Cardinale Named Student-Athlete of the Week

Photo by: Brett Rojo/For The Big 12 Conference

March 07, 2022 03:24 PM | Baseball, General, Golf, Men's Swimming & Diving, Rifle, Women's Basketball, Gymnastics, Women's Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Wrestling

By: Athletics Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After claiming the Mountaineers' third individual Big 12 Championship in WVU wrestling history, redshirt senior Killian Cardinale of the West Virginia University wrestling team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

Cardinale, the top seed at 125 pounds, claimed an 8-3 decision over 2021 Big 12 Champion and third-seeded Brody Teske of Northern Iowa. After a scoreless first period, the Mountaineer pulled off an escape seven seconds into the second period, followed by a four-point combination of a takedown and near fall to cruise into the third up 5-1. He scored another takedown and locked up the riding time to seal the five-point victory.

The Bristow, Virginia, native joins former WVU standouts Dylan Cottrell (2017) and Noah Adams (2020) as the only other Mountaineers to reach the top of the Big 12 since West Virginia moved to the conference in 2012. He also and becomes the second to do it during Flynn's tenure.

Cardinale now sets his sights on another prize in the form of a second All-American nod at the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Detroit, Michigan, as the second-year Mountaineer can become the first grappler in school history to capture a conference championship as well as a top-8 finish on the mat at nationals in the same season.

This Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia travels to Kansas City, Missouri, from March 10-13 for the 2022 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship … No. 7-seed WVU begins its postseason run on Thursday, March 10, against No. 10-seed TCU inside Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City … tipoff against the Horned Frogs is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET … Thursday's contest will broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Brenda VanLengen and Holly Warlick on the call.

Last Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia (14-14, 7-11 Big 12) split a pair of Big 12 games last week to conclude its 2021-22 regular season … WVU opened the week with a 74-62, double-overtime victory at Kansas State on March 2, inside Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas … the win marked West Virginia's first double-overtime victory since March 28, 2005, vs. Kentucky (80-75) … senior guard Madisen Smith and junior forward Esmery Martinez tied for the team high with 22 points for West Virginia … Martinez also hauled in a season-high 19 rebounds in the win to net her ninth double-double of the season … WVU concluded its regular season with a 74-57 loss to No. 8/7 Iowa State on March 5, inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown … the Mountaineers were led by Smith, who tallied a team-high 11 points … she was joined in double-figure scoring by sophomore guard Savannah Samuel, who finished with a career-best 10 points … Martinez hauled in a game-high 11 rebounds to lead West Virginia on the glass … she and fifth-year senior center Blessing Ejiofor (10 rebounds) accounted for 50% of the Mountaineers' total rebounds in the game.

Notes: With her 22-point, 19-rebound double-double at K-State, Martinez now has 24 double-doubles in her career, which ties Teana Muldrow (2014-18) for No. 5 in all-time program history … she and Muldrow also are tied for the most double-doubles in the coach Mike Carey era … Martinez also is the first Mountaineer since Donna Abbott vs. Rutgers on Feb. 28, 1991, to tally at least 22 points and 19 rebounds in a single game … along with her four steals, the junior forward is the first player in program history with at least 22 points, 19 rebounds and four steals in a single game … Smith and Martinez are the second pair of teammates this season and the fourth in the last two years to tally 22 or more points in the same game … Smith also played all 50 minutes of the game at KSU, good for her second 50-minute game of the season and her career … the Greenville, South Carolina, native is now the only player in program history to play 50 minutes in a game multiple times … WVU is 10-7 in eight appearances in the Big 12 Championship since joining the league in 2012-13 … last season, the No. 2-seeded Mountaineers went 2-1 in the championship and advanced to its first Big 12 title game since 2017 … in its previous eight appearances in the Big 12 Championship, West Virginia has made the semifinals five times and the title game three times … WVU won the Big 12 Championship in 2017, as the No. 6 seed, after knocking off No. 1-seed Baylor, 77-66, on March 6, 2017, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

This Week in Wrestling: The Mountaineers are off this week.

Last Week in Wrestling: WVU finished seventh in the Big 12 Championship standings over the weekend with 62 points … the Mountaineers matched a program-best with seven wrestlers placing (top 8) at the conference championship since 2016 … redshirt senior Killian Cardinale, at 125 pounds, won the third Big 12 Championship in program history … scored five-point victory over the reigning 2021 Big 12 Champion Brody Teske of Northern Iowa in the finals … went 3-0 on the weekend, outscoring the No. 3, 4, and 8 seeds by 20 (25-5) … sophomore Peyton Hall competed in the finals at 165 pounds and fell to top-seeded Keegan O'Toole of Missouri by a 13-7 decision … redshirt junior Alex Hornfeck (157) and redshirt sophomore Michael Wolfgram placed seventh, while redshirt sophomores Jeffrey Boyd (149) and Anthony Carman (184), and sophomore Dennis Robin (174) placed eighth in their respective weight classes.

