WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., OCT. 28, 2016 — West Liberty University’s mascot Topper the bear, returned victorious to campus recently after successfully defending his title as the state of West Virginia Mascot Mania dance off champion.

Topper showed his moves and was the winner in the contest for the second year in a row during the GEAR UP student leadership academy this past Wednesday. The Leadership Academy informs students of their college options and encourages them to take charge of their futures and is coordinated by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and funded by the federal government.

More than 1,500 ninth grade students participating in the West Virginia GEAR UP program packed into the Clay Center for the Arts for the student leadership academy. It serves students in 10 counties including Fayette, Boone, Mason, Mercer, Mingo, Nicholas, Summers, Webster, Wyoming and Wirt. Wednesday’s event featured speakers including Josh Shipp, a nationally renowned youth leadership coach, Paul Hill, chancellor of the state Higher Education Policy Commission, and Sarah Tucker, chancellor of the state Community and Technical College System, along with the crowd-pleasing dance off action.

Topper was played by alumnus Corey Klug ’15, who used to thrill crowds at Hilltopper Athletics events, especially basketball games, with his half-time dancing and antics.

“This is amazing. I saw the coverage in the Charleston Gazette and can’t believe it. It was different this year since the song wasn’t picked by us. That made it challenging,” Klug, a resident of the Wheeling area, also worked for Channel 14 while he was a student and earned a degree in sports broadcasting. He currently is employed at iHeartMedia, Wheeling and also works with the Nailers as a Crowd Emcee.

Other mascots taking part in the dance off include the Fairmont Falcon, the West Virginia State University Yellow Jacket and the Concord University Mountain Lion.

For more photos, please visit the WVHEPC website by clicking here.