Brackets, Seeds Announced For 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships
March 7, 2018
2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships Brackets | Championship Central
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Redshirt freshman Louie Hayes (Orland Park, Ill.) and sophomore Jack Mueller (Dallas, Texas) earned national seeds in the NCAA Championships it was announced on Wednesday when the organization released the brackets for the annual event.
Hayes is the 12 seed at 125 pounds, while Mueller is the 10 seed at 133 pounds. Wrestling for the Cavaliers at the NCAA Championships, but unseeded, are redshirt senior Andrew Atkinson (Lynchburg, Va.) at 165 pounds, redshirt sophomore Sam Krivus (Greensburg, Pa.) at 149 pounds, redshirt sophomore Tyler Love (Clifton, Va.) at heavyweight and redshirt junior Will Schany (Blair, Neb.) at 174 pounds.
In his first matchup at the NCAA Championships, Hayes will wrestle Paul Bianchi of North Dakota State, while Mueller is set to face Sean Nickell of CSU Bakersfield. Mueller and Nickell faced each other at the Southern Scuffle with Mueller taking a 10-0 major decision in that meeting.
At 149 pounds, Krivus is set for a first-round matchup against sixth-seeded Justin Oliver of Central Michigan. It is a rematch of the opening round of the Cliff Keen Invitational from earlier this season, a match in which Oliver took a decision over Krivus. Oliver was ranked No. 6 nationally at the time of that first meeting.
At 165 pounds, Atkinson is set for a first-round matchup with the No. 16 seed, Jonathon Chavez of Cornell. In his first bout at 174 pounds, Schany is slated to face seventh-seeded Taylor Lujan of Northern Iowa, while Love is set for a first-round matchup against 12th-seeded Youssif Hemida of Maryland.
VIRGINIA’S FIRST-ROUND MATCHUPS
125: No. 12 seed Louie Hayes vs. Paul Bianchi (North Dakota State)
133: No. 10 seed Jack Mueller vs. Sean Nickell (CSU-Bakersfield)
149: Sam Krivus vs. No. 6 seed Justin Oliver (Central Michigan)
165: Andrew Atkinson vs. No. 16 seed Jonathon Chavez (Cornell)
174: Will Schany vs. No. 7 seed Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa)
HWT: Tyler Love vs. Youssif Hemida (Maryland)