West Liberty Wrestlers Impress at W&J Open
11/12/2011
WASHINGTON, Pa. – The West Liberty University wrestling team certainly made its presence felt in Saturday's sixth annual W&J Open Invitational at Washington and Jefferson College.
Redshirt freshman Art Hobley emerged as the 149-pound champion while three Hilltoppers claimed runner-up laurels in their respective weight classes and three more members of Coach Brian Davis's squad placed in the season-opening tournament.
The one-day event drew nearly 300 wrestlers, many wrestling unattached, from 17 NCAA Division I, II, III programs throughout the northeast to the Henry Memorial Center on the campus of Washington & Jefferson College.
Hobley, a former OVAC champion from Steubenville High School, wrestled his way to the top of the 149-pound division in impressive fashion. The redshirt freshman capped his run with a 7-4 victory against West Virginia University's Tre Millerscott in the championship match.
Jordan Nolan, Jacob Donley and Ian Howell all fought their way to the championship match in their respective weight classes before tasting defeat.
Nolan, a redshirt freshman transfer from NCAA Division I Ohio University, dropped a 9-3 decision to Zach Lundgren of Pitt-Johnstown in the 165-pound championship match after upsetting top-seeded Adam Lamancusa of Mercyhurst, 6-4, in the semifinals.
Donley, a senior from Harrison Central (Ohio) High School, handed Thiel's Patrick Morris a 6-3 loss in the 197-pound semifinals before losing to WVU's Mac Mancuso in the title match.
Howell, a sophomore who also hails from Harrison Central, breezed through the early round and advanced to the 285-pound championship match before falling to Mercyhurst's Fred Hale in the final.
Also wrestling well for the Hilltoppers on Saturday were Derrick Williams, who took fourth place at 184 pounds; Nick Wykoff, who was fifth at 141; and J.D. Ramsey, who was upset in his first match but worked his way through the wrestlebacks to place sixth at 285.
West Liberty travels to Pitt-Johnstown on Friday for a 7 p.m. dual match.
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