Saturday, March 7
Tulsa, Okla.
All Day
West Virginia University
vs
Big 12 Championships
Photo by: Brett Rojo/For The Big 12 Confer
WVU Readies for Big 12 Championship
March 06, 2020 06:47 PM | Wrestling
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University wrestling team kicks off postseason competition this weekend, as the Mountaineers travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the 2020 Big 12 Wrestling Championship. The two-day tournament will take place on March 7-8 at the BOK Center.
The action starts Saturday with preliminary and quarterfinal rounds set for a noon ET start. The semifinals and consolation quarterfinals will take place at 6 p.m. ET that evening. The consolation semifinals, as well as the third- and fifth-place matches will start at noon ET Sunday, with the championship matches set for 7 p.m. ET.
Fans can watch the first three sessions of the Big 12 Wrestling Championship on the Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The championship matches will be broadcasted live on various FOX Sports affiliates around the nation. Check local listings for more information. Live stats will be available on TrackWrestling.com.
Brackets and official seeds will be announced following Friday evening's coaches' meeting. Pre-seeds were announced on Wednesday.
"The Big 12 Championship is the second-hardest tournament based on NCAA allocations," said second-year coach Tim Flynn. "You have a lot of good wrestlers outside of those allocations that have qualified for the NCAA Tournament before, so you might have 70 guys vying for 54 spots. We are going to be scrapping to get in those 54 spots. We expect our guys to wrestle as well as they have in their lives."
The Mountaineers head to the Big 12 Wrestling Championship for the eighth time since joining the league in 2012. Last season, WVU maneuvered its way through a 12-team field for a ninth-place finish, as a pair of Mountaineers advanced to the final round of competition. Redshirt sophomore Noah Adams and senior Brandon Ngati return to the Big 12 Wrestling Championship this season after earning podium finishes last season. Adams placed fifth, while Ngati finished sixth last season.
Four Mountaineers earned pre-seeds in their respective weight classes for the tournament.
Adams joins former Mountaineers Jake Smith (2016 and 2017; 197) and Colin Johnston (2014;141) as the only West Virginia grapplers to earn a No. 1 seed in the tournament after taking the top spot at 197 pounds.
The Coal City, West Virginia, native finished the regular season with a perfect, 29-0 record. Adams, a fifth-place finisher at last year's event, checks in at No. 2 in the most recent NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings released on Feb. 27. Adams will have a first-round bye in the tournament and will face the winner of No. 8-seed Cordell Eaton (North Dakota State) and Isaiah Patton (Northern Iowa) in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Redshirt freshman Alex Hornfeck is the No. 6 seed at 157 pounds after posting a 16-13 overall mark and a 5-3 record in Big 12 action. The Mars, Pennsylvania, native won four straight conference bouts to end the regular season, including a 9-1 major decision over No. 33 Dewey Krueger of Wyoming. Hornfeck will face Trey Brisker of Air Force in the preliminary round on Saturday. The bout will mark the first head-to-head meeting between the two.
Sophomore Caleb Rea will be the No. 6 seed at 141 pounds in his return to the Big 12 Championship, following a sixth-place finish in 2019. The Weirton, West Virginia, native registered 15 wins this season, including four over Big 12 opponents. He was also given a first-round bye and will square off against the winner of No. 3 Michael Blockhus (Northern Iowa) and Trevor Jefferies (Wyoming).
Redshirt sophomore Joey Thomas will kick off his first career Big 12 Championship as the No. 8 seed at 125 pounds. The Mount Airy, Maryland, native posted 15 wins on the year and ranked third on the team with 12 decisions. Thomas will wrestle Jeremy Trinh of Fresno State for the first time in his career to open the tournament.
Additionally, senior Brandon Ngati (285), redshirt junior Seth Hogue (149), junior Nick Kiussis (165), sophomores Lucas Seibert (133) and Jackson Moomau (184) and freshman Scott Joll (174) will compete unseeded in their respective weight classes at the 2020 Big 12 Wrestling Championship.
Wrestlers can earn a bid to the 2020 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships by finishing within their weight's allocated spots at the Big 12 Championship. Wrestlers who do not earn a bid at their qualifying tournament may still be eligible for one of 47 at-large bids, which will be announced on March 10, followed by brackets and seeding on March 11 at 6 p.m. 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.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The action starts Saturday with preliminary and quarterfinal rounds set for a noon ET start. The semifinals and consolation quarterfinals will take place at 6 p.m. ET that evening. The consolation semifinals, as well as the third- and fifth-place matches will start at noon ET Sunday, with the championship matches set for 7 p.m. ET.
