TULSA, Okla. – Five Mountaineers finished on the podium, including two fourth-place finishes from redshirt sophomore Matthew Schmitt (133) and redshirt senior Christian Monserrat (149), as the West Virginia University wrestling team completed the 2019 Big 12 Wrestling Championship on Sunday afternoon, held at the BOK Center, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
 
In addition, redshirt freshman Noah Adams placed fifth in the 197-pound bracket, while junior Brandon Ngati took sixth in the heavyweight division. True freshman Caleb Rea also placed sixth in the 141-pound pool. Of note, Rea just missed an automatic bid to nationals, as Wyoming's Sam Turner challenged him to a true sixth-place match for the last qualifying spot at their weight.
 
With Schmitt's top-five finish in his respective weight class, he will join Monserrat, Ngati and Adams at the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, slated for March 21-23, held at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
 
Schmitt, seeded fourth at 133 pounds, cruised to a 15-0 technical fall victory over Northern Iowa's Jack Skudlarczyk. Schmitt then faced No. 2-seed Austin Gomez of Iowa State in the consolation finals, with the winner earning a third-place finish in their respective weight class.
 
Gomez scored an early takedown, but Schmitt escaped to cut his deficit to one following three minutes of action. Schmitt then started the second on bottom, notching another escape to tie the score at 2-2 heading into the final frame. Gomez countered with an escape of his own to take the lead, though riding time was in favor of Schmitt, pushing the match into overtime tied at three-all. However, Gomez used a takedown 15 seconds into the period for the 5-3 win in sudden victory.
 
Monserrat, seeded fourth at 141 pounds, registered a 3-2 mark at the two-day event to earn a spot on the podium for the first time in his career. Monserrat took down No. 7-seed Henry Pohlmeyer of South Dakota State in a 4-1 decision before dropping a 4-2 decision to No. 6-seed Davion Jeffries of Oklahoma in the consolation finals for a fourth-place finish.
 
Adams, seeded sixth in the 197-pound pool, suffered an 8-3 setback to No. 5-seed Jake Woodley of Oklahoma in the consolation semifinals. Despite the loss, Adams had an opportunity to compete against No. 4-seed Tanner Orndorff of Utah Valley in a fifth-place match. Tied at 7-7 with less than 30 seconds remaining in the third, Adams used a reversal to seal the victory, adding on the riding time point at the end of regulation for the 10-7 decision over Orndorff. With a top-five finish, Adams punched his ticket to the national tournament for the first time in his young career.
 
Ngati dropped his matches to No. 4-seed Tate Orndorff of Utah Valley and No. 3-seed Gannon Gremmel of Iowa State to finish sixth overall in the heavyweight division. Despite today's losses, Ngati looks to make his first-ever appearance on the national stage.
 
At 141 pounds, Rea just missed his automatic bid to nationals, as he suffered a first-period pin to Turner in a true sixth-place match. In Rea's first match of the day, he dropped a 9-0 major decision to No. 2-seed Ian Parker of Iowa State. Despite the loss, Rea had an opportunity to wrestle Northern Colorado's Chris Sandoval for fifth place, though he suffered a 10-3 setback for a sixth-place finish. However, Turner earned a technical fall victory over Rea in the first round of the tournament, which allowed him to challenge Rea for the last qualifying spot in their weight class. Rea eventually fell to Turner in the first period, giving the Wyoming grappler an automatic bid to nationals in the 141-pound pool.
 
Tonight's championship matches will be broadcasted live on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, as well as various FOX Sports affiliates around the nation. Check local listings for more information.
 
West Virginia sits in ninth place after three sessions with 46 points. Oklahoma State leads the team race with 143.5 points, followed by Iowa State in second with 113.5 points. Northern Iowa is currently in third with 80 points.
 
Of note, wrestlers who do not earn a bid at their qualifying tournament may still be eligible for one of 44 at-large bids, which will be announced on March 12, followed by brackets and seeding on March 13. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers. The at-large selections will be made based on the following criteria: head-to-head competition, quality wins, coaches' panel rankings, results against common opponents, RPI, qualifying event placement and winning percentage.
 
Consolations:
133: Matthew Schmitt (WVU) tech. fall Jack Skudlarczyk (UNI), 15-0 [TF – 6:52]
133: Austin Gomez (ISU) dec. Matthew Schmitt (WVU), 5-3 [SV-1]
141: Ian Parker (ISU) major dec. Caleb Rea (WVU), 9-0
141: Chris Sandoval (UNC) dec. Caleb Rea (WVU), 10-3
141: Sam Turner (WYO) wins by fall Caleb Rea (WVU), F 1:56
149: Christian Monserrat (WVU) dec. Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU), 4-1
149: Davion Jeffries (OU) dec. Christian Monserrat (WVU), 4-2
197: Jake Woodley (OU) dec. Noah Adams (WVU), 8-3
197: Noah Adams (WVU) dec. Tanner Orndorff (UVU), 10-7
HWT: Tate Orndorff (UVU) dec. Brandon Ngati (WVU), 2-0
HWT: Gannon Gremmel (ISU) dec. Brandon Ngati (WVU), 2-0
 
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