WLU's Kemp, Secrist Place at 40th Midwest Classic
December 16, 2018
INDIANAPOLIS – Logan Kemp and Corey Secrist gave West Liberty multiple place-winners for the second consecutive year in the nation's largest NCAA Division II wrestling event as the 40th annual Midwest Classic concluded here Sunday afternoon.
Kemp finished second in the 197-pound weight division while Secrist brought home an 8th-Place finish at 125 pounds in the prestigious tournament which featured 16 of the nation's Top 25 NCAA Division II team and 60 of the 120 nationally-ranked wrestlers at the Division II level.
Kemp's runner-up finish at 197 also marks the second straight year that coach Mitch Smith's Black and Gold have advanced at least one wrestler to the championship finals. All-American Darius Bunch won the 133-pound weight division at last year's event while Kemp placed 7th in the 197-pound bracket.
Secrist, a sophomore from Petersburg, W.Va., breezed to a 7-1 win against Augustana's Ethan Cota in their 4th Round Consolation match to guarantee himself a spot in the final eight. An 8-2 loss to Wisconsin-Parkside's Joe Arroyo in the 5th Round Consolations slotted him into a 7th-8th Place match against McKendree's Markus Povlick, who entered the weekend ranked No. 5 in the nation at 125.
Secrist battled the nationally-ranked Povlick to the wire but couldn't come up with the takedown he needed to square the match and Povlick held on for a 2-0 decision.
Kemp, a junior from Centerville, Ohio who is ranked No. 9 nationally at 197 pounds, led wire-to-wire in his championship semifinal match against Elijah Seay of King (Tenn.). The Hilltoppers' lone returning national qualifier moved into the championship match with a convincing 7-3 decision.
Unfortunately for the Hilltopper veteran, he couldn't get anything going against Drury's unbeaten and No. 11-ranked Jared Rennick in the 197-pound final. Rennick caught Kemp with an early takedown and scored a flash pin just 28 seconds after the opening whistle.
McKendree ran away with the team title, racking up 127 points behind seven placers and a pair of individual champions. Maryville (87), Lindenwood (85), host Indianapolis (82) and Tiffin (76) rounded out the top five. West Liberty and Newberry (S.C.) tied for 23rd place in the 39-team field with 33 points each.
The Hilltoppers will head home for the holidays before returning to the mats on Jan. 4-5 in the 2019 NWCA National Duals at Louisville, Ky.
40th Midwest Classic - Team Scoring
1. McKendree 127.5
2. Maryville 87
3. Lindenwood 85
4. Indianapolis 82
5. Tiffin 76
6. Central Oklahoma 72
7. Lake Erie 69
8. Ashland 63
9. Upper Iowa 61
10. UNC-Pembroke 58.5
11. Marian 57
12. Drury 55.5
13. Mercyhurst 53.5
14. Wisc.-Parkside 52.5
15. Mary 50
16. Augustana 47
17. Minnesota State-Moorhead 44
18. Adams State 40.5
19. Findlay 39
20. Western Colorado 38.5
21. Newman 37
22. Seton Hill 34
23. (tie) WEST LIBERTY, Newberry 33
25. Northern State 29
26. Gannon 27
27. (tie) Chadron State, Ouachita Baptist 24
29. King 23
30. Emmanuel 20.5
31. Ohio Valley 16
32. Bellarmine 14
33. Limestone 11.5
34. Coker 11
35. Central Missouri 6.5
36. Davenport 4.5
37. (tie) Kentucky Wesleyan, Queens (N.C.) 3.5
39. Urbana 3
Sunday's Matches
West Liberty Individuals
125 pounds
Corey Secrist, WLU - 8th place
7th-8th Place
#5 Markus Povlick (McKendree) d. Corey Secrist (WLU), 2-0
5th Round Consolation
Joe Arroyo (Wisc.-Parkside) d. Corey Secrist (WLU), 8-2
4th Round Consolation
Corey Secrist (WLU) d. Ethan Cota (Augustana), 7-1
197 pounds
Logan Kemp, WLU, Runner-up
Championship Final
#11 Jared Rennick (Drury) p. #9 Logan Kemp (WLU), :28
Championship Semifinal
#9 Logan Kemp (WLU) d. Elijah Seay (King), 7-3
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