West Virginia Heads to Tulsa for Big 12 Championship

TULSA, Okla. – Following per week off from festival, the West Virginia University wrestling crew makes its annual commute to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the 2023 Big 12 Championship on March 4-5.

The two-day match takes position throughout the BOK Center for the 7th consecutive 12 months, the place 130 wrestlers from 13 colleges struggle on 4 mats to turn out to be convention champions, in addition to clinch automated berths into the sector in their respective weight elegance on the NCAA Championships.

Day one is composed of the initial fits and quarterfinals from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET, adopted by means of the semifinals and primary two rounds of comfort bouts from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday’s motion kicks off with wrestlers dueling for 3rd, 5th, and 7th position at 1 p.m., prior to the finals at 9 p.m.

Fans can track in to watch the 1st 3 classes on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, prior to switching over to ESPNU for all ten championship bouts. They too can observe together with reside stats on Trackwrestling all the way through the weekend.

“I think our guys are ready to compete and get themselves to the national tournament,” fifth-year WVU trainer Tim Flynn mentioned. “That’s been the goal the whole year. It’s a team sport during the year, and now, not that there isn’t a team part of the postseason, but it’s time where these kids want to achieve individually and the first step to doing that is qualifying.”

The Mountaineers head into the convention match with 10 alternatives to declare a few of 65 automated bids granted to the Big 12 Conference ultimate week, to the NCAA Division I Championships in Tulsa on March 16-18.

 

 
Wt.     Seed-Name                        Seed-Opponent                                                                           
125 |   No. 1 Killian Cardinale        Bye                                                                             
133 |   Davin Rhoads                     No. 5 Connor Brown (Missouri)                   
141 |   No. 8 Jordan Titus               Garrett Kuchan (Air Force)                                  
149 |   No. 8 Sam Hillegas             Bye                                   
157 |   No. 8 Alex Hornfeck            Vinny Zerban (Northern Colorado)                                   
165 |   No. 4 Peyton Hall                Bye                                    
174 |   No. 8 Scott Joll                    Hayden Hastings (Wyoming)      
184 |   No. 8 Anthony Carman        Franklin Cruz (Northern Colorado)   
197 |   No. 8 Austin Cooley             Carson Berryhill (Oklahoma)
285 |   No. 5 Michael Wolfgram       Chase Trussell (Utah Valley)

Fifth-year senior Killian Cardinale, the highest seed at 125 kilos, faces the winner of the first-round fit between the No. 8 seed Elijah Griffin (Cal. Baptist) and Reece Witcraft (Oklahoma State) for a berth into the semifinals and the NCAA Championships in response to the choice of allocations designated to the 125-pound weight elegance. After lacking the 1st part of the season, the Bristow, Virginia, local went 10-0 general and 4-0 towards Big 12 festival.

Like Cardinale, junior Peyton Hall enters the 165-pound gauntlet because the No. 4 seed at the back of Iowa State’s David Carr (No. 1), Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole (No. 2) and North Dakota State’s Michael Caliendo (No. 3). Hall is not a stranger to appearing neatly in match play, as he ran the desk on the Bearcat Open in the second one open of the season after completing fourth within the season opener on the Southeast Open. If all seeds stay true to projections, Hall may download a rematch towards Carr within the semifinals. The Chester, West Virginia, local led the crew with 22 overall wins and used to be certainly one of 4 Mountaineers to sign in seven or extra victories in match motion.

Redshirt junior Michael Wolfgram opens the heavyweight bracket towards Utah Valley’s Chase Trussell, who Wolfgram scored an 11-4 choice over the Wolverine finally season’s twin in Morgantown. As the No. 5 seed, he awaits the winner of No. 4 seed AJ Nevills (South Dakota State) and Juan Mora (North Dakota State). The York, Pennsylvania, local closed out the common season 2nd at the crew in wins with 18, together with 3 over convention combatants.

At 157 kilos, redshirt senior Alex Hornfeck leads the way in which, because the 2023 postseason marks his fourth and ultimate look on the league match. Cardinale, Hall, Wolfgram, senior Scott Joll (174) and redshirt junior Anthony Carman (184) make their 3rd appearances, whilst redshirt learners Davin Rhoads (133) and Jordan Titus (141), junior Sam Hillegas (149), and redshirt sophomore Austin Cooley (197) each and every make their postseason debuts within the Gold and Blue.

Of be aware, there were 3 WVU wrestlers in program historical past to win a Big 12 Championship. Dylan Cottrell was the 1st to declare the crown at 165 kilos in 2017. Three years later, Noah Adams secured the second one identify at 197 kilos and moved to 32-0 at the season, prior to Cardinale ran the desk ultimate season at 125 kilos.

Following the of completion of all seven convention tournaments, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to make a selection the rest 46 at-large qualifiers and unlock them on Tuesday, March 7. Final brackets and seedings are set to be introduced on Wednesday, March 8, by way of NCAA.com at 8 p.m. ET.

 

For extra information at the Mountaineers, consult with WVUsports.com and observe WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.