2018 NCAA Tournament

Final Results

By Amy Salvatore

March 15, 2018

A Trio of Mountaineers Remain in Contention for Third

CLEVELAND, Ohio – After two sessions of wrestling, all three West Virginia University grapplers are alive in the consolation bracket of the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships held at Quicken Loans Arena, in Cleveland, Ohio, on Thursday.

No. 13 Zeke Moisey, a redshirt junior, won a 10-7 decision in his first-round match up against Virginia Tech's Kyle Norstrem to advance to the championship second round at 125 pounds. However, a Thursday evening loss to No. 4 seed Nick Suriano of Rutgers pushed him into Friday morning's wrestle-backs, where he will face Big 12 foe Conner Brown of South Dakota State. Redshirt freshman Matthew Schmitt (133) and redshirt senior Jacob A. Smith (197) each dropped their first-round bouts, but bounced back with wins in the first round of wrestle-backs. Schmitt will face Anthony Tutolo of Kent, and Smith is slated to meet Patrick Brucki of Princeton Friday morning.

The second and third round of wrestle-backs (Session III) will begin at 11 a.m. ET on Friday, followed by the fourth round of wrestle-backs (Session IV) at 8 p.m. ET that evening. Medal rounds (Session V) will take place at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, with the championship finals (Session VI) set for 8 p.m. ET Saturday night.

Coverage is available on ESPNU, ESPN2 and ESPN. Live stats for all matches are available on TrackWrestling. Mat-by-mat matches also will be shown on ESPN3.

"We showed a lot of fight in this round," said fourth-year coach Sammie Henson. "Both Schmitt and Jake had huge wins in their wrestle-backs. You have to commit to riding tough and grinding it out in this tournament. Our men are fighting and leaving it all on the mat. We need to keep it going one match at a time and be ready to come out and attack in tomorrow morning's session."

Moisey, a former NCAA finalist at 125 pounds, held on to win a 10-7 decision over Norstrem in the first round of the championship bracket. The Northampton, Pennsylvania, native used a pair of takedowns in the first to take the 4-2 lead after one. Norstrem started the second in the defensive position, quickly earning an escape to bring him within one on the scoreboard. Moisey then added another takedown before Norstrem tacked on a penalty point to make the score 6-4 at the end of the second. Moisey notched an escape in the final frame and later collected his fourth takedown, tacking on the point for riding time, to win the 10-7 decision over Norstrem.

Moisey then dropped his second match of the day, falling to Suriano in 2 minutes, 57 seconds in the round of 16, to move into Friday morning's consolation bracket. Moisey and Brown previously met back in Mid-February, with Moisey earning the 8-3 decision in Morgantown.

Schmitt dropped a 15-2 major decision to No. 1 seed Seth Gross of South Dakota State in the first round of the 133-pound bracket. The Platte City, Missouri, native then bounced back to win a major decision of his own over Duke's Josh Finesilver in his first consolation bout. Schmitt scored 14 points in the first and never looked back, as he took a commanding 14-3 lead into the second period. He then added a reversal, as he continued to hold a 10-point advantage entering the final frame. Finesilver scored a reversal of his own in the third, but it wasn't nearly enough, as Schmitt tacked on another takedown and the point for riding time in scoring the 19-8 major decision. He will face Tutolo in his second wrestle-back bout on Friday morning. The two grapplers have not met this season.

Smith also moved on to the 197-pound wrestle-backs after dropping a hard-fought 3-0 decision to No. 2 seed Ben Darmstadt. Following two scoreless periods, Darmstadt chose to start the final frame on bottom. It didn't take long for Darmstadt to score a reversal from there, as he claimed the riding time point and the 3-0 decision. Despite the loss, Smith rebounded with a win in the consolation bracket, pinning Central Michigan's Jordan Atienza in 2:54 for his first win by fall this season. Smith will go head-to-head with Brucki for the second time this season in Friday morning's wrestle-backs, as Brucki picked up the 7-4 decision at the Midlands Championships back in December.

Of note, wrestlers in the consolation brackets remain in contention for third place and All-America honors.

