West Liberty Wrestlers Win W.Va. Invitational

From the West Liberty Wrestling Website


January 26, 2019

WHEELING, W.Va. – The West Liberty University wrestling team rolled to an impressive victory here Saturday in the West Virginia Collegiate Invitational hosted by Wheeling Jesuit University.

Coach Mitch Smith's Hilltoppers claimed five individual championships and 125-pounder Corey Secrist was voted Most Outstanding Wrestler as the Black and Gold racked up 110.5 team points to run away from the field.

"I thought our guys wrestled well today," Smith said. "We didn't have our full lineup available so being able to win this tournament without all your starters speaks well for the depth we're developing in our program."

The host Cardinals came in a distant second with 70.5 points while Alderson-Broaddus placed third at 65. WVU Tech (45) and Ohio Valley (15.5) rounded out the field.

Secrist got the final session off to a flying start for the Hilltoppers with the first of two thrilling victories in the first two championship matches of the afternoon, battling Wheeling Jesuit's Frankie Bonura to the wire to claim a 4-2 decision in the 125-pound finale.

"Corey had a good tournament and I was pleased to see him get the recognition," Smith said. "He twisted his foot in the finals but was still able to gut out a good win. Being able to dig deep and power through that is something that will really help him coming down the stretch of the season."

West Liberty's Steven Slack and Curtis Cox of Alderson-Broaddus locked horns in a crowd-pleasing 133-pound title tilt which ended with Slack delivering a takedown in the first sudden victory period for a 10-8 win and the Black and Gold were on their way.

Miles Mazik added a few more points to the WLU ledger with a third-place finish at 149 and John Cornell followed with another championship, edging A-B's Tyler Bauer by a 3-2 count in the 157 pound final.

West Liberty had two placers in the 165-pound weight class. Jacob Ramsey settled for runner-up honors with a loss to Nick Sulhoff of A-B in the title tilt while Owen Zeiders downed WVU Tech's Cameron Crislip, 5-2, in the third place match.

Chance Morgan and Kaleb Simpkins placed second and third, respectively, at 174 before a pair of Hilltoppers made their way to the final at 184 pounds.

Isaiah Myers edged teammate Chris Cook, 5-2, in that championship match, giving WLU the top two spots on the 184-pound podium.

Austin Loew settled for fourth place at 197 with a narrow, 3-2, loss to WJU's Dalton Hoover in the third place match and the meet ended with another all-West Liberty final at 285.

Freshman Francesco Borsellino and returning letterman Ronnie D'Amico battled into the final minute of the 285-pound championship match before Borsellino ended it with a fall at 6:19.

The West Liberty wrestlers return home on Wednesday to host WVU Tech on Teacher Appreciation Night at the ASRC. First match is set for 6 p.m.

BRACKETS

Team Scoring

1. WEST LIBERTY 110.5
2. Wheeling Jesuit 70.5;
3. Alderson-Broaddus 65;
4. WVU Tech 45;
5. Ohio Valley 15.5

125 pounds
1st Place Match Corey Secrist (WLU) d. Frankie Bonura (WJU), 4-2
3rd Place Match Anthony Tripke (Ohio Valley) d. Breandan Coughlin (A-B), 6-4
5th Place Match Neko Aequilina (WVT) d. Brantley Guckert (A-B), 16-10 (SV-1)

133 pounds
1st Place Match Steven Slack (WLU) d. Curtis Cox (A-B), 10-8 (SV-1)
3rd Place Match Tristan Bean (WVT) p. Austin Dilly (WVT), 1:19
5th Place Match Paul Steger (A-B) received a bye

141 pounds
1st Place Match Brandon Tenney (WJU) p. Nat Brown (WJU), 5:00
3rd Place Match Logan Robertson (WVT) d. Nate McClaugherty (WVT), 9-2
5th Place Match Matt Oblock (WJU) d. Davis Rastigue (WJU), 3-1

149 pounds
1st Place Match Tyler Alberts (WJU) d. Colt Rutter (WJU), 6-3 (TB-1)
3rd Place Match Miles Mazik (WLU) d. Tyler Hogue (WJU), 9-6
5th Place Match Levi Hobbs (A-B) won by forfeit over Jon Cruse (WVT)

157 pounds
1st Place Match Josh Cornell (WLU) d. Tyler Bauer (A-B), 3-2
3rd Place Match Blake Miller (WJU) md. Cale McMurdy (WJU), 13-2
5th Place Match Clay Fritz (WVT) received a bye

165 pounds
1st Place Match Nick Sulhoff (A-B) p. Jacob Ramsey (WLU), 3:35
3rd Place Match Owen Zeiders (WLU) d. Cameron Crislip (WVT), 5-2
5th Place Match Brice Harkness (WJU) d. Derek Schmidt (A-B). 8-5

174 pounds
Round One Gino Sita (A-B) d. Chance Morgan (WLU), 11-5
Round Two Chance Morgan (WLU) md. Kaleb Simpkins (WLU), 12-4

184 pounds
1st Place Match Isaiah Myers (WLU) d. Chris Cook (WLU), 5-2
3rd Place Match Hunter Moore (Ohio Valley) won by forfeit over Tristin Breen (A-B)

197 pounds
1st Place Match Greg Brusco (WJU) p. Josh Dailey (A-B), 1:35
3rd Place Match Dalton Hoover (WJU) d. Austin Loew (WLU), 3-2

285 pounds
1st Place Match Francesco Borsellino (WLU) p. Ronnie D`Amico (WLU), 6:19
3rd Place Match Seth Bloor (WJU) d. Devin Uzelac (WJU), 6-0
5th Place Match Jared Burgoyne (A-B) d. Christian Lively (WVT), 6-4 (SV-1)


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