West Liberty, W.Va. – The No. 3 West Liberty University wrestling team is set for a top-10 battle on Thursday, February 8, as they travel to No. 8 Lake Erie. The Hilltoppers and Storm are set for a 6:30 p.m. start time inside the Jerome T. Osborne Center in Painesville, Ohio, as WLU looks for their fourth consecutive dual win of the year.
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MEET DETAILS
Location: Painesville, Ohio (Jerome T. Osborne Center)
Start Time: 6:30 P.M.
Coverage: Only live results will be available on Thursday night and there will be no live stream broadcast.
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#3 WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES
- West Liberty enters Thursday with an 11-6 record in dual meet competition following a 49-0 win over No. 16 Grand Valley State and a 42-8 win over Notre Dame at the Notre Dame Tri-Duals on Thursday, January 18. In the duals against the Lakers and Falcons the Hilltoppers won 18 of their 20 bouts and posted ten bonus points wins (7 wins by fall, 2 wins by major decision, and 1 win by tech fall).
- The Hilltoppers have competed in six open tournaments this season, winning ten individual titles and totaling 39 place winners. Vincent Scollo won the 133 pound title at the Findlay Open, Khyvon Grace won the 141 pound title at the MEC Championships, Nico Taddy won the 149 pound title at the MEC Championships, Ty McGeary won the 184 pound titles at the Findlay Open and MEC Championships, Mason Christian won the 197 pound titles at the Mount Union Invite and MEC Championships, Parker Bentley won the 285 pound title at the Little State Invitational and Francesco Borsellino won the 285 pound titles at the MEC Championships and the John Summa Invitational.
- The Black & Gold fell to the No. 3 ranking in the latest release of NWCA Coaches' Poll on Monday, January 22. West Liberty has been ranked inside the top-3 the entirety of the 2023-24 season, including spending a month tied for the No. 1 ranking with Central Oklahoma, marking the highest ranking in program history.
- Alexander Crane enters Saturday with a record of 8-13 on the season at 125 pounds after falling in the MEC title match to Hunter Ross of Glenville State in an 11-2 major decision. He owns three bonus points wins with all by way of fall.
- At 133 pounds, Vincent Scollo makes his return to the mats with a record of 10-3 on the season with his last appearance being a 2-1 performance at the Hilltopper Duals. He owns three bonus point wins this season, two by tech fall and one by major decision.
- Khyvon Grace enters Thursday with a record of 19-5 on the season after claiming his second MEC title in his last outing. En route to his conference title he earned 15-0 win by tech fall over Caden Canning of Wheeling and then won his fourth overtime bout of the year in a 4-1 sudden victory-1 win over Sean Johnson of Glenville State in the finals. He owns six bonus point wins on the year, all by way of tech fall. He has also recorded 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 enters Saturday as the No. 6 ranked wrestler at 149 pounds and has posted a record of 15-3 on the year after earning a second place finish at the John Summa Invitational. In his last outing he recorded four bonus point victories en route to the title match, where he ultimately fell in a 5-1 decision to DIII's No. 1 ranked wrestler, Michael Petrella of Baldwin Wallace. He is 2-2 against ranked opponents this season and owns 12 bonus point wins on the year. He is one of three Hilltoppers to be named MEC Wrestler of the Week during the 2023-24 season.
- In the 157 pound weight class, Jordan Watters enters with a record of 8-5 during the 2023-24 season following a pair of wins at the Notre Dame Tri-Duals where he won by fall (2:22) over Gustavo DeLima of Grand Valley State and later won in a 4-0 decision over Matthew Kaufmann of Notre Dame. He owns two bonus point victories this season, which both occurred by fall.
- In the 165 pound weight class, Breagan Pearson enters with a 12-11 record on the year. He posted a 2-2 mark this past weekend at the John Summa Invitational, earning a pair of bonus point victories with a 14-2 win by major decision over Ryleigh Duryee of St. John Fisher and a win by fall over Frank Gill of Thiel. He now owns five bonus point victories in 2023-24.
- At 174 pounds Christian Chavez owns an 18-13 record during his freshman campaign, competing in both the 174 and 184 pound weight classes. During his last outing he notched a second place finish at the John Summa Invitational as an 18-4 major decision win over John Radey of Ohio Northern propelled him four consecutive wins to reach the title bout. He owns eight bonus point victories in 2023-24.