Championship Round 1
125: No. 13 Zeke Moisey (WVU) dec. Kyle Norstrem (Virginia Tech), 10-7
133: No. 1 Seth Gross (SDSU) major dec. Matthew Schmitt (WVU), 15-2
197: No. 2 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) dec. Jacob A. Smith (WVU), 3-0

Championship Round of 16
125: No. 4 Nick Suriano (Rutgers) wins by fall No. 13 Zeke Moisey (WVU), F 2:57

Consolation Round 1
133: Matthew Schmitt (WVU) major dec. Josh Finesilver (Duke), 19-8
197: Jacob A. Smith (WVU) wins by fall Jordan Atienza (Central Michigan), F 2:54

Moisey’s Near-Perfect Day Highlights Day Two at NCAAs
March 16, 2018

CLEVELAND, Ohio – No. 13 seed Zeke Moisey (125) of the West Virginia University wrestling team became a two-time All-American on Friday evening, as he upset No. 7 seed Taylor LaMont of Utah Valley in the 125-pound blood rounds of the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, at Quicken Loans Arena, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Moisey, a redshirt junior, went 3-1 on the day and is 4-2 in the tournament thus far to remain in contention for seventh place, as he takes on No. 9 seed Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State on Saturday morning. Live coverage will be available on ESPNU starting at 11 a.m. ET. Live stats for all matches are available on TrackWrestling. Mat-by-mat matches also will be shown on ESPN3.

"I'm so proud of the way our men competed today," said fourth-year coach Sammie Henson. "There were some tough matches throughout the day, but it was truly special to share that moment with Zeke for a second time. I can't imagine how he feels with all he has been through. This has been a good year, and we are moving in the right direction with the style of wrestling that Mountaineers can be proud of. Mountaineer wrestling has a bright future, and I want to thank the fans, alumni, administration and my support staff for all they do."

The Northampton, Pennsylvania, native returned to the spotlight for the first time since his runner-up finish in 2015, starting his day off with a pair of decisions over Big 12 foe Conner Brown of South Dakota State and Travis Piotrowski of Illinois. Sporting a perfect 2-0 record in Session III, Moisey advanced to the fourth round of wrestle-backs later that evening, eventually earning All-America honors for the second time in his career. He became the first Mountaineer to earn the award twice since Brandon Rader won it in 2006 and 2007.

In Session IV, Moisey squared off against Big 12 foe LaMont for the fourth time this season, picking up the 8-5 decision in the blood rounds. The familiar face did not stop the 125-pound grappler from putting on a show, as Moisey scored an early takedown for the 2-1 lead and never looked back. LaMont elected to start on bottom, escaping 20 seconds into the second period to tie the match at 2-2. Moisey then added another takedown, making the score 4-2 in his favor. He later chose to cut LaMont loose, which eventually led to a late takedown from LaMont, as he took a 5-4 lead into the final frame. Moisey started the third in the defensive position, notching an escape to tie the match once again at 5-5. He then posted his third takedown of the match with under a minute remaining, riding LaMont through the period to earn the 8-5 decision.

However, No. 8 seed Ethan Lizak of Minnesota, a 2017 NCAA finalist at 125 pounds, halted Moisey's perfect day. Unfortunately, Moisey suffered a shoulder injury 30 seconds into the first stanza, as Lizak won by fall in 1 minute, 43 seconds.

Redshirt senior Jacob A. Smith (197) and redshirt freshman Matthew Schmitt (133) recorded a 2-2 mark at the NCAA Tournament, as both of their runs also came to an end in the third round of wrestle-backs Friday afternoon. Smith dropped a 4-3 decision to No. 8 seed Nate Rotert of South Dakota State in the 197-pound wrestle-backs, while Schmitt suffered a 5-2 setback to No. 10 seed Jack Mueller of Virginia in the 133-pound consolation bracket.

The Charleston, West Virginia, native advanced to the third round of wrestle-backs with a 2-0 win over Princeton's Patrick Brucki. Smith notched an escape with two seconds into the second stanza, as he took the 1-0 advantage into the final frame. Brucki then started the third in the defensive position, but Smith rode him through the period, tacking on the riding time point for the 2-0 decision in the third round of wrestle-backs.

