Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Mountaineer Trio Reaches Big 12 Semifinals
March 09, 2024 04:56 PM | Wrestling
TULSA, Okla. – Redshirt sophomore Jordan Titus, true freshman Ty Watters and senior Peyton Hall led the way for the West Virginia University wrestling team by advancing to the semifinals of their respective weight classes to close out session one of the 2024 Big 12 Championship at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Titus, seeded No. 4 at 141 pounds, started the day off by scoring a 16-4 major decision over California Baptist's Darren Green, before securing a last second takedown on No. 5-seed Clay Carlson of South Dakota State to seal a 6-5 decision and setup a clash with top-seeded Anthony Echemendia of Iowa State.
At 149 pounds, No. 3-seed Watters picked up a pair of bonus-point victories to begin his championship debut. The Imperial, Pennsylvania, native scored a 12-2 major decision over No. 6-seed Maxwell Petersen of North Dakota State to earn spot in the semifinals after claiming a 18-3 technical fall over Joe Fernau of Air Force in the opening round.
Watters battles No. 7-seed Gabe Willochell of Wyoming for a berth into the championship bout at 149 pounds. Willochell caught No. 2-seed Willie McDougald off guard and pinned him in the first period of the quarterfinal match.
Then, No. 3-seed Hall earned a pair of bonus-point victories of his own at 165 pounds to arrange a rematch of last year's semifinal matchup against No. 2-seed David Carr of Iowa State. The Chester, West Virginia, native claimed a 16-1 technical fall over North Dakota State's Brendan Howes, prior to pinning No. 6-seed Cael Carlson for the second time this season.
Additionally, junior Jett Strickenberger (125), senior Caleb Dowling (157), redshirt freshman Brody Conley (174), redshirt junior Dennis Robin (184) and redshirt senior Michael Wolfgram (HWT) remain in contention for a chance at an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Championships in Kansas City, Missouri.
As a team, West Virginia stands in sixth place with 38 team points after one session. Iowa State (71.0) currently leads heading into the second session, as the Cyclones hold a 3.5-point advantage over second place Oklahoma State (67.5). Missouri (58.0), Northern Iowa (45.0), and South Dakota State (43.0) round out the top six.
Session two will showcase the semifinals as well as all three consolation rounds at 6 p.m. ET. Fans can continue to watch all of the championship action on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and follow along with live stats on Trackwrestling.
Preliminaries
125: No. 7 Jett Strickenberger (WVU) won by fall over Tucker Owens (Air Force), [T – 6:37]
133: No. 5 Julian Farber (Northern Iowa) major dec. Davin Rhoads (WVU), 12-3
141: No. 4 Jordan Titus (WVU) major dec. Darren Green (California Baptist), 16-4
149: No. 3 Ty Watters (WVU) tech. fall over Joe Fernau (Air Force), 18-3 [T – 7:00]
157: No. 5 Brock Mauller (Missouri) dec. Caleb Dowling (WVU), 2-1
165: No. 3 Peyton Hall (WVU) tech. fall over Brendan Howes (North Dakota St), 16-1 [T – 4:01]
174: No. 8 Brody Conley (WVU) major dec. Mahonri Rushton (Utah Valley), 13-3
197: Julien Broderson (Iowa St.) dec. No. 8 Austin Cooley (WVU), 5-1
Consolations
133: Kase Mauger (Utah Valley) dec. Davin Rhoads (WVU), 8-3
157: Caleb Dowling (WVU) tech. fall Brooks Gable (Air Force)
197: Xavier Vasquez (Northern Colorado) dec. No. 8 Austin Cooley (WVU), 5-2
Quarterfinals
125: No. 2 seed Troy Spratley (Oklahoma St) dec. No. 7 Jett Strickenberger (WVU), 8-4
141: No. 4 Jordan Titus (WVU) dec. No. 5 Clay Carlson (South Dakota St), 6-5
149: No. 3 Ty Watters (WVU) major dec. No. 6 Maxwell Petersen (North Dakota St), 12-2
165: No. 3 Peyton Hall (WVU) won by fall over No. 6 Cael Carlson (Oklahoma), [T – 4:31]
174: No.1 Cade DeVos (South Dakota St) dec. No. 8 Brody Conley (WVU), 4-1
184: No. 2 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma St) tech. fall over No. 7 Dennis Robin (WVU), 18-3 [T – 5:18]
HWT: No. 2 Yonger Bastida (Iowa St) won by fall over No. 7 Michael Wolfgram (WVU), [T – 2:17]
*No. Seed
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Titus, seeded No. 4 at 141 pounds, started the day off by scoring a 16-4 major decision over California Baptist's Darren Green, before securing a last second takedown on No. 5-seed Clay Carlson of South Dakota State to seal a 6-5 decision and setup a clash with top-seeded Anthony Echemendia of Iowa State.
