Cardinale Named Student-Athlete of the Week

March 20, 2023 05:50 PM | Baseball, General, Golf, Men's Swimming & Diving, Gymnastics, Women's Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Wrestling, Athletics Communications

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By: WVU Athletics Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Fifth-year senior Killian Cardinale of the West Virginia University wrestling team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week presented by University Apartments after placing eighth to become the 35th All-American in program history at the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

Despite dropping a 8-7 decision to No. 4-seed Matt Ramos of Purdue in the quarterfinals of the 125-pound bracket, Cardinale bounced back in the blood round by outlasting No. 15-seed Brett Ungar of Cornell via a 3-2 decision to make his return to the podium since earning All-America status in 2021.

He joins Mark Banks, Whitey Chlebove, Mike Mason, Greg Jones, Vertus Jones, Brandon Rader and Zeke Moisey as the eighth WVU wrestler to be named an All-American multiple times sporting the Gold and Blue. Cardinale and Moisey are also the only two Mountaineers to take home the honor at 125 pounds, as well as the final two to claim All-America status more than once.

Cardinale scored the first takedown and road out Ungar to conclude the first period with a 2-0 lead. Ungar deferred choice to Cardinale who chose to begin the second period in a neutral position. After going scoreless in the second, the pair went neutral again and this time Ungar secured a takedown to even the bout at 2-2, but it wasn't enough as the Mountaineer tacked on a point for riding time to seal the win.

The Bristow, Virginia, native knocked off No. 5-seed Caleb Smith of Appalachian State in session one and No. 21-seed Jore Volk of Wyoming in session two to punch his ticket to the quarterfinals for the second straight year and setup the showdown with Ramos.

This Week in Baseball: The Mountaineers bring their nine-game winning streak to Wagener Field at Monongalia County Ballpark for five games ... WVU will play Hofstra on Tuesday, March 21, at 6:30 p.m. and Wednesday, March 22, at 3 p.m., before hosting Xavier for three games from March 24-26 ... first pitch on Friday is set for 6:30 p.m., Saturday for 4 p.m. and Sunday for 1 p.m.

Last Week in Baseball: West Virginia went 5-0 in the Tar Heel State, taking two from Appalachian State before sweeping UNC Greensboro … on March 14, JJ Wetherholt went 5-for-6 with six RBI as WVU defeated App State, 18-1 … Mountaineer pitchers combined to strike out 14 batters in the win … on March 15, Ellis Garcia had four hits to lead the way in an 18-5 victory … Jake Carr earned the win by throwing 4.0 shutout innings in relief … after getting rained out on March 17, WVU defeated UNCG, 28-2, in game one of a doubleheader on March 18 … WVU had a season-high 23 hits with four players hitting home runs … in game two, Blaine Traxel threw his third complete game of the season in a 4-1 victory while striking out six … to close out the series, Grant Siegel and four Mountaineer relievers one-hit the Spartans an 8-0 win on March 19.

Notes in Baseball: In the five games, the Mountaineers outscored their opponents, 76-9 … Ellis Garcia hit .643 (9-for-14) to lead the team … JJ Wetherholt led the team with 11 hits while hitting .500 and also driving in nine runs … Braden Barry hit two home runs and scored 12 runs while also hitting a double and a triple … freshman Ellis Garcia and Nick Barone each hit their first-career home runs last week … the 28 runs scored against UNCG were the most for the Mountaineers since scoring 30 against NJIT in 2009 … the four home runs hit in game one of the doubleheader came from players in four different classes – senior Kevin Dowdell, junior Braden Barry, sophomore Grant Hussey and freshman Nick Barone … Hussey hit a home run in both games of Saturday's doubleheader … Traxel's complete game was his third of the season and eighth of his career … he currently leads the nation with 40.0 innings pitched … the one hit allowed by Mountaineer pitching on Sunday was the lowest since WVU threw a no-hitter against Kent State on March 4, 2020 … the team's 15-4 start is the best start for WVU since joining the Big 12 in 2013 … it is the first nine-game winning streak for the Mountaineers since 2016.

