West Virginia Wrestling

Mountaineers Add Pair of Signees

MORGANTOWN. W. Va. (April 25, 2016) – The West Virginia University wrestling team has added two more signees to next season’s freshman class, as coach Sammie Henson announced the addition of Cole Wetzel and Brandon Ngati on Monday.

“Cole and Brandon round out an already tough, hard-nosed group of intellectual young men,” said Henson. “West Virginia has a bright future with student-athletes like Cole, Brandon and our five others signees making up our incoming class.”

Wetzel, who joins the Mountaineers out of Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, wrestled for Boiling Springs High after transferring from Westminster High in Maryland. At Boiling Springs, he was a 2016 state finalist and team captain, as well as an All-Sentinel First Team member and Mid-Penn Team member. Wetzel was also a two-time state finalist in Maryland who twice earned All-Carroll County Times and Baltimore Sun All-Metro First Team honors. In addition to serving as a two-time team captain, he was a three-time Monocacy Valley Athletic League First Team honoree. Wetzel also competed for PA Slam.

The son of Bryan Wetzel and Jody Wilson, Wetzel chose WVU over Lock Haven, Delaware Valley and Bloomsburg. He will look to major in agricultural business.

Hailing from Hagerstown, Maryland, Ngati was a two-year captain at South Hagerstown High. Ngati was a two-time all-state selection and twice placed at the state tournament, including a fourth-place finish as a junior in 2015. A regional champion and two-time all-county selection, he was the 2016 state champion at 285 pounds, earning Herald Mail Wrestler of the Year accolades. Ngati also competed for Hagerstown PAL, where he represented Team Maryland in Pin Cancer’s Border Brawl and was a 2015 Disney Duals All-American. He was also a member of the 2016 Senior All-Star Classic team.

The son of Alexander and Hannah, Ngati was a two-time all-academic team selection. He chose West Virginia over Maryland and Campbell and intends to major in engineering.

Wetzel and Ngati join fellow signees Conner Buttry (Osterburg, Pa./Chestnut Ridge HS), Dayton Garrett (Tuttle, Okla./Tuttle HS), Tucker Leavitt (Chubbock, Idaho/Highland), Matthew Schmitt (Platte City, Mo./Platte County) and Kyler Rea (Neosho, Mo./Neosho).

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