Mid-American Conference

2017 MAC WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW
2017 MAC Wrestling Bracket - Saturday, March 4th

2017 MAC Wrestling Championship Watch Live / Live Results:
Watch Live Saturday, March 4 on ESPN3 
Watch Live Sunday, March 5 on ESPN3
Track Wrestling Live Results



CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The 2017 MAC Wrestling Championships will be held Saturday, March 4 and Sunday, March 5 hosted by the University of Northern Iowa. This years host, the Northern Iowa Panthers, won the 2017 MAC Wrestling Regular Season title with a perfect 8-0 Conference mark, heightened with a 25-10 win at Missouri on Feb. 12 to clinch the MAC regular season crown.

Currently Missouri is the MAC four-time defending MAC Wrestling Champion since joining the MAC as an affiliate member in wrestling in the 2012-13 season and the loss to Northern Iowa last month was the Tigers only Conference dual loss this season.  In the final MAC Coaches Wrestling Rankings, both Missouri and Northern Iowa were selected in a tie for first-place by the nine head coaches within the MAC.

This March, Missouri enters the MAC Wrestling Championship as the No. 10 ranked team in the nation with am 11-4 overall record, including 7-1 in the Mid-American Conference. However, Northern Iowa is ranked No. 14 in the nation with a perfect 8-0 MAC dual meet record, and a 11-3 overall record. Joining Missouri and Northern Iowa ranked in the top 20 in the nation are the Central Michigan Chippewas with a No. 17 ranking after posting a 9-3 overall record, 6-2 in the MAC, with both Chippewas Conference setbacks coming to Missouri and Northern Iowa.

Last week, the MAC had three programs ranked in the top 20 in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Rankings as Missouri ranked No. 10 in the nation, while Northern Iowa (14) and Central Michigan (17) 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 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships and the MAC received 37 allocations, the fourth most of any conference in Division I Wrestling Conference. The results of the MAC Wrestling Championships will determine which wrestlers will qualify for the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri on March 16-18.

The MAC's 37 allocations were fourth most of any conference in Division I Wrestling Conference behind only the Big Ten's 77 allocations, the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) 43 allocations and the Big 12 with 38 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 45 MAC wrestlers earned spots in the coaches rankings, including one first place listing, three within the top five of the weight classes and 11 total ranked in the top ten, in addition 43 wrestlers in the RPI rankings, including one first-place listings, five within the top five of the weight classes and 14 total ranked in the top ten.

In the coaches rankings, Missouri's J'den Cox (197) was ranked No. 1 in his weight class, while Lavion Mayes (149) of Missouri ranked No. 4 and Joey Lavallee (157) of Missouri ranked No. 5. Daniel Lewis (165) of Missouri ranked No. 6, while Max Thomsen (149) of Northern Iowa and Collin Heffernan (157) of Central Michigan ranked No. 8. Jaydin Eierman (141) of Missouri, Bryce Steiert (165) of Northern Iowa and Jack Dechow (184) of Old Dominion ranked No. 9, while Josh Alber (133) of Northern Iowa and Justin Oliver (149) of Central Michigan ranked No. 10.

In the RPI rankings, which requires a minimum of 17 Division I matches to be eligible for a ranking, Missouri's J'den Cox (197) was ranked No. 1, while both Lavion Mayes (149) and Joey Lavallee (157) of Missouri were ranked No. 2 and Northern Iowa's Drew Foster (184) was ranked No. 3. Max Thomsen (149) of Northern Iowa was ranked No. 5, while Josh Alber (133) was ranked No. 6. Missouri's John Erneste (133) was ranked No. 7, while Jaydin Eierman (141) of Missouri, Colin Heffernan (157) of Central Michigan, Bryce Steiert (165) and Taylor Lujan (174) of Northern Iowa, Austin Severn (197) of Central Michigan were each ranked No. 9. Jack Dechow (184) and Kevin Beazley (197) of Old Dominion were both ranked No. 10 in their respective weight classes.