This Week in Wrestling: The West Virginia University wrestling program's 2022-2023 season has come to an end.

Last Week in Wrestling: Six members of the West Virginia University wrestling team competed at the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from March 16-18 … fifth-year senior Killian Cardinale finished in eighth to become the 35th All-American in program history … he recorded a 3-3 record, with all three wins coming over higher seeds (No. 5, No. 15 and No. 21) … redshirt freshman Jordan Titus (141), junior Peyton Hall (165), redshirt junior Anthony Carman (184), redshirt sophomore Austin Cooley (197) and redshirt junior Michael Wolfgram (HWT) joined Cardinale, wrestling at their respective weight classes.

Notes: West Virginia has produced at least one All-American in each of the last four years (Noah Adams – 2020, Cardinale – 2021, Hall – 2022, Cardinale – 2023) under coach Tim Flynn to match a similar stretch of success that the program last achieved from 2004 to 2007, which was a part of a six-year period that began in 2002, during legendary coach Craig Turnbull's tenure ... WVU also has qualified 19 wrestlers for the NCAA Championships since the Flynn era began … the Mountaineers sent six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2012, as well as four or more in every season of Flynn's tenure … Cardinale joins Mark Banks, Whitey Chlebove, Mike Mason, Greg Jones, Vertus Jones, Brandon Rader and Zeke Moisey as the eighth WVU wrestler to be named an All-American multiple times sporting the Gold and Blue … he and Moisey also are the only two WVU grapplers to take home the honor at 125 pounds, as well as the final two to claim All-America status more than once … the Bristow, Virginia, native finishes his Mountaineer career as a three-time NCAA qualifier, two-time All-American and the third Big 12 Champion in program history.

This Week in Swimming & Diving: Junior Danny Berlitz represents the Mountaineers at the 2023 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships on March 22-25 … Minnesota hosts NCAAs at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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

Notes: Berlitz represents WVU at the NCAA Championships competing in the 400 IM, 200 IM, and 200 breaststroke … during the 2023 season, the Drums, Pennsylvania native secured four first-place finishes … at the Big 12 Championships in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 22-25, Berlitz made an appearance in three individual finals events, finishing sixth in the 200 IM (1:45.78), fifth in the 400 IM (3:46.88) and sixth in the 200 breaststroke (1:56.76) … additionally, he was a member of the 400 free relay team and 200 free relay team who secured silver medals, as well as the 200 medley relay team and the 400 medley relay team, who added bronze medals.

This Week in Tennis: The West Virginia University women's tennis team (11-4, 1-1 Big 12) is back on the road this weekend to continue Big 12 Conference play against No. 53 Baylor on Friday, March 24, at 7 p.m. ET, before traveling to take on No. 14 Texas on Sunday, March 26, at 11 a.m.

Last Week in Tennis: The Mountaineers defeated Dayton, 7-0, on March 18, at the Summit Tennis Academy in Morgantown … junior/sophomore pair Momoko Nagato and Michaela Kucharova won, 6-0, during doubles, while redshirt freshman Maja Dodik and sophomore Tatiana Lipatova won, 7-5, to clinch the doubles point for West Virginia … sophomore Camilla Bossi and senior Ting-Pei Chang fell, 3-6, during doubles play … Chang, Dodik, Nagato and Kucharova clinched wins in three sets during singles play … at No. 5 and 6 singles, Lipatova and fifth-year senior Pei-Ju Hsieh were victorious in two sets, respectively.

Notes: Friday's competition against the Bears and Sunday's competition against the Longhorns marks the 11th matchup since both series began in 2013 … Baylor and Texas hold the
all-time series record over the Mountaineers, 10-0 … during last year's competition, WVU suffered a 2-5 loss to Baylor and a 0-7 loss to Texas … West Virgnia's 11-4 start is the best record since the 2010 season when the Mountaineers started 12-2 under head coach Marc Walters.

