WEST LIBERTY, W.Va.– The West Liberty University men’s wrestling team finished in first place at the 2026 Mountain East Conference Championships on January 31st at the Waco Center on campus at Glenville State University.
With this new championship under the team’s belt, this victory added another to West Liberty’s already three MEC wrestling titles, as well as the first title since 2023. West Liberty finished the championship with three third-place finishers, two runners-up, and five individual champions. All 10 of those Hilltoppers earned themselves All-MEC Honors.
West Liberty were crowned their first-place finish with a team score of 150.0.
Following behind them were Glenville State, who finished with a team score of 137.5, and Frostburg State, who finished with a team score of 107.5.
At 165 pounds, Jordan Watters dominated the event by earning 18.5 points – the highest total point count produced by any other West Liberty wrestler at the championship.
The men are hoping to build off this championship victory and bring the same intensity to their next and final match at home against the Ashland University Eagles. Last time these two teams met, in 2025, Ashland University came out on top with a 28-18 finish against West Liberty however, that was on Ashland’s home turf. This time, the Eagles are flying to West Liberty’s home soil.
The Hilltoppers are coming into this matchup against Ashland University with a lot of momentum coming off the MEC championship victory, which included standout performances among individual men in each weight class and a strong team effort that only these men could produce.
Also to note, not only is this the final home match of the season, this match falls on West Liberty’s senior night where the current seniors on the men’s team will be recognized, these team members are:
Toby Abbott
Matt Englehardt
Khyvon Grace
Bryson Neidigh
With a large portion of the men’s team being just freshman and sophomores, these seniors lay the foundation to these underclassmen’s athletic success. They provide leadership and a sense of inspiration to those who come after. Someday, these underclassmen will be seniors, and they will be the inspiration and leaders of those who came after them.
The match against Ashland University had begun at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 12th, at West Liberty University. Where WLU topped Ashland 29-20.
