In addition, the MAC has three other wrestlers ranked in the top five of their respective weight classes, including Lavion Mayes from Missouri, who is ranked No. 3 at the 141 weight class, John Eblen of Missouri at No. 4 at the 174 weigh class and Jack Dechow of Old Dominion, who is ranked No. 4 at the 184 weight class.
2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships Brackets
ESPN Coverage Schedule of 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships
WATCH ESPN3 - 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships
Live Stats via Trackwrestling.com
List of 38 MAC Qualifiers
Broadcast Information:
ESPN will provide full coverage of the entire 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The first, second (March 19) and quarterfinal rounds (March 20) will be televised on ESPNU, while the semifinals (March 20) and finals (March 21) will be aired in prime time on ESPN, as well as the medal round (March 21). All content will also be available on the WatchESPN app.
2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships Schedule of Events - All Times Eastern
Thursday (March 19)
First Session - 12 p.m. (ESPNU)
Pigtails and First-Round
Second Session - 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Preliminaries: Wrestleback Preliminaries, Wrestleback First
Round; Championship Round: Second Round, Consolation Round)
Friday (March 20)
Third Session - 11 a.m. (ESPNU)
Quarterfinals and Wrestlebacks
Fourth Session - 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Semifinals and Wrestlebacks
Saturday (March 21)
Fifth Session - 11 a.m. (ESPNU)
Wrestleback Semifinals and 3rd, 5th, 7th Medal Rounds
Sixth Sessions - 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Finals and Award Ceremony
Central Michigan Notes:
Three Chippewas Hit Championship Mats
ST. LOUIS - It's only for the best of the best. Three Central Michigan wrestlers will see how they stack up in that field this weekend at the NCAA Championships at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Zach Horan (141 pounds), Colin Heffernan (149) and Jordan Ellingwood (174) will partake in the three-day event, which begins on Thursday. The top eight in each weight class earn All-America status.
Horan, a junior, is in the NCAA Championships for the third time in his career. Last year he finished 2-2 in the tournament. Ellingwood and Heffernan are freshmen.
Horan is 20-4 on the season, seeded 10th, and will open against unseeded Matthew Kraus (20-10) of Arizona State. Horan and Kraus have never met. Horan has won 11 straight matches and 18 of his last 20.
All four of Horan's losses came to wrestlers who are in the bracket in St. Louis, including No. 2 Mitchell Port (32-1) of Edinboro, a potential quarterfinal opponent for Horan.
"He's going to have to wrestle really well," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said of Horan. "He's capable of that and he really needs to stay focused and wrestle one match at a time, not get caught up in the tournament, just stay within himself and wrestle to the best of his abilities and I think he'll be fine."
The Horan-Kraus winner will face either seventh-seeded Anthony Ashnault (26-6) of Rutgers or Mike Longo (21-14) of Appalachian State.
Heffernan (22-12) is slated to open against ninth-seeded Gabe Moreno (26-6) of Iowa State. The other side of the bracket pits eighth-seeded Alexander Richardson (25-7) of Old Dominion against Chris Perez (16-9) of Princeton. Heffernan and Richardson met earlier this season, with Richardson taking a 5-2 decision.
Heffernan and Moreno split their two meetings this season. Moreno won the first, 7-6, during a dual meet in November; Heffernan took the second, 12-7, at the Southern Scuffle in January.
"I think it always is an advantage to have wrestled a guy already because you kind of know what to expect," Borrelli said. "I think psychologically it kind of takes some anxiety away."
Ellingwood (18-11) is scheduled to open against Blaise Butler (18-4) of Virginia with the winner advancing to face either Jadaen Bernstein (25-13) of Navy or Kyle Crutchmer (19-6) of Oklahoma State. Butler is seeded fifth, Crutchmer 12th.
Ellingwood and Butler have never met.
"I just want all three of them (Horan, Heffernan and Ellingwood) to wrestle hard every minute of every match and I think if they do that they can be happy with themselves and we'll be happy with them," Borrelli said. "If they do that they're all capable of accomplishing some things."
Eastern Michigan Notes:
Eagles Send Two Grapplers To NCAA Wrestling Championships
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Redshirt-senior Brandon Zeerip and redshirt-junior Anthony Abro are headed to St. Louis, Mo. for the 2015 NCAA Championships Thursday-Saturday, March 19-21.
Scouting The Field: The 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will see a field of 330 wrestlers (33 per weight class). Of those 330 spots, 290 of them were determined via automatic qualification, while the remaining 40 spots were selected at-large by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee.
