Big 12 Wrestling Pre-Seeds Announced, Including Five From WVU

Pre-seeds for the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling Championship, set for March 6 and 7, at the BOK Center, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, were announced by the league office on Monday.

All 12 schools will place a wrestler in each weight class. The seeds, as voted on by an independent five-person panel, will compete over two days for 45 automatic qualifying bids to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, as well as the 2021 Big 12 Championship team title.

The Mountaineers, who finished 10th at the 2020 Big 12 Championship, have five wrestlers seeded inside the top six of their respective weight classes.

Redshirt freshman Ryan Sullivan enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed at 133 pounds. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native holds a 7-2 mark on the year and is 5-1 against Big 12 opponents, with his only conference loss coming against No. 1-seed Daton Fix of Oklahoma State at the Cowboy Challenge on Feb. 14. Sullivan earned himself a spot in the Mountaineers’ starting lineup on Jan. 31 and has topped a trio of ranked opponents during this condensed season. Sullivan,  who looks to compete in his first conference tournament, checks in at No. 16 in latest NCAA Coaches’ Panel Rankings released on Feb. 25.

Freshman Peyton Hall was announced as the No. 2 seed at 165 pounds. Ranked No. 20 in his weight class, the Chester, West Virginia, native has won seven of his last eight matches. He is tied for the team lead in wins with a 10-2 mark and is 5-1 against Big 12 foes. Hall looks to make his first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Should the WVU middle-weight meet No. 1-seed Travis Wittlake of Oklahoma State at the conference championship, he looks to avenge his lone Big 12 loss of the season. His only other loss came to No. 8 Zach Hartman of Bucknell. Hartman claimed a conference title of his own this past weekend competing for the Bison in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA).

Redshirt junior Noah Adams is the No. 3 seed at 197 pounds after posting a 10-2 overall mark and a 5-2 record in Big 12 action. The Coal City, West Virginia, native has topped three opponents ranked inside various wrestling publications this season and comes in at No. 6 second NCAA Coaches’ Panel Rankings. Last season, Adams, the 2020 Big 12 Wrestler of the Year, scored a 5-1 decision over South Dakota State’s Tanner Sloan in the 197-pound finals at the conference championship en route to earning his second automatic bid to nationals. Adams will look to avenge the only two losses he has had since Nov. 3, 2019, both of which came to No. 1-seed Stephen Buchanan of Wyoming. The career head-to-had matchup between these conference is now tied at two wins each.

Redshirt junior Killian Cardinale enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed at 125 pounds. Ranked No. 22 in his weight class, the Bristow, Virginia, native finished the regular season with a 7-3 mark, winning six of his last seven matches. He also is 4-1 against Big 12 opponents, with his only conference loss coming against No. 8-seed Mason Naifeh of Oklahoma on Jan. 17. Cardinale, a transfer from Old Dominion, looks to make his second trip to nationals in his respective weight class. This will be Cardinale’s first postseason wearing a WVU singlet.

Redshirt freshman Anthony Carman captured the No. 6 seed in the 184-pound division. The Glen Dale, West Virginia, native posted six wins on the year and is 4-1 in Big 12 action. Carman, who has battled for the starting role at 184 pounds all season with teammate Jackson Moomau. It appears the Carman is the guy this postseason. He looks to make his postseason collegiate debut at this year’s conference championship.

Lastly, redshirt sophomore Alex Hornfeck (157), sophomore Scott Joll (174), redshirt freshmen Jeffrey Boyd (141) Michael Wolfgram (HWT) and freshman Brayden Roberts (149) will compete unseeded in their respective weight classes at the 2021 Big 12 Wrestling Championship.

Event Schedule

The action starts Saturday with preliminary and quarterfinal rounds set for a noon ET start. The semifinals and consolation quarterfinals will take place at 6 p.m. ET that evening. The consolation semifinals, as well as the third- and fifth-place matches will start at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday, with the championship matches set for 6 p.m. ET.

Broadcast Information

The first three sessions of the championship will be distributed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, the conference’s digital platform, while the championship matches will be televised live on ESPN2. All matches from the championship also will be available on the ESPN App.

Ticket Information

Additionally, single-session tickets are now available online at BOKcenter.com. Ticket prices range from $11 for general admission reserved to $26 for club seats for sessions one through three. Championship round single-session prices range from $15 to $45.

All fans will be in POD seating, which increases distancing and minimizes fan crossover when entering and exiting their seats. Fans must purchase all tickets in a selected POD group, available in select section groupings of two, three, four, five, six and eight seats.

2021 Big 12 Wrestling Championship Single-Session Ticket Prices (Session I-III)
General Admission Reserved             $11.00
Reserved                                            $16.00
Premium Reserved                            $21.00
Club                                                    $26.00

2021 Big 12 Wrestling Championship Single-Session Ticket Prices – Championship Round
General Admission Reserved             $15.00
Reserved                                            $25.00
Premium Reserved                            $35.00
Club                                                    $45.00

2021 Big 12 Wrestling Championship All-Session Ticket Prices
General Admission Reserved             $49.00
Reserved                                            $69.00
Premium Reserved                            $89.00
Club                                                    $109.00