CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The full brackets and seeds for the upcoming NCAA Wrestling Championships were announced on Wednesday (March 10) and the Cavaliers have eight wrestlers in the field and are led by redshirt senior Louie Hayes (Orland Park, Ill.) who earned a 10 seed at 133 pounds.

The NCAA Championships will be held at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo., with the three-day event beginning on Thursday, March 18.

Hayes earned his third NCAA bid along with Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.), while Justin McCoy (New Paris, Pa.) and Quinn Miller (Lilburn, Ga.) each earned their second NCAA Championship berths. Brian Courtney (Athens, Pa.), Jake Keating (Naperville, Ill.), Patrick McCormick (Poquoson, Va.) and Vic Marcelli (Massillon, Ohio) are all making the first NCAA Tournament appearances in 2021.

The eight wrestlers selected is the second-most in program history and the most since the 2014 season when Virginia also had eight wrestlers selected. The Cavaliers had nine wrestlers selected to compete in the 2013 NCAA Championships.

Hayes earned his third NCAA appearance and his second consecutive bid with his selection in 2021. The redshirt senior earned his first bid at 125 pounds in 2018 and then received a bid at 133 pounds last season. He earned his 2021 bid after taking third at the ACC Championships with a pair of wins over 10th-ranked Jarrett Trombley of NC State and posted a 10-4 record on the year. His opening match-up with come against No. 23 seed Boo Dryden of Minnesota.

Aiello earned his third consecutive NCAA Championship bid after posting a runner-up finish at the ACC Championships at 197 pounds. The returning All-American from a year ago posted a 9-2 record on the year and went 5-1 in duals with a 4-1 record in ACC duals. His opening round matchup will come against No. 22 seed Chris Kober of Campbell.

McCoy earned his second straight NCAA Championship bid after taking a runner-up finish at the ACC Championships at 157 pounds. He went 8-1 through the regular season with his only loss coming at the hands of second-ranked Hayden Hidlay of NC State. McCoy finished his season at 9-2 with both losses coming to Hidlay. He will face No. 17 seed Requir van der Merwe of Stanford in his opening match.

Miller earned his second straight NCAA bid after taking a third-place finish at the ACC Championships at heavyweight. He posted a 9-2 record on the season and has won five of his last six matches this season. Miller will face No. 13 seed Cohlton Schultz of Arizona State in his opening match.

Courtney earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships after advancing to the third-place match at the ACC Championships and will be making his first appearance at the annual event. He posted a 9-4 record on the year and went 9-2 in dual matches, including a win over No. 14 Cole Matthews of Pitt in the regular-season dual. His first-round matchup is against No. 13 seed D.J. Lloren of Fresno State.

Keating earned his bid after taking a runner-up finish at the ACC Championships at 165 pounds. The redshirt junior went 10-3 on the year. He was twice named ACC Wrestler of the Week after posting wins over No. 10 Thomas Bullard of NC State and No. 11 Kennedy Monday of North Carolina. His first-round matchup comes against No. 21 seed Peyton Hall of West Virginia.

McCormick  is making his first appearance at the NCAA Championships after locking up a bid at 125 pounds with a third-place finish at the ACC Championships. He has posted an 8-5 record in the shortened season and surged down the stretch, winning four of his last five matches heading into the NCAA Championships. His opening matchup is against No. 33 seed Kysen Terukina of Iowa State.

Marcelli makes his first appearance at the NCAA Championships after receiving an at-large bid to the tournament at 174 pounds. He posted a 6-3 record on the year with a 3-2 mark in ACC duals and advanced to the third-place match at the ACC Championships. His first-round matchup comes against third-seeded Carter Starocci of Penn State.

VIRGINIA’S OPENING ROUND MATCHUPS
125: No. 32 seed Patrick McCormick vs. No. 33 seed Kysen Terukina (Iowa State)
133: No. 10 seed Louie Hayes vs. No. 23 seed Boo Dryden (Minnesota)
141: No. 20 seed Brian Courtney vs. No. 13 seed D.J. Lloren (Fresno State)
157: No. 16 seed Justin McCoy vs. No. 17 seed Requir van der Merwe (Stanford)
165: No. 12 seed Jake Keating vs. No. 21 seed Peyton Hall (West Virginia)
174: No. 30 seed Vic Marcelli vs. No. 3 seed Carter Starocci (Penn State)
197: No. 11 seed Jay Aiello vs. No. 22 seed Chris Kober (Campbell)
HWT: No. 20 seed Quinn Miller vs. No. 13 seed Brian Andrews (Wyoming)