Abro's Road To St. Louis: Redshirt-junior Anthony Abro punched his first career ticket to the NCAA Championships after placing fifth in the 197 lb. weight class at the Mid-American Conference Championships. Abro earned the Eagles' lone automatic bid to the championships after nabbing a 3-1 decision over Basil Minto of Northern Iowa in the fifth-place match. This season the Canton, Mich. native has posted his first-ever 20-win season, going 23-13 with 18 decisions, two major decisions, two pins, one sudden victory and one overtime win. Abro posted a five-bout win streak, while also placing sixth at the Keystone Classic for the Green and White. The redshirt-junior wil look to avenge his earlier 6-2 loss to the nationally-ranked Phil Wellington of Ohio when the two meet up in the first round of the championships.
Zeerip Earns Second At-Large Bid To Championships: Redshirt-senior Brandon Zeerip received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships after earning an at-large bid in the 2014 season as well. Zeerip grabbed an at-large bid after placing fifth at the Mid-American Conference Championships, March 7-8. The Fremont, Mich. native went 2-2 at the conference championships and has posted a 23-13 overall record to mark his second 20-win season as an Eagle. The redshirt-senior has tallied 17 decisions on the season along with three major decisions, two pins and one win by injury default. Zeerip will face off with Dylan Ness of Minnesota in the first round at 157 lbs.
Eagles Back On The Big Stage: The 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships mark the sixth consecutive season in which Eastern Michigan wrestling has sent two-or-more grapplers to the competition. Last season, the Eagles sent four wrestlers to Oklahoma City, Okla. for the national tournament, while two EMU grapplers made the trek to the NCAA Championships in 2013 and four grapplers in 2012 where heavyweight Wes Schroeder became the first EMU wrestler since Phillip Plowman (133 lbs.) in the 2006 season to advance to in the championship bracket.
Kent State Notes:
Five Golden Flashes Begin NCAA Championships Friday
Kent State will be well represented at the 85th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships March 19-21, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Sending five wrestlers this season, the Golden Flashes look to extend their six-year trend of having at least one All-American. Junior 157-pounder Ian Miller has his sights set even higher following a fourth place finish at last year’s NCAA Championships. Miller will be joined by Mack McGuire, Tyler Small, Mike DePalma and Mimmo Lytle.
The 2015 season marks the ninth time in 10 years the Golden Flashes have sent five or more wrestlers to the national tournament and 10th consecutive season Kent State has sent four or more. All 10 weight classes will have 33-man brackets battling for All-America (Top 8) honors. Thursday’s opening session begins at 12 Eastern/11 Central.
Every Session Televised, Every Match Covered: All six sessions will be televised on either ESPN or ESPNU and every match will be carried on ESPN3 throughout the entire three-day competition. Friday night’s semifinals (Session IV) and Saturday night’s finals (Session VI) can be seen on ESPN, both beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern. Sessions I, II, III and V can be seen on ESPNU. Adam Amin and Shawn Kenney will call the action and Quint Kessenich will be the reporter. All eight individual mat feeds will be carried on ESPN3 throughout the entire tournament. Computer users will be able to view four different mats at one time. Live scoring of all matches will be available on TrackWrestling.com throughout the tournament. Look for live updates on Twitter by following @KentStWrestl.
Projected Opening Round Matchups with Seeds:
133: 16 Mack McGuire (29-11) vs. Gary Wayne Harding (28-11) Oklahoma State
141: Tyler Small (32-13) vs. 4 Devin Carter (29-3) Virginia Tech
149: Mike DePalma (21-17) vs. 13 Charles Cobb (20-5) Penn
157: 7 Ian Miller (12-4) vs. Doug Welch (27-11) Purdue
285: Mimmo Lytle (28-18) vs. 12 Denzel Dejournette (32-4) Appalachian State
Tournament History:
Since 2009, five Golden Flashes have combined for eight All-American finishes, including two national final appearances by Dustin Kilgore, who became Kent State’s first national champion in 2011. Twenty different Golden Flashes have combined for 24 All-American finishes at the NCAA Championships dating back to Cameron Falcone’s third place finish in 1939. That season under Head Coach Joe Begala, the Golden Flashes finished 12th as a team. Begala’s teams earned fifth place in both 1941 and 1942, the highest finishes in program history. Until Kilgore’s championship in 2011, 1941 & 1942 were the only two seasons in which Kent State wrestlers (Mike Slepecky, Walter Porowski) earned spots in the championship finals. With the efforts of Begala, the M.A.C. Center in Kent served as the host of the NCAA Championships in 1963 and 1967.
