Thursday, March 17
Detroit, Mich.
All Day
West Virginia University
vs
NCAA Championships
Photo by: Jimmy Naprstek (NCAA)
Cardinale and Hall Advance to Quarterfinals
March 18, 2022 12:09 AM | Wrestling
DETROIT, Mich. – In front of over 17,000 roaring wrestling fans inside the Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night, two qualifiers for the West Virginia University wrestling team came out of day one undefeated (2-0) to advance to the quarterfinals of their respective brackets.
Redshirt senior Killian Cardinale (125) and sophomore Peyton Hall (165) both earned two hard-fought wins to survive and advance after trailing early in each of their second-round matchups.
"Just gritty wins," fourth-year coach Tim Flynn said. "Obliviously, Killian's was crazy coming back from being down 6-0, so that showed some heart and then the same thing with Peyton. He didn't get rattled, he came back, and got the win."
As the No. 5 seed at 125 pounds, Cardinale rolled to a 11-2 major decision over No. 28-seed Korbin Meink of Campbell University to lead off the first round for the Mountaineers. He took down Meink four times, including two in the first period, to capture the win and set the stage for a second-round rematch with Utah Valley's Taylor LaMont from the pair's previous meeting back on Feb. 12, when Cardinale pulled off a third-period escape and held on to seal a 3-2 decision over the UVU Wolverine.
After falling behind 6-0 and defending an early pin attempt in the first period, the second-year Mountaineer recovered and chipped away at LaMont's lead by capturing a takedown in the second and two in the third to lock up the match at 8-8 and force sudden victory. Cardinale dove for LaMont's legs, scrambled to gain control, and eventually secured the takedown to complete the comeback.
The Bristow, Virginia, native advances to the quarterfinals, where he will go head-to-head with last year's runner-up and No. 4-seed Brandon Courtney of Arizona State in their first duel against each other.
At 165 pounds, Hall matched Cardinale with four takedowns, including back-to-back moves in the first minute and a half of the match, as the sophomore cruised to a 10-5 win over No. 24 Riley Smucker of Cleveland State on his way to a second-round matchup with No. 8-seed Philip Conigliaro of Harvard.
Conigliaro recorded the first takedown, but Hall answered with three-straight points to close out the first period up 3-2. After going scoreless in the second period, the Chester, West Virginia, native, rattled off four points in the third to gain a 7-3 decision and set himself up on a collision course toward a day-two duel with No. 1-seed Evan Wick of Cal Poly for the first time in his college career.
Additionally, sophomore Dennis Robin (174) and redshirt sophomore Michael Wolfgram (HWT) made their NCAA tournament debuts against two former All-Americans in No. 2 Mekhi Lewis of ACC runner-up Virginia Tech and No. 6 Jordan Wood of Lehigh.
Robin debuted as the No. 31-seed in the 174-pound bracket, as he clashed with Lewis, who scored a 15-7 major decision to send Robin to wrestlebacks against Oklahoma's Anthony Mantanona. Mantanona hung on for a 5-3 decision, following Robin's takedown early in the third period to cut the deficit to one.
To round out the first day, No. 27-seed Wolfgram fell to Howard in his NCAA Championship debut. After the two went scoreless to end the first period, Jordan escaped to go up 1-0 in the second. Entering the third, Wolfgram chose to go neutral in the final two minutes of the heavyweight bout for a chance to score the match-winning takedown. The opportunity was stalled by Jordan, who preserve the one-point victory.
The York, Pennsylvania, native followed up with a one-point loss to South Dakota State's AJ Nevills to finish the first round of consolations.
Of note, West Virginia enters day two in a tie for 30th in the overall team standings.
Day two opens with the championship quarterfinals along with the second and third rounds of wrestlebacks at 11 a.m. ET on ESPNU, before the semifinals take over the show at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Championship Round 1
125: Killian Cardinale (WVU) major dec. Korbin Meink (Campbell), 11-2
165: Peyton Hall (WVU) dec. Riley Smucker (CSU), 10-5
174: Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) major dec. Dennis Robin (WVU), 15-7
HWT: Jordan Howard (Lehigh) dec. Michael Wolfgram (WVU), 1-0
Championship Round 2
125: Killian Cardinale (WVU) dec. Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley), 10-8 (SV–1)
165: Peyton Hall (WVU) dec. Philip Conigliaro (Harvard), 7-3
Wrestlebacks
174: Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma) dec. Dennis Robin (WVU), 5-3
HWT: AJ Nevills (South Dakota State) dec. Michael Wolfgram (WVU), 4-3
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Redshirt senior Killian Cardinale (125) and sophomore Peyton Hall (165) both earned two hard-fought wins to survive and advance after trailing early in each of their second-round matchups.
