CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – West Liberty’s Ty McGeary etched his name in the record books with an overtime victory in the 184-pound NCAA Division II National Championship match Saturday night inside the Alliant Energy Powerhouse becoming the 11th national champion in program history.
McGeary, the No. 3 seed, faced off against the No. 4 seed Logan Hall, of Lander, in a centerstage battle and it lived up to its hype.
After a scoreless first period, McGeary escaped early in the second to go up 1-0 and held that advantage heading to the final two minutes. Hall answered with an escape to start the third period to tie the match. The score stayed, sending the bout to overtime.
In the sudden-death extra period, McGeary shot the right leg of Hall and locked his hands to get position. McGeary took the momentum and secured the title-clinching takedown 10 seconds later, then was overtaken by emotion falling to the mat before leaping into his coach’s arms in the corner.
The McDonald, Pa native was also named the most dominant DII wrestler of the entire season in the post-tournament awards ceremony.
McGeary battled to a 4-0 record over the two-day event winning close matches each step of the way. He won 3-2 in the first round, 8-6 in the quarterfinals, and 6-5 in the semifinals to earn his spot in the championship.
The 184 lb championship was the only overtime match of the night and McGeary was the lone wrestler out of the red corner to win in a title bout.
West Liberty had four All-Americans (Cole Laya – 125, Vincent Scollo -133, Alec Cook – 165, and Ty McGeary – 184) and finished in sixth place in the team standings with 55 points.
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