West Virginia State’s wrestling squad set the tone for its 2024-25 NCAA season early on with four individual titles at the Southeast Open. The wrestling world saw names like Peyton Hall (at 165lbs) and Ty Watters (149lbs) combined creating a 9-0 record. Then came the All-Star Classic, where Hall went on pin #8 Hunter Garvin which kept the momentum going for WVU. However, Watters performance had started to fall here, which saw an evident impact on the overall scores. Then came the dual on January 8th, where WVU was all set to go against Iowa State. The last dual turned out to be an unfortunate one for WVU!

The Iowa State Cyclones went on to have a clean 24-18 win against WVU. So what changed for the West Virginia State? Well, seems like the roster had a major change. The All-American wrestling favorite, Ty Watters, was nowhere to be found on the mat. What exactly happened that the star wrestler of the Mountaineer lineup that he had to leave mid-season? It all started going downhill at the All-Star Classic for WVU.

Ty, during the matches leading up to the All-Star Classic, had incurred an injury that had started to affect his performance. On the day of duals, #3 ranked Watters had a major reality check. He lost 16-4 to Penn State’s 2023 All-American and No. 2 ranked Shayne Van Ness. It was a hard-fought match, but not enough to win. Post this, Watters was missing from the Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Campbell duals. So what does this mean? As of January 8th, 2025, Ty Watters has officially decided to sit out for the 2024-25 season.

While it seems like one wrestler might not change much, Watters was not just any competitor. But a true game-changer for WVU. With a 30-6 record in his freshman year and a Big 12 title, the decision is bound to echo across the roster as the world saw during the duals against the Cyclones. Now, the future looks uncertain, and that’s a huge blow to the Mountaineers!

What does Ty Watters leaving mean for WVU Mountaineers?

The missing Ty Watters is a serious predicament for WVU. On one hand, Watters has had only three appearances this season. This means that he has the opportunity to take a medical redshirt and preserve his eligibility for another year. No doubt that this is a silver lining, however, it doesn’t change the fact that WVU had big things in mind for Watters this season. However, another senior has stepped in for him.

Sam Hillegas has stepped up to fill the gap. And worry not, Hillegas shows promise! He has already posted two wins in three duals. The loss came in the recent dual where he went up against Iowa State’s Paniro Johnson. It is clear that the road ahead without Watters is not going to be an easy one, but hope remains as Hillegas should not be taken lightly!

In fact, Sam Hillegas has a record that speaks for himself. During the 2023-24 season, he had a 13-4 record. This included 12 bonus-point wins, including 10 pins and 2 tech falls. Additionally, he earned titles at the John Carroll and Storm Open. While Ty Watters’ injury is a major setback, the fight isn’t over just yet for the West Virginia State Mountaineers.