Last year in Oklahoma City, Ian Miller knocked off defending NCAA champion Derek St. John (Iowa) on his way to a fourth place finish. Mike DePalma went 2-2 in his first NCAA appearance. As a team, the Golden Flashes finished tied for 29th place, while Penn State won its fourth consecutive NCAA championship.
Quick Shots:
• Six Flashes were ranked in the Top 30 spots of the latest NCAA Coaches Panel.
• Kent State is one of just five teams to win at least four matches against No.1 Missouri (24-0) in a dual meet this year.
• The 2014-15 season has been one of the most-traveled in program history, logging over 10,000 miles on buses.
• During the fall semester, the Flashes carried a 3.092 grade point average.
• The Mid-American Conference will be represented by 38 wrestlers in St.Louis
• Junior Mike DePalma leads the team with 14 bonus-point victories this year, following two pins at the MAC Championships.
• Junior Ian Miller ranks fourth among Kent State’s career pin leaders with 32.
• Miller did not give up takedown in his 3-0 performance at the MAC Championships. The only opponent who has scored a takedown on him this season has been No. 1 Isiah Martinez (Illinois).
• Miller and Mimmo Lytle both finished 7-1 in MAC duals.
• Senior Tyler Small ranks third in career victories at Kent State with 128. Small won three open tournaments this season (EMU, Mercyhurst, Ashland).
• Kent State is No. 26 according to both Wrestling Report and No. 27 in Wrestling Insider NewsMagazine’s Tournament Power Index.
Missouri Notes:
Tiger Style St. Louis Bound For 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships; All 10 Mizzou starters earned automatic bids
COLUMBIA, Mo. - No. 1 Mizzou wrestling closes out their 2014-15 season this week in St. Louis, Mo. at the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships. The Tigers bring all 10 of their starters to Scottrade Center, including three No. 1 seeds and seven seeded wrestlers overall.
Fans can follow Mizzou's individual and team live results on Twitter (@MizzouWrestling). For recaps, video features and photos following each session, check-in at MUTigers.com.
In all, six total sessions are set between Thursday, March 19 and Saturday, March 21. Every session, mat, and match inside the Scottrade Center will be televised on either ESPN, ESPNU or WatchESPN.com.
ESPN will televise the semifinals (Friday, March 20) and finals (March 21) in prime time and ESPNU will televise first, second (March 19) and quarterfinals (March 20) action, in addition to the medal round (March 21).
WatchESPN.com will carry individual mat feeds throughout the entire tournament including the return of Off the Mat during the Championship finals. Additionally, WatchESPN.com will offer multi-mat, simultaneous viewing which allows fans to watch up to four different mats at one time.
Mizzou Wrestling NCAA Championships History:
- The Tigers have four top-10 all-time team finishes at NCAA Wrestling Championships
- Mizzou's highest all-time finish came in 2007 when they finished third overall
- Three of their four top-10 all-time finishes have come since the 2006-07 season
- Mizzou has five all-time individual National Champions. They include Ben Askren (2006 & 2007 - 174 pounds), Mark Ellis (2009 - HWT), Max Askren (2010 - 184 pounds), and J'den Cox (2014 - 197 pounds)
Quick Look At The Tigers' NCAA Competitors:
125 pounds: Redshirt Senior Alan Waters (No. 1 seed)
133 pounds: Redshirt Sophomore Zach Synon (Not seeded)
141 pounds: Redshirt Sophomore Lavion Mayes (No. 3 seed)
149 pounds: Redshirt Senior Drake Houdashelt (No. 1 seed)
157 pounds: Sophomore Joey Lavallee (No. 9 seed)
165 pounds: Redshirt Senior Mikey England (Not seeded)
174 pounds: Redshirt Senior Johnny Eblen (No. 4 seed)
184 pounds: Redshirt Freshman Willie Miklus (Not seeded)
197 pounds: Sophomore J'den Cox (No. 1 seed)
285 pounds: Redshirt Senior Devin Mellon (No. 11 seed)
Perfect Tigers: Entering this week's NCAA Championships, two individual Mizzou grapplers remain with perfect records. Get a deeper look inside the duo's impressive 2014-15 campaigns.
Redshirt Senior Alan Waters - 30-0 record (18-0 duals)
• 11 wins against ranked opponents
• Two wins by fall
• Eight wins by technical fall
• One win by major decision
• 18 wins by decision
Sophomore J'den Cox - 33-0 record (21-0 duals)
• 10 wins against ranked opponents, two of which coming at HWT
• Eight wins by fall
• Four wins by technical fall
• Seven wins by major decision
• 13 wins by decision
Check-in to MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou wrestling. You can also find the Tigers on social media, by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter (@MizzouWrestling).
