MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University wrestling head coach Sammie Henson is always looking for wrestlers who give the team the best opportunity to find success and ultimately win a national championship. Even though the Mountaineers' starting lineup is set for the 2017-18 season, the process toward a national title continues behind the scenes with Henson's non-starters and redshirts.
 
WVU has had numerous grapplers compete at open tournaments throughout the course of the year with hopes of preparing them for the grueling competition that lies ahead. A change in the lineup can be made as quickly as a takedown on the mat, and with the way the Mountaineer redshirts are performing individually, the reward of a Gold and Blue singlet is not out of reach.
 
Three wrestlers have earned podium finishes at eight different tournaments, and freshman Noah Adams from Coal City, West Virginia, is leading the pack with a 23-10 overall mark.
 
Adams, a three-time West Virginia state champion, is looking to continue his success at the collegiate level by redshirting his first season in Morgantown. He has won a trio of opens in his weight class of 197 pounds, starting with the Mat-Town Open on Nov. 26. Adams posted a 3-0 mark on his way to a first-place finish, including a 19-2 tech. fall over Lock Haven's Ray Bernot.
 
A month later, Adams won five straight matches to place first at the Franklin and Marshall Open (Jan. 6). Adams started the open with a 16-0 tech. fall victory over Charlie Cohen of Princeton. He later notched a 6-2 decision over Davidson's Konner Pritchard, followed by a major decision over Maryland's David-Brian Whisler. Adams then capped the open with a pair of decisions over Brown and Buffalo to take first place in the 197-pound pool.
 
Adams third first-place finish of the year came at the Purple Raider Open (Jan. 14) in Mount Union, Ohio. The 197-pound wrestler went 4-0 on the day, including a victory by fall over Pittsburgh's Michael Geyer in 2 minutes, 7 seconds.
 
Adams competed at five additional opens throughout the year, earning a third-place finish at the ESU Open on Nov. 12. Of note, Adams has a total of eight majors on the year to go along with two pins and a pair of tech. falls.
 
Freshman Joey Thomas also is redshirting in his first season at West Virginia, competing as an unattached athlete at 125 pounds. The Mount Airy, Maryland, native has posted a 14-18 mark and has earned a pair of fourth-place finishes on the year.
 
Thomas, a three-time Maryland state champion, went 3-2 at the Purple Raider Open to place fourth in the 125-pound pool (Jan. 14). He won three straight matches before dropping a hard-fought 3-1 decision to Indiana's Liam Cronin.
 
Thomas kept the momentum going two weeks later, as he captured his second fourth-place finish of the year at the Appalachian Open (Jan. 27). Despite a loss to Duke's Harrison Campbell in the first round of the consolation bracket, Thomas collected a pair of decisions over N.C. State and Appalachian State to take fourth in the 125-pound pool.
 
Thomas competed at seven additional opens throughout the year, finishing on the podium at three of them. He placed fifth at the Mat-Town Open (Nov. 26), sixth at the Cleveland State Open (Dec. 16) and seventh at the Edinboro Open (Feb. 3). Of note, Thomas has a total of three major decisions and one win by fall on the year.
 
Additionally, true freshman Hunter DeLong has made his mark at 197 pounds this season. Donning the Mountaineer singlet at two duals, the Parkersburg, West Virginia, native also has earned a pair of podium finishes at the Lindenwood Open (Nov. 18) and the Appalachian State Open (Jan. 27). DeLong went 3-1 at the Appalachian Open for third place. He also collected two victories, including one win by tech. fall, at the Lindenwood Open to place sixth overall in his respective pool.
 
Of note, there are three other WVU wrestlers who are redshirting their first season: freshmen Luke Sorboro, Cade Moisey and Sean Mullican. Moisey holds a 9-9 mark at 165 pounds, while Mullican has a 6-10 record at 197 pounds. Sorboro is 1-15 on the year at 157 pounds.
 
After a month on the road, the Mountaineers (5-5, 4-3 Big 12) return home for a match against No. 12 South Dakota State on Sunday, Feb. 11, at 2 p.m. West Virginia will host its annual Cradles for Cancer event against the Jack Rabbits for the second straight year.
 
The match was started by fourth-year coach Sammie Henson in 2015 in honor of his wife, Stephanie, a breast cancer survivor, as a way to raise awareness for cancer. WVU Medicine will be sponsoring the match and collecting donations for the breast cancer program at the WVU Cancer Institute. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the match and can get the WVU Athletics official "pink" t-shirt with a donation of $10 or more to WVU Medicine.
 
Mountaineer fans also can bring their valentine to the meet and get two tickets for the price of one. Tickets are available at a cost of $5 for general admission and $3 for youth and seniors. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $2 each. Tickets are available by visiting WVUGAME.com, calling 1-800-WVU-GAME or at the Mountaineer Ticket Office, located at the Gold Gate of the WVU Coliseum.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.