Park City, Kan. – The No. 4 West Liberty University wrestling team will see two wrestlers advance onto the second day of action at the 2024 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, as Khyvon Grace and Ty McGeary secured All-American recognition. While the Hilltoppers currently sit 15^th in the team standings with 17.0 points, the group of six wrestlers went 9-9 on the day with a pair of bonus point victories.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Team Standings: 15^th (17.0 points)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• In the 141 pound bracket, Khyvon Grace gave the No. 2 seed, Hunter Burnett of Augustana, all he could handle in the first round bout as he fell by a score of 8-1 in sudden victory-1 in his first match of the day. He then regrouped and went 2-0 during the second session of the day as he defeated Ethan Leake of Chadron State by an 11-4 decision, and then No. 8 Isham Peace of Lander with a takedown in the final seconds to win 13-12 by decision to secure his first career All-American honors.
• Nico Taddy secured the first win of the tournament for the Hilltoppers as the No. 5 seed earned a 13-6 win by decision over Dean Noble of Western Colorado in the first round of the 149 pound bracket. He started the second session of the day as he lost a hard fought battle with No. 4 Zeth Brower of Lander in sudden victory-1, 8-5. His tournament run then came to a close with a 9-3 loss by decision to Devan Moore of Newberry in a 9-3 decision.
• Alec Cook was the first wrestler for West Liberty to compete at the 2024 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships as he fell in his opening round prelim bout at 165 pounds to Brandon Connor of Millersville in a 10-8 decision. He bounced back in his second match of Session I with an 8-2 win by decision over Kyle Botelho of San Francisco State to remain alive and move in the main portion of the consolation bracket for Session II. In the evening session and consolation round 1 he lost by fall (1:58) to Cole Ritter of Maryville to end his 2024 national tournament appearance.
• Ty McGeary, the No. 1 wrestler in the 184 pound bracket is the lone Hilltopper who is 2-0 after the first day of action at Hartman Arena. He won both matches by major decision as he defeated Anthony Yacovetti of Lander by a score of 14-5, and No. 8 Billy Higgins of Nebraska-Kearney by a score of 14-5 to claim All-American honors for the third time in his career and keeps his hopes of defending his title alive.
• Mason Christian, the only other wrestler to open the day in the prelim rounds, lost his first bout of the 2024 DII Championships in a 10-3 decision to Wayne McIntyre of Kutztown as the 197 pound bracket got underway. He stayed alive with a 4-2 win by decision over Ethan Lopez of King in the final bout of Session I to move into the main portion of the consolation bracket for Session II. During the evening session he started the night with a win in the tiebreaker round over Trever Begin of Mercyhurst, before falling to No. 5 Dakoda Rodgers of Pitt-Johnstown by a score of 4-1 in sudden victory-1 to close his tournament stay.
• Francesco Borsellino, the No. 1 seed in the 285 pound weight class, suffered a first round upset in Session I as Zach Peterson of Augustana recorded a takedown in the closing seconds to earn a 3-1 win over the previously undefeated Hilltopper. He then bounced back with a 4-2 win by decision over Devon Rice of Newberry in consolation round 1, however he saw his season come to an end with a 10-5 loss by decision to La'Ron Parks of Notre Dame.

DANNY IRWIN INTERVIEW (SESSION I)


DANNY IRWIN INTERVIEW (SESSION II)


KHYVON GRACE INTERVIEW


TY MCGEARY INTERVIEW


UP NEXT
Ty McGeary and Khyvon Grace will be in action on day two of the 2024 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships as Session III gets underway at 10 A.M. CST / 11 A.M. EST, while Session IIII and the Championship Finals are at 7 P.M. CST / 8 P.M. EST inside Hartman Arena in Park City, Kansas.