JACK REGIS. Sr. is pictured with his Ohio Wrestling Officials Hall of Fame plaque he received 11 months after he was supposed to.

It may have taken longer than expected, but Jack Regis Sr. is finally a member of the Ohio Wrestling Officials Hall of Fame, which is sponsored by the Ohio Wrestling Officials Association.

Regis, 71, a lifelong Martins Ferry resident is in his 29th season of officiating high school wrestling in both Ohio and West Virginia.

The honor is usually bestowed upon an individual during the state tournament in Columbus in March. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic just starting last year, the ceremony was delayed.

He was presented with his plaque during the recent Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association Division II State Duals last weekend in Steubenville.

“It’s nice to finally receive this award,” Regis said. “It’s very nice to be honored by your peers.”

Dr. Randy Wrobel was also inducted.

Congratulations

Danny Irwin continues his magic on the hilltop as West Liberty rolled to the Mountain East Conference wrestling tournament title last weekend inside the ASRC.

The youthful West Liberty head coach, who was the 2019 NCAA Division II Coach of the Year when he led then-Wheeling Jesuit University to a national tournament runnerup finish, has turned things around on Route 88. He was hired in April of 2019 and hit the mat grappling.

An NAIA national powerhouse under the legendary Dr. Vince Monseau, the Hilltoppers rose to national runnersup in 1995 but had fallen under the radar during recent decades. Irwin has restored that tradition.

West Liberty had six MEC champions in piling up 152 points.

Connor Craig (184), who claimed an individual championship during that magical 2019 season with the Cardinals, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler. After receiving a first-round bye, Craig pinned his semifinal opponent in the first period before scoring a 12-0 major decision in the finals.

Teammate Tyler Warner (133), who also won a national title at WJU in 2019, prevailed, as did Cole Laya (125), Madonna graduate Alec Cook (149), Logan Kemp (197) and Francesco Borsellino (285).

The Hilltoppers had two runnersup in Macus Jean-Baptiste (141) and Chase Morgan (165). Ty McGeary (174) took third and Christian Rivera (157) was fourth.

Cardinals Place Three

Wheeling University sent just three individuals to the MEC Tournament, but all three earned a spot on the podium.

Freshman Kale’anhe Slaughter finished in fifth place overall at 149 pounds, while classmates DeShawn Mercadel claimed fifth place at 174 pounds and Clarouly Meca was sixth at 285 pounds.