as he picked up the 9-6 win in sudden victory-1. Gencarelli trailed 6-1 after the opening period, however he battled back with an escape and takedown in second before pushing it to the extra period by riding out Sanders in the third period for the riding time point to tie the match at six. He secured the win with the overtime take down just over 30 seconds in as he defended a shot by Sanders and quickly circled around him to score the three points.
• Jamie Kilmer closed out the dual with a win by injury default (4:39) over Daimere Wilson-Turner at 285 pounds. After only scoring on one takedown in the first period, Kilmer picked up the pace and pushed the lead to 16-3 with a reversal and three takedowns in the second before the match ended with 21 seconds remaining in the period.

Weight	Summary	D&E	WLU
125	Alexander Crane (West Liberty) over Unknown (For.)	0	6
133	Matt Englehardt (West Liberty) over Jett Pattison (Davis & Elkins) (Fall 4:50)	0	6
141	Chris Barthelemy (West Liberty) over Unknown (For.)	0	6
149	Brock Wygle (West Liberty) over Unknown (For.)	0	6
157	Armon Nettey (West Liberty) over Gabriel Pujadas (Davis & Elkins) (TF 17-0 3:41)	0	5
165	Bradden Galassi (Davis & Elkins) over Breagan Pearson (West Liberty) (Dec 9-8)	3	0
174	Jalen King (West Liberty) over Gavin Rodriguez-Cayro (Davis & Elkins) (TF 17-0 4:39)	0	5
184	Caden Kenworthy (West Liberty) over Unknown (For.)	0	6
197	Anthony Gencarelli (West Liberty) over Joshua Sanders (Davis & Elkins) (SV-1 9-6)	0	3
285	Jamie Kilmer (West Liberty) over Daimere Wilson-Turner (Davis & Elkins) (Inj. 4:39)	0	6
Team Score:		3	49

 
JALEN KING AND JAMIE KILMER POST DUAL INTERVIEW


UP NEXT
No. 3 West Liberty will return to the mats in two weeks as the road to the NCAA Division II National Championships begins with the Super Region 3 Tournament hosted inside the ASRC on Saturday, March 2. Wrestling for the Hilltoppers begins at 10 a.m. with the action consisting of three sessions throughout the day.