Fans can watch the first three sessions of the Big 12 Wrestling Championship on the Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The championship matches will be broadcasted live on various FOX Sports affiliates around the nation. Check local listings for more information. Live stats will be available on TrackWrestling.com.
Brackets and official seeds will be announced following Friday evening's coaches' meeting. Pre-seeds were announced on Wednesday.
"The Big 12 Championship is the second-hardest tournament based on NCAA allocations," said second-year coach Tim Flynn. "You have a lot of good wrestlers outside of those allocations that have qualified for the NCAA Tournament before, so you might have 70 guys vying for 54 spots. We are going to be scrapping to get in those 54 spots. We expect our guys to wrestle as well as they have in their lives."
The Mountaineers head to the Big 12 Wrestling Championship for the eighth time since joining the league in 2012. Last season, WVU maneuvered its way through a 12-team field for a ninth-place finish, as a pair of Mountaineers advanced to the final round of competition. Redshirt sophomore Noah Adams and senior Brandon Ngati return to the Big 12 Wrestling Championship this season after earning podium finishes last season. Adams placed fifth, while Ngati finished sixth last season.
Four Mountaineers earned pre-seeds in their respective weight classes for the tournament.
Adams joins former Mountaineers Jake Smith (2016 and 2017; 197) and Colin Johnston (2014;141) as the only West Virginia grapplers to earn a No. 1 seed in the tournament after taking the top spot at 197 pounds.
The Coal City, West Virginia, native finished the regular season with a perfect, 29-0 record. Adams, a fifth-place finisher at last year's event, checks in at No. 2 in the most recent NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings released on Feb. 27. Adams will have a first-round bye in the tournament and will face the winner of No. 8-seed Cordell Eaton (North Dakota State) and Isaiah Patton (Northern Iowa) in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Redshirt freshman Alex Hornfeck is the No. 6 seed at 157 pounds after posting a 16-13 overall mark and a 5-3 record in Big 12 action. The Mars, Pennsylvania, native won four straight conference bouts to end the regular season, including a 9-1 major decision over No. 33 Dewey Krueger of Wyoming. Hornfeck will face Trey Brisker of Air Force in the preliminary round on Saturday. The bout will mark the first head-to-head meeting between the two.
Sophomore Caleb Rea will be the No. 6 seed at 141 pounds in his return to the Big 12 Championship, following a sixth-place finish in 2019. The Weirton, West Virginia, native registered 15 wins this season, including four over Big 12 opponents. He was also given a first-round bye and will square off against the winner of No. 3 Michael Blockhus (Northern Iowa) and Trevor Jefferies (Wyoming).
Redshirt sophomore Joey Thomas will kick off his first career Big 12 Championship as the No. 8 seed at 125 pounds. The Mount Airy, Maryland, native posted 15 wins on the year and ranked third on the team with 12 decisions. Thomas will wrestle Jeremy Trinh of Fresno State for the first time in his career to open the tournament.
Additionally, senior Brandon Ngati (285), redshirt junior Seth Hogue (149), junior Nick Kiussis (165), sophomores Lucas Seibert (133) and Jackson Moomau (184) and freshman Scott Joll (174) will compete unseeded in their respective weight classes at the 2020 Big 12 Wrestling Championship.
Wrestlers can earn a bid to the 2020 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships by finishing within their weight's allocated spots at the Big 12 Championship. Wrestlers who do not earn a bid at their qualifying tournament may still be eligible for one of 47 at-large bids, which will be announced on March 10, followed by brackets and seeding on March 11 at 6 p.m. 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.
Match-by-Match Watch Schedule
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| Session | Mat 1 | Mat 2 | Mat 3 | Mat 4 | Whip around |
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| Championship |
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| Live Results |
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WVU's Lineup
| Weight | Wrestler | Pre-Seed | Allocations |
| 125 | Joey Thomas | 8 | 4 |
| 133 | Lucas Seibert | N/A | 8 |
| 141 | Caleb Rea | 6 | 5 |
| 149 | Seth Hogue | N/A | 5 |
| 157 | Alex Hornfeck | 6 | 5 |
| 165 | Nick Kiussis | N/A | 4 |
| 174 | Scott Joll | N/A | 5 |
| 184 | Jackson Moomau | N/A | 5 |
| 197 | Noah Adams | 1 | 6 |
| HWT | Brandon Ngati | N/A | 7 |
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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