Seven Mountaineers Ranked in Third NCAA Coaches’ Ranking/NCAA Qualifier Allocations Released
February 23, 2023 05:34 PM | Wrestling
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Seven members of the West Virginia University wrestling team hold spots in the top 33 of their respective weight classes in the third coaches ranking and/or second RPI.
In addition, the Big 12 Conference claimed 65 qualifying spots heading into this year's postseason tournament for the second-most bids out of the seven wrestling conferences. The Big Ten Conference collected a conference-high 88 spots. A breakdown by conference and weight class is shown below:
Each qualifying tournament was awarded pre-allocations to the national tournament based on regular season performance by conference wrestlers through Feb. 19. The pre-allocations were determined by using a sliding scale of the three standards while never going below the base of .700 winning percentage, top 30 coaches' ranking and top 30 RPI ranking until reaching the maximum of 29 wrestlers per weight class.
The coaches' ranking and RPI are two of several criteria that will be evaluated during the at-large selection and seeding process along with head-to-head competition, quality wins, conference tournament placement, results versus common opponents and win percentage.
Following the completion of all seven conference tournaments, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 46 at-large qualifiers and release them on Tuesday, March 7. Final brackets and seeding are set to be announced on Wednesday, March 8, via NCAA.com at 8 p.m. ET.
All-American (2021) and defending Big 12 Champion Killian Cardinale leads the way in the top eight at 125 pounds. The fifth-year senior ranks No. 7, which puts him a top of the Big 12 in the division. Cardinale ended his final regular reason 10-0 and 4-0 against the Big 12, including three in-season tournament wins.
At 165 pounds, returning All-American Peyton Hall remains at No. 11 and is slotted at No. 16 of the RPI. Hall ended the season with a team-leading 22-3 record as well as a 9-1 mark in three in-season tournaments, including a championship to lead WVU at the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open in November.
Redshirt junior Michael Wolfgram moved up two spots to No. 21 and remains No. 16 in the latest RPI among heavyweights. Wolfgram earned his first trip to nationals last year after recording a 20-9 record, including five wins over ranked opponents. He finished this season 18-9 overall and 8-4 in tournament style events.
Also sticking around in their respective rankings are redshirt freshman Jordan Titus (No. 31 – 30 RPI) at 141 pounds, junior Sam Hillegas (No. 28 – 22 RPI) at 149 pounds, redshirt junior Anthony Carman (No. 31 – 17 RPI) at 184 pounds and redshirt sophomore Austin Cooley (No. 32 – 33 RPI) at 197 pounds.
As the field stands, this would mark the first time since 2008 that seven Mountaineers qualified for the NCAA Championships. If the Mountaineers seal a place on the 133-pound, 157-pound, or 174-pound list, then West Virginia would match the 1990, 1999 and 2003 squads as the only other teams in program history to send eight or more competitors to the event.
West Virginia competes at the 2023 Big 12 Championship from March 4-5. The two-day event returns to the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the seventh straight year.
Two weeks later, the Mountaineers return to Tulsa for the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, which will feature 330 wrestlers across 10 weight classes clashing for a spot on the podium from March 16-18. Tulsa plays host to the NCAA Championships for the first time in NCAA history, which marks the 12th time the tournament will be held in the state of Oklahoma and the first since 2014 in Oklahoma City.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
In addition, the Big 12 Conference claimed 65 qualifying spots heading into this year's postseason tournament for the second-most bids out of the seven wrestling conferences. The Big Ten Conference collected a conference-high 88 spots. A breakdown by conference and weight class is shown below:
| Conference | 125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157 | 165 | 174 | 184 | 197 | 285 | Total |
| Big Ten Conference | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 88 |
| Big 12 Conference | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 65 |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association |
6 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
45 |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 34 |
| Mid-American Conference | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 23 |
| Pacific-12 Conference | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 18 |
| Southern Conference | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| Pre-Allocations | 29 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 284 |
| At-Large | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 46 |
Each qualifying tournament was awarded pre-allocations to the national tournament based on regular season performance by conference wrestlers through Feb. 19. The pre-allocations were determined by using a sliding scale of the three standards while never going below the base of .700 winning percentage, top 30 coaches' ranking and top 30 RPI ranking until reaching the maximum of 29 wrestlers per weight class.
The coaches' ranking and RPI are two of several criteria that will be evaluated during the at-large selection and seeding process along with head-to-head competition, quality wins, conference tournament placement, results versus common opponents and win percentage.
Following the completion of all seven conference tournaments, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 46 at-large qualifiers and release them on Tuesday, March 7. Final brackets and seeding are set to be announced on Wednesday, March 8, via NCAA.com at 8 p.m. ET.
All-American (2021) and defending Big 12 Champion Killian Cardinale leads the way in the top eight at 125 pounds. The fifth-year senior ranks No. 7, which puts him a top of the Big 12 in the division. Cardinale ended his final regular reason 10-0 and 4-0 against the Big 12, including three in-season tournament wins.
At 165 pounds, returning All-American Peyton Hall remains at No. 11 and is slotted at No. 16 of the RPI. Hall ended the season with a team-leading 22-3 record as well as a 9-1 mark in three in-season tournaments, including a championship to lead WVU at the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open in November.
Redshirt junior Michael Wolfgram moved up two spots to No. 21 and remains No. 16 in the latest RPI among heavyweights. Wolfgram earned his first trip to nationals last year after recording a 20-9 record, including five wins over ranked opponents. He finished this season 18-9 overall and 8-4 in tournament style events.
Also sticking around in their respective rankings are redshirt freshman Jordan Titus (No. 31 – 30 RPI) at 141 pounds, junior Sam Hillegas (No. 28 – 22 RPI) at 149 pounds, redshirt junior Anthony Carman (No. 31 – 17 RPI) at 184 pounds and redshirt sophomore Austin Cooley (No. 32 – 33 RPI) at 197 pounds.
As the field stands, this would mark the first time since 2008 that seven Mountaineers qualified for the NCAA Championships. If the Mountaineers seal a place on the 133-pound, 157-pound, or 174-pound list, then West Virginia would match the 1990, 1999 and 2003 squads as the only other teams in program history to send eight or more competitors to the event.
West Virginia competes at the 2023 Big 12 Championship from March 4-5. The two-day event returns to the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the seventh straight year.
Two weeks later, the Mountaineers return to Tulsa for the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, which will feature 330 wrestlers across 10 weight classes clashing for a spot on the podium from March 16-18. Tulsa plays host to the NCAA Championships for the first time in NCAA history, which marks the 12th time the tournament will be held in the state of Oklahoma and the first since 2014 in Oklahoma City.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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