SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – After a slow start, No. 3 Notre Dame College won the final four weight classes in their dual with No. 12 West Liberty University, taking a 27-15 win, on Friday night. The Falcons had two pins on the day and improve their dual record to 5-2.

For the first time since February 3, 2018, Notre Dame was able to compete in a regular season dual in Murphy Gymnasium.

"I was excited, we had a great crowd tonight," said head coach Sonny Marchette. "Entertainment for the kids and ultimately a good wrestling dual. I thought tonight went well, but we can do a little better. It was a good show and something that we can build on."

"It's exciting," said Jared Campbell. "We love to get the people in here, our fans, our parents, our family. All of our teammates have been working hard and this is a process and we're only going to get better."

West Liberty went ahead with an NDC forfeit at 125 lbs. But Hunter Bray, who is ranked No. 1 at 133, wasted little time as he pinned Tommy Curtin late in the first round.

With the score tied at six, the Hilltoppers won back-to-back matchups to re-take the lead.

NDC's Taylor Misuna won via tech. fall over Blake Miller, pulling the Falcons within one point, 12-11. In the matchup, Misuna went up 6-2 after one round and then in the second round, a near pin helped build the lead to 12-3. He led 14-4 after two rounds and won 21-4, in the third round.

After an excruciatingly close loss at 165, Notre Dame's final four wrestlers got the job done and grabbed the lead. At 174, a flurry of points late in the third round pushed Emilio Fowler to overtime. But he earned a takedown of Chance Morgan for the sudden victory.

That win pulled the Falcons within one point, before No. 1 Tony Vezzetti defeated Garrett Cook by major decision to give NDC their first lead of the night. Vezzetti led 2-1 after the first round, but then started to pull away.

Michael Viramontes pinned Ronnie D'Amico for six points at 197, which all but sealed the victory for the home team. No. 6 Jared Campbell then stepped onto the mat at 285. He came into the match tied for fifth in NCAA Division II in pins. Although he did not win via pin, he did put the finishing touches on the victory with three points.

"My whole life, I've always been the back of the lineup big guy," Campbell explained. "Pressure is self-induced. I don't let it affect me, I just tell myself I'm ready for a seven-minute fight every time."

"The big boys have been holding the team together, all the way through," Marchette said. "The big guys with Tony Vezzetti at 184 and now Mike Viramontes pushing through and becoming one of those top guys. Jared Campbell, our heavyweight, he's done an exceptional job for us all year. We count on those guys, but we need to count on everybody."

Notre Dame will compete in the Purple Raider Open, hosted by Mount Union, on January 19.

No. 3 Notre Dame 27 – No. 12 West Liberty 15
Corey Secrist (WLU) won at 125 lbs. by forfeit
Hunter Bray, 133 -- Defeated Tommy Curtin (Fall 2:50)
Kyle French, 141 – Lost to Jacob Simpson (Decision 7-2)
Jakee Frazier, 149 – Lost to Jamie Ward (Decision 6-2)
Taylor Misuna, 157 -- Defeated Blake Miller (Tech. Fall 21-4)
Alonzo Turner, 165 – Lost to Chase Morgan (Decision 8-7)
Emilio Fowler, 174 --  Defeated Chance Morgan (Sudden Victory-1 6-4)
Tony Vezzetti, 184 -- Defeated Garrett Cook (Major Decision 13-5)
Michael Viramontes, 197 -- Defeated Ronnie D'Amico (Fall 4:39)
Jared Campbell, 285 -- Defeated Chris Cook (Decision 4-0)