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Four Cavaliers Set For NCAA Championships Thursday

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Four members of the Virginia wrestling team begin the quest for an individual national title on Thursday (March 21) as competition begins for the NCAA Wrestling Championships at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
Every round of the NCAA Wrestling Championships will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks with the morning sessions all on ESPNU and the evening sessions on ESPN. The main broadcast stream and individual mats will also be streamed on the ESPN app and ESPN.com. Links to the primary broadcast stream are available at VirginiaSports.com. Updates will also be on the team’s official account (@UVAWrestling) on X. 

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Thursday
First Round – 12 p.m. ET – ESPNU
Second Round – 7 p.m. ET – