In his fourth season at the helm of the Mountaineers, West Virginia University wrestling coach Sammie Henson will look to blend seasoned veterans with talented newcomers for the 2017-18 season. A pair of nationally-ranked wrestlers return to lead the team, as Henson also looks for veterans to take over starting roles. In addition, several true freshmen could see early action in Gold and Blue singlets.
 
"We are really excited about the season," Henson said. "There are a lot of new faces, and there are a lot of old faces. It's a good mixture, and we are excited about the group we have. We have some guys that aren't ranked right now that will be ranked fairly soon. How high? We don't know, but we have some guys that will do some damage early."
 
Senior Jacob A. Smith and junior Zeke Moisey will start off the season nationally ranked by a trio of media outlets, appearing in the top 10 of their respective weight classes. Smith appears at No. 6 according to FloWrestling and is ranked No. 7 via Intermat and Open Mat at 197 pounds. Moisey is ranked No. 7 according to FloWrestling at his weight of 125 pounds. He also comes in at No. 8 in both Intermat and Open Mat preseason polls.
 
"They are both ranked high," Henson added. "Anything can happen. It is a long season, but we expect big things from them and their leadership. They are older. Jake is a senior, and Zeke is a junior. We are looking for them to lead us, especially at the duals. Having that big presence in Zeke at 125 to start and getting that win right away is huge in a dual meet. It gets the momentum going. Then having Jake at the book-end of things definitely helps as well."
 
WVU finished the 2016-17 season with a 4-13 record and a 1-3 mark against Big 12 Conference opponents. The Mountaineers earned their first Big 12 win in program history last season, as now-sophomore heavyweight Brandon Ngati pinned Iowa State's Joe Scanlan in the final bout of the day to claim a thrilling comeback win over the Cyclones, 22-20, on Feb. 12 inside the WVU Coliseum. Dylan Cottrell also became the first-ever WVU wrestler to win a Big 12 title, as he defeated Oklahoma State's Chandler Rogers in the 165-pound finals of the 2017 Big 12 Wrestling Championships at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on March 5.
 
"We have to build off that," Henson said. "It's not an option for us as a team. We have the people and the staff in place to do just that. We added Tolly [Thompson] as a volunteer, which is a huge asset for the bigger guys. We are very well rounded as a coaching staff and as a group. It's on us, and we are looking to have a good season."
 
Read on, as Henson discusses each weight class and the team's keys to success for the upcoming season.
 
125
Moisey, a native of Northampton, Pennsylvania, returns to the lineup after redshirting last season. He qualified for the 2016 NCAA Championships, but was forced to withdraw due to injury. The highlight of his collegiate career came during his freshman campaign, when he finished second at the 2015 Big 12 Championship to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. Unseeded Moisey knocked out four seeded foes and finished as the NCAA runner-up at 125. He became WVU's first NCAA All-American since 2007 and was the first unseeded wrestler to make the NCAA finals since 2003. Moisey led the team with a 32-14 mark on the year, defeating six ranked opponents over the course of the 2014-15 season.
 
Sophomore Devin Brown also is in the mix at 125, as he took over as the starter for Moisey last season. Brown gained valuable experience in his starting role, wrestling nationally-ranked opponents throughout the year to go 7-17 as a redshirt freshman.
 
"Devin Brown definitely challenged Zeke at 125," Henson said. "Zeke got his weight back down for the first time in a year, so that was a challenge for him. Devin's a competitor. He pushed Zeke, and we needed that."
 
133
Matthew Schmitt redshirted his first season in Morgantown, gaining valuable experience while wrestling unattached in several tournaments. Schmitt, a native of Platte City, Missouri, came to West Virginia as a three-time MSHSAA Class 3 state champion. He also was named the 2016 Fargo Greco Junior National Champion and earned MSHSAA Class 3 Wrestler of the Year honors back in 2015.
 
"Schmitt wrestled up at 141 against [Joe] Wheeling," Henson said. "We knew that they would challenge each other a little bit more, and we wanted both of those guys to go seven minutes. Schmitt had an early preseason wrestle-off and it didn't go that well, so we wanted him to have a little bit harder match."
 
141
With the graduation of Tony DeAngelo, Joe Wheeling has earned himself the starting role at 141 this season. Although, the Waterford, Pennsylvania, native has proven himself to be a tough competitor in years past, as he earned the starting spot midway through the 2016-17 season to post an 11-6 mark at 141 pounds. Wheeling notched a pair of major decisions and placed fifth at 141 at the 2017 Big 12 Championship.
 
"Joe Wheeling is a veteran," Henson added. "He's a tough-nosed guy, and we are excited for his upcoming season."
 
