Hall Named Student-Athlete of the Week

Photo by: Justin Fitzpatrick

March 21, 2022 02:54 PM | Baseball, General, Golf, Men's Swimming & Diving, Gymnastics, Women's Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Wrestling

Varsity Sports Report

By: WVU Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Coming off an eighth-place finish at the 2022 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships to become the 34th All-American in program history, sophomore Peyton Hall of the West Virginia University wrestling team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

Hall, the No. 9 seed at 165 pounds, registered a 3-3 overall record at the tournament to end the season 28-6. He notched an 11-3 major decision over No. 18-ranked Justin McCoy of Virginia to seal his place on the podium on day two of the three-day event.

The Chester, West Virginia, native joins Jimmie Cox, Mike Mason, Sam Kline, Brandon Rader and Noah Adams as the sixth WVU wrestler from the state of West Virginia to be named an All-American. In addition, Hall is the first WVU grappler to take home the honor at 165 pounds; Mark Banks reached the feat twice at 167 pounds back in 1990 and 1991.

Of note, West Virginia has produced at least one All-American in each of the last three years (Noah Adams - 2020, Killian Cardinale - 2021, Hall - 2022) under coach Tim Flynn. The streak matches a similar stretch of success that the program last achieved from 2005 to 2007, which was part of a six-year period that began in 2002, during legendary coach Craig Turnbull's tenure.

This Week in Baseball: West Virginia returns to Morgantown for four games at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark … first, the Mountaineers take on in-state foe Marshall on Tuesday, March 22 … first pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. ET … from there, WVU welcomes Youngstown State for a three-game series, from March 25-27 … Friday's series opener is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday's games will begin at 4 p.m., and 1 p.m., respectively … all four games can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and heard on the Mountaineer Sports Network.

Last Week in Baseball: The Mountaineers (10-8) played four games in the state of North Carolina to coincide with spring break … WVU fell at Duke, 2-1, on March 15, in Durham, before dropping a weekend series at Campbell from March 18-20, in Buies Creek … the Mountaineers fell in Game 1 to the Camels, 8-6, before winning, 6-3, in the middle game … CU took down WVU, 6-5, in the rubber match … sophomore left-handed pitcher Ben Hampton allowed just two runs on four hits with three strikeouts in a career-long 7.1 innings of work to earn the win on the mound on March 19 … freshman right-hander Chris Sleeper took the loss as a starter against the Blue Devils and out of the bullpen against Campbell on March 20 … redshirt junior righty Noah Short also was tagged with a loss in the series opener against the Camels on March 18 … redshirt sophomore infielder Tevin Tucker led WVU in the Campbell series, going 4-for-9 with two home runs … additionally, sophomore outfielder Braden Barry hit his first career homer and had a team-best four RBI in the three-game series against CU … as a team. WVU stole 17 bases in three games against Campbell … the Mountaineers' lone run against Duke came on freshman infielder Grant Hussey's solo home run, his team-leading fourth of the year … of note, WVU was scheduled to play at High Point on March 16, but the game was canceled due to inclement weather.

Notes: WVU is 3-1 at home so far this season … the Mountaineers are 50-25 all-time against Marshall, as well as 22-8 against Youngstown State … WVU and the Thundering Herd met three times last season, while the Mountaineers and Penguins haven't played since 2019 … West Virginia has won 21 consecutive midweek, home games, dating back to a 9-6 win over Niagara on April 3, 2017 … WVU has stolen 67 bases so far this season, good for No. 3 in the nation and No. 1 among Power 5 programs … senior outfielder Austin Davis has 11 stolen bases this spring and 46 in his career, good for No. 5 in program history … sophomore catcher McGwire Holbrook's .385 average at the plate leads the team … six Mountaineers have 10 or more RBI this season, led by junior outfielder Victor Scott II's 18 … freshman right-hander Michael Kilker made his first career start in the Campbell opener, logging 2.0 innings and a no decision … junior righty Jacob Watters started for the first time this season and second time in his career on March 20 … he pitched a career-long 4.0 innings, allowing two runs on three hits … Hampton has three quality starts in five appearances this season … he leads the pitching staff with 34 strikeouts in 30.0 innings of work.

This Week in Wrestling: West Virginia has concluded its season.

Last Week in Wrestling: WVU sent four wrestlers including redshirt senior Killian Cardinale (125), sophomores Peyton Hall (165) and Dennis Robin (174), and redshirt sophomore Michael Wolfgram (HWT), to compete at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on March 17-19, in Detroit, Michigan … Hall claimed All-America status with an eighth-place finish … Hall knocked off No. 18-ranked Justin McCoy of Virginia to clinch his spot on the podium … at 165 pounds, the sophomore posted a 28-6 record overall and 3-3 record in his second tournament appearance … Cardinale closed out the season 16-3 overall and 2-2 at 125 pounds at this year's Championship … the Bristow, Virginia, native began the tournament 2-0 to advance to the
Quarterfinals, but would go on to lose his final two matches of the tournament to fall just short of securing All-America status for the second year in a row … Wolfgram and Robin both made their debuts at the NCAA Championships, each gaining experience against two ranked wrestlers.

