MAC Sends 45 To 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships In St. Louis
2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships Bracket
ESPN Media Zone
Live Stats - Track Wrestling
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships begin March 16-18 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The Mid-American Conference will send 45 wrestlers to represent the MAC in the NCAA Championships.
Last week the Missouri Tigers won their fifth consecutive MAC Wrestling Championship. Prior to the MAC Wrestling Championship, 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 ranked No. 14 and Central Michigan ranked No. 17. The MAC's 45 allocations were third most of any conference in Division I Wrestling behind only the Big Ten and the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA).
MAC Wrestling Programs Ranked Nationally In The USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll:
No. 10 Missouri (11-4 overall, 7-1 in the MAC)
No. 14 Northern Iowa (11-3 overall, 8-0 in the MAC)
No. 17 Central Michigan (9-3 overall, 6-2 in the MAC)
Latest Individual Rankings by RPI and Coaches Poll
The MAC had 43 wrestlers ranked in the Individual Rankings by RPI, including five wrestlers in the top five of their respective weight classes. Four-time defending MAC Champion and two time defending NCAA Champion No. 1 J'den Cox (Missouri) at 197, No. 2 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) at 149, No. 2 Joey Lavallee (Missouri) at 157, No. 4 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa) at 149 and No. 5 Drew Foster (Northern Iowa) at 184. Overall the MAC had 15 wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in their respective weight classes by RPI rating.
Also, the MAC had 44 wrestlers ranked in the Indvividual Rankings by the Coaches' Poll, including three MAC wresters in the top five No. 1 J'den Cox (Missouri) at 197, No. 3 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) at 149 and No. 3 Joey Lavallee (Missouri) at 157. The MAC had 11 wrestlers ranked in the top 10 of their respective weight classes by Coaches rankings.
2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships Schedule of Events/ESPN Live Coverage:
Thursday, March 16:
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Noon CT - 4:00 pm CT: First Session (ESPNU) - Eight Mat Configuration (
Watch 8 Mat Coverage LIVE ESPN3), Pigtails and First-Round Competition
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7:00 pm CT - 11:00 pm CT: Second Session (ESPN) - Eight Mat Configuration, (
Watch 8 Mat Coverage Live ESPN3) Preliminaries: Wrestle-Back Prelims (pigtail matches) as needed; Wrestle-Back First Round. Followed by Championship Round, Second Round and Consolation Round
Friday, March 17:
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11:00 am CT - 3:00 pm CT: Third Session (ESPNU) - Eight Mat Configuration, (
Watch 8 Mat Coverage Live ESPN3) *Quarterfinals on middle four mats; Wrestle-Back Second and Third Rounds on outside mats.
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8:00 pm CT - 11:30 pm CT: Fourth Session (ESPN) - Six Mat Configuration, (
Watch 6 Mat Coverage Live ESPN3) *Semifinals on inside two mats (one weight at a time) and Wrestle-back Fourth Round on outside four mats. Followed by Wrestle-Back fifth rounds on all six mats.
Saturday, March 18:
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11:00 am CT - 2:30 pm CT: Fifth Session (ESPNU) - Three Mats, (
Watch 3 Mat Coverage Live ESPN3) *Wrestle-Back Semifinals on all three mats followed by third, fifth and seventh place medal round matches.
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8:00 pm CT - 11:00 pm CT: Sixth Session (ESPN) - One Mat, (
Watch Live ESPN3) Individual weight class awards. Championship Finals
ESPN Broadcast Information:
Unprecedented coverage of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships features three consecutive nights of prime-time coverage on ESPN for the first time beginning Thursday, March 16. Combined with ESPNU, all six sessions will be televised and ESPN will stream every mat, every match of the championship from Scottrade Center in St. Louis providing fans with unmatched coverage of the sport’s pinnacle event.
