Day two of wrestling at the 2024 NCAA Championships has concluded for West Virginia, with Peyton Hall and Ty Watters being the only two Mountaineer wrestlers advancing to day three, becoming All-Americans.
Entering the day, WVU had three wrestlers competing, with Jett Strickenberger (125) and Brody Conley (174) going 0-2 on Thursday, ending their seasons.
In the morning session, Jordan Titus, the No. 13 seed at 141 was eliminated on Friday after losing by fall (6:26) to the No. 14-seeded Jesse Vazquez of Arizona State. Titus, the redshirt sophomore, was making his second consecutive appearance at nationals, he was a Midlands champion in 2024.
Watters, a true freshman and the No. 5 seed at 149 was the only Mountaineer wrestler left in the championship bracket after day one. Watters was matched up against the No. 4-seeded Caleb Henson, an All-American and ACC champion in 2023, in the quarterfinals. Henson defeated Watters by an 8-3 decision, to send him to wrestlebacks.
Hall, an All-American in 2022 and the No. 9 seed at 165 defeated Campbell’s No. 26-seeded Dom Baker in the second round of consolations by fall (2:06). In the next round, Hall beat No. 31-seed Maxx Mayfield of Northwestern by a 15-2 major decision.
In the evening session, Watters won his first match in consolations by pinning his opponent, the No. 26-seeded Jaden Abas in 3:29, guaranteeing him All-American status. Watters is the third true freshman to become an All-American in program history and the first since 2006. In the next round, Watters claimed a 9-2 decision over No. 8-seeded Casey Swiderski to advance to the consolation semi-finals. He’ll open up Saturday by facing the No. 2-seeded Kyle Pacro of Arizona State on Saturday.
Hall secured his status as a 2024 All-American after defeating No. 3-seeded Julian Ramirez of Cornell by an 8-2 decision. Hall becomes the ninth WVU wrestler in history to become a multi-time All-American. Then, Hall would lose by a 14-4 MD to No. 20-seeded Hunter Garvin from Stanford. Hall will wrestle No. 8-seeded Antrell Taylor, who defeated Hall in the second round of the championship bracket 11-9, for seventh place on Saturday.
Medal Rounds begin at 11 a.m. EST on Saturday and will be televised on ESPNU.
Photo courtesy of WVU Athletics