Notes: West Virginia University sent four grapplers to compete on the national stage for the second straight year … 13 total Mountaineers have qualified for the NCAAs since the Flynn era began in 2019 … WVU has produced at least one All-American in each of the last three years (Noah Adams - 2020, Cardinale - 2021, Hall - 2022) under coach Flynn to match a similar stretch of success that the program last achieved from 2005 to 2007, which was a part of a six-year period that began in 2002, during legendary coach Craig Turnbull's tenure … Hall became the 34th All-American in program history … the Chester, West Virginia, native joins Jimmie Cox, Mike Mason, Sam Kline, Brandon Rader, and Noah Adams as the sixth WVU wrestler from the state of West Virginia to be named an All-American … in addition, Hall is the first WVU grappler to take home the honor at 165 pounds ... Mark Banks reached the feat twice at 167 pounds back in 1990 and 1991 … the sophomore's finish marked the fifth time a WVU grappler placed eighth at the tournament and first since 125-pounder Zeke Moisey did it in 2018 … overall, the team finished in the top 40 at No. 32 out of 69 schools that were represented.

This Week in Swimming & Diving: Senior diver PJ Lenz will represent WVU at the 2022 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 23-26 ... he will compete on the men's 1-meter springboard ... prelims begin on Thursday, March 23, at 10 a.m. ET, the event will be broadcast on ESPN3.

Last Week in Swimming & Diving: The Mountaineers were off last week

Notes: Lenz will represent West Virginia at NCAAs for the second time in his career ... Georgia Tech will host the national meet and competition will take place at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta ... the last time the senior appeared at NCAAs, he led the way for the Mountaineers, securing a 263.00 total for 36th overall on 1-meter and took 32nd overall on men's platform, with a score of 279.25 ... WVU atteneded the 2022 CSCAA NICs for the first time in program history, on March 10-12 ... the Mountaineer women were able to finish in the top-10, tallying a score of 249, good for 10th place, while the men's squad took 14th with 221.5 points..

This Week in Gymnastics: The Mountaineers wait to learn their fate in the 2022 NCAA Gymnastics Championships, with the NCAA Selection Show scheduled for Tuesday, March 22, at 12 p.m. ET … the show will air on NCAA.com, and the 2022 NCAA Gymnastics Regional Championships are tabbed for March 31-April 2.

Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU recorded a season-best 196.650 to finish in third place at the 2022 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship, inside Magness Arena in Denver, Colorado, on March 19 … No. 1 Oklahoma earned the conference crown, posting a 198.200 final team score to reclaim the Big 12 Championship title … defending champion Denver took second place with a 197.250 total, while Iowa State placed fourth after tallying a 196.100 … West Virginia competed in Olympic Order on Saturday, opening the meet with a 48.850 total on vault … the squad then went on to record season-high totals on the uneven bars and balance beam, including a season-high matching 49.200 on bars and 49.275 on beam … the Mountaineers concluded the championship meet with a 49.325 total on floor exercise … senior Rachel Hornung was the lone WVU gymnast to compete in the all-around, earning a spot on the 2022 All-Big 12 Championship Team with a third-place, 39.175 total to match her career-best all-around score.

Notes: West Virginia's 196.650 team total marked its highest team score at the Big 12 Championship in program history, besting its previous program-best of 196.375, recorded in 2014 … the Mountaineers marked the squad's highest finish at the conference meet since 2017, when it also finished third … additionally, WVU's 196.650 total also was the 11th-best team score in program history, marking the Mountaineers' highest meet total since 2018 … Hornung became the first Mountaineer to be named to the all-championship team since 2017, when now-assistant Zaakira Muhammad and Kirah Koshinski earned the honors on vault and floor exercise, respectively … additionally, Hornung is the first to earn the honors on the all-around since Dayah Haley in 2015 … West Virginia ranks in a tie for No. 19 on floor exercise in this week's Road to Nationals rankings, with a 49.345 National Qualifying Score (NQS) on the event … the squad ranks No. 41 on vault (49.005 NQS), No. 38 on uneven bars (49.055 NQS) and No. 36 on beam (49.060 NQS) … individually, senior Kendra Combs is tied for No. 44 nationally on floor with a season NQS of 9.910.

This Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers travel to Texas for a pair of Big 12 dual matches ... the road swing begins in Fort Worth, as WVU is set to play TCU, on Friday, March 25 ... first serve is set for 2:30 p.m. ET, at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center ... following competition against the Horned Frogs, West Virginia wraps up its weekend in the Lone Star State with a matchup against No. 41 Texas Tech on Sunday, March 27, in Lubbock ... first serve against the Red Raiders is set for 12 p.m., at the McLeod Tennis Center in Lubbock

