Thursday, March 21
Kansas City, Mo.
All Day
West Virginia University
vs
NCAA Championships
Five Mountaineers Set to Compete at 2024 NCAA Championships
March 20, 2024 01:51 PM | Wrestling
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Following a stellar team performance at the Big 12 Championship, five members of the West Virginia University wrestling team travel to Kansas City, Missouri, looking to outlast 33 other wrestlers in their respective weight classes at the 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the T-Mobile Center on March 21-23.
The three-day event begins at Noon EDT on Thursday, March 21. Fans can catch every match from start to finish at ESPN.com or live on ESPNU during the morning sessions, before switching over to ESPN for the evening sessions. Live stats will also be available on Trackwrestling for the duration of the tournament.
WVU is sending half or more of its starting lineup to compete on the national stage in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2011 and 2012, and it is the fifth straight year in which four or more wrestlers have qualified for the NCAA Championships since the Tim Flynn era began in 2019.
Junior Jett Strickenberger (125), true freshman Ty Watters (149), senior Peyton Hall (165) and redshirt freshman Brody Conley (174) earned automatic bids based on their performances at the Big 12 Championship, while redshirt sophomore Jordan Titus (141) was awarded one of the 47 at-large berths into the 2024 field. This will also mark the debuts at the national tournament for Strickenberger, Watters and Conley.
"I want to see our guys go out and put everything they have into it to reach their goals," sixth-year WVU coach Tim Flynn said. "This is it. This is why we've been training all year round, so I want to see them compete hard and go get it.
Watters, the first Mountaineer to qualify at 149 pounds since 2014, leads the way as the No. 5 seed after becoming the first true freshman in program history to win a Big 12 Championship and the first to claim a conference title since Brandon Rader took home the EWL championship at 141 pounds in 2006. He is also just the second Mountaineer to capture a conference title at that weight class and first since former standout Billy Smith reached the mountain top in 2003.
The Imperial, Pennsylvania, native is scheduled to take on a familiar Big 12 adversary in No. 28-seed Logan Gioffre of Missouri, whom Watters defeated by a 6-1 decision inside the WVU Coliseum in the schools' dual back in January.
Like Watters, Hall earned a spot in the top 10 at 165 pounds as the No. 9 seed. The 2022 All-American goes into his team-leading fourth appearance across from No. 24-seed Stoney Buell of Purdue in the first meeting between the pair and Buell's first NCAA Championships appearance.
Joining Hall in making his return to the annual postseason event is Titus, who received the No. 13 seed among the 141-pound field. The two-time qualifier and 2024 Midlands champion matches up against No. 20-seed Tom Crook of Virginia Tech. It's an opening-round rematch from the semifinals of the Midlands Championships to end the 2023 portion of the season, where Titus outlasted the Hokie for a 9-6 win.
Additionally, Strickenberger and Conley enter their first appearances at nationals. Strickenberger, checking in as the No. 19 seed at 125 pounds, faces off against two-time qualifier and No. 14-seed Nico Provo of Stanford, while No. 20-seed Conley battles four-time qualifier and No. 13-seed Justin McCoy of Virginia. McCoy, the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference champion, previously spent two years at 165 pounds (2022-23) and 157 pounds (2020-21) before moving up to 174 pounds to conclude his college career.
With the addition of five qualifiers in this year's tournament, West Virginia has accumulated 204 qualifiers since 1979, when the NCAA implemented the current qualification system. The Mountaineers have tallied 35 All-America honors and 16 top-25 finishes at the event since 1929. Furthermore, the program has five individual national champions: Scott Collins in 1991, Dean Morrison in 1994 and three-time champion Greg Jones in 2002, 2004, and 2005.
What's more, Kansas City plays host to the event for the first time since 2003 and second time in history, marking the 11th time the postseason tournament has been held in Missouri.
