2016 MAC WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW
MAC Wrestling Championships Preview
2016 MAC Wrestling Bracket - Saturday, March 5th
2016 MAC Wrestling Championship Watch Live / Live Results:
Watch Live Saturday on ESPN3
Watch Live Sunday on ESPN3
Track Wrestling Live Results
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- The 2016 MAC Wrestling Championships will be held Saturday, March 5 and Sunday, March 6 and hosted by Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Mich. This season Missouri enters the MAC Championships as the No. 6 ranked team in the nation with a 14-2 overall record, including 8-0 in the Mid-American Conference. Missouri is the three-time defending MAC Wrestling Tournament Champion having won each of the last three MAC Wrestling Championships since joining the MAC as an affiliate member in wrestling in 2012-13 season.
Last week, the MAC had four programs ranked in the top 20 in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Rankings as Missouri ranked No. 6 in the nation, while Kent State (15), Central Michigan (19) and Ohio (20) all rank among nation's best wrestling programs in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. Also last week, the NCAA announced the qualifier allocations for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships and the MAC received 41 spots, the third highest of any Division I College Wrestling Conference. The results of the MAC Wrestling Championships will determine which wrestlers will qualify for the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 17-19.
The MAC's 41 allocations were third most of any conference in Division I Wrestling behind only the Big Ten's 71 allocations and the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) with 51 allocations. In addition, the individual wrestler rankings for the top 33 wrestlers in each weight class were released by the final coaches' panel rankings as well as by RPI.
The MAC had 47 wrestlers ranked in the Individual Rankings by RPI, including nine wrestlers ranked in the top five with No. 2 Barlow McGhee (Missouri) at 125, Daniel Lewis (Missouri) at 165 and J'Den Cox (Missouri) at 197; No. 3 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) at 149; No. 4 Mackenzie McGuire (Kent State) at 133, Matt Manley (Missouri) at 141 and Blaise Butler (Missouri) at 174; No. 5 Ian Miller (Kent State) at 157 and Willie Miklus (Missouri) at 184. Overall the MAC had 15 wrestlers ranked in the top 10 of their respective weight classes by RPI rating.
Also, the MAC had 48 wrestlers ranked in the Indvividual Rankings by the Coaches' Poll, including six MAC wresters in the top five with No. 2 J'Den Cox (Missouri) at 197; No. 3 Ian Miller (Kent State) at 157; No. 4 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) at 149; No. 5 Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa) at 125, Daniel Lewis (Missouri) at 165 and Blaise Butler (Missouri) at 174. The MAC had 15 wrestlers ranked in the top 10 of their respective weight classes by Coaches rankings.
2016 MAC Wrestling Championships Team Previews:
WATCH Buffalo head coach John Stutzman
WATCH Central Michigan head coach Tom Borrelli
WATCH Eastern Michigan head coach David Bolyard
WATCH Kent State head coach Jim Andrassy
WATCH Missouri head coach Brian Smith
WATCH Northern Illinois head coach Ryan Ludwig
WATCH Northern Iowa head coach Doug Schwab
WATCH Ohio senior Cody Walters
WATCH Old Dominion head coach Steve Martin
2016 MAC Wrestling Championships Schedule of Events:
Saturday, March 5
11:00 am ET Doors Open
11:55 am ET National Anthem
12:00 pm ET Preliminary Matches
12:45 pm ET Introduction of Teams
1:00 pm ET Quarterfinals
4:00 pm ET Consolation Round One (1 Mat); Championship Semi-Finals (2 Mats)
5:45 pm ET Consolation Round Two (3 Mats)
Sunday, March 6
11:00 am ET Doors Open
11:55 am ET National Anthem
12:00 pm ET Consolation Semi-Finals (3 Mats)
1:05 pm ET Championship Finals Parade & Face Off Introductions
1:20 pm ET Championship Finals; 3rd & 5th Place Matches (3 mats)
Recent MAC Wrestling News:
MAC Announces Pre-seeding for 2016 MAC Wrestling Championships
MAC Allocated 41 Qualifiers For 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships March 17-19
Final MAC Wrestling Coaches Rankings
2016 MAC Wrestling Championships Team-By-Team Previews:
Buffalo:
Bulls Set For MAC Wrestling Championships
WATCH Buffalo Preview
Buffalo Wrestling Notes
Buffalo Roster
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo wrestling team heads to Eastern Michigan for the 2016 Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships. They will take place on Saturday and Sunday at EMU's Convocation Center. The Bulls are coming off their most successful regular season in many years. UB has an overall record of 10-9. The 10 wins are one more than their last three seasons combined and the most in a single season since the 2003-04 season.
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Central Michigan:
Show Time For Central Michigan Wrestlers
WATCH Central Michigan Preview
Central Michigan Wrestling Notes
Central Michigan Roster
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - No more building, no more experience-gaining, no more long-term view. It's about wrestling your best, not holding back, and finding out where you stack up. The Central Michigan wrestling team will partake this weekend in the Mid-American Conference Championships at Eastern Michigan's Convocation Center. The tournament opens Saturday at noon and resumes Sunday at noon. The championship matches are scheduled to begin at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. The champion in each weight class advances to the NCAA Championships, which are March 17-19, in New York. Another 31 at-large NCAA bids will also go to MAC wrestlers.
