UNI Wrestling Preps for 2019 Big 12 Championships

No. 14 UNI Wrestling at 2019 Big 12 Championships

March 9-10, 2019
BOK Center | Tulsa, Oklahoma
Trackwrestling and FloWrestling - Fox Sports Midwest for finals
PDF of notes | PDF of brackets

Session I

10 a.m. CT | Doors open
11 a.m.-2 p.m. CT | Preliminary matches (40 matches – 4 mats)

Session II

4 p.m. CT | Doors open
5-9 p.m. CT | Semifinals and first round consolations (60 matches – 4 mats) / Quarterfinals (40 matches – 4 mats)

Session III

Noon-2 p.m. CT | Consolations semifinals (20 matches – 4 mats) / third- and fifth-place matches (20 matches – 4 mats) / true place matches if necessary

Session IV

6 p.m. CT | Doors open
7 p.m. CT | Finals (10 matches – 1 mat)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Front-runner Josh Alber is among the seven Panthers who earned a seed for the Big 12 Championships set for this weekend.

Alber will open his matches at 141 pounds against Chris Sandoval of Northern Colorado. Alber, who is on a 15-match win streak beat Sandoval in a 10-6 decision in their dual earlier this year.

Max Thomsen and Drew Foster each earned the No. 2 seed. Thomsen will face Jaron Jensen of Wyoming. It will be the first meeting between the two at 149 pounds this year.

Foster will get a bye at 184 pounds before taking the winner of No. 7 seed Zach Carlson of South Dakota State vs. Michael Otomo (North Dakota State). Foster beat Carlson in a dual earlier this year, 3-1.

Jay Schwarm, Taylor Lujan and Bryce Steiert are all seeded third. Schwarm opens his matches at 125 pounds against Robert Garcia of Fresno State. It will be the first meeting for Schwarm and Garcia this year.

Lujan will wrestle the winner of the match between No. 6 seed Lorenzo De La Riva (North Dakota State) and Randy Meneweather (Air Force). Lujan beat Meneweather in a dual at the West gym with a 19-4 tech fall.

Steiert gets a bye before facing the winner of the match featuring No. 6 seed Isaiah Hokit (Fresno State) and Jacoby Ward (Air Force). It will be the first time this season that Steiert has faced either one of those opponents.

Carter Isley picked up an RPI in the latest rankings and secured the No. 6 seed for the Big 12 Championships. He faces Brandon Metz of North Dakota State in the first round.

Jack Skudlarczyk opens the 133-pound weight class with the No. 7 seed in John Twomey (Air Force). Paden Moore faces the No. 3 seed Chase Straw (Iowa State), who beat Moore 9-4 at the final dual of year at 157 pounds. Izaak Shedenhelm opens with the conference favorite at 197 pounds, Preston Weigel of Oklahoma State.

Weight | Wrestler – NCAA rank (RPI) - seeded

125 | Jay Schwarm – 24 (28) - No. 3
141 | Josh Alber – 7 (3) - No. 1
149 | Max Thomsen – 9 (8) - No. 2
165 | Bryce Steiert – 12 (8) - No. 4
174 | Taylor Lujan – 7 (7) - No. 3
184 | Drew Foster – 10 (2) - No. 2
285 | Carter Isley – NR (21) - No. 6

Conference	125	133	141	149	157	165	174	184	197	285	Total
Atlantic Coast Conference	2	4	4	4	4	4	3	5	4	3	37
Big 12 Conference	5	5	6	7	1	6	5	5	7	6	53
Big Ten Conference	9	8	9	6	9	9	8	8	5	7	78
Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association	4	4	3	5	6	4	5	6	6	4	47
Eastern Wrestling League	1	2	1	1	1	3	1	1	1	2	14
Mid-American Conference	4	3	4	1	5	1	2	2	1	4	27
Pacific-12 Conference	3	2	1	2	2	1	1	1	2	2	17
Southern Conference	1	1	1	2	1	1	2	1	2	1	13
TOTAL QUALIFIERS	29	29	29	28	29	29	27	29	28	29	286

ALLOCATION PROCESS

Each qualifying tournament was awarded automatic bids per weight class based on current year data. Each wrestler was measured on the following: Division I winning percentage at the weight class; ratings percentage index (RPI); and coaches' ranking.

For each wrestler that reached the threshold in at least two of the three categories, his conference tournament was awarded a qualifying spot in that weight class. Each conference was awarded a minimum of one automatic bid per weight class, which will go to the tournament champion, even if they did not have any wrestlers reach at least two of the three thresholds. NCAA tournament spots for each qualifying event will be awarded at the tournament based solely on place-finish.

After all of the conference tournaments have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 44 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 12, while brackets and seeding will be announced on NCAA.com at 5 p.m. CT March 13. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers. The at-large selections will be made based on the following criteria: head-to-head competition; quality wins; coaches' ranking; results against common opponents; RPI; qualifying event placement; and winning percentage.

The coaches' rankings are compiled by a vote of coaches representing each conference. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. To be eligible for the rankings, wrestlers must have participated in at least five matches against Division I opponents in the weight class and have wrestled within the last 30 days.

To be eligible for an RPI ranking, a wrestler must have a minimum of 17 Division I matches at a given weight class.

TICKETS

Fans can buy all-session tickets starting at $37 through TicketMaster or the Big 12 Wrestling Championship page. Single-session tickets are also available for as low as $11.

Join fellow Panther fans in section 111, rows G-M.

2019 NCAA DIVISION I CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships takes place at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh March 21-23.

Wrestling fans can buy and sell official tickets through the NCAA Ticket Exchange. This gives ticket holders who are unable to attend a session a place to safely sell their tickets.

Buyers also can get their tickets knowing the tickets are authentic and guaranteed at NCAA's site.

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