This Week in Track and Field: The Mountaineers travel to Raleigh, N.C., to compete in the Raleigh Relays hosted by NC State from March 23-25.

Last Week in Track and Field: WVU began the Outdoor Track and Field season with the Stan Romanoski Open at the Track and Field Complex at Mylan Park … senior Sada Wright tallied a distance of 44.90 meters in the discus throw … Wright also recorded a shot put of 11.64-meters … junior Katelyn Caccamo earned a height of 3.50-meters in pole vault … freshman Olivia Cress and sophomore Eden Williams competed in the high jump … Cress led the field with a height of 1.65 meters, while Williams notched a height of 1.55 meters … on the track, junior Zara Zervos secured a time of 5:24.31 in the 1,500-meter steeplechase, and sophomore Ghamani Hogue ran a 17.04 in the 100-meter hurdles … junior Megan Weaver opened up her outdoor campaign with a 2:23.10 in the 800-meter.

Notes: Friday and Saturday marked the third consecutive season WVU has opened the outdoor season with the Stan Romanoski Open after the meet was cancelled in 2020.

This Week in Gymnastics: WVU is off this week … the Mountaineers next compete on Friday, March 31, when they travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the 2023 NCAA Gymnastics Pittsburgh Regional Championships … West Virginia, Michigan State, California and Western Michigan will compete in the first of two Second Round quad meets, beginning at 2 p.m. ET, inside the Peterson Events Center.

Last Week in Gymnastics: West Virginia played host to the 2023 Big 12 Gymnastics Championship on March 18, inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown … the Mountaineers finished in third place for the second straight year, marking WVU's first back-to-back third-place finish since 2016-17 … West Virginia posted a final score of 196.225, its fifth consecutive score of 196.0 or higher … the Mountaineers tallied event scores of 49.175 on vault, 48.7 on the uneven bars, 48.875 on balance beam and 49.475 on floor exercise … senior Kianna Yancey paced WVU bars (9.8) and beam (9.875), while senior Emily Holmes-Hackerd led the way on floor (9.925), and junior Kiana Lewis earned the top score on vault (9.9).

Notes: The Mountaineers earned an automatic bye into the Second Round, bypassing the First Round, play-in meet for the first time since 2019 … the bid marks the 43rd regional championships berth for the Mountaineers (12-9, 1-2 Big 12), their 38th in NCAA competition, and the team's eighth consecutive qualification … West Virginia has advanced to the NCAA National Championships three times (1995, 1999, 2000) since 1983 … the Mountaineers were selected to the 2023 NCAA Regional Gymnastics Championships based on their National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 196.515, the squad's highest NQS in program history … West Virginia played host to the Big 12 Championship for just the third time in program history last weekend, as well as the second time in the past three years … in this week's Road to Nationals rankings, the Mountaineers check in at No. 29 overall, as well as No. 19 on vault and floor exercise … WVU's vault ranking marks its highest since Feb. 4, 2019, when it also ranked No. 19.

This Week in Golf: The Mountaineers will return to action on Sunday for The Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate in Charleston, South Carolina.

Last Week in Golf: Sophomore Max Green and freshman Westy McCabe posted Top 25 finishes to lead the golf team at the Schenkel Invitational in Statesboro, Georgia … both WVU golfers finished tied for 24th place at 2-over-par after three days of competition … Green shot 76-67-75=218, while McCabe recorded rounds of 70-74-74=218 … junior Jackson Davenport finished at 5-over-par with rounds of 73-73-75=221, while junior Oli Ménard had rounds of 79-77-76-232 (+16) and junior Will Stakel recorded scores of 79-78-76=233 (+17) … as a team, the Mountaineers finished in 12th place with rounds of 298-291-300=889 (+25).