Hilltoppers Fall Short in Top 10 Mat Scrap - Pitt Johnstown 28 West Liberty 13
12/14/2019
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The No. 10-ranked West Liberty University wrestling team battled No. 4 Pitt-Johnstown to the wire here Saturday only to come out on the short end of a 28-13 score in an NCAA Division II Top Ten showdown at the UPJ Sports Center.
Coach Danny Irwin's injury-riddled Hilltoppers faced an uphill climb from the start against a UPJ squad which featured five nationally-ranked wrestlers in the lineup but the Hilltopper head man was encouraged by his squad's response.
"I believe we will look back at today as a true turning point in this program, especially with the way our last three competitors brought the fight from the first whistle to the last," Irwin said. "It's that consistency and competitiveness we expect our guys to show every time they put on a Hilltopper singlet and we saw that today."
Brendan Howard, ranked No. 7 nationally at 125 pounds, led off for the host Mountain Cats but the returning All-American had his hands full with WLU junior Corey Secrist. A returning letterman who just missed qualifying for nationals a year ago, Secrist took the fight to Howard for much of the match and trailed just 3-2 in the final 30 seconds before a late takedown allowed Howard to seal a 6-2 win.
Pitt-Johnstown picked up a major decision at 133 to take a 7-0 lead, setting the stage for the only match of the day between nationally-ranked foes.
West Liberty senior Darius Bunch, ranked No. 3 nationally at 141, and fast-rising UPJ freshman Jacob Ealy, already up to No. 12 in the national rankings, put on an entertaining show. After a first-period takedown and an escape to start the second frame, Ealy was on the verge of taking a 3-1 lead into the third frame only to see Bunch tie the match with clutch takedown just 10 seconds before the horn.
The veteran All-American dominated the third period, taking the lead for good with a reversal off the opening whistle and tacking on another takedown along with riding time for an 8-4 win.
"That was a nice win for Darius," Irwin said. "You always want to perform well against highly-ranked wrestlers. Darius continues to show growth in several areas and the fact that he's not satisfied to settle for just two-point decisions is a mindset that will serve him well down the stretch."
Bunch's win trimmed the UPJ lead to 7-3 after three matches but the hosts won the next four matches, with three nationally-ranked wrestlers racking up bonus point wins to break the match open.
Two-time national champion Chris Eddins posted a second-period fall at 149 while Devin Austin, No. 3 at 165 pounds, and Brock Biddle, No. 4 at 174 pounds, added a major decision and technical fall, respectively, to give the host Mountain Cats an insurmountable 25-3 lead with just three bouts remaining.
But as Irwin notes, the Black and Gold didn't go away quietly. True freshman Zane Lanham stopped the bleeding with an 11-3 major decision at 184 pounds, giving up an escape in the final 30 seconds in order to pick up another takedown and claim the bonus point.
Isaiah Myers battled UPJ's Alex Delp to the wire in the 197-pound match before dropping a 10-5 decision but Francesco Borsellino wrapped things up on a high note for West Liberty with a first-period fall against the Mountain Cats' Allan Beattie in the final match of the day.
The Hilltoppers will be in action once more before the extended holiday break when they welcome Davis & Elkins and King (Tenn.) to the ASRC for a Friday afternoon triangular later this week but Irwin is already looking forward to plenty of quality time in the room before classes resume.
"It's exciting as a coach to know that for three of the next four weeks, we will be able to focus on training and development before school starts up again," Irwin said. "We're approaching this as an opportunity to work hard and continue to separate ourselves from our competitors."
Friday's triangular is set for a 2 p.m. start.
WRESTLING
#4 Pitt-Johnstown 28, #10 West Liberty 13
125: #7 Brendan Howard (UPJ) d. Corey Secrist, 6-2
133: Matt Siszka (UPJ) md. Jett Pattison, 10-2
141: #3 Darius Bunch (WLU) d. #12 Jacob Ealy, 8-4
149: #1 Chris Eddins (UPJ) p. Jamie Ward. 3:58
157: Nate Smith (UPJ) d. Blake Miller (West Liberty), 4-0
165: #3 Devin Austin (UPJ) md. Chase Morgan, 12-3
174: #4 Brock Biddle (UPJ) tf. Chance Morgan, 17-2
184: Zane Lanham (WLU) md. Emorson Wentz, 11-3
197: Alex Delp (UPJ) d. Isaiah Myers (West Liberty), 10-5
285: Francesco Borsellino (WLU) p. Allan Beattie (UPJ), 2:19