Notes: Cardinale (125), Hall (165), and Robin (174) all clinched a spot at the NCAA Championships of their respective weight brackets … Boyd, Hornfeck, Carman, and Wolfgram look forward with anticipation for the NCAA committee's announcement of who will be awarded one of the remaining 43 at-large bids on Tuesday, March 8 … the 2022 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships is scheduled for March 17-19, in Detroit, Michigan for the first time in NCAA history … the Championships will be held in the state of Michigan for the first time since 2007, when the event was held in Auburn Hills.

This Week in Rifle: West Virginia concludes its 2021-22 season from March 11-12, as it travels to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to compete at the 2022 NCAA Rifle Championships … this year's championship is hosted by Air Force and takes place inside Clune Arena in Colorado Springs … start times for Saturday and Sunday will be announced later this week.

Last Week in Rifle: The Mountaineers were off last week.

Notes: West Virginia is seeking its nation-best 20th NCAA title this weekend … the Mountaineers last won an NCAA championship in 2017 … prior to that, WVU captured five consecutive national titles from 2013-17 … WVU coach Jon Hammond has helped the Mountaineers hoist six national championships during his first 15 seasons with the team … additionally, West Virginia boasts 28 individual NCAA champions in program history, with the most recent being Morgan Phillips in 2018 (smallbore) … this season, the Mountaineers have shot a team score 4725 or better seven times, the most in a single season since 2017-18 (seven) … WVU's season-high score came against Navy on Jan. 22, when the team tallied a 4739 ... additionally, West Virginia shot a program-record 2364 in smallbore against the Midshipmen, besting the previous mark of 2356, which came on Nov. 12, 2017, against Murray State … WVU enters the 2021-22 NCAA Championships with a team scoring average of 4722.417, which ranks No. 3 nationally … the Mountaineers also hold national rankings of No. 2 in smallbore average (2344.5) and No. 4 in air rifle average (2377.917).

This Week in Swimming & Diving: The WVU men's and women's diving teams travel to Annapolis, Maryland, on Monday, March 7, for the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships … competition takes place at the United States Naval Academy and continues through Wednesday, March 9 … additionally, the Mountaineers will send 24 swimmers, 12 women and 12 men, to the CSCAA National Invitational on Thursday, March 10 … the invitational takes place in Elkhart, Indiana, and continues through Saturday, March 12.

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

Notes: West Virginia played host to the 2022 Big 12 Swimming & Diving Championship on Feb. 23-26, for the second time in program history … the men's team earned a third-place finish, while the women's team finished in fourth place … in total, the Mountaineers combined to earn 11 medals at the conference meet, including one gold, four silver and six bronze … fifth-year David Dixon won his second Big 12 title in the men's 200-yard butterfly, touching in 1:43.64 … the Mountaineers' four silver medals came from senior diver PJ Lenz on men's platform (373.30), the women's 400 free relay (3:20.24) and both the men's (1:19.64) and women's (1:31.70) 200 free relays … sophomore William Mullen broke the men's 1650 program record, finishing in fourth with a time of 15:21.57 … the record was previously set by Craig Cooper in 1983 … sophomore Justin Heimes earned the Mountaineers their first individual bronze medal in the men's 100 back (47.71), later earning his second bronze medal in the men's 200 back … junior Paige Dressel (women's 200 back – 1:57.43), freshman Mia Walters (women's 200 fly – 2:01.34), and the men's 800 free relay, 400 free relay and 400 medley relay rounded out WVU's bronze medal count.

This Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers continue their homestand on Wednesday, March 9, as they welcome Michigan State to Morgantown … following competition against MSU, WVU plays host to Towson on Saturday, March 12 … first serve against the Spartans is set for 10 a.m. ET, while the matchup against the Tigers will begin at 10 a.m. … both matches will take place at the Summit Tennis Academy.

Last Week in Tennis: West Virginia (6-6, 0-0 Big 12) welcomed Penn and No. 74 Delaware to Morgantown for a pair of dual matches on March 5-6, at the Summit Tennis Academy in Morgantown … the Mountaineers went 0-2 during weekend play … WVU dropped the doubles point, before Penn continued to look for the sweep during singles play … freshman Camilla Bossi was the Mountaineers' lone victory of the matchup against the Quakers … the freshman defeated Eileen Wang, 6-2, 6-2, to avoid the sweep … during the match against Delaware, WVU rallied late and dropped the match, 4-3 … Bossi and junior Ting-Pei Chang were able to notch the first win for the Mountaineers, topping Eliza Askarova and Julieta Honrubia, 6-1 … senior Anastasiia Bovolskaia and freshman Tatiana Lipatova fell in their doubles match, 6-4, to leave the point to freshmen pair, Kendall Kovick and Michaela Kucharova … the freshmen fell, 3-6, to put Delaware up, 1-0, heading into singles play … Lipatova tallied the first point for WVU, with a 7-5, 7-5 victory to tie up the match … the Fightin' Blue Hens went on a 3-0 run to secure the match for Delaware … in a late, attempted rally, both Kucharova and Bossi notched wins for WVU to close out the weekend homestand.