At 149 pounds, No. 3-seed Watters picked up a pair of bonus-point victories to begin his championship debut. The Imperial, Pennsylvania, native scored a 12-2 major decision over No. 6-seed Maxwell Petersen of North Dakota State to earn spot in the semifinals after claiming a 18-3 technical fall over Joe Fernau of Air Force in the opening round.
Watters battles No. 7-seed Gabe Willochell of Wyoming for a berth into the championship bout at 149 pounds. Willochell caught No. 2-seed Willie McDougald off guard and pinned him in the first period of the quarterfinal match.
Then, No. 3-seed Hall earned a pair of bonus-point victories of his own at 165 pounds to arrange a rematch of last year's semifinal matchup against No. 2-seed David Carr of Iowa State. The Chester, West Virginia, native claimed a 16-1 technical fall over North Dakota State's Brendan Howes, prior to pinning No. 6-seed Cael Carlson for the second time this season.
Additionally, junior Jett Strickenberger (125), senior Caleb Dowling (157), redshirt freshman Brody Conley (174), redshirt junior Dennis Robin (184) and redshirt senior Michael Wolfgram (HWT) remain in contention for a chance at an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Championships in Kansas City, Missouri.
As a team, West Virginia stands in sixth place with 38 team points after one session. Iowa State (71.0) currently leads heading into the second session, as the Cyclones hold a 3.5-point advantage over second place Oklahoma State (67.5). Missouri (58.0), Northern Iowa (45.0), and South Dakota State (43.0) round out the top six.
Session two will showcase the semifinals as well as all three consolation rounds at 6 p.m. ET. Fans can continue to watch all of the championship action on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and follow along with live stats on Trackwrestling.
Preliminaries
125: No. 7 Jett Strickenberger (WVU) won by fall over Tucker Owens (Air Force), [T – 6:37]
133: No. 5 Julian Farber (Northern Iowa) major dec. Davin Rhoads (WVU), 12-3
141: No. 4 Jordan Titus (WVU) major dec. Darren Green (California Baptist), 16-4
149: No. 3 Ty Watters (WVU) tech. fall over Joe Fernau (Air Force), 18-3 [T – 7:00]
157: No. 5 Brock Mauller (Missouri) dec. Caleb Dowling (WVU), 2-1
165: No. 3 Peyton Hall (WVU) tech. fall over Brendan Howes (North Dakota St), 16-1 [T – 4:01]
174: No. 8 Brody Conley (WVU) major dec. Mahonri Rushton (Utah Valley), 13-3
197: Julien Broderson (Iowa St.) dec. No. 8 Austin Cooley (WVU), 5-1
Consolations
133: Kase Mauger (Utah Valley) dec. Davin Rhoads (WVU), 8-3
157: Caleb Dowling (WVU) tech. fall Brooks Gable (Air Force)
197: Xavier Vasquez (Northern Colorado) dec. No. 8 Austin Cooley (WVU), 5-2
Quarterfinals
125: No. 2 seed Troy Spratley (Oklahoma St) dec. No. 7 Jett Strickenberger (WVU), 8-4
141: No. 4 Jordan Titus (WVU) dec. No. 5 Clay Carlson (South Dakota St), 6-5
149: No. 3 Ty Watters (WVU) major dec. No. 6 Maxwell Petersen (North Dakota St), 12-2
165: No. 3 Peyton Hall (WVU) won by fall over No. 6 Cael Carlson (Oklahoma), [T – 4:31]
174: No.1 Cade DeVos (South Dakota St) dec. No. 8 Brody Conley (WVU), 4-1
184: No. 2 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma St) tech. fall over No. 7 Dennis Robin (WVU), 18-3 [T – 5:18]
HWT: No. 2 Yonger Bastida (Iowa St) won by fall over No. 7 Michael Wolfgram (WVU), [T – 2:17]
*No. Seed
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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