MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Feb. 28, 2023) – Nine members of the West Virginia University wrestling team will enter the 2023 Big 12 Wrestling Championship seeded among their respective weight classes.
With nine selections, West Virginia tied No. 7 Oklahoma State with the second-most wrestlers to earn a seed. WVU claimed three top-five seeds for the third consecutive year after claiming three in 2022 and four in 2021. No. 9 Missouri led the way as all ten of its starters received a seed.
Overall, West Virginia sends ten wrestlers, one at each weight class, to battle for one of 65 automatic bids granted to the Big 12 from the NCAA and a chance to return to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships from March 16-18.
Fifth-year senior Killian Cardinale sits atop the 125-pound bracket after concluding the regular season 10-0 overall and 4-0 against the Big 12. The Bristow, Virginia, native makes his third and final appearance at the conference championship, as he is coming off a 2022 campaign that saw him become the third Big 12 champion in program history.
At 165 pounds, junior Peyton Hall sealed the No. 4 seed behind Iowa State’s David Carr (No. 1), Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole (No. 2) and North Dakota State’s Michael Caliendo (No.3). Hall enters Tulsa as the team leader in total wins (22) as well as wins over Big 12 opponents (5), as he looks to secure his third trip to the NCAA Championships. The Chester, West Virginia, native finished runner-up to O’Toole in last year’s final, prior to becoming the 34th All-American in program history.
Redshirt junior Michael Wolfgram rounded out top-five seeds for the Mountaineers by securing the No. 5 seed in the heavyweight division for the second straight year. Wolfgram registered back-to-back seventh place finishes in his last two championship appearances on his way to debuting at the NCAA Championships last season. The York, Pennsylvania, native is currently tied for second on the team with 18 wins.
Six other starters earned the eighth seed going into championship weekend, including redshirt freshman Jordan Titus (141), junior Sam Hillegas (149), redshirt senior Alex Hornfeck (157), senior Scott Joll (174), redshirt junior Anthony Carman (184) and redshirt sophomore Austin Cooley (197). In addition, redshirt freshman Davin Rhoads (133) will compete unseeded.
The two-day event officially gets underway inside the BOK Center in Tulsa on Saturday, March 4, at 11 a.m. ET. Fans can catch the first three sessions of the event on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, followed by the championship round on ESPNU at 9 p.m. on Sunday, March 5.
Tickets to the Big 12 Wrestling Championship are available for purchase at TicketMaster.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
With nine selections, West Virginia tied No. 7 Oklahoma State with the second-most wrestlers to earn a seed. WVU claimed three top-five seeds for the third consecutive year after claiming three in 2022 and four in 2021. No. 9 Missouri led the way as all ten of its starters received a seed.
Overall, West Virginia sends ten wrestlers, one at each weight class, to battle for one of 65 automatic bids granted to the Big 12 from the NCAA and a chance to return to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships from March 16-18.
Fifth-year senior Killian Cardinale sits atop the 125-pound bracket after concluding the regular season 10-0 overall and 4-0 against the Big 12. The Bristow, Virginia, native makes his third and final appearance at the conference championship, as he is coming off a 2022 campaign that saw him become the third Big 12 champion in program history.
At 165 pounds, junior Peyton Hall sealed the No. 4 seed behind Iowa State’s David Carr (No. 1), Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole (No. 2) and North Dakota State’s Michael Caliendo (No.3). Hall enters Tulsa as the team leader in total wins (22) as well as wins over Big 12 opponents (5), as he looks to secure his third trip to the NCAA Championships. The Chester, West Virginia, native finished runner-up to O’Toole in last year’s final, prior to becoming the 34th All-American in program history.
Redshirt junior Michael Wolfgram rounded out top-five seeds for the Mountaineers by securing the No. 5 seed in the heavyweight division for the second straight year. Wolfgram registered back-to-back seventh place finishes in his last two championship appearances on his way to debuting at the NCAA Championships last season. The York, Pennsylvania, native is currently tied for second on the team with 18 wins.
Six other starters earned the eighth seed going into championship weekend, including redshirt freshman Jordan Titus (141), junior Sam Hillegas (149), redshirt senior Alex Hornfeck (157), senior Scott Joll (174), redshirt junior Anthony Carman (184) and redshirt sophomore Austin Cooley (197). In addition, redshirt freshman Davin Rhoads (133) will compete unseeded.
The two-day event officially gets underway inside the BOK Center in Tulsa on Saturday, March 4, at 11 a.m. ET. Fans can catch the first three sessions of the event on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, followed by the championship round on ESPNU at 9 p.m. on Sunday, March 5.
Tickets to the Big 12 Wrestling Championship are available for purchase at TicketMaster.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
