West Liberty State College
Hilltopper Wrestling

From West Liberty Wrestling

Emery Qualifies

March 1 - 2, 2014

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – West Liberty's Mike Emery was regional runner-up at 165 pounds and two other Hilltopper wrestlers came up just short of joining him at this month's NCAA Division II Nationals Sunday afternoon as the Super Region One Championships concluded its two-day run at the Pitt-Johnstown Sports Center.

Emery, a junior from Indian Creek (Ohio) High School, pulled off one of the tournament's biggest surprises as the No. 6 seed battled all the way to the 165-pound championship match before dropping a hard-fought 7-3 decision to top-seeded Eric Burgey of Notre Dame (OH). Burgey came into the tournament ranked No. 3 nationally at 165.

The top three regional placers in each of the 10 weight classes advance to the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championships, which will be held March 14-15 in Cleveland.

Two other members of Coach Brian Davis's Hilltopper squad notched fourth-place finishes on Sunday to come away one win shy of a national qualifying berth.

Eric Antesberger, a junior 174-pounder from North Pole, Alaska, lost to Notre Dame's Joey Davis – the nation's No. 1-ranked 174-pounder – in the championship semifinals. The No. 4-seeded Antesberger bounced back with a 12-7 win against Pitt-Johnstown's Nikos Garofola in the consolation semis but couldn't get past Mercyhurst's August Mizia of Mercyhurst in the third-place match. A similar fate befell WLU's Aaron Silverio, a sophomore 285-pounder from Shadyside, Ohio. Entering the regional as the No. 7 seed, Silverio upset No. 2 seed Matt Pringle of American International on Saturday to earn a spot in the championship semifinals. Silverio carried No. 3 seed Andy Welton of Mercyhurst to overtime in their semifinal match only to lose a 2-1 decision in the first tie-breaker.

The Hilltopper sophomore downed Shippensburg's Jacob Nale, 3-2, in the consolation semifinals to earn a shot in the third-place match but came up one point shy of nationals with a 3-2 loss to Pitt-Johnstown's Josh Duplin.

Notre Dame, ranked No. 1 in the NWCA national coaches' poll, came from behind on Sunday to win its first regional team title. The Falcons finished with 115.5 points to easily outdistance host Pitt-Johnstown (90.5). Mercyhurst was third at 83 with Kutztown (55) and Gannon (40) rounding out the top five. West Liberty was eighth in the 12-team field, just 2.5 points out of sixth. Mercyhurst's Mike Wehler was named the 2013-14 Super Region I Coach of the Year with Kutztown 133-pounder Evan Yenolevich earning the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler Award. Team scoring and full results for every West Liberty wrestler are included below:

SUPER REGION I CHAMPIONSHIPS (at Pitt-Johnstown)
Team Scoring
1. Notre Dame (OH) 115.5
2. Pitt-Johnstown 90.5
3. Mercyhurst 83
4. Kutztown 55
5. Gannon 40
6. East Stroudsburg 29
7. Shippensburg 28
8. WEST LIBERTY 26.5
9. Millersville 19
10. Seton Hill 17
11. (tie) American International, Wheeling Jesuit 4.

Brackets AT THIS LINK

West Liberty Individuals

125 pounds
Champ. Round 1: Zach Brown (WLU) received a bye
Quarterfinal: Ryan Bohince (Mercy) won by decision over Zach Brown (WLU), 6-2
Cons. Round 2: Zach Brown (WLU) received a bye
Cons. Round 3: Dante Steffenino (Ship) won by decision over Zach Brown (WLU), 3-2

133 pounds
Champ. Round 1: Adam Weinell (Gan) won by fall over Bryce Gainer (WLU), 4:23
Cons. Round 1: Bryce Gainer (WLU) received a bye
Cons. Round 2: Andrew Schutz (SHU) won by fall over Bryce Gainer (WLU), 4:50

141 pounds
Champ. Round 1: David Charles (Mill) won by fall over Cole Nace (WLU), 6:59
Cons. Round 1: Cole Nace (WLU) received a bye
Cons. Round 2: Cole Nace (WLU) won by decision over Simeon Everett (AIC), 8-3
Cons. Round 3: Cole Nace (WLU) won by fall over Simon Rice (Ship), 5:57
Cons. Semi: Sam Hanau (UPJ) won by tech fall over Cole Nace (WLU), 21-5

149 pounds
Champ. Round 1: Colin Landowski (UPJ) won by decision over Daniel Carpenter (WLU), 11-10
Cons. Round 1: Daniel Carpenter (WLU) received a bye
Cons. Round 2: Daniel Carpenter (WLU) won by fall over Joe Esposito (Kutz), 6:02
Cons. Round 3: Rocco Wellek (Gan) won by decision over Daniel Carpenter (WLU), 8-5

157 pounds
Champ. Round 1: Bryan Skoff (WLU) received a bye
Quarterfinal: Francis Mizia (Mercy) won by major decision over Bryan Skoff (WLU), 12-1
Cons. Round 2: Bryan Skoff (WLU) eceived a bye
Cons. Round 3: Heath Coles (UPJ) won by major decision over Bryan Skoff (WLU), 10-2

165 pounds
Champ. Round 1: Mike Emery (WLU) received a bye
Quarterfinal: Mike Emery (WLU) won by decision over Casey Pace (Gan), 5-2
Semifinal: Mike Emery (WLU) won by decision over Gary Lantz (UPJ), 3-2
1st Place Match: Eric Burgey (NDC) won by decision over Mike Emery (WLU), 7-3

174 pounds
Champ. Round 1: Eric Antesberger (WLU) won by major decision over Michael Schulze (AIC), 9-0
Quarterfinal: Eric Antesberger (WLU) won by decision over Sawyer Leppla (WJU), 6-4
Semifinal: Joey Davis (NDC) won by major decision over Eric Antesberger (WLU), 15-3
Cons. Semi: Eric Antesberger (WLU) won by decision over Nikos Garofola (UPJ), 12-7
3rd Place Match: August Mizia (Mercy) won by major decision over Eric Antesberger (WLU), 13-3

184 pounds
Champ. Round 1: Danny Doyle (WLU) received a bye
Quarterfinal: Zachary Zelcs (Gan) won by major decision over Danny Doyle (WLU), 8-0
Cons. Round 2: Casey Hedash (Ship) won in sudden victory: 1 over Danny Doyle (WLU), 6-4, SV-1

285 pounds
Champ. Round 1: Aaron Silverio (WLU) won by decision over Tyler Richardson (ESU), 7-1
Quarterfinal: Aaron Silverio (WLU) won by decision over Matt Pringle (AIC), 2-1
Semifinal: Andy Welton (Mercy) won in tie breaker: 1 over Aaron Silverio (WLU), 2-1, TB-1
Cons. Semi: Aaron Silverio (WLU) won by decision over Jacob Nale (Ship), 3-2
3rd Place Match: Josh Duplin (UPJ) won by decision over Aaron Silverio (WLU), 3-2


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