West Virginia University Athletics

Two-time NCAA finalist Mitchell Port is in his eighth season at West Virginia University and was announced as an assistant coach in April 2018.
 
During the 2025 season, two Mountaineers won Big 12 titles, five qualified for the NCAA Championships, and one became an NCAA All-American.
 
The Mountaineers continued rewriting the record books during their 2024 campaign, eclipsing the double-digit win mark for the 18th time in program history and first in back-to-back seasons since 1990 and 1991. They were featured in the NWCA rankings throughout the season, opening the year at No. 24 and reaching as high as No. 17 to end the month of January before concluding the regular season ranked for the first time since 2005 (No. 19).
 
WVU's success carried into the postseason, as the squad scored a 97.5 team total at the Big 12 Championship for their highest point total since joining the Big 12 while matching the program’s best finish at the postseason spectacle since the conference expanded from four schools to 10 in 2016 (6th – 65.5 team points). The group wrapped up the postseason with a 17th-place finish after scoring 31.5 team points at the NCAA Championships - turning in the highest finish for the program since 2004 (16th – 31.0)
 
West Virginia experienced great individual success as well. The squad saw five Mountaineers earn a spot to compete on the national stage, which marked the fifth consecutive year in which four or more grapplers qualified for the NCAA Championships during Port’s tenure with the program. 
 
Senior Peyton Hall (165) and true freshman Ty Watters (149) led the way by becoming the first Mountaineer duo to reach All-America status in the same season since 2005. Hall secured the second All-America honor of his college career to become the ninth WVU grappler to earn the recognition multiple times, while Watters joined elite company as the third-ever true freshman in program history to claim All-America status and first Mountaineer to take home the honor at 149 pounds. Additionally, the true freshman became the first grappler in school history to win a Big 12 Championship and earn a top-8 finish on the mat at nationals, as well as the 13th wrestler in program history to win a conference title and reach All-America status in the same season.

In 2023, West Virginia hit the double-digit win mark for the 17th time in program history and the first time since 2014. The team also made its first appearance in the NWCA Top 25 since January 2016, ranking as high as No. 23 after capturing a pair of wins over Ohio and No. 21 Pitt. Stellar individual performances in those duals saw eight Mountaineers break into the national rankings for the first time since 2003, with six earning a spot to compete on the national stage for the first time since 2012.
 
Fifth-year senior Killian Cardinale (125) capped off the season by capturing his second All-America honor with an eighth-place finish at nationals and extending the program’s streak to four straight seasons with at least one All-American. Cardinale joined Mark Banks, Whitey Chlebove, Mike Mason, Greg Jones, Vertus Jones, Brandon Rader and Zeke Moisey as the eighth WVU wrestler to be named an All-American multiple times sporting the Gold and Blue.

In 2022, West Virginia claimed four NCAA qualifiers for the second straight season, in addition to its third Big 12 Champion and third All-American in as many years. The team also eclipsed its record for most wrestlers on the Academic All-Big 12 team with nine, including a record-breaking seven on the first team.
 
The Mountaineers scored 62 points to place seventh in the final Big 12 Championship standings, while landing seven wrestlers on the podium to match a program-best set by the 2015-16 squad.
 
Redshirt senior Killian Cardinale (125) and sophomore Peyton Hall (165) led off the postseason run by becoming the first Mountaineer duo to reach the Big 12 finals of their respective weight classes since the combination of Zeke Moisey (125) and Jake Smith (197) made the finals in 2018. Top-seeded Cardinale recoded an 8-3 decision over 2021 Big 12 Champion and third-seeded Brody Teske (Northern Iowa) to join former WVU standouts Dylan Cottrell (2017) and Noah Adams (2020) as the only other Mountaineers to reach the top of the Big 12 since West Virginia moved to the conference in 2012 and becomes the second to do it during Ports time in Morgantown.
 
Success continued as Cardinale, and Hall reached the quarterfinals at the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Detroit. Both finished in the top 12, while Hall secured his spot on the podium as an All-American after scoring an 11-3 major decision over No.19-seed Justin McCoy of Virginia. The Chester, West Virginia, native joined Jimmie Cox, Mike Mason, Sam Kline, Brandon Rader, and Noah Adams as the sixth WVU wrestler from the state of West Virginia to be named an All-American. In addition, Hall is the first WVU grappler to take home the honor at 165 pounds; Mark Banks reached the feat twice at 167 pounds back in 1990 and 1991.
 
