TULSA, Okla. – A trio of Mountaineers punched their tickets to the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, as the West Virginia University wrestling team completed day one of the 2019 Big 12 Wrestling Championship on Saturday evening, at the BOK Center, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
 
Redshirt senior Christian Monserrat (149), junior Brandon Ngati (HWT) and redshirt freshman Noah Adams (197) each earned an automatic bid to nationals with wins in the second round of their respective consolation brackets. With tonight's wins, Monserrat, Ngati and Adams remain in contention for third place at their respective weights along with redshirt sophomore Matthew Schmitt (133) and freshman Caleb Rea (141).
 
The consolation semifinals, as well as the third- and fifth-place matches will start at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. It will be carried by FloWrestling, with live stats on FloArena. Direct links to the video stream and live stats can be found on the wrestling schedule page on WVUsports.com.

Monserrat bounced back in the second session to register a 2-1 mark on the day, as he topped Wyoming's Jaron Jensen in a 6-2 decision to advance to the 149-pound consolation semifinals. The Methuen, Massachusetts, native, who is seeded fourth in his bracket, will take on No. 7-seed Henry Pohlmeyer of South Dakota State on Sunday. The two wrestlers met head-to-head on Feb. 24, with Monserrat capturing the 5-1 decision in Brookings, South Dakota.
 
Ngati bounced back from a first-round loss in the heavyweight division, with two wins over Oklahoma and Northern Colorado in the second session. The Gaithersburg, Maryland, native, who is seeded seventh in his pool, will face No. 4-seed Tate Orndorff of Utah Valley in the consolation semifinals on Sunday. The two previously met back on Jan. 25, with Orndorff earning a 4-2 decision in Orem, Utah.
 
Adams, who is seeded sixth in the 197-pound pool, advanced to the second round of consolations with a win by medical forfeit in his first match of the second session. The Coal City, West Virginia, native came out firing on all cylinders in match No. 3, as he collected a 13-1 major decision over Jacob Seely of Northern Colorado. Adams will square off against No. 5-seed Jake Woodley of Oklahoma in the consolation semifinals on Sunday. The grapplers met head-to-head on Jan. 4, with Woodley claiming a 5-3 decision in Norman, Oklahoma,
 
Schmitt, who is seeded fourth in his respective pool, advanced to his second consecutive semifinal match at the conference tournament with a win over Cam Sykora of North Dakota State in Saturday's morning session. However, Schmitt's run to the 133-pound finals was halted when he ran into No. 1-seed Daton Fix of Oklahoma State. The Platte City, Missouri, native suffered a 6-1 decision in the match, but looks to bounce back Sunday afternoon, when he wrestles Jack Skudlarczyk of Northern Iowa in the consolation semifinals. The two will meet each other head-to-head for the first time this season.
 
Rea started the afternoon session with a win by forfeit to advance to the second round of consolations in the 141-pound pool. The Weirton, West Virginia, native then captured a 10-7 decision over No. 7-seed Garrett O'Shea of Air Force to advance to the consolation semifinals. Rea will take on No. 2-seed Ian Parker of Iowa State on Sunday for the first time this season.
 
Of note, Schmitt and Rea will look to earn an automatic qualifying spot in their respective weight classes on Sunday.
 
As a whole, West Virginia sits in ninth place after two sessions with 35.5 points. Oklahoma State leads the team race with 129.5 points, followed by Iowa State in second with 92.5 points. Northern Iowa is currently in third with 62.5 points.
 
Semifinals:
133: Daton Fix (OSU) dec. Matthew Schmitt (WVU), 6-1
 
Consolations:
125: Cole Verner (WYO) tech. fall Devin Brown (WVU), 18-0 [TF- 3:50]
141: Caleb Rea (WVU) wins by forfeit
141: Caleb Rea (WVU) dec. Garrett O'Shea (AF), 10-7
149: Christian Monserrat (WVU) major dec. Matthew Ontiveros (UVU), 9-1
149: Christian Monserrat (WVU) dec. Jaron Jensen (WYO), 6-2
157: Dewey Krueger (WYO) dec. Kyler Rea (WVU), 4-1
165: Jacoby Ward (AF) dec. Nick Kiussis (WVU), 6-5
174: Dominic Kincaid (FS) tech. fall James Wujek (WVU), 18-0 [TF – 2:58]
184: Will Sumner (UVU) tech. fall Tucker Nadeau (WVU), 15-0 [TF – 5:46]
197: Noah Adams (WVU) wins by medical forfeit Martin Mueller (SDSU), MFF
197: Noah Adams (WVU) major dec. Jacob Seely (UNC), 13-1
HWT: Brandon Ngati (WVU) dec. Jake Boyd (OU), 2-1
HWT: Brandon Ngati (WVU) dec. Robert Winters (UNC), 4-1
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.