TULSA, Okla. – The West Virginia University wrestling team opens its 2022 postseason at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to contend for the Big 12 Championship on March 5-6.

Day one will consist of the preliminary matches and quarterfinals from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET, followed by the semifinals and first two rounds of consolation bouts from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET. Sunday's action kicks off with wrestlers dueling for third, fifth, and seventh place finishes, before the finals at each weight class commence at 8 p.m. ET.

Fans can tune in to watch the first three sessions on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, and then switch over to ESPN2 for all ten championship bouts. Live stats will be available on Trackwrestling throughout the entire two-day event. 
 
"The biggest thing this weekend is getting kids to the national tournament," fourth-year coach Tim Flynn said. "Winning Big 12 Championships is their goal when they come to West Virginia and we are hoping that they can achieve that."

The Mountaineers head into the conference tournament with ten opportunities to claim one of 58 automatic bids, granted to the Big 12 Conference last week, to the NCAA Division I Championships in Detroit, Michigan, on March 17-19.
 

Conference	125	133	141	149	157	165	174	184	197	HWT	Total
Big 12	6	6	7	4	6	4	8	4	7	6	58

 
Redshirt senior Killian Cardinale, the top seed at 125 pounds, faces the winner of the first-round match between the No. 8 seed Jace Koelzer (Northern Colorado) and Jacob Svihel (Wyoming) for a berth into the semifinals and the NCAA Championships based on the number of allocations designated to the 125-pound weight class. After missing the first half of the season, the Bristow, Virginia, native went 11-1 and 6-1 against Big 12 competition, with six wins over ranked adversaries.

Like Cardinale, redshirt sophomore Michael Wolfgram received a bye into the quarterfinals at heavyweight. As the No. 5 seed, Wolfgram awaits the winner of No. 4 seed AJ Nevills (SDSU) and Chase Trussell (Utah Valley). The York, Pennsylvania, native closed out the regular season second on the team in wins with 18 and 12 over opponents from within the conference.

At 165 pounds, sophomore Peyton Hall enters the gauntlet as the No. 2 seed behind Missouri's Keegan O'Toole. Hall isn't a stranger to performing well in tournament play, as he ran the table at the Clarion Open to kick off the season and continued the momentum into the Southern Scuffle, where the Chester, West Virginia, native finished runner-up to O'Toole. If all seeds remain true to projections, Hall could obtain a rematch against the Missouri Tiger for the Big 12 crown. Hall led the team with 22 total wins and seven of them over opponents from the Big 12.

Senior Caleb Rea (141) and redshirt junior Alex Hornfeck (157) lead the way, as the 2022 postseason marks the duo's third appearance at the league tournament. Cardinale, Hall, Wolfgram, redshirt sophomores Jeffrey Boyd (149) and Anthony Carman (184), and senior Jackson Moomau (197) make their second appearances, while freshman Garett Lautzenheiser (133) and sophomore Dennis Robin (174) make their postseason debuts.

Of note, there have been two WVU wrestlers in program history to come out of the weekend with the title of Big 12 Champion. Former standout Dylan Cottrell became the first to claim the crown at 165 pounds in 2017. Three years later, Noah Adams secured the second title at 197 pounds and moved to 32-0 on the season.

Following the completion of all conference tournaments, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 43 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 8, while final brackets and seeding will be announced during the NCAA Selection Show on Wednesday, March 9, at 6 p.m. ET.

For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.