Northern Illinois Notes:
197-lb. Shaun Scott To Represent Huskies At NCAA Championships
DEKALB, Ill. - Northern Illinois University's Shawn Scott (Holly, Mich./Holly) will close out the season for the Northern Illinois University wrestling team this weekend at the 2015 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Missouri. The tournament starts Thursday at 11 a.m. inside the Scottrade Center and runs through Saturday night's championship matches. Scott's first bout against Michigan's Max Huntley will take place at approximately 2 p.m. Thursday.
"The NCAA tournament is the apex of what we do," said NIU Head Coach Ryan Ludwig. "It's what everybody's goal is - to be competing in March at the NCAA Championships. It's the most electrifying environment there is in our
Scott punched his ticket to St. Louis two weeks ago at the Mid-American Conference Championships with a fourth-place finish at 197 pounds. Four other Huskies - Derek Elmore (125), Shaun'Qae McMurtry (165), Trace Engelkes (174) and Arthur Bunce (285) - also took spots on the podium, as NIU claimed a seventh-place finish in the team standings with 40 points.
"It's overwhelming," Scott said of advancing to the NCAA Championships. "It's a goal since high school to compete at the national level and collegiately. Getting there finally is like a dream come true and I haven't even experienced it. It's overwhelming because I don't know what to expect, but it's going to be a very good experience. I honestly can't wait to get on the mat and feel that emotion out there and the whole atmosphere."
This weekend, the Huskie redshirt sophomore takes on one of the tournament's deepest brackets at 197 pounds, as six 2014 All-Americans at that weight return for this year's tournament. Scott opens his run at the tournament against the eighth-seeded Huntley, who maintains a 21-8 record on the year and placed fifth at the Big Ten Championships. Regardless of his result against Huntley, the Holly, Michigan, native will face either #9 Jace Bennett of Cornell or Trent Noon of Northern Colorado.
Live results are available on TrackWrestling.com, while every match of the tournament can be seen on ESPN3. Additionally, ESPN will broadcast Sessions IV (Friday night) and VI (Saturday night) and ESPNU will show Sessions I, II, III and V.
The NIU Matchup:
197: Shawn Scott (NIU) vs. #8 Max Huntley (Michigan)
Next Round: #9 Jace Bennett (Cornell) OR Trent Noon (Northern Colorado)
Northern Iowa Notes:
UNI Wrestlers Head to 2015 NCAA National Championships
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Four Panthers are wrestling for national titles at the Division I NCAA National Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, Missouri, starting Thursday.
“My goal is to always to score more points in the national tournament each year,” said head coach Doug Schwab. “We are going to have a heck of a tournament and score some bonus points and have some guys make some runs to increase our point total every year.”
UNI scored more points last year than it did in 2013 and has placed 15th the last two years. Heavyweight Blaize Cabell grabbed UNI’s highest seed. All-American Dylan Peters, Cooper Moore and Cabell will be making their second trips to nationals. Basil Minto will be making his first appearance.
“We have the four guys ready. The work is done,” said Schwab. “Now it’s just time to wrestle and get in the right frame of mind. I can tell you I feel good with where we are at. I feel good with our preparation.”
125 POUNDS - NO. 9 DYLAN PETERS (23-5) vs. DAVID TERAO, AMERICAN (37-5)
• First Panther to become an All-American since 1996
• Only Panther to go undefeated in duals this season
• His 16-0 dual record ties him for eighth among all Panthers for most duals won in a single season
• Only Panther to be named MAC Wrestler of the Week
• Knocked off then-ranked No. 7 Ty Walz of Virginia Tech (seeded 10th) in one dual and No. 11 Devin Mellon two times during the season
• Hasn’t given up any bonus points this season
• Won 15 consecutive matches before taking second at the MAC Championships
“Blaize doesn’t like losing,” said Schwab. “He won a lot of matches in a row, so he will rebound from his one loss at the MAC tournament.”
Cabell faces Black of Illinois in the first round. Black is a redshirt freshman. He fell out of the rankings in early December.
2016 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: Tickets for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will go on sale at 11 a.m. CT March 18. The championships are set for March 17-19, 2016, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. All-session tickets will be available for purchase exclusively online at NCAA.com/wrestling. The championships will mark the first NCAA final of any sport at The Garden since men’s basketball in 1950.
The 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Madison Square Garden will mark only the third time the championships have taken place in the state of New York. In 1964, Cornell hosted the event, during which Oklahoma State won the national championship. In 2002, Minnesota claimed the team title in Albany.