149
Junior Christian Monserrat boasts the most experience at this weight class, but redshirt freshman Kyler Rea has also worked hard in the offseason to put himself in the mix at 149. Monserrat, a native of Methuen, Massachusetts, put together a 15-12 overall mark last season and went 3-4 in Big 12 play, leading the squad with four wins by fall. Rea, who sat out last year, has competed in several tournaments unattached and will look to crack into the lineup at some point this year.
 
"The big matchup last week was between Christian Monserrat and Kyler Rea," Henson said. "They go back-and-forth, so that was a good matchup. That's going to happen throughout the year. We will see how they wrestle in a dual meet, and we'll make that decision there. I'm going to decide who is going to wrestle in a dual. Then when we go to a tournament, hopefully, they will run into each other in the finals."
 
157
Henson will look at redshirt sophomore Zachary Moore to step into the 157-pound slot, as he took a redshirt last season. A native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Moore competed at 149 pounds as a freshman and recorded a 14-16 overall mark with a trio of major decisions and a technical fall. Sophomore Ryan Lopez also will look to make a break in the lineup at 157 this season.
 
"We have Zach Moore who redshirted last year," Henson said. "We expected big things with him being from Oklahoma."
 
165
With Cottrell finishing up his collegiate career last season, Henson turns to true freshman Nick Kiussis to take over at 165 pounds. The Brunswick, Ohio, native arrives in Morgantown as a three-time conference champion from Brunswick High and was a three-time state runner-up, district finalist, sectional finalist and all-county honoree.
 
"We are looking at big things from him as well," Henson said. "He is a tough kid. He's a state champion from Ohio. He is a three- or four-time finalist and has a great feel for wrestling. He's going to be excited. The fans will like him."
 
174
Redshirt senior Parker VonEgidy moves down from 184 pounds to take over the starting slot at 174. The Marshville, North Carolina, native is in his fifth season and has made the decision to wrestle one weight class down. Last season, he compiled a 9-15 overall mark and placed fourth at 184 pounds at the Big 12 Championship. Looking back at his sophomore year, VonEgidy wrestled at his current weight class, going 5-1 in dual matches before suffering a season-ending injury in December.
 
"Parker made a commitment this summer to drop from 184 to 174," Henson said. "He was at '84 last year, and I felt like it was too big of a weight for him. He decided it was, and he made his own decision to go '74. He looks great. I thought he did a great job in the wrestle-off, and the shape is the best shape I've ever seen him. We were at Missouri together, so this is the best I've ever seen him in preseason."
 
184
Brenden McRill also will enter the starting lineup as a true freshman this season, as Henson looks for him to take over at 184 with VonEgidy moving down a weight class. A native of Davison, Michigan, McRill comes to Morgantown as a three-time MHSAA Division I state placer and the 2016 MHSAA Division I state champion.
 
"Brenden McRill is another freshman from Michigan," Henson said. "He is a tough competitor. He is hard-nosed and hates to lose. We just have to make sure we keep him calm, but he wants to win. No one really knows about him. He played football in high school, so he didn't wrestle all the time. Most people wrestle year-round, and he didn't."
 
197
Smith, a native of Charleston, West Virginia, spent the majority of the 2016-17 season in the top 10 before suffering a season-ending injury in the Big 12 Championship match. Smith still earned an automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships as the Big 12 runner-up, but did not compete due to injury. Over the course of the season, he posted a 20-5 overall mark to go 14-2 in dual matches and 6-1 in Big 12 action. He also ended the regular season on a 12-match win streak. True freshman Hunter DeLong also will look to make a break in the lineup at 197 this season.
 
"Jake Smith's numbers can speak for himself," Henson said. "We just need to close the deal this year and make a run for a Big 12 title and all-American honors."
 
Heavyweight
Sophomore Brandon Ngati will be held to a higher standard this season, as he enters the year with a wealth of experience after starting as a true freshman last year. Most notably, he pinned Iowa State's Jon Scanlon in 4:28 to lead WVU to its first ever Big 12 win on Feb. 12 in Morgantown.
 
"I'm impressed with Ngati," Henson said "I'm proud of him. I'm proud of the work he has done this summer. He has grown into a young man, and it's showing. Last year, he was still a boy and now he's becoming a man."
 
West Virginia opens the 2017-18 season on Friday, Nov. 3, as the squad heads to Clarion, Pennsylvania, for a neutral site match with Big 12 foe Utah Valley. The match is set to begin at 4 p.m. ET. The Mountaineers will then remain in Pennsylvania for the Clarion Open on Sunday, Nov. 5, starting at 8 a.m. ET.