Day 2 of the NCAA Wrestling Championships contained much excitement and competition for Strickenberger and Hall, with two crucial rounds to determine advancement and All-American honors. Read more Hall Becomes Third Mountaineer to Earn 3 Career All-American Honors.
Back-to-Back Overtime Matches Knock Strickenberger Out of the Competition
In the first day of the NCAA Championships, Strickenberger performed impressively with a 7-2 victory over North Dakota State, and a major decision of 18-6 over Wisconsin.
In day two, Strickenberger (No. 6 seed) took on Eddie Ventresca (No. 3 seed) of Virginia Tech. Strickenberger fought hard, pushing the match into overtime. Ultimately Strickenberger fell in sudden victory, to a 4-1 decision.
Returning to the mat in round 2 of the NCAA Championships, Strickenberger faced Caleb Smith (No. 9 seed). For the second time, Strickenberger took the match into overtime – unfortunately falling 12-9. This would end Strickenberger’s tournament run.
READ MORE: WVU Wrestling Wraps Up Day 1 at NCAA Championships
Hall Advances to Semifinals and Receives a Milestone Achievement
Following his impressive performances from day 1 of competition, Hall showed up to the second day ready to fight. Hall (No. 2 seed) took on Hunter Garvin (No. 7 seed) of Stanford, and in a close match came out victorious with a 6-5 victory.
Due to this performance, Hall became only the third wrestler in WVU history to earn 3 career All-American honors.
Hall Becomes Third Mountaineer to Earn 3 Career All-American Honors | WVU Wrestling X
Hall Falls in Semifinals
In the 165 semifinals, Peyton Hall (No. 2 seed) battled with Iowa’s Mike Caliendo No. 3 seed).
Hall was battling for a spot in the finals, but ultimately lost to a 14-10 decision.
Despite the loss, Hall is still in contention for third place which will make for an extremely interesting day 3 of the NCAA Championship Tournament.
On March 22nd, the first round will begin at 11a.m., and the second round will begin at 7p.m. These matches can be found and streamed live on ESPN+.