"Just gritty wins," fourth-year coach Tim Flynn said. "Obliviously, Killian's was crazy coming back from being down 6-0, so that showed some heart and then the same thing with Peyton. He didn't get rattled, he came back, and got the win."
As the No. 5 seed at 125 pounds, Cardinale rolled to a 11-2 major decision over No. 28-seed Korbin Meink of Campbell University to lead off the first round for the Mountaineers. He took down Meink four times, including two in the first period, to capture the win and set the stage for a second-round rematch with Utah Valley's Taylor LaMont from the pair's previous meeting back on Feb. 12, when Cardinale pulled off a third-period escape and held on to seal a 3-2 decision over the UVU Wolverine.
After falling behind 6-0 and defending an early pin attempt in the first period, the second-year Mountaineer recovered and chipped away at LaMont's lead by capturing a takedown in the second and two in the third to lock up the match at 8-8 and force sudden victory. Cardinale dove for LaMont's legs, scrambled to gain control, and eventually secured the takedown to complete the comeback.
The Bristow, Virginia, native advances to the quarterfinals, where he will go head-to-head with last year's runner-up and No. 4-seed Brandon Courtney of Arizona State in their first duel against each other.
At 165 pounds, Hall matched Cardinale with four takedowns, including back-to-back moves in the first minute and a half of the match, as the sophomore cruised to a 10-5 win over No. 24 Riley Smucker of Cleveland State on his way to a second-round matchup with No. 8-seed Philip Conigliaro of Harvard.
Conigliaro recorded the first takedown, but Hall answered with three-straight points to close out the first period up 3-2. After going scoreless in the second period, the Chester, West Virginia, native, rattled off four points in the third to gain a 7-3 decision and set himself up on a collision course toward a day-two duel with No. 1-seed Evan Wick of Cal Poly for the first time in his college career.
Additionally, sophomore Dennis Robin (174) and redshirt sophomore Michael Wolfgram (HWT) made their NCAA tournament debuts against two former All-Americans in No. 2 Mekhi Lewis of ACC runner-up Virginia Tech and No. 6 Jordan Wood of Lehigh.
Robin debuted as the No. 31-seed in the 174-pound bracket, as he clashed with Lewis, who scored a 15-7 major decision to send Robin to wrestlebacks against Oklahoma's Anthony Mantanona. Mantanona hung on for a 5-3 decision, following Robin's takedown early in the third period to cut the deficit to one.
To round out the first day, No. 27-seed Wolfgram fell to Howard in his NCAA Championship debut. After the two went scoreless to end the first period, Jordan escaped to go up 1-0 in the second. Entering the third, Wolfgram chose to go neutral in the final two minutes of the heavyweight bout for a chance to score the match-winning takedown. The opportunity was stalled by Jordan, who preserve the one-point victory.
The York, Pennsylvania, native followed up with a one-point loss to South Dakota State's AJ Nevills to finish the first round of consolations.
Of note, West Virginia enters day two in a tie for 30th in the overall team standings.
Day two opens with the championship quarterfinals along with the second and third rounds of wrestlebacks at 11 a.m. ET on ESPNU, before the semifinals take over the show at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Championship Round 1
125: Killian Cardinale (WVU) major dec. Korbin Meink (Campbell), 11-2
165: Peyton Hall (WVU) dec. Riley Smucker (CSU), 10-5
174: Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) major dec. Dennis Robin (WVU), 15-7
HWT: Jordan Howard (Lehigh) dec. Michael Wolfgram (WVU), 1-0
Championship Round 2
125: Killian Cardinale (WVU) dec. Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley), 10-8 (SV–1)
165: Peyton Hall (WVU) dec. Philip Conigliaro (Harvard), 7-3
Wrestlebacks
174: Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma) dec. Dennis Robin (WVU), 5-3
HWT: AJ Nevills (South Dakota State) dec. Michael Wolfgram (WVU), 4-3
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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