After already capturing a Mountain East Conference Title, along with a Super Regional Championship, Head Coach Danny Irwin and his team can add a fourth place team national finish, along with two national championships, to their resume. In what many consider an already successful season for the West Liberty University Wrestling team, the Hilltoppers had one more chance to prove they are one of the best up and coming programs in the nation: and they did just that. The 2020-21 campaign is undoubtedly going down as perhaps the most prolific and historic seasons for the program.

The Hilltoppers brought four, now recognized All-American, wrestlers to the venture to St. Louis. Francesco Borsellino (285 pounds) earned a seventh place national finish, and Connor Craig (184 pounds) earned a runner-up national finish. Cole Laya’s (125 pounds) jaw dropping 12-2 finish in the championship rounds secured the Hilltoppers first National Championship of 2021. Shortly after, his teammate, Tyler Warner (133 pounds), followed suit by winning his match 9-4, securing yet another National Championship for the Hilltopper program, the second of his career. Warner was successfully able to defend his title, claiming the right to be referred to as a back to back National Champion.

With the historic season for the Toppers now officially in the books, the future looks bright. Fortunately for West Liberty, this success is not going anywhere. As a matter of fact, this is only the beginning of the success this program is going to experience for the next several years to come. With sophomore Borsellino, and junior Laya guaranteed to return, expect their leadership to rub off on the twenty one underclassmen the Hilltoppers have. This, along with the incredibly talented team the Hilltoppers are set to return next season, will almost certainly guarantee West Liberty University will be right back in the conversation for one of the most premier teams in the nation.