ESPN’s prime-time coverage begins with the second round Thursday, March 16, at 7 p.m. ET, the first time a session from the championships’ first day has been televised on ESPN (previously has aired on ESPNU). As in years past, the semifinals and finals will air on ESPN on Friday, March 17, and Saturday, March 18, respectively, beginning at 8 p.m. both nights.
ESPNU will carry all the championships’ earlier sessions each day, beginning with the first round on March 16 (noon), continuing with the quarterfinals on March 17 (11 a.m.) and the concluding with the medal round on March 18 (11 a.m.)
Throughout the entire three days, during all six sessions, ESPN3 streams every single mat and match, allowing fans to follow any wrestler and/or school. During the finals ESPN3 will once again offer Off the Mat — a combination of live matches, highlights and interviews with newly crowned champions (more details below).
MAC's 45 Qualifiers For NCAA Wrestling Championships Third Most In Division I Wrestling
The NCAA announced the brackets and qualifiers for the 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The MAC received nine at-large selections as a total of 45 wrestlers will head to the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships, the third most of any Division I Wrestling Conference in the NCAA. The MAC's nine at-large selections brings the Conference total to 45 wrestlers headed to the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on March 16-18. The nine at-large selections from the MAC were Brent Fleetwood of Central Michigan (125); Noah Gonser of Eastern Michigan (125); Noah Forrider of Ohio (141); Nick Barber of Eastern Michigan (149); Casey Sparkman of Kent State (157); Seldon Wright of Old Dominion (165); Austin Severn of Central Michigan (197); Zack Parker of Ohio (285) and Newton Smerchek of Central Michigan (285).
Missouri Wins Fifth Consecutive MAC Wrestling Championship
Earlier this month the Missouri Tigers won their fifth consecutive MAC Wrestling Tournament Championship in dominating fashion with 154.5 total team points and six Tigers were crowned as individual champions. MAC Wrestling Championships host Northern Iowa finished second with 106.5 points, only three points over third-place Central Michigan with 103.5 team points. Old Dominion finished fourth with 94 points, while Northern Illinois ranked fifth with 92 points and Buffalo finished sixth with 80.5 team points. Eastern Michigan (64), Ohio (62.5) and Kent State (55) rounded out the team scoring.
Missouri had six wrestlers crowned as MAC Individual Champions as John Erneste (133), Jaydin Eierman (141), Lavion Mayes (149), Joey Lavallee (157), Daniel Lewis (165) and J'den Cox (197) all won their respective weight classes. For Cox it was his fourth consecutive MAC individual championship at the 197 weight class.
MAC Wrestling Programs Team-By-Team Previews:
Buffalo:
UB Wrestlers Set For NCAA Championships
BUFFALO, NY – The NCAA Wrestling Championships begin tomorrow in St. Louis and the University at Buffalo will have three representatives competing. The journey for Kyle Akins, Bryan Lantry and Jake Gunning begins tomorrow. At 125, Kyle Akins will take on Penn State's Nick Suriano, the three seed at noon (EST). With Suriano battling an injury, it looks like Akins may win by medical forfeit. Akins has a 20-5 record on the year and finished fourth at the Mid-American Conference Championships.
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Central Michigan:
Chippewas Look To Make Some Noise In St. Louis; Nine CMU wrestlers hit the mat beginning on Thursday
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Getting nine wrestlers to the NCAA Championships is a nice accomplishment, even historical, for the Central Michigan wrestling program. Being competitive, scoring team points, and making it to the podium are where it's at for coach Tom Borrelli as he and the 17th-ranked Chippewas hit the mat with the best of the best beginning Thursday at Scottrade Center. The nine qualifiers are the second-most in program history. That number was the result of a bounce-back effort two weeks ago on the second day of the MAC Championships, when several Chippewas overcame a subpar opening day to win matches in their respective consolation brackets to punch their ticket to St. Louis.
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Eastern Michigan:
Three Eagles Prepared for NCAA Wrestling Championships
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Eastern Michigan University wrestling team is poised to send three student-athletes to compete in the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships, Thursday-Saturday, March 16-18, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. Redshirt freshman Noah Gonser, redshirt senior Nick Barber, and redshirt junior Gage Hutchison will represent the Green and White at 125, 149, and 285 lbs. respectively.