Notes: Wednesday marks the first time in program history that WVU will face Michigan State … Saturday's matchup against Towson marks the fifth all-time meeting … the Mountaineers lead the series against the Tigers, 4-0, with the last meeting occurring in 2020, when WVU swept Towson, 7-0 … Bovolskaia leads the squad with the most wins overall (76) and most singles wins (46) in her career ... junior Ting-Pei Chang leads the Mountaineers with the most career doubles wins (58) … Bossi currently leads the team with a 14-5 overall record … following competition this week, the Mountaineers wrap up their homestand with their first Big 12 matchups from March 18-20 … Texas travels to Morgantown on Friday, March 18, befor West Virginia plays host to Baylor on Sunday, March 20.

This Week in Gymnastics: West Virginia prepares to conclude its regular season at No. 3 Michigan with No. 5 Auburn, as it travels to Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Saturday, March 12 … action inside the Crisler Center is slated for 4 p.m. ET.

Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU used event wins on balance beam and floor exercise to tally a come-from-behind, 196.250-195.400 victory over Ball State inside the WVU Coliseum on March 6 … in the Mountaineers' final home meet of the 2022 campaign, West Virginia (13-3, 0-2 Big 12) put together another big performance on floor exercise to secure the Senior Day victory … all five scoring gymnasts tallied a 9.85 or better to earn a 49.325 total on the event, helping West Virginia record its 11th straight win … junior Kianna Yancey paced WVU against Ball State, notching a pair of podium finishes, including a share of first place on floor after notching a career-best 9.9 to anchor the lineup … junior Abbie Pierson also recorded a pair of podium appearances, while six other Mountaineers added one podium finish apiece … senior Rachel Hornung was the Mountaineers' lone competitor in the all-around, as she finished in second place with a career-high matching 39.175.

Notes: The Mountaineers' score of 196.250 marked their highest score at home this season, while it also was their second straight meet posting the total … Sunday's meet against Ball State also was WVU's Senior Day, as the Mountaineers recognized Esperanza Abarca, Kendra Combs, Rachel Hornung and volunteer assistant coach Kristin Lang following the meet … West Virginia ranks No. 16 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. 38 on vault (48.995 NWS), No. 39 on uneven bars (48.930 NQS) and No. 34 on beam (48.965 NQS) … individually, Combs ranks No. 37 nationally on floor with a season NQS of 9.9, followed by Pierson at No. 44 (9.895 NQS).

This Week in Track and Field: Redshirt freshman Ceili McCabe qualified for the 2022 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the 3,000-meter run, on March 11-12 in Birmingham, Alabama, at Birmingham CrossPlex … the 3,000-meter takes place on Saturday, March 12, at 9 p.m. ET … live championship results will be available on WVUsports.com … live championship coverage will be streamed on ESPN3 on Friday, March 11, starting at 11 a.m. ET and Saturday, March 12, starting at 11:30 a.m. … to access the live stream, visit ESPN3.com.

Last Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers were off.

Notes: McCabe qualified for her first indoor track and field championship … the British Columbia, Canada, native, enters the national meet ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 Conference and No. 3 nationally in the 3,000-meter with a season-best mark of 8:52.52 … the time, which was set at the Boston University Sharon Colyera-Danville Season Opener in Boston, Massachusetts, on Dec. 4, was good for a WVU indoor school record … WVU concluded competition at the 2022 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships on Feb. 25-26, in Ames, Iowa … on Saturday, sophomore Jo-Lauren Keane set a WVU school record in the 800-meter run after she finished fourth in a time of 11:21.26 … on Feb. 25, the Mountaineers opened competition with the distance medley relay team placing third … the team of redshirt junior Charlotte Wood, senior Tessa Constantine, redshirt senior Mikaela Lucki and redshirt sophomore Ceili McCabe finished in a time of 11:21.26 … on Feb. 26, McCabe led the way placing third in the mile run in a time of 4:38.99 … Jackson placed fifth in the 1,000-meter in a time of 2:50.42 to earn All-Big 12 Honors … the Mountaineers concluded the Championship with seven Big 12 honors … WVU last saw action at the NCAA Indoor Championship in 2019, when Madeline Gardner earned a ninth-place finish in the women's pole vault in Birmingham ... Gardner recorded a mark of 4.26 meters (13 feet, 11.75 inches) at the Birmingham CrossPlex, garnering All-America Second Team honors … the performance marked Gardner's third career All-America accolade, and it matched her ninth-place finish in the pole vault at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships … Gardner became WVU's first back-to-back NCAA Indoor Championships qualifier since Keri Bland, Jessica O'Connell and Chelsea Carrier in 2010-11... additionally, she became the Mountaineers' 15th women's track and field athlete to earn at least three All-America honors and the first since Amy Cashin (2013-18).