Last Week in Tennis: West Virginia (7-9, 0-2 Big 12) welcomed No. 6 Texas and No. 26 Baylor to Morgantown, to open Big 12 competition, from March 18-20 … the Mountaineers went 0-2 on the weekend … during Friday's match against the Longhorns, WVU fell behind, 1-0, after Texas took all three matches to clinch the doubles point ... in the final two matches of the day, freshman Camilla Bossi and Kendall Kovick went three sets during their singles matchups ... Bossi went toe-to-toe against No. 95 Malaika Rapolu, falling short in the first set, 6-1, to bounce back and claim the second, 6-3, to force the tie break and was outlasted 6-2 ... Kovick battled it out against No. 7 Peyton Stearns, dominating the first set, 6-3 ... during the second set, Stearns won, 6-1, sending it to tie break and rounding out the Longhorns 7-0 sweep, with a 6-3 victory over Kovick ... the matchup against No. 26 Baylor was highlighted by doubles pair Bossi and junior Ting-Pei Chang's 6-4 victory over No. 5 pair Mel Krywoj and Alicia Herrero ... the pair of senior Anastasiia Bovolskaia and freshman Tatiana Lipatova contributed to WVU claiming the doubles point, with a 6-4 win over Paula Baranano and Alina Shcherbinina ... sophomore Momoko Nagato and Kovick suffered the Mountaineers' lone doubles loss of the day ... during singles play, Bossi helped West Virginia avoid the sweep ... the freshman was the lone singles victory, after going three sets against Anita Sahdiieva, 3-6, 7-6(5), 10-8.

Notes: WVU's weekend marks the eighth time the Mountaineers willl play Texas Tech since joining the Big 12 in 2012-13, while it will be the ninth time against TCU ... West Virginia is seeking its first win against the both Big 12 opponents ... Bossi currently leads the team with an 12-3 overall record … as a pair, Bossi and Chang have a doubles record of 8-2, with their only losses coming from No. 41 Iulooa Bryzalova and Marija Curnic of Penn and Texas pair Kylie Collins and Charlotte Chavatipon ... following their weekend in Texas, the Mountaineers are back on the road for a pair of dual matches in Kansas ... WVU will travel to Lawrence to go head-to-head with No. 34 Kansas on Friday, April 1 ... following competition against the Jayhawks, West Virginia makes its way to Manhattan, for a matchup against No. 56 Kansas State on Sunday, April 3.

This Week in Track and Field: West Virginia continues action at the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, North Carolina, on March 24-26, at the Paul Derr Track and Field Facility … action all three days is set to begin at 10 am ET.

Last Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers opened the 2022 outdoor regular season by hosting the annual Stan Romanoski Open on March 18-19 at the Track and Field Complex at Mylan Park … WVU earned five first-place finishes on Saturday ... in the discus throw competition, senior Sada Wright recorded a distance of 48.54 meters … she was followed by redshirt senior Ellie Gardner, who placed first in the pole vault competition and finished with a height of 3.56 meters … on the track, senior Tessa Constantine earned a pair of first places finishes … Constantine completed the 400-meter in a time of 57.38, and she finished the 200-meter in a time of 26.32 … redshirt senior Hayley Jackson took first place in the 1,500-meter run in a time of 4:35.44 … sophomore Emily Oiler placed second in the 400-meter, while sophomore Megan Weaver took fourth in the 800-meter run … redshirt junior Malina Mitchell placed fifth in the 1,500-meter, and freshman Ghamani Hogue placed fifth in the 100-meter … junior Katelyn Caccamo placed second in pole vault, and freshman Eden Williams placed third in the high jump competition.

Notes: The Stan Romanoski Open marked the first of five outdoor home meets for the Mountaineers this spring ... Wright's time was good for a program second-best, behind Jodi Smith's 50.26 meters set in 1984 … the Mountaineers last saw action at the Raleigh Relays from March 25-27, 2021.

This Week in Golf: Four Mountaineers – Olivier Ménard, Will Stakel, Todd Duncan and Max Green – will compete as individuals at the ECU Intercollegiate on Monday and Tuesday in Greenville, North Carolina, at the par 72, 6,830-yard Brook Valley Country Club … as a team, the Mountaineers will be back in action at The Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate in Charleston, South Carolina.

Last Week in Golf: Fith-year senior Mark Goetz finished tied for ninth place to lead the Mountaineers at the Schenkel Invitational on March 18-20, this weekend in Statesboro, Georgia … Goetz shot 70-70-72=212 for 4-under-par at the par 72 Forest Heights Country Club … fellow fifth-year senior Logan Perkins finished tied for 18th with rounds of 72-68-76=216 to finish even par … senior Kurtis Grant tied for 42nd at 5-over-par with rounds of 70-75-76=221, while junior Trent Tipton (71-78-73=222) and sophomore Jackson Davenport (73-76-73=222) tied for 49th place at 6-over-par … as a team, the Mountaineers finished in eighth place out of 15 teams with rounds of 283-289-294=866 (2-over-par).

Quotes: "I know the scorecard didn't show it, but I thought the guys played really solid today," coach Sean Covich said. "Ultimately, we couldn't post the number we wanted, be it bad breaks or not executing the shots like we wanted, but that's golf a lot of days. We need to learn from what happened, get back to work and be ready to bounce back next weekend at Bulls Bay."