- Ty McGeary remains the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 184 pounds with a 24-0 record on the year after claiming his third MEC title. En route to his conference title he earned a pair of first period wins by fall over Nick McCarthy of Frostburg State (1:30) and Drake De La Cruz of Glenville State (1:44) in the semifinals and finals. In the initial release of the NCAA Division II Most Dominant Wrestler standings he ranks second, having posted 16 bonus point wins on the year with seven by all, six by tech fall, and three by major decision. He is a 4-time MEC Wrestler of the Week honoree while going 2-0 against ranked opponents this year.
- Mason Christian enters the 197 pound bout with a record of 23-7 on the year after claiming third place at last weekend's John Summa Invitational. In his last outing he secured bonus point wins in five of his six victories, including a 14-2 major decision over DIII's No. 13 ranked Braydon Vandenberg of St. John Fisher to reach the placement match. Christian has a total of 13 bonus point wins on the year.
- Francesco Borselino, the No. 2 ranked wrestler at 285 pounds, enters Thursday with a record of 13-0 this season after claiming the John Summa Invitational title last weekend. After three pins on the day, he has now totaled ten wins by fall during 2023-24. Of his ten wins by fall this year, seven have occurred in the first period and furthermore, three have come 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, claiming his second weekly honor on Monday afternoon.
- Danny Irwin is in his fifth season as the head coach at West Liberty, leading the Hilltoppers to a 55-21 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 75-30 career dual meet record and four total top-6 national championship finishes.
LAKE ERIE STORYLINES
- Lake Erie enters Thursday's dual with a record of 6-5 in dual meet competition and last went 1-2 at the regional duals. They fell to No. 25 Glenville State (36-14) and No. 16 Grand Valley State (22-21) but defeated Notre Dame (31-15).
- In the Storm's last outing, they finished third at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championships with Ryan Wehner, Christian Small, and Jack Haskin claiming titles.
- At 125 pounds Anthony Sagaris enters Thursday's bout with a record of 11-7. He earned a fourth place finish at the GMAC Championships, falling to Luke Acuna of Ashland in the placement match. He owns five bonus point wins on the year.
- At 133 pounds it will be Ryan Wehner or Brendan Hamilton for the Storm. Wehner enters with a record of 12-8 and was the GMAC Champions while Hamilton is 6-5.
- At 141 pounds it will be No. 10 Corey Gamet or Carsen Richards for LEC. Gamet enters with a record of 8-2 on the year while Richards is 19-6 and earned a second place finish in the GMAC Championships, falling to Zackary Donathan by a 4-3 decision in the title bout.
- Austin Fietz gets the nod at 149 pounds with a record of 12-9 this season. He last competed at the regional duals where he went 2-1 on the day. He owns six bonus point wins on the year.
- The highest ranked wrestler for the Storm is Jack Haskin at No. 2 in the 157 pound weight class. He claimed the GMAC title by defeating Drew Wiechers of Ashland in a 5-3 decision. He owns a 12-0 record on the year with nine bonus point wins.
- At 165 pounds will be Thomas Potter who is 7-7 in 2023-24. He earned a third place finish at the GMAC Championships with a 2-0 win by decision over Emilio Arellano of Tiffin. He owns two wins by fall this season.
- Paul Scaramuzzino enters the 184 pound bout with a record of 2-7 this year with his wins coming by fall and tech fall. He last competed at the regional duals where he went 1-1 on the day.
- In the 197 pound match for Lake Erie will be Brylan Clouse who enters with a 9-7 record. He earned a third place finish at the GMAC Championships as he secured a first period win by fall (0:32) over Jacob Noon of Tiffin. He owns three bonus point wins with two occurring by fall.
- Rounding out the lineup for the Storm is Dylan Norris who is 2-7 on the year. He last competed at the GMAC Championships where he went 0-2 on the day.
- Boomer Fechko is in his second season as the head coach at Lake Erie and has posted a 15-9 career record.
SERIES HISTORY
- Since 2011-12, Lake Erie holds a 4-1 record in the series, however West Liberty secured a 30-9 win in the most recent match-up on November 10, 2022 inside the ASRC.
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PROBABLE WRESTLERS
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