Saturday, March 7
Tulsa, Okla.
1 p.m./8 p.m.
West Virginia University
vs
Big 12 Wrestling Championships
West Virginia Places Fifth, Two Mountaineers Claim Bronze at Big 12 Championships
March 07, 2026 10:20 PM | Wrestling
TULSA, Okla. – Two Mountaineers from the West Virginia University wrestling team placed third as the team secured its highest finish in program history at the 2026 Big 12 Wrestling Championships presented by Allstate at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
West Virginia finished with 77.5 team points to place fifth out of 14 teams. This marks the team's highest finish at the Big 12 Wrestling Championships since the conference expanded in 2016.
Redshirt sophomore No. 4 seed Ty Watters and redshirt junior No. 4 seed Ian Bush each earned bronze to lead the Mountaineers on the second day of the championships. They were one of six WVU wrestlers who earned a spot on the podium.
In his second career appearance at the championship, Watters secured his second podium finish. He defeated Missouri's No. 7 seed Teague Travis by fall in the consolation semifinals before beating South Dakota State's No. 6 seed Cael Swensen by decision, 6-2, in the third-place bout.
In the first 30 seconds against Swensen, Watters secured his first and only takedown. That proved to be all that was needed as he earned the victory.
In the 184-pound bracket, Bush earned two victories to secure his highest career finish at the Big 12 Championship. In the consolation semifinals, he rolled past Northern Colorado's Mahonri Rushton, winning by technical fall, 17-1.
Bush faced North Dakota State's No. 8 seed Aidan Brenot with a bronze medal on the line. Brenot scored the first points of the bout with a takedown in the final seconds of the first period. Bush bounced back with consecutive escapes before scoring a takedown in the second period to lead, 5-3.
A late escape by Brenot cut the deficit to one, but Bush held on to win by decision, 6-4.
Redshirt senior Jordan Titus (141) earned his highest career finish at the championship, placing fifth at 141 pounds. Freshman Gunner Andrick and graduate student Jett Strickenberger lost their final bouts to place fourth in their respective weight classes.
Graduate student Willie McDougald (149) placed eighth, and redshirt freshman Rune Lawrence finished ninth at 197 pounds.
Strickenberger and Watters earned automatic bids to the NCAA Wrestling Championships. West Virginia has five wrestlers who have automatically qualified, and at-large bids will be announced on March 10.
Consolation Semifinal Results
125: No. 3 Jett Strickenberger over No. 5 Conrad Hendriksen (OU) (Dec 8-2)
133: No. 4 Gunner Andrick over No. 6 Gage Walker (Missouri) (Dec 4-1)
141: No. 6 Tyler Wells (OU) over Jordan Titus (Dec 4-1 SV-1)
157: No. 4 Ty Watters over No. 7 Teague Travis (Missouri) (Fall 3:52)
184: No. 4 Ian Bush over Mahonri Rushton (UNC) (TF 17-1)
Seventh Place Match Result
149: No. 5 Josh Edmond (Missouri) over Willie McDougald (Dec 6-1)
Ninth Place Match Result
197: No. 7 Rune Lawrence over Kael Bennie (UVU) (MD 11-2)
Fifth Place Match Result
141: Jordan Titus over No. 4 Julian Tagg (SDSU) (Medical Forfeit)
Third Place Match Results
125: No. 6 Ezekiel Witt (NDSU) over No. 3 Jett Strickenberger (Fall 4:28)
133: No. 5 Julian Farber (UNI) over No. 4 Gunner Andrick (Dec 5-3)
157: No. 4 Ty Watters over No. 6 Cael Swensen (SDSU) (Dec 6-2)
184: No. 4 Ian Bush over No. 8 Aidan Brenot (NDSU) (Dec 6-4)
West Virginia finished with 77.5 team points to place fifth out of 14 teams. This marks the team's highest finish at the Big 12 Wrestling Championships since the conference expanded in 2016.
In his second career appearance at the championship, Watters secured his second podium finish. He defeated Missouri's No. 7 seed Teague Travis by fall in the consolation semifinals before beating South Dakota State's No. 6 seed Cael Swensen by decision, 6-2, in the third-place bout.
In the first 30 seconds against Swensen, Watters secured his first and only takedown. That proved to be all that was needed as he earned the victory.
In the 184-pound bracket, Bush earned two victories to secure his highest career finish at the Big 12 Championship. In the consolation semifinals, he rolled past Northern Colorado's Mahonri Rushton, winning by technical fall, 17-1.
Bush faced North Dakota State's No. 8 seed Aidan Brenot with a bronze medal on the line. Brenot scored the first points of the bout with a takedown in the final seconds of the first period. Bush bounced back with consecutive escapes before scoring a takedown in the second period to lead, 5-3.
A late escape by Brenot cut the deficit to one, but Bush held on to win by decision, 6-4.
Redshirt senior Jordan Titus (141) earned his highest career finish at the championship, placing fifth at 141 pounds. Freshman Gunner Andrick and graduate student Jett Strickenberger lost their final bouts to place fourth in their respective weight classes.
Graduate student Willie McDougald (149) placed eighth, and redshirt freshman Rune Lawrence finished ninth at 197 pounds.
Strickenberger and Watters earned automatic bids to the NCAA Wrestling Championships. West Virginia has five wrestlers who have automatically qualified, and at-large bids will be announced on March 10.
Consolation Semifinal Results
125: No. 3 Jett Strickenberger over No. 5 Conrad Hendriksen (OU) (Dec 8-2)
133: No. 4 Gunner Andrick over No. 6 Gage Walker (Missouri) (Dec 4-1)
141: No. 6 Tyler Wells (OU) over Jordan Titus (Dec 4-1 SV-1)
157: No. 4 Ty Watters over No. 7 Teague Travis (Missouri) (Fall 3:52)
184: No. 4 Ian Bush over Mahonri Rushton (UNC) (TF 17-1)
Seventh Place Match Result
149: No. 5 Josh Edmond (Missouri) over Willie McDougald (Dec 6-1)
Ninth Place Match Result
197: No. 7 Rune Lawrence over Kael Bennie (UVU) (MD 11-2)
Fifth Place Match Result
141: Jordan Titus over No. 4 Julian Tagg (SDSU) (Medical Forfeit)
Third Place Match Results
125: No. 6 Ezekiel Witt (NDSU) over No. 3 Jett Strickenberger (Fall 4:28)
133: No. 5 Julian Farber (UNI) over No. 4 Gunner Andrick (Dec 5-3)
157: No. 4 Ty Watters over No. 6 Cael Swensen (SDSU) (Dec 6-2)
184: No. 4 Ian Bush over No. 8 Aidan Brenot (NDSU) (Dec 6-4)
Players Mentioned
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