MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Feb. 24, 2019) – Five Mountaineers came away with wins, as the West Virginia University wrestling team (4-14, 3-6 Big 12) capped its 2018-19 regular season with a 22-19 loss at Big 12 foe South Dakota State (3-10, 2-7 Big 12) on Sunday, held at Frost Arena, in Brookings, South Dakota.
 
"Tonight's match has been the story of our season," said first-year coach Tim Flynn. "We can't give up bonus points. It has haunted us all year. We've had some really good matches, and we've had some really ugly matches. All we can do now is look forward to the postseason."
 
Redshirt junior Devin Brown (125), redshirt sophomore Matthew Schmitt (133) and redshirt freshman Noah Adams (197) each notched a bonus-point victory in their respective weight classes. Redshirt senior Christian Monserrat (149) and junior Brandon Ngati (HWT) also recorded wins for the Mountaineers. No. 16 Monserrat extended his win streak to five, as he took down No. 17 Henry Pohlmeyer in the 149-pound bout for his team-leading 20th win of the season.
 
Starting at 133 pounds, Schmitt improved to 14-4 on the year with an 11-1 major decision over Rylee Molitor to put the Mountaineers on the board first. However, freshman Luke Martin dropped a 7-4 decision to Aric Williams in the 141-pound bout to put three points on the board in favor of the Jackrabbits. Monserrat got WVU back on track, increasing the Mountaineers' lead to four with a 5-1 decision over Pohlmeyer at 149 pounds.
 
Holding a 7-3 lead in the match, redshirt sophomore Kyler Rea donned a Mountaineer singlet for the first time this season. However, the Neosho, Missouri, native could not find the result he was looking for, as he dropped an 8-2 decision to Colten Carlson at 157 pounds. From there, SDSU took a 10-7 lead with a 15-6 major decision in the 165-pound bout and never looked back. South Dakota State then increased its lead to 15 with back-to-back pins at 174 and 184 pounds, respectively.
 
Despite the Mountaineers winning the remaining three matches, including a pair of bonus-point victories at 197 and 125 pounds, respectively, the Jackrabbits walked away with the 22-19 team win.
 
Following its trip to South Dakota, West Virginia will take a week off from competition before heading to the 2019 Big 12 Wrestling Championship from March 9-10. The event will be held at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
 
South Dakota State 22, West Virginia 19
133: No. 15/20/18 Matthew Schmitt (WVU) major dec. Rylee Molitor (SDSU), 11-1
141: Aric Williams (SDSU) dec. Luke Martin (WVU), 7-4
149: No. 15/19/16 Christian Monserrat (WVU) dec. No. 18/-/17 Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU), 5-1
157: Colten Carlson (SDSU) dec. Kyler Rea (WVU), 8-2
165: Logan Peterson (SDSU) major dec. No. 19/-/- Nick Kiussis (WVU), 15-6
174: Samuel Grove (SDSU) wins by fall James Wujek (WVU), F 4:38
184: Zach Carlson (SDSU) wins by fall Jackson Moomau (WVU), F 2:49
197: Noah Adams (WVU) major dec. Martin Mueller (SDSU), 10-1
HWT: Brandon Ngati (WVU) dec. Blake Wolters (SDSU), 5-3 [SV-2]
125: Devin Brown (WVU) tech. fall Greg Coapstick (SDSU), 18-3 [TF – 4:39]
 
Rankings are listed as follows: The Open Mat/FloWrestling/Intermat
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.