In 2021, Port helped guide the Mountaineers to a 7-3 record for their first winning season since 2014 and a 31st place finish at the NCAA Championships to close out the abbreviated campaign. He went on to witness Cardinale earn All-America status at 125 pounds. Cardinale is the second All-American in coach Port’s four years with the Mountaineers and the first since Mountaineer standout Noah Adams earned the honor at 197 pounds in 2020. The Bristow, Virginia, native was also the first to earn the honor at 125 pounds since Zeke Moisey in 2018.
 
WVU placed 10th at the 2020 Big 12 Wrestling Championship before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Noah Adams’ performances highlighted the 2019-20 season, as he won the 197-pound title at the conference tournament to cap an undefeated season at 32-0. Adams, a two-time NCAA Qualifier, was the nation’s second-seeded wrestler heading into the NCAA Tournament.
 
The 197-pound grappler finished his redshirt sophomore campaign with several postseason accolades, most notably earning National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) All-America First Team honors, as well as becoming the program’s first Big 12 Wrestler of the Year award winner.
 
In Port’s first season in Morgantown, he helped five Mountaineers qualify for the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, marking the first time since 2014 that five grapplers earned themselves a spot at nationals.
 
As a team, West Virginia earned four dual-match wins and placed ninth at the 2019 Big 12 Wrestling Championship.

Port previously served as an assistant at Edinboro and played an integral part in the Fighting Scots’ success over three seasons, assisting with the production of 12 Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) champions, 14 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) champions, 19 NCAA Qualifiers and one NCAA All-American. Port also helped the team to back-to-back PSAC Championships (2016-17), as well as a first-place finish at the 2017 EWL Championships.
 
A three-time All-American for Edinboro, Port concluded his wrestling career with a 132-17 record at 141 pounds, finishing as an NCAA finalist as a sophomore and senior and taking home third place as a junior.

Port’s runner-up finish in 2015 helped Tim Flynn’s Fighting Scots to their highest-ever finish at nationals, placing third, with a record-tying four wrestlers earning All-America honors. Port’s senior leadership also garnered him WrestlingReport.com’s Pennsylvania Collegiate Wrestler of the Year accolades.

The Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, native became a three-time All-American after reaching the NCAA finals for the second time in three years. Seeded second at the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Port won his first four matches, including a 9-4 decision over No. 7-seed Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers in the quarterfinals and a 14-2 major decision over No. 11-seed Chris Mecate of Old Dominion in the semifinals. Port then dropped an 11-5 decision to top-seeded, four-time national champion Logan Stieber of Ohio State in the finals.
 
Port capped his senior campaign with a 36-2 record, posting 13 falls, two tech falls and nine major decisions. He won his fourth straight PSAC title, along with a third EWL crown, and picked up his second Midlands Championships title.
 
After redshirting his freshman year, Port enjoyed an outstanding first season as the starter at 141 pounds (2011-12). He ended the year with a 30-10 record, reaching the round of 12 at the NCAA Championships. He also finished second at the EWL Championships and won his first PSAC crown.
 
Port's second trip to nationals resulted in a run to the title match after a 7-6 upset over top-seeded Hunter Stieber of Ohio State in the semifinals. However, Port suffered a 4-3 setback to No. 2-seed Kendric Maple of Oklahoma in the 141-pound championship match. He ended his redshirt sophomore season with a 34-4 record and was named the EWL and PSAC Wrestler of the Year. He also won his first EWL crown and second PSAC title.
 
In 2013-14, Port became a two-time All-American with a third-place finish at 141 pounds. He ended the year with a 32-1 record, notching 13 falls. He claimed his second EWL and third PSAC title, earning EWL Wrestler of the Year honors for the second time. He also won his first Midlands Championships crown.
 
Port graduated from Edinboro in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in individualized studies.
 
In addition, Port was inducted into the Bellefonte High School Wrestling Hall of Fame on Jan. 10, 2017. He is the winningest wrestler in Red Raider history with 156 career victories.