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Cottrell, Scheffel Third at Big 12s
March 06, 2016 04:59 PM | Wrestling
KANSAS CITY (March 6, 2016) – A pair of third-place finishes by Dylan Cottrell (157) and Bubba Scheffel (184) led the way for the West Virginia University wrestling team as the Mountaineers finished sixth at the 2016 Big 12 Championship at Sprint Center in Kansas City on Sunday.
In addition, both Scheffel and Cottrell earned automatic bids to the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
Connor Flynn finished fourth at 165 pounds, while Tony DeAngelo placed fifth at 141 pounds. Keegan Moore and Jacob A. Smith each finished sixth at 133 and 197 pounds, respectively, as did Ross Renzi at 174.
West Virginia finished sixth with 65.5 points in the first year of the new-look Big 12, which added six affiliate members this offseason for a total of 10 wrestling program. Oklahoma State won the team title with 161 points, while Oklahoma took second with 100 team points. Iowa State was third 87 points.
“I’m very proud of our men and the way we battled,” said coach Sammie Henson. “As always, we wanted more but I truly believe we are on the verge of something great here at WVU with our wrestlers, coaches and support staff. We will look to see how many wrestlers we can get into NCAAs in New York City. We appreciate the family, friends and fans for their loyalty and support.”
Cottrell won a 4-2 decision over Wyoming’s Archie Colgan in the consolation semifinals. Colgan, the No. 4 seed, had defeated Cottrell earlier this season at the Southern Scuffle before Cottrell got his revenge. His third-place bout was also a revenge match, as Cottrell saw No. 4 seed Eleazor De Luca who defeated him in the quarterfinals. Cottrell avenged his earlier loss by winning a 6-0 decision to take third and earn a bid into the NCAA Championships.
At 184 pounds, Scheffel took third place for the second straight year and third time in his career and earned his third NCAA qualification. Scheffel started with a 13-7 decision against No. 8 Benjamin Stroh of Wyoming in the consolation semifinals before advancing to the third-place match. He then won a 4-0 decision against No. 4 seed Dane Pestano of Iowa State to earn his spot on the podium.
Flynn won a 7-3 decision over No. 9 Matt Billingsley of Air Force in the consolation semifinals, but dropped a 5-0 decision to No. 3 seed Clark Glass of Oklahoma in the third-place match to earn his spot on the podium in fourth.
DeAngelo, the No. 8 seed, suffered an 8-4 setback to No. 2 seed Bryce Meredith of Wyoming in the consolation semifinals to move to the fifth-place match. Facing No. 4 Mitch Bengston of North Dakota State, DeAngelo found himself up 1-0 late in the third before a takedown in the closing seconds seemed to hand Bengston the 2-1 win. However, officials called Bengston for a technical violation in the final second to tie the bout 2-2 and send it to overtime. DeAngelo used an escape in the tiebreaker to win the match, 3-2, and take fifth.
At 174, Renzi dropped a heartbreaker in the second tiebreaker, 3-2, to No. 4 David Kocer of South Dakota State in the consolation semifinals. He then fell to No. 5 Ross Taylor of Utah Valley in 2:31 to take sixth place.
Wrestlers who did not earn automatic bids at the Big 12 Championship may still be eligible for at-large bids to the NCAA Championships. The 2016 NCAA Champions will be held March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
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