Today should have marked the start of an exciting week for the West Liberty wrestling team.
Coach Danny Irwin’s Hilltoppers last competed on December 17 when they took care of Fairmont State (51-0) and Davis & Elkins (39-8) during the inaugural Hilltopper Duals.
Still ranked No. 4 nationally in Division II, this was supposed to be the week Irwin pitted his best against some of the top teams in the nation at the United States Marine Corps/National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals in Louisville, Kentucky.
West Liberty was set to test its mettle against some of the top teams in Division II, including No. 1 Central Oklahoma and No. 2 St. Cloud State, along with the remainder of the top eight nationally, plus No. 11 Ashland.
Not only that, but Irwin’s team was finally healthy and together at the same time for once this season, meaning the Hilltoppers were 10 wrestlers strong heading in Thursday’s round of 32.
But Irwin and his wrestlers learned earlier today that because of COVID protocols, the Hilltoppers aren’t making the trip to Louisville.
“This was going to be an awesome event,” Irwin said. “It’s something we were looking forward to and has been marked on our schedule.
“Plus, this is really the first time all of our horses would be ready to go out there together. We’ve been beat up here and there, and the six guys that (placed) at nationals, not one time were all six of them available at the same dual. We were looking forward to unleashing them all and making a statement.”
That statement will have to wait until next week now, when Ashland comes to the ASRC mats for a dual between the current No. 4 and No. 11 teams in Division II.
That match pits the defending Super Regional champion Hilltoppers against the Super Regional runner-up in the Eagles. There will be more than bragging rights on the line on January 13.
“Unless something lingers, all signs point to being back for the Ashland dual,” Irwin said. “I think we’ll be healthy and ready to go for that. That is a big event as there will be a lot of super regional seeds on the line.
“In my time here, we haven’t wrestled Ashland head-to-head. We’ve seen them in some tournaments and at the super regional last year.”
Two days later, WLU will head to North Manchester, Indiana for the Spartan Mat Classic, with a dual against Notre Dame College to follow on Jan. 20 and the MEC Tournament at the ASRC on Jan. 29.
Nationally Ranked Wrestlers
West Liberty also features six of its wrestlers in the individual national rankings, including three wrestlers ranked No. 2—Cole Laya at 125 pounds, Ty McGeary at 174 and Connor Craig at 184.
Both Laya is a defending national champion while Craig is a former champion and the runner-up last season. Strangely enough, defending national champion and two-time overall champion Ty Warner is the No. 11 ranked wrestler at 141.
Irwin didn’t want to delve into the hows and potential whys of Warner’s ranking. But from the outside looking in, giving a defending champion an actual reason to feel slighted rarely goes well for the opposition.
Logan Kemp is also ranked, coming in seventh at 197 while Francesco Borsellino is fifth at 285. As Irwin stated previously, the national duals as to be the first match this season where all six ranked wrestlers would be able to compete.
Even down a couple, the Hilltoppers came up just short against St. Cloud, 26-12, at the Carolina Clash back on December 4.
Later in the month, the Hilltoppers fell to then No. 12 Findlay, 19-18, also missing a few key cogs.
“It’s also shown the depth of our team,” Irwin noted. “Findlay is top 10 now and we were down three starters out of 10- and only lost 19 to 18. St. Cloud we were down two of our heavy hitters. But our guys have really stepped up and gained some valuable experience and it will serve us well, both this year, and in the future.”
