WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – On Thursday, Notre Dame College traveled down to West Liberty University for a conference tri-match. The NDC Falcons came back against Fairmont State University to tie the dual at 12, but FSU would pull away to win, 30-21. Against No. 4 West Liberty, NDC fell 37-10.
 
To begin the matchup with Fairmont State, Notre Dame fell behind by 12, before they began to work back into the dual. Parker Moore quickly jumped ahead of Fairmont State's Caleb Everhart, at 141 lbs. He won with a 6-0 decision. Matthew Kaufmann also grabbed the lead and went up 3-2 by the end of the second period. Near the beginning of the third period, Kaufmann received an important point for an escape and would go on to win 4-3. As NDC was down six team points, Cale Hoskinson stepped on the mat. Just 1:40 into the bout, he pinned FSU's Kolton Parsons to tie the dual at 12.
 
NDC's Marvelous Rutledge dominated at 197, and had three near falls throughout his matchup to win via Tech. Fall (16-1) over Chase Blaney. La'Ron Parks then wrestled well in the heavyweight matchup going up 6-0 and, later, 10-1. He grabbed four team points with a 13-2 major decision victory. That pulled NDC within nine points.
 
Notre Dame went up against West Liberty, ranked No. 4 in the country. Kaufmann wrestled well at 149, and led 2-0 after an escape. A late takedown by WLU's Jacob Simpson gave the Hilltoppers the 3-2 win. Hoskinson also wrestled very well, and was tied 4-4 in his matchup. A late near fall pushed West Liberty's Jonah Smith's lead to 10-5. The Falcons earned 10 points late when Rutledge defeated Drake Kendrex with an 11-2 major decision. A forfeit at heavyweight gave Parks the six points.
 
The Falcons will be heading back to West Liberty on Jan. 28, for the Mountain East Conference Championships.