WLU Wrestlers Blast Rochester at Lake Erie Storm Duals
12/8/2019
PAINESVILLE, Ohio – A short-handed West Liberty University wrestling team defeated Rochester (Mich.) while taking losses to Mercyhurst and host Lake Erie in Sunday's Storm Duals at Lake Erie's Osborne Center.
Danny Irwin's No. 10-ranked Hilltoppers opened with a 31-9 loss to perennial mat power Mercyhurst before battling the host Storm to the wire only to come up just short, 22-21, in the second match. West Liberty made quick work of Rochester in the finale, running away to a 46-9 victory.
The Black and Gold were coming off a solid performance at Saturday's Indiana Little State Invite and didn't have nationally-ranked 125-pounder Cole Laya or 197-pounder Logan Kemp available but the WLU head man encouraged his squad to treat it as a challenge and an opportunity.
"Some might point to having some highly-touted guys out when they look at today's record," Irwin said, "but I firmly believe we had the personnel in place to win these duals. That's on me because I have to have everyone ready to perform at all times.
"That being said, another weekend of wrestling 20-plus student-athletes was a huge positive for our program. Being able to continue doing that will allow us to develop at a quicker rate but it's important for us to capitalize on these opportunities when they present themselves."
In the opening match against Mercyhurst, West Liberty had jumped out to a quick 6-4 lead following decisions by Corey Secrist at 125 and All-American Darius Bunch at 141 but the Lakers won the next four matches to gain the upper hand.
Zane Lanham stopped the bleeding momentarily for WLU with a decision at 184 but Mercyhurst notched back-to-back falls at 197 and 285 to close out the match.
Secrist opened the Lake Erie match with a 7-2 decision against Jacob Johnson and Bunch posted a major decision at 141 for an early 7-6 lead but the Storm took the next three matches to take a 19-7 lead.
Chance Morgan kept Hilltopper hopes alive with a clutch 5-2 decision at 174 and Lanham pulled the Black and Gold within striking distance, 19-15, with a 19-4 technical fall over the hosts' Honour Kline at 184.
Unfortunately for West Liberty, Lake Erie pulled out an 8-3 decision at 197 to put the match out of reach at 22-15. Francesco Borsellino's second-period fall against the Storm's Devin Uzelac in the 285-pound bout left the Hilltoppers one point shy.
The Black and Gold took the drama out of the Rochester match in a hurry. Opening with a 6-0 lead thanks to a forfeit at 125, Jett Pattison (133), Bunch (141) and Jamie Ward (149) reeled off three straight wins by fall and Blake Miller followed with a major decision at 157 for an insurmountable 28-0 lead at the midway point.
Lanham and Borsellino tacked on first-period falls and Garrett Cook was awarded a forfeit nod at 197 to conclude the scoring.
Secrist, Bunch and Lanham all finished the day with unblemished marks. Secrist had two decisions and a forfeit. Bunch climbed the ladder with a decision, a major decision and a first-period fall while Lanham contributed a decision, a technical fall and a 26-second pin.
"We had a handful of guys pull double duty by weighing in both days," Irwin noted. "That level of tenacity and passion, as demonstrated by guys like (Jamie) Ward, (Garrett) Cook and Jacob Simpson, is what will help us reach our goals even sooner!"
The dual meet challenges keep on coming for the Hilltoppers. West Liberty heads to Johnstown, Pa. on Saturday for a Top 10 showdown against No. 4-ranked Pitt-Johnstown. First match is set for 1 p.m.
Mercyhurst 31, West Liberty 9
125: Corey Secrist (WLU) d. Jacob Ruggieri, n/a
133: Eric Bartos (MU) md. Jett Pattison, n/a
141: Darius Bunch (WLU) d. Alexis Soriano, n/a
149: Alex Samson (MU) d. Jamie Ward, n/a
157: Mike Clark (MU) d. Blake Miller, n/a
165: Logan Grass (MU) p. Stephen Carder, n/a
174: Trevor Johnson (MU) d. Chance Morgan, n/a
184: Zane Lanham (WLU) d. Trever Begin, n/a
197: Luke McGonigal (MU) p. Isaiah Myers, n/a
285: Jacob Robb (MU) p. Francesco Borsellino, n/a
Lake Erie 22, West Liberty 21
125: Corey Secrist (WLU) d. Jacob Johnson, 7-2
133: Blake Glogouski (LEC) p. Jett Pattison, 3:28
141: Darius Bunch (WLU) md. Andrew Lieb, 13-5
149: Brandon Tenney (LEC) d. Jamie Ward, 11-6
157: John Siemasz (LEC) md. Blake Miller, 10-2
165: James Penfold (LEC) p. Stephen Carder, 1:09
174: Chance Morgan (WLU) d. John Penfold, 5-2
184: Zane Lanham (WLU) tf. Honour Kline, 19-4
197: Chris Droege (LEC) d. Isaiah Myers (WLU), 8-3
285: Francesco Borsellino (WLU) p. Devin Uzelac, 4:53
West Liberty 46, Rochester (Mich.) 9
125: Corey Secrist (WLU) won by forfeit
133: Jett Pattison (WLU) p. Garrett Kopp, 4:10
141: Darius Bunch (WLU) p. Hunter Baker, :31
149: Jamie Ward (WLU) p. Jacob Mohn, 3:39
157: Blake Miller (WLU) md. Colin Panoff, 17-4
165: David Thickston (RC) won by forfeit
174: Jarrod Mullins (RC) d. Chance Morgan, 12-8
184: Zane Lanham (WLU) p. Brandon Strickland, :26
197: Garrett Cook (WLU) won by forfeit
285: Francesco Borsellino (WLU) p. Kyle Scott, 1:56
