Wrestling

KILLIAN CARDINALE

PEYTON HALL

wrestling

7-3/3-2 Big 12

• Won four of its last five dual meets to end the year ranked No. 22 in the final

Dual Meet Rankings by Intermat and

FloWrestling • In the postseason, WVU finished ninth (57 points) at the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling

Championship and 31st (11.5 points) at the NCAA Division I Wrestling

Championships. The squad placed 43rd at the 2019 tournament, improving 12 places in this year’s team standings • Four Mountaineer grapplers qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Redshirt juniors Killian Cardinale (125) and Noah

Adams (197) and freshman Peyton Hall (165) each earned automatic bids based on their performances at the conference championship, while redshirt freshman

Ryan Sullivan (133) received an at-large selection to punch his ticket • Cardinale earned All-America honors to highlight the Mountaineers’ run at this year’s tournament. Despite Adams receiving NWCA All-America First Team honors last season, Cardinale became the first wrestler in the Tim Flynn era to garner All-America accolades at the

NCAA Championships • Cardinale finished the three-day tournament with a 12-7 win over No. 19-seed Eric Barnett of Wisconsin to earn a seventh-place finish in his respective weight bracket. The last

Mountaineer grappler to finish seventh or higher at the national tournament

was 125-pounder Zeke Moisey, as he earned a runner-up finish at the 2015 event • Hall suffered a setback to No. 2-seed

Anthony Valencia of Arizona State in the 165-pound blood rounds, just short of earning All-America status • Additionally, six WVU wrestlers finished on the podium at the Big 12

Championship, including two thirdplace finishes from Cardinale and

Adams • West Virginia topped its first ranked opponent since the 2018-19 season, defeating No. 17 Northern Colorado in a 25-11 contest on Jan. 31, inside the

WVU Coliseum • Adams started the 2021 season on a seven-match win streak before he dropped an 8-7 battle to No. 14

Stephen Buchanan of Wyoming on Feb. 6 to snap his 39-match win streak.

Greg Jones was the last Mountaineer grappler to win 39 or more consecutive matches, as he won 51 matches in a row from 2003-05 • Eight Mountaineers earned a spot on the 2021 Academic All-Big 12 Wrestling

Teams. The eight honors are a team record and top the previous seasonbest showing of six, set in 2013 and 2020. All but two of the honorees landed on the Academic All-Big 12 First

Team, also a program-best showing

NOAH ADAMS

• NCAA Qualifier at 197 pounds • Placed third in the 197-pound pool of the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling

Championship • Was nationally ranked in the top 10 throughout the season, ranking as high as No. 1 by several wrestling publications • Led the squad with 38 match points and ranked third on the team with 14 wins • Academic All-Big 12 Second Team

JEFFREY BOYD

• Appeared at No. 32 nationally by The

Open Mat • Academic All-Big 12 First Team

KILLIAN CARDINALE

• NCAA Qualifier at 125 pounds • NCAA All-American • NWCA Scholar All-American • Placed seventh in the 125-pound pool of the NCAA Division I Wrestling

Championships • Placed third in his respective weight bracket at the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling

Championship • Was nationally ranked in the top 25 throughout the season • Led the team with 17 wins • WVU Student-Athlete of the Week (March 22)

ANTHONY CARMAN

• Placed eighth in the 184-pound pool of the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling

Championship

HUNTER DELONG

• Academic All-Big 12 Second Team

PEYTON HALL

• NCAA Qualifier at 165 pounds • NWCA Scholar All-American • Earned a 3-2 mark at his firstever NCAA Division I Wrestling

Championships; was one win shy of earning All-America status • Placed fourth in the 165-pound pool of the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling

Championship • Was nationally ranked in the top 25 throughout the season • Ranked second on the team with 16 wins

ALEX HORNFECK

• Placed sixth in the 157-pound pool at the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling

Championship • Academic All-Big 12 First Team

SCOTT JOLL

• Academic All-Big 12 First Team

SEAN MULLICAN

• Academic All-Big 12 First Team

CALEB REA

• Academic All-Big 12 First Team

RYAN SULLIVAN

• NCAA Qualifier at 133 pounds • NWCA Scholar All-American • Was nationally ranked in the top 15 throughout the season

JOEY THOMAS

• Academic All-Big 12 First Team MICHAEL WOLFGRAM

• Placed seventh in the heavyweight division at the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling

Championship