In the next bout, Smith went head-to-head with Rotert in a Big 12 Championship finals rematch. The two wrestlers kept it close once again, with the match knotted at three apiece in the final frame. However, Smith got caught with his third stall call, putting the score in favor of Rotert, 4-3, with under a minute to go. The clock proceeded to wind down, as Smith suffered a 4-3 setback to Rotert. Smith concluded his career as a four-time NCAA qualifier. He racked up 92 career wins in a Mountaineer singlet, just three wins shy of an appearance on WVU's all-time career wins list.

Schmitt earned his fourth pin of the season in the second round of wrestle-backs vs. Kent State's Anthony Tutolo. With less than a minute remaining in regulation, Schmitt escaped to push the match into sudden victory tied at 2-2. Neither wrestler scored in the first overtime period, as Tutolo elected to start the second in the down position. Schmitt quickly went to work, earning the pin in 8 minutes, 30 seconds to advance to the third round.

However, Schmitt's tournament run came to an end, as he dropped a hard-fought 5-2 decision to Mueller. The Platte City, Missouri, native recorded a 2-2 mark at his first-ever NCAA Tournament, completing his first season in a Mountaineer singlet with a 23-14 record to rank second on the team.

Of note, WVU has qualified 13 wrestlers to the national tournament in the Henson era.

Consolation Round 2
125: No. 13 Zeke Moisey (WVU) dec. Conner Brown (SDSU), 10-4
133: Matthew Schmitt (WVU) wins by fall Anthony Tutolo (Kent), F 8:30 [SV-2]
197: Jacob A. Smith (WVU) dec. Patrick Brucki (Princeton), 2-0

Consolation Round 3
125: No. 13 Zeke Moisey (WVU) dec. Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), 5-0
133: No. 10 Jack Mueller (Virginia) dec. Matthew Schmitt (WVU), 5-2
197: No. 8 Nate Rotert (SDSU) dec. Jacob A. Smith (WVU), 4-3

Consolation Round 4
125: No. 13 Zeke Moisey (WVU) dec. No. 7 Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley), 8-5

Consolation Round 5
125: No. 8 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) wins by fall No. 13 Zeke Moisey (WVU), F 1:43

Moisey Places Eighth at Nationals
March 17, 2018

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Two-time All-American Zeke Moisey (125) of the West Virginia University wrestling team earned an eighth-place finish in the 125-pound pool of the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, at Quicken Loans Arena, in Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday morning.

No. 13 seed Moisey, a redshirt junior, took a medical forfeit over No. 9 seed Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State, finishing the three-day tournament with a 4-3 overall record. Moisey earned his team-leading 26th win of the season Friday evening, as he upset No. 7 seed Taylor LaMont of Utah Valley in the fourth round of wrestle-backs to earn All-America status for the second time in his career.

The Northampton, Pennsylvania, native became the first Mountaineer to earn All-America honors twice since Brandon Rader won it in 2006 and 2007. Moisey, a three-time NCAA Qualifier, returned to the spotlight for the first time since his runner-up finish in 2015, as he currently sports a team-best 8-4 mark in NCAA Tournament action. At this year's championships, Moisey scored a team-high 5.5 points for the Mountaineers.

Redshirt senior Jacob A. Smith and redshirt freshman Matthew Schmitt also joined Moisey at the 2018 NCAA Championships, as the trio led WVU to a 30th-place finish with 11.5 team points. WVU placed 57th at last year's tournament, improving 27 places in this year's team standings.

Smith suffered a setback to No. 8 seed Nate Rotert of South Dakota State in Friday's third round of wrestle-backs at 197 pounds, concluding his career as a four-time NCAA Qualifier. The Charleston, West Virginia, native racked up 92 career wins in a Mountaineer singlet, just three wins shy of an appearance on WVU's all-time career wins list.

Schmitt's tournament run also came to an end in Friday's third round of wrestle-backs at 133 pounds, as he dropped a decision to No. 10 seed Jack Mueller of Virginia. The Platte City, Missouri, native recorded a 2-2 mark at his first-ever NCAA Tournament, completing his first season in a Mountaineer singlet with a 23-14 record to rank second on the team.

Of note, WVU has qualified 13 wrestlers to the national tournament in the Sammie Henson era. Seven-Place Match
125: No. 9 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) wins by medical forfeit over No. 13 Zeke Moisey (WVU)

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