2017 MAC Wrestling Championships Team Previews:
WATCH Buffalo head coach John Stutzman and wrestler Tyler Rill
WATCH Central Michigan head coach Tom Borrelli and wrestler Justin Oliver
WATCH Eastern Michigan head coach David Bolyard and wrestler Nick Barber
WATCH Kent State head coach Jim Andrassy
WATCH Northern Illinois head coach Ryan Ludwig and wrestlers Shawn Scott, Trace Engelkes
WATCH Northern Iowa head coach Doug Schwab; wrestlers Taylor Lujan, Max Thomsen 
WATCH Ohio head coach Joel Greenlee and wrestler Cam Kelly
WATCH Old Dominion head coach Steve Martin and wrestlers Kevin Beazley, Jack Dechow

2017 MAC Wrestling Championships Schedule of Events:
Saturday, March 4
11:00 am ET/10:00 am CT  Doors Open
11:55 am ET/10:55 am CT  National Anthem
12:00 pm ET/11:00 am CT  Preliminary Matches
12:50 pm ET/11:50 am CT  Introductions
1:00 pm ET/12:00 pm CT   Quarterfinals (3 mats)
4:00 pm ET/3:00 pm CT    Consolation Round One (1 Mat); Championship Semi-Finals (2 Mats)
5:45 pm ET/4:45 pm CT    Consolation Round Two (3 Mats)

Sunday, March 5
12:00 am ET/11:00 am CT  Doors Open
12:55 pm ET/11:55 am CT National Anthem
1:00 pm ET/12:00 pm CT  Consolation Semi-Finals (3 Mats)
2:05 pm ET/1:05 pm CT   Seventh Place Matches (3 mats)
2:45 pm ET/1:45 pm CT   Championship Finals Parade & Face Off Introductions
3:00 pm ET/2:00 pm CT   Championship Finals; 3rd & 5th Place Matches (3 mats)

Recent MAC Wrestling News:
MAC Announces Pre-seeding for 2017 MAC Wrestling Championships
MAC Allocated 37 Qualifiers For 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships March 16-18
Final MAC Wrestling Coaches Rankings

2017 MAC Wrestling Championships Team-By-Team Previews:

Buffalo:
Bulls Head to MAC Championships Full of Confidence
WATCH Buffalo Preview
Buffalo Wrestling Notes
Buffalo Roster
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo wrestling team heads to Cedar Falls, IA this weekend for the Mid-American Conference Championships. Hosted by Northern Iowa, the preliminaries are on Saturday, March 4 with the finals on Sunday, March 5. The Bulls enter the MAC Championships coming off their best regular season in recent memory. Their 11 dual wins were their most since 2004. In addition, UB won four MAC duals, its most since joining the conference in 1998. Full Story...

Central Michigan:
Chippewas Hit The Championship Mat
WATCH Central Michigan Preview
Central Michigan Roster
MT. PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships have been the domain of Missouri since the Tigers joined the league in 2013. Mizzou could face a serious challenge in its quest for a fifth consecutive top finish in the Championships, and Central Michigan will have a lot to say about which team walks away with the title on Sunday. The Chippewas and their eight MAC wrestling brethren hit the mat at Northern Iowa's McLeod Center beginning on Saturday at noon. The event resumes on Sunday at noon. The championship, third- and fifth-place matches are slated to begin at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Full Story...

Eastern Michigan:
Eagles Wrestling Prepped For 2017 MAC Championships
WATCH Eastern Michigan Preview
Eastern Michigan Wrestling Notes
Eastern Michigan Roster
YPSILANTI, Mich. - The Eastern Michigan University wrestling team has completed its regular season and now turns its sights to the Mid-American Conference Championships.  The tournament will take place at the University of Northern Iowa's McLeod Center, Saturday-Sunday, March 4-5. Action from Cedar Falls begins at noon on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday, with the championship bouts starting at 3 p.m.  Since joining the conference in 1971-72, EMU has captured one team conference championship and has had 25 individuals win a weight class.  EMU's team title came in 1996 when it won five of the 10 weight classes.  Its last individual champion came in 2009 when 197 pounder John McClure won the crown. Full Story...

