MORGANTOWN — Peyton Hall is now the all-time wins leader for the WVU wrestling team.
The Chester native improved to 29-1 on the season at 165 pounds, as he advanced to the finals of the Big 12 Wrestling Championships at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His 8-2 semifinal win on Saturday night against Arizona State’s Nicco Ruiz gave him career win No. 129, passing former All-American Greg Jones on the school’s all-time list. Hall’s career record is 129-28.
The victory came after Hall – the No. 2 seed at 165 pounds – cruised through the first round with a technical fall over California Baptist’s Daniel Manibog, 15-0. In the quarterfinals, Hall needed overtime to defeat Northern Iowa’s No. 7 seed Jack Thomsen by sudden victory, 9-6.
Jett Strickenberger, the No. 3 seed at 125 pounds, also advanced to the Big 12 finals for the Mountaineers. Strickenberger took down Oklahoma’s No. 6 seed Antonio Lorenzo with a 4-0 decision in the quarterfinals and then followed that up by pinning Northern Colorado’s No. 2 seed Stevo Poulin. No. 24 West Virginia is currently tied for fifth place with Northern Colorado with 63 total points in the team standings.
Despite an early loss in the tournament, redshirt junior Jordan Titus earned three wins in the consolation rounds at 141 pounds to be in contention for third place on the final day of the championships.
With their results, Hall, Strickenberger and Titus each punched their tickets to the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships, which begin March 20 in Philadelphia.