Ohio Notes:
Six Bobcats Open Competition In St. Louis
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Six Ohio wrestlers are set for competition at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo. at the Scottrade Center. The contests begin at 11 a.m. Thursday with pigtail matches and the first round. The first, second (March 19) and quarterfinal rounds (March 20) will be televised on ESPNU, while the semifinals (March 20) and finals (March 21) will be aired in prime time on ESPN, as well as the medal round (March 21).
All content will also be available on the WatchESPN app, while live updates will be provided on the Ohio Wrestling Twitter account, @OhioU_Wrestling.
2015 Ohio NCAA Qualifiers:
149: No. 11 Tywan Claxton (27-5)
157: Spartak Chino (19-11)
165: No. 16 Harrison Hightower (25-10)
174: No. 9 Cody Walters (30-1)
184: Andrew Romanchik (27-12)
197: No. 14 Phil Wellington (23-6)
Consecutive Cats: Ohio will be in search of its fourth straight All-American at this year's NCAA Championships. In each of the past three seasons, Ohio has had one individual earn All-America honors. In 2012, HWTJeremy Johnsonearned All-America honors. Teammate Cody Walter followed Johnson's performance in 2013 as he claimed All-American honors at 174. Johnson made his second All-American appearance in 2014, placing seventh at the HWT class. Cody Walters also picked up his third-consecutive Mid-American Conference crown at the 174-class at the 2015 league championships on March 8 in Columbia, Mo.
Ohio On The Award Stand: In its rich program history, Ohio has had 26 individuals place at the NCAA Championships. Listed below is a break down of how Ohio individuals have faired all-time.
National Champions: Kermit Blosser - 1932; Harry Houska - 1964; Andy Daniels - 1978; Dwight Gardner -1998
Runners-Up: Harry Houska - 1931; Bruce Trammel - 1970; Shawn Enright - 1998; Jake Percival- 2004
Third Place: Russ Johnson - 1971; Bruce Trammel - 1971; Barry Reighard - 1972; Jake Percival- 2005
Fourth Place: Joe Zychowicz - 1972; Brian Oswald - 1972; Eric Kimble - 1995; Jake Percival- 2002
Fifth Place: Bob Tscholl - 1973; Tim Courtad - 2000; Jake Percival- 2003
Sixth Place: Dave Unik - 1968; Kurt Blank - 1974; Rob Johnson - 1987; German Lindsey - 2010
Seventh Place: Eric Kimble - 1994; Jeremy Johnson- 2012; Jeremy Johnson - 2014
Eighth Place: Cody Walters- 2013
Old Dominion Notes:
Monarchs Head To St. Louis For NCAA Championships
NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion wrestling team is getting ready to chase down hardware, as seven wrestlers will be making an appearance at the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis on March 19-21. Fans can watch all the action throughout the weekend. ESPN televise every session and cover every match on every mat on ESPN3. The semifinals and finals will once again be on ESPN in primetime.
Seedings: Out of the seven wrestlers representing Old Dominion University at the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships, four received a top-15 seed. All-American and two-time MAC Champion Jack Dechow earned the No. 4 seed at 184, and MAC runner-up Lenny Richardson is the No. 8 seed at 149. Now three-time NCAA qualifiers, Chris Mecate (141) and Tristan Warner (165) were awarded the No. 11 seed at their respective weight classes.
Make It A Double: Jack Dechow going for the single-season championship sweep in St. Louis. No Monarch has ever accomplished the feat. Ryan Williams was the closest, as he finished as the CAA Champion and the NCAA Runner-Up in 2009.
NCAA Experience: The Monarchs have five wrestlers with previous NCAA experience, and two wrestlers making their national tournament debut.
• FIRST TIMERS: Kevin Beazley (197), Jake Henderson (285)
• BACK FOR SECONDS: Brandon Jeske (125), Jack Dechow (184)
• THIRD TIME AROUND: Chris Mecate (141), Lenny Richardson (149), Tristan Warner (165)
ODU’S First Round NCAA Matchups (# indicates tournament seed)
125 – Brandon Jeske (ODU) vs. #1 Alan Waters (Missouri)
141 – #11 Chris Mecate (ODU) vs. Tyler Smith (Bucknell)
149 – #8 Lenny Richardson (ODU) vs. Chris Perez (Princeton)
165 – #11 Tristan Warner (ODU) vs. Mike England (Missouri) or Tyrel White (Columbia)
184 – #4 Jack Dechow (ODU) vs. Jacob Kasper (Duke)
197 – Kevin Beazley (ODU) vs. Abram Ayala (Princeton)
285 – Jake Henderson (ODU) vs. Ross Larson (Oklahoma)