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Eastern Michigan:
Eagles Wrestling Prepared For MAC Championships
WATCH Eastern Michigan Preview
Eastern Michigan Wrestling Notes
Eastern Michigan Roster
YPSILANTI, Mich. – Eastern Michigan wrestling has completed its regular season and now turns its sights to the Mid-American Conference Championships. The tournament will be held at EMU's own Convocation Center for the first time since 2009. The tournament takes place over two days, Saturday, March 5-Sunday March, 6. Both days of the championships will be streamed live on ESPN 3 with Joel Godett providing the play-by-play and former Michigan State grappler Eric Olanowski giving the analysis. Live EMU results will also be posted on our Twitter account, @EMUWrestling.
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Kent State:
Flashes Head To Ypsilanti For MAC Wrestling Championships
WATCH Kent State Preview
Kent State Wrestling Notes
Kent State Roster
KENT, Ohio -- No. 15 Kent State travels to Eastern Michigan's Convocation Center where 41 automatic bids to the 2016 NCAA Championships will be on the line at the 2016 Mid-American Conference Championships. Action begins Saturday at noon with 90 competitors and resumes Sunday at noon when 10 individual conference champions will be crowned. The Golden Flashes closed out their regular season by winning nine straight dual meets. Their No. 15 ranking in the final NWCA Coaches Poll is among the highest in program history. The milestone ranking comes with a 15-3 dual meet record, matching the 2006-07 team's mark. The Golden Flashes have not had a better winning percentage since the 1981-82 season. Kent State's seven conference victories are tied for the most in program history. The only MAC setback came in December against No. 6 Missouri.
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Missouri:
Tigers Seek Fourth Consecutive MAC Wrestling Championship
WATCH Missouri Preview
Missouri Wrestling Notes
Missouri Roster
Missouri enters the MAC Championships ranked No. 6 in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches poll and No. 7 in the Intermat Tournament Rankings. Missouri finished the MAC dual season 8-0, winning its second straight MAC Regular Season Championship, finishing with a perfect 8-0 MAC record for the second consecutive season. Two Tigers will be defending their MAC titles in the tournament. Redshirt junior 133-pounder Zach Synon won the 2015 MAC Championship at 133 pounds, while junior 197-pouner J'den Cox has won two MAC straight titles (2014, 2015) at 197 pounds.
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Northern Illinois:
Huskies Hyped For MAC Wrestling Championships
WATCH Northern Illinois Preview
Northern Illinois Roster
YPSILANTI, Mich. – Nothing is quite like the collegiate wrestling postseason. Set for two days of win-or-go-home drama at the Mid-American Conference Championships, the Northern Illinois University wrestling team faces the challenge it has looked forward to all season this weekend. NIU wrestling head coach Ryan Ludwig and his team can’t wait for the action to begin after months of hard work and preparation for this very moment.
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Northern Iowa:
Two Panthers Earn Top Seeds At MAC Wrestling Championships
WATCH Northern Iowa Preview
Northern Iowa Wrestling Notes
Northern Iowa Roster
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Two Panthers earned the top seed for the MAC Championships set for March 5-6 at Eastern Michigan. A trio of wrestlers will be the only Panthers returning to the MAC Championships. Cooper Moore is one of seven returning MAC champions. Moore is the second Panther to win two consecutive MAC titles. Peters won as a redshirt freshman and went on to be an All-American in 2014. He took second last year. Cabell was third as a sophomore and took second as a junior last year.
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Ohio:
Bobcats Wrestling Set For MAC Wrestling Championships
WATCH Ohio Preview
Ohio Roster
The Ohio Bobcats wrestling program finished third in last year’s championships with 85.5 team points, finishing behind Missouri (139.5) and Old Dominion (97.5). The Bobcats finished this regular season with a 13-3 record, including a 5-3 mark in MAC play and an eight-meet win streak to end the season. Senior Cody Walters (Macedonia, Ohio) will be looking for his fourth consecutive MAC Championship. He is the #2 seed in the 174 -pound competition behind Missouri’s Johnny Eblen. Freshman Cameron Kelly (Belbrook, Ohio) takes an eight-match winning streak into the MAC Championships. He is the #3 seed in the 133 -pound competition.
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Old Dominion:
Monarchs Head To Eastern Michigan For MAC Wrestling Championships
WATCH Old Dominion Preview
Old Dominion Wrestling Notes
Old Dominion Roster
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- The Old Dominion wrestling team is set to compete in its third Mid-American Conference Championship this weekend at Eastern Michigan’s Convocation Center. The event, which serves as a qualifier for the NCAA Championships, will run Saturday, March 5 and Sunday, March 6 and will be aired live on ESPN3. The Monarchs wrapped up the dual meet season with a 6-13 record while posting a 1-7 mark in MAC meets. ODU still maintains a No. 34 national tournament team ranking by WIN Magazine heading into the postseason.
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