MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Redshirt senior Jacob A. Smith and redshirt junior Zeke Moisey of the West Virginia University wrestling team advanced in their respective pools of the 55th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, on Friday, inside the Sears Centre Arena.
 
At 125 pounds, No. 9 seed Moisey started off the day with a commanding 8-2 decision over Central Michigan's Drew Hildebrandt. The Northampton, Pennsylvania, native then used a 2-0 decision over No. 8 seed Jake Gromacki of Clarion to advance to the round of eight in his bracket. With the win, Moisey avenged a loss to Gromacki at the Clarion Open in early November. Following his upset win over Gromacki, Moisey later dropped a 6-0 decision to Rutger's Nick Suriano, who was seeded No. 1 in the 125-pound pool. On Saturday, Moisey will face Travis Piotrowski of Illinois, seeded seventh, in the consolation bracket.
 
At 197 pounds, No. 2 seed Smith captured a 2-1 decision over Northwestern's Zachary Chakonis to start off the day. The Charleston, West Virginia, native then collected a 5-2 decision over Cade Belshay of Arizona State before dropping a 3-1 decision to unattached Jacob Warner of Iowa to move to the consolation bracket. On Saturday, Smith will square off against Hunter Ritter of Wisconsin, seeded sixth, in the consolation bracket.
 
Junior Christian Monserrat dropped a 7-0 decision to No. 1 seed Mason Smith of Central Michigan in the 141-pound pool before making a run in the consolation bracket. The Methuen, Massachusetts, native picked up three straight wins to advance to the round of eight before dropping a 9-2 decision to No. 10 seed Jack Hathaway of Oregon State. Most notably, Monserrat pinned Lehigh's Ryan Pomrinca in 3 minutes, 47 seconds, to start his win streak. He then picked up a pair of decisions over Edinboro and Penn, respectively.
 
Of note, redshirt senior Parker VonEgidy and redshirt sophomores Keegan Moore and Zachary Moore also competed in the two-day event.
 
Semifinals and consolation matches will commence at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, with the first-, third- and fifth-place matches beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
 
The remaining two sessions will be broadcast live via FloWrestling and the Big Ten Network Plus. Each mat is a different stream on BTN2Go. FloWrestling's stream can be found HERE. Of note, the Big Ten Network will not broadcast the final sessions. Live stats also can be found on TrackWrestling.
 
Following the Midland Championships, West Virginia will take on back-to-back Big 12 foes in Oklahoma and North Dakota State on Jan. 4 and Jan. 7, respectively. The Sooners currently rank at No. 19 nationally, while North Dakota State received two votes during the week of Dec. 19.
 
Family Day is scheduled for the 7 p.m. Oklahoma match on Thursday, Jan. 4. Families can purchase four tickets and a $15 concession voucher for $25. The Mountaineers last Dollar Day of the season will follow three days later, as the team takes on Big 12 foe North Dakota State in a 7 p.m. match on Sunday, Jan. 7.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.