FINDLAY, Ohio – Coach Danny Irwin's No. 12-ranked West Liberty University wrestling team had a big day at the Findlay Open here Saturday, walking away with seven placers and an individual championship. Three wrestlers advanced to the finals in their respective weight classes at the mammoth event, which featured wrestlers from numerous NCAA Division I, II and III programs.
Sophomore All-American Cole Laya was the 125-pound champion while junior Corey Secrist was third at 125. Two-time national qualifier Logan Kemp was runner-up at 197 while true freshman Zane Lanham was the 184-pound runner-up. Jacob Simpson was sixth at 141 and the senior duo of Isaiah Myers and Garrett Cook shared seventh place at 184.
"The Findlay Open is a meat grinder of a tournament but it always tells you where you are technically and with your conditioning levels," Irwin said. "It really tests your mental toughness. I thought we showed some quality toughness and conditioning today, allowing us to push our pace, but we need to work on executing at a higher percentage technically when the fire is the hottest."
Laya had no trouble getting to the top of the podium in the 125-pound division. Ranked No. 3 nationally, Laya opened with a technical fall and followed that up with a first-period fall and a 7-1 decision to get to the 125-pound final. Laya dominated his championship match against Oscar Sanchez of NCAA Division I Ohio University, pitching a 10-0 major decision shutout to take the title.
Secrist nearly duplicated Laya's run on the opposite side of the 125-pound bracket, advancing all the way to the championship semifinals before dropping a 9-3 decision to Sanchez. Secrist won his Third Place bout by medical forfeit.
One of the most impressive results of the tournament didn't come in the place matches. Kemp, ranked No. 7 nationally at 197, delivered a statement win in the championship semis with a convincing 11-5 decision against defending national champion Nick Mason of Tiffin.
Kemp just missed picking up some championship hardware of his own when he battled Zach Ancewicz of NCAA Division I Edinboro (Pa.) into overtime before dropping a 3-2 decision in Tiebreaker One.
"Trust is a key to success," Irwin said. "Logan is starting to trust us more as a staff and we're also learned what he needs from us. That combination produced good results today and I believe there are no limits to what Logan can accomplish this season."
Lanham also made a strong impression with his run to the finals at 184. The former West Virginia state champion fought his way to the title match with convincing wins against wrestlers from Findlay, West Virginia University and Mercyhurst. He battled No. 9-ranked Brody Conner of Indianapolis to the wire in the final before coming out on the short end of a 6-5 decision. Myers and Cook each dropped their first match in the championship bracket but fought their way back through multiple consolation bouts to place.
Simpson also worked his way onto the podium through the wrestle-backs after falling to eventual 141-pound champion Jordan Crace of Michigan in the championship quarterfinals. Simpson picked up two consolation bracket wins to earn a berth in the fifth place match, where he dropped a 7-4 decision to Ashland's No. 9-ranked Chandler Minnard.
"We continue to make progress as a group," Irwin said. "We had some great performances today, none of which were more important than any other as we're all working toward a common goal. The work we're doing in the room on a daily basis is building a belief in this team that is undeniable."
The WLU wrestlers head to Berea, Ohio on Saturday to compete in the Baldwin Wallace Invitational.
