Friday, December 29
Hoffman Estates, Ill.
All Day
West Virginia University
vs
Midlands Championships
Photo by: Sam Janicki (Midlands)
Mountaineers Complete 2023 at Midlands Championships
December 28, 2023 10:54 AM | Wrestling
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University wrestling team concludes the year competing at the 59th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships from Dec. 29-30 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
The two-day event kicks off inside the NOW Arena on Friday, Dec. 29, at 10:30 ET. Fans can catch all the action live on B1G+ and follow along on Trackwrestling for live stats throughout the tournament.
Listed are the dates, times, and broadcast networks for each round:
*All times are Eastern Standard
As the one of three Big 12 conference representatives (Air Force and Missouri) at the midseason invitational, West Virginia will bring 15 wrestlers to face off against some of the top competitors in their respective weight classes. Nine Mountaineers remain ranked in FloWrestling's top 33, including No. 20 Jett Strickenberger (125), No. 21 Jordan Titus (141), No. 26 Ty Watters (149), No. 30 Caleb Dowling (157), No. 12 Peyton Hall (165), No. 29 Brody Conley (174), No. 23 Dennis Robin (184), No. 28 Austin Cooley (197) and No. 23 Michael Wolfgram (HWT).
This year's field is filled with over 40 other schools across 18 states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Wisconsin). Eleven of the participants join No. 20 West Virginia in the top 25 of the latest NWCA Coaches Poll. No. 2 Mizzou leads the way, followed by No. 4 NC State, No. 6 Michigan, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 10 Cornell, No. 11 Virginia Tech, No. 14 Rutgers, No. 17 Oregon State, No. 21 Arizona State, No. 22 Indiana and No. 23 Lehigh, while North Carolina (17), Cal Poly (13), Penn (12), Illinois (7), Campbell (4), Wisconsin (4) and Virginia (2) each received votes.
Other Division I schools participating at Midlands include Bloomsburg, Buffalo, Cal Baptist, Central Michigan, Clarion, Cleveland State, Franklin & Marshall, George Mason, Harvard, Michigan State, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio, Princeton, Purdue, Rider and SIU Edwardsville.
Division II Thomas More and Division III Johnson and Wales, North Central, Chicago and Wisconsin-Whitewater will also be competing, along with a variety of junior colleges and unaffiliated competitors as well.
The Mountaineers make their second consecutive appearance at the annual event and 17th overall as a team. They started traveling to the tournament in 1984 and one year later witnessed All-American Jim Akerly take third at 150 pounds to become the first Mountaineer to reach the podium. The highest mark for an individual came when three-time national champion Greg Jones claimed the crown at 184 pounds in 2003.
Overall, WVU has registered 21 top-8 finishes and placed as high as 11th twice in the team standings (1989 & 2003).
Below is the full list of Mountaineers competing at #Midlands59
125
Mason Mills
Jace Schafer
No. 20 Jett Strickenberger
133
Davin Rhoads
141
Sam Hillegas
No. 21 Jordan Titus
149
No. 26 Ty Watters
157
No. 30 Caleb Dowling
Alex Hornfeck
165
No. 12 Peyton Hall
174
No. 29 Brody Conley
184
Ian Bush
No. 23 Dennis Robin
197
No. 28 Austin Cooley
HWT
No. 23 Michael Wolfgram
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The two-day event kicks off inside the NOW Arena on Friday, Dec. 29, at 10:30 ET. Fans can catch all the action live on B1G+ and follow along on Trackwrestling for live stats throughout the tournament.
Listed are the dates, times, and broadcast networks for each round:
| Day | Date | Round | Time | Station |
| Friday morning | Dec. 29 | Session I - First Round | 10:30 a.m. | B1G+ |
| Friday evening | Dec. 29 | Session II – Quarterfinals/Wrestlebacks | 8 p.m. | B1G+ |
| Saturday morning | Dec. 30 | Session III – Semifinals/Consolations | 12 p.m. | B1G+ |
| Saturday evening | Dec. 30 | Session IV – Finals | 7:05 p.m. | B1G+ |
*All times are Eastern Standard
As the one of three Big 12 conference representatives (Air Force and Missouri) at the midseason invitational, West Virginia will bring 15 wrestlers to face off against some of the top competitors in their respective weight classes. Nine Mountaineers remain ranked in FloWrestling's top 33, including No. 20 Jett Strickenberger (125), No. 21 Jordan Titus (141), No. 26 Ty Watters (149), No. 30 Caleb Dowling (157), No. 12 Peyton Hall (165), No. 29 Brody Conley (174), No. 23 Dennis Robin (184), No. 28 Austin Cooley (197) and No. 23 Michael Wolfgram (HWT).
This year's field is filled with over 40 other schools across 18 states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Wisconsin). Eleven of the participants join No. 20 West Virginia in the top 25 of the latest NWCA Coaches Poll. No. 2 Mizzou leads the way, followed by No. 4 NC State, No. 6 Michigan, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 10 Cornell, No. 11 Virginia Tech, No. 14 Rutgers, No. 17 Oregon State, No. 21 Arizona State, No. 22 Indiana and No. 23 Lehigh, while North Carolina (17), Cal Poly (13), Penn (12), Illinois (7), Campbell (4), Wisconsin (4) and Virginia (2) each received votes.
Other Division I schools participating at Midlands include Bloomsburg, Buffalo, Cal Baptist, Central Michigan, Clarion, Cleveland State, Franklin & Marshall, George Mason, Harvard, Michigan State, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio, Princeton, Purdue, Rider and SIU Edwardsville.
Division II Thomas More and Division III Johnson and Wales, North Central, Chicago and Wisconsin-Whitewater will also be competing, along with a variety of junior colleges and unaffiliated competitors as well.
The Mountaineers make their second consecutive appearance at the annual event and 17th overall as a team. They started traveling to the tournament in 1984 and one year later witnessed All-American Jim Akerly take third at 150 pounds to become the first Mountaineer to reach the podium. The highest mark for an individual came when three-time national champion Greg Jones claimed the crown at 184 pounds in 2003.
Overall, WVU has registered 21 top-8 finishes and placed as high as 11th twice in the team standings (1989 & 2003).
Below is the full list of Mountaineers competing at #Midlands59
125
Mason Mills
Jace Schafer
No. 20 Jett Strickenberger
133
Davin Rhoads
141
Sam Hillegas
No. 21 Jordan Titus
149
No. 26 Ty Watters
157
No. 30 Caleb Dowling
Alex Hornfeck
165
No. 12 Peyton Hall
174
No. 29 Brody Conley
184
Ian Bush
No. 23 Dennis Robin
197
No. 28 Austin Cooley
HWT
No. 23 Michael Wolfgram
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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