This Week in Golf: West Virginia is off this week … the Mountaineers return to competition when they travel to the Schenkel Invitational on March 18-20, in Statesboro, Georgia.

Last Week in Golf: WVU notched an 11-stroke team victory at the Lake Las Vegas Intercollegiate in Henderson, Nevada, from Feb. 28-March 2 … fifth-year senior Mark Goetz also notched the individual title after shooting a school-record 15-under-par for a 65-67-69=201 three-round total … Goetz was three strokes better than fifth-year senior Logan Perkins, who recorded a third-place finish at 12-under-par (73-66-65=204) … the Locust Grove, Georgia, native was bogey-free in the final 36 holes this week … junior Trent Tipton recorded his best finish as a Mountaineer, tying for eighth place at 6-under-par (68-74-68=210) … all five Mountaineers were under par in the final round on Wednesday, including Perkins (-7), Tipton (-4), Goetz (-3), Kurtis Grant (-3) and Jackson Davenport (-1), as the Mountaineers tied the lowest team total in school history (271) … WVU's 28-under-par tally (281-284-271=836) marked the lowest 54-hole, under-par score in school history.

Notes: Goetz broke his own record of 202 set last fall in the Mountaineer Invitational and broke his own record for score in relation to par, besting his 14-under-par mark on Oct. 4-5, 2021 … the Greensburg, Pennsylvania, native won his third collegiate tournament, the most in school history … the Mountaineers recorded their first team victory since winning the Mountaineer Invitational last April … Perkins also recorded his best 54-hole total as a Mountaineer, besting his 205 score at the 2020 Florida Gators Invitational … Tipton's two rounds of 68 also were his lowest rounds as a Mountaineer.

This Week in Baseball: The Mountaineers have four games, all at home … WVU opens a four-game homestand at Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark against Rider on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET, before playing host to Ohio State for a weekend series, beginning Friday at 6 p.m. … Saturday and Sunday's games are set for 2 p.m., and 1 p.m., respectively … all four games can be seen live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

Last Week in Baseball: West Virginia (7-4) went 2-2 last week … WVU topped Canisius, 17-3, in the club's home opener on March 1, before taking down Minnesota, 5-4, on March 4, to open the 2022 Cambria College Classic at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis … from there, the Mountaineers dropped a 6-2 game to Illinois on March 5, and fell to Michigan State, 9-3, on March 6, to close out the event … freshman right-handed pitcher Michael Kilker earned the win on the mound against the Golden Griffins, the first of his career … at the plate, junior outfielder Victor Scott II hit two home runs in the home opener, including a grand slam … he finished with seven RBI on the day … additionally, freshman infielder JJ Wetherholt went 4-for-5 with four runs scored and three RBI against Canisius … sophomore catcher McGwire Holbrook led the way at the plate in Minneapolis, hitting a pair of home runs on the weekend and finishing 7-for-12 at the plate for the week … he was named to the event's all-tournament team … senior left-hander Beau Lowery got the win out of the bullpen against Minnesota, while junior right-hander Jacob Watters notched his first save of the year … sophomore lefty Ben Hampton struck out nine batters in 6.0 innings of work against Illinois, adding to his strong start to the campaign.

Notes: Following the Mountaineers' triumph over Canisius, the club has now won 20 consecutive midweek, home games, dating back to April 3, 2017 … WVU's 17 runs in the game were its most since a 21-3 win over Kansas on May 4, 2018 … additionally, the Mountaineers tallied their most runs in a home opener since topping New Jersey Tech, 19-0, on March 7, 2009 … West Virginia is now 7-1 in home openers at the Mon, since the facility opened in 2015 … WVU is 4-1 all-time against Rider … Wednesday's game marks the first against the Broncs since 2011 … WVU also is 10-16 against Ohio State, which it hasn't played since 2014 … Holbrook leads WVU offensively with a .519 average at the plate … Scott II's 17 RBI sit No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 33 nationally … his eight stolen bases also are good for No. 21 nationally entering the week … on the mound, Hampton now has 26 strikeouts in his three starts, one off the pace for the Big 12 lead and good for No. 26 in the country … as a team, the Mountaineers are No. 5 in the country in stolen bases, with 35 … prior to this week's homestand, West Virginia played 10 of its first 11 games of the year away from home.