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Kent State:
Tutolo & Sparkman Head to St. Louis for NCAA Championships
Kent State Wrestling Notes
KENT, Ohio -- Two Kent State sophomores look to give the Golden Flashes an All-American in nine consecutive seasons at the 87th NCAA Championships March 16-18 inside the Scottrade Center. Anthony Tutolo and Casey Sparkman head to St. Louis for the three-day, double elimination tournament. Action begins Thursday at noon Eastern with two sessions each day. All 10 weight classes will have 33-man brackets battling for All-America (Top 8) honors.
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Missouri:
Missouri Wrestling Heads to St. Louis for NCAA Wrestling Championships
Missouri Wrestling Notes
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Missouri Wrestling seeks its third straight NCAA top-10 finish and fourth in the last five years at the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships, March 16-18, in St. Louis, Mo. It will mark the eighth time the NCAA Wrestling Championships have come to the Scottrade Center, with the last time occurring in 2015 where the Tigers earned their second team title in program history by finishing fourth. Mizzou won its sixth consecutive conference title on March 5 at the 2017 Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships, recording a conference record 154.5 team points while crowning a program record six individual conference champions.
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Northern Illinois:
NIU Wrestling Prepared For NCAA Championships
NIU Wrestling Notes
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Northern Illinois University wrestling team is geared up and ready to start the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships, hosted by the University of Missouri at the Scottrade Center March 16-18. NIU recently extended the program's streak—now 46 years—of sending wrestlers to NCAAs after a record breaking performance at the MAC Championships. The Huskies are bringing their largest roster to NCAAs since 1985, when they qualified six after winning the Mid-American Conference Championship. Competing for Northern Illinois this weekend will be three-time NCAA qualifier, Shawn Scott at 197-pounds; NCAA returning qualifier, Steve Bleise at 149-pounds; redshirt senior and MAC runner-up, Trace Engelkes at 174-pounds; redshirt senior, Shaun'Qae McMurtry at 165-pounds; and true freshman, Brock Hudkins at 125-pounds.
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Northern Iowa:
Five Panthers Earn Top-15 Seeds at 2017 NCAAs
Northern Iowa Wrestling Notes
ST. LOUIS, Missouri – Five Panthers are seeded in the top 15 for the Division I NCAA Wrestling Championships set for March 16-18. UNI will be sending seven wrestlers. It's the most for the team since 2014 when the team took 15th and crowned three All-Americans, including Dylan Peters at 125 pounds. Peters has shot at becoming just the 10th Panther to earn three Division I All-America honors.
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Ohio:
Bobcats Headed To NCAA Championships
Ohio Wrestling Notes
ST. LOUIS – The Ohio wrestling team looks to kick off the NCAA Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on Thursday (March 16). Action is set to begin at 12 p.m. and continue through the championship round on Saturday (March 18). The first five sessions will be broadcasted live on ESPN3. The championship semifinals and championship finals will be broadcast on ESPN. All other sessions will also be on ESPNU along with the coverage on ESPN3.
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Old Dominion:
Monarchs Get Underway at NCAA Championships Thursday in St. Louis
Old Dominion Wrestling Notes
ST. LOUIS -- Five Old Dominion wrestlers will get underway Thursday at 12 p.m. ET at the 2017 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Alex Madrigal, Michael Hayes and Seldon Wright are making their first appearances at the national tournament, while Kevin Beazley makes his second trip and 2014 All-American Jack Dechow will wrestle in his fourth NCAA Championship. Fresh off a fifth-place finish at the MAC tournament, Madrigal enters the 2017 NCAA Championship with a 12-12 record. The redshirt freshman from Chicago will face Illinois' No. 8 seed Zane Richards, who claimed All-American honors by placing fourth at the 2016 NCAA Championships.
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