Below are the dates, times and broadcast networks for each championship round:
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The three-day event begins at Noon EDT on Thursday, March 21. Fans can catch every match from start to finish at ESPN.com or live on ESPNU during the morning sessions, before switching over to ESPN for the evening sessions. Live stats will also be available on Trackwrestling for the duration of the tournament.
WVU is sending half or more of its starting lineup to compete on the national stage in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2011 and 2012, and it is the fifth straight year in which four or more wrestlers have qualified for the NCAA Championships since the Tim Flynn era began in 2019.
Junior Jett Strickenberger (125), true freshman Ty Watters (149), senior Peyton Hall (165) and redshirt freshman Brody Conley (174) earned automatic bids based on their performances at the Big 12 Championship, while redshirt sophomore Jordan Titus (141) was awarded one of the 47 at-large berths into the 2024 field. This will also mark the debuts at the national tournament for Strickenberger, Watters and Conley.
"I want to see our guys go out and put everything they have into it to reach their goals," sixth-year WVU coach Tim Flynn said. "This is it. This is why we've been training all year round, so I want to see them compete hard and go get it.
Watters, the first Mountaineer to qualify at 149 pounds since 2014, leads the way as the No. 5 seed after becoming the first true freshman in program history to win a Big 12 Championship and the first to claim a conference title since Brandon Rader took home the EWL championship at 141 pounds in 2006. He is also just the second Mountaineer to capture a conference title at that weight class and first since former standout Billy Smith reached the mountain top in 2003.
The Imperial, Pennsylvania, native is scheduled to take on a familiar Big 12 adversary in No. 28-seed Logan Gioffre of Missouri, whom Watters defeated by a 6-1 decision inside the WVU Coliseum in the schools' dual back in January.
Like Watters, Hall earned a spot in the top 10 at 165 pounds as the No. 9 seed. The 2022 All-American goes into his team-leading fourth appearance across from No. 24-seed Stoney Buell of Purdue in the first meeting between the pair and Buell's first NCAA Championships appearance.
Joining Hall in making his return to the annual postseason event is Titus, who received the No. 13 seed among the 141-pound field. The two-time qualifier and 2024 Midlands champion matches up against No. 20-seed Tom Crook of Virginia Tech. It's an opening-round rematch from the semifinals of the Midlands Championships to end the 2023 portion of the season, where Titus outlasted the Hokie for a 9-6 win.
Additionally, Strickenberger and Conley enter their first appearances at nationals. Strickenberger, checking in as the No. 19 seed at 125 pounds, faces off against two-time qualifier and No. 14-seed Nico Provo of Stanford, while No. 20-seed Conley battles four-time qualifier and No. 13-seed Justin McCoy of Virginia. McCoy, the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference champion, previously spent two years at 165 pounds (2022-23) and 157 pounds (2020-21) before moving up to 174 pounds to conclude his college career.
With the addition of five qualifiers in this year's tournament, West Virginia has accumulated 204 qualifiers since 1979, when the NCAA implemented the current qualification system. The Mountaineers have tallied 35 All-America honors and 16 top-25 finishes at the event since 1929. Furthermore, the program has five individual national champions: Scott Collins in 1991, Dean Morrison in 1994 and three-time champion Greg Jones in 2002, 2004, and 2005.
What's more, Kansas City plays host to the event for the first time since 2003 and second time in history, marking the 11th time the postseason tournament has been held in Missouri.
Below are the dates, times and broadcast networks for each championship round:
| Day | Date | Round | Time | Station |
| Thursday morning | March 21 | Session I - First Round | Noon | ESPNU |
| Thursday evening | March 21 | Session II – Second Round & Cons. | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
| Friday morning | March 22 | Session III – Quarterfinals & Cons. | Noon | ESPNU |
| Friday evening | March 22 | Session IV – Semifinals & Blood Round | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
| Saturday morning | March 23 | Session V – Medal Round | 11 a.m. | ESPNU |
| Saturday evening | March 23 | Session VI - Finals | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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