Lyons Announces 2016-17 Wrestling Schedule
By Ashley Bailey
September 21, 2016
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University Director of Athletics Shane Lyons announced the 2016-17 wrestling schedule on Wednesday.
The slate features five events in West Virginia. Highlighted by the Mountaineer Quad, four events will take place at the WVU Coliseum. Eight of the Mountaineers’ opponents finished the regular season ranked in the top-25 of the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll, and seven finished in the top-25 of the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in New York.
“We are anxious to begin our third year together as a team,” said WVU coach Sammie Henson. “In addition to a tough Big 12 schedule, we have added several solid teams that will prepare us for the NCAA Championships in St. Louis. With some of our past wrestlers graduating, we look to include several new athletes in the lineup.”
WVU starts the season by welcoming Campbell, Pitt and Ohio on Sunday, Nov. 6, for the second annual Mountaineer Quad at the Coliseum. The Mountaineers will take on Campbell at 10 a.m. ET before facing Ohio at 2 p.m. ET that afternoon.
The Journeymen/Asics Northeast Duals on Sunday, Nov. 13, at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York, starts a four-event road trip for West Virginia. Later that week, the Mountaineers travel to Big Ten foe Nebraska for a Friday night dual in Lincoln (8 p.m. ET).
The Mountaineers are set to compete in the 35th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational at the Las Vegas Convention Center from Dec. 2-3. It marks WVU’s third consecutive season at the tournament, where Zeke Moisey, Dylan Cottrell and Jacob A. Smith have all earned podium finishes.
A trip to rival Pitt wraps up the road swing on Sunday, Dec. 11, at Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh in a 2 p.m. ET dual. The Mountaineers have knocked off the nationally ranked Panthers the past two seasons.
The Mountaineers return to West Virginia to host Virginia Tech at Parkersburg High on Sunday, Dec. 18, in a 2 p.m. dual. The match could feature a tilt between West Virginia natives, as WVU's Smith of Charleston VT's Jared Haught of Parkersburg are slated to square off at 197 pounds.
Following a holiday hiatus, WVU travels to the West Coast for a pair of contests to start the New Year. The Mountaineers are slated to take on Cal Poly on Tuesday, Jan. 3, at Robert A. Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo, California. The following day, the squad will face CSU Bakersfield at the Icardo Center in Bakersfield in a 9 p.m. ET dual.
Four more road events follow WVU’s California road swing, though the Mountaineers will stick close to home by returning to Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh for the Pitt Duals on Saturday, Jan. 14. West Virginia will take on Binghamton, Rider and Harvard in a trio of dual meets starting at 9 a.m. ET.
Big 12 action starts on Friday, Jan. 20, when WVU heads to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to face perennial league champion Oklahoma State at 8 p.m. ET at Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Mountaineers will continue on in Norman on Sunday, Jan. 22, with a 1 p.m. ET match against Oklahoma at McCasland Field House.
A trip south will wrap up the trip for West Virginia on Sunday, Feb. 5, when the Mountaineers head to Raleigh, North Carolina, to tangle with NC State in a 1 p.m. ET match at Reynolds Coliseum.
The Mountaineers return to Morgantown for a three-match homestand starting Thursday, Feb. 9, when they welcome second-year Big 12 rival South Dakota State to the WVU Coliseum for a 7 p.m. ET tilt. Iowa State follows on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 2 p.m. ET.
The home slate wraps up on Friday, Feb. 17, when West Virginia plays host to Edinboro at 7 p.m. ET.
WVU completes the regular season on Sunday, Feb. 19, with a trip to Clarion, Pennsylvania, for a 2 p.m. ET tilt at Clarion.
The 2017 Big 12 Championship will take place March 4-5 at BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, while the 2017 NCAA Championships return to the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, March 16-18.
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