Kent State:
NCAA Spots Up For Grabs This Weekend at MAC Championships
WATCH Kent State Preview
Kent State Roster

KENT, Ohio -- Kent State travels to Northern Iowa's McLeod Center this weekend where 37 automatic bids to the NCAA Championships will be on the line at the 2017 Mid-American Conference Championships.  The two-day, nine-team tournament in Cedar Falls features 90 wrestlers seeking 10 individual titles.  Full Story...

Missouri:
No. 10 Missouri Seeks Sixth Straight Conference Title at MAC Championships
Missouri Wrestling Notes
Missouri Roster
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri Wrestling looks to capture its fifth straight Mid-American Conference title and sixth consecutive conference title overall (Big 12 Champions in 2012) at the 2017 MAC Wrestling Championships, March 4-5, in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Wrestling from the McLeod Center is scheduled to begin at 11.m. CT on Saturday and 12 p.m. CT on Sunday.  Following the tournament, 37 wrestlers will have punched their ticket to the NCAA Wrestling Championships based on the allocations given to the conference from the NCAA. To secure a spot in the national tournament, a wrestler must place within the number of allocations at their specific weight. Full Story...

Northern Illinois:
Huskies Set For MAC Championships
WATCH Northern Illinois Preview
Northern Illinois Wrestling Notes
Northern Illinois Roster
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Northern Illinois University wrestling team will begin its post-season this weekend at the 2017 MAC Championships in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The championships, hosted by Northern Iowa at the McLeod Center, will begin at 11am on Saturday, March 4th and concludes on Sunday, March 5th.The Huskies will be competing for MAC titles and automatic berths to the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships, held March 16-18 in St. Louis, Missouri. Live up-to-date results can be found on Twitter by following @NIUWrestling; full results can be found on TrackWrestling.com.  A live stream will also air on ESPN3. Full Story...

Northern Iowa:
Three Panthers Earn Top MAC Seeds
WATCH Northern Iowa Preview
Northern Iowa Wrestling Notes
Northern Iowa Roster
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Three Panthers earned the top pre-seed for the MAC Championships set for March 4-5 in the McLeod Center. The MAC was allocated 37 spots to advance to the NCAA tournament. UNI went undefeated in MAC duals for the second season since joining the conference. UNI competed in the 2013 MAC Championships, but did not implement a full MAC schedule until the 2014 season. The Panthers were 13-0 in 2014. They are in search of their first MAC tournament title. Max Thomsen at 149 pounds and Bryce Steiert led the Panthers in dual scoring this year with 48 points each.  Taylor Lujan is on a six-match win streak that dates back to Jan. 22. His last loss was to No. 7 Lelund Weatherspoon of Iowa State in sudden victory. He earned bonus points in five of those six wins. Full Story...

Ohio:
Ohio Wrestling Gears Up for MAC Championships
WATCH Ohio Preview
Ohio Wrestling Notes
Ohio Roster
The Ohio wrestling team is ready to kickoff action at the 2017 Mid-American Conference Championships in Cedar Falls, Iowa. quarterfinals, consolation round 1 and championship Semifinals are scheduled for Saturday (Mar. 4) with action beginning at 12 p.m. CT. The consolation semifinals, 5th place, 3rd place and Championship matches scheduled for Sunday (Mar. 5) with action slated to begin at 12 p.m. CT and ESPN3'WacthESPN coverage beginning at 2 p.m. CT. All of the action will be streamed live on WatchESPN/ESPN3 beginning with the Quarterfinal matches on Saturday. Full Story...

Old Dominion:
Monarchs Head To Northern Iowa For MAC Championships
WATCH Old Dominion Preview
Old Dominion Wrestling Notes
Old Dominion Roster
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The Old Dominion wrestling team is set to compete in the 2017 Mid-American Conference Championships at the University of Northern Iowa's McLeod Center on Saturday, March 4 and Sunday, March 5. Seeds for the 2017 MAC Championships were released earlier this week, as the Monarchs' Jack Dechow and Kevin Beazley earned the No. 2 seed at 184 and 197, respectively, while Seldon Wright was ODU's lone No. 3 seed, as the sophomore grabbed the third slot at 165 lbs. Full Story...