The West Virginia University wrestling team (8-5, 2-5 Big 12) wraps up its four-dual homestand with Clarion as part of Senior Night on Friday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m. ET.
Join us at the WVU Coliseum for Senior Night, where we will honor and celebrate the careers of our eight seniors prior to the dual. The first 200 fans in attendance will receive an embroidered Mountaineer wrestling key tag, and all tickets and select concessions will be available for $1 each in the final Dollar Night of the year.
Fans can catch all the action on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with live stats on Trackwrestling.
West Virginia faces off against former Eastern Wrestling League foe Clarion for the 42nd time in history and first time since 2018, when WVU scored back-to-back pins at 125 and 133 pounds in a 25-13 victory. The Mountaineers hold a 25-14-2 advantage in the series, including eight straight wins dating back to 2011.
WVU defeated Air Force 20-18 to close Big 12 action last Friday, while the Golden Eagles fell to Rider 25-12 to complete their Mid-American Conference (MAC) slate. The loss snapped an eight-match dual winning streak. Clarion is 11-4 overall and 8-2 in conference and looks to be on the road to its first MAC championship since joining the conference in the 2019-20 season.
Coach Keith Ferraro leads the Golden Eagles with an overall record of 64-74 through nine seasons at the helm, which includes three winning seasons. The program won dual meet championships in 1980, 1981 and 1986, as well as tournament championships in 1980, 1994 and 1995 as a member of the EWL, which dissolved after the 2018-19 campaign.
WVU received 23 votes, one vote shy of making the top 25, in the latest NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll. The team also moved up a spot to No. 22 in FloWrestling’s dual rankings, while six Mountaineers remain ranked in the 18th edition of this season’s FloWrestling rankings – No. 8 Killian Cardinale (125), honorable mention Jordan Titus (141), No. 20 Sam Hillegas (149), No. 12 Peyton Hall (165), honorable mention Anthony Carman (184) and No. 14 Michael Wolfgram (HWT). Clarion’s Will Feldkamp is the Eagles’ only starter in the ranking at No. 21 (184).
Of note, the last time a Mountaineer squad won nine duals and posted a better than .500 winning percentage was in 2012, when the team finished the season 9-4. Three years later, the Mountaineers finished 9-9 to complete the 2015 campaign. With a win over Clarion, the 2023 squad would also join the 1959, 1960, 1961, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1975, 1979, 2003, 2004 and 2011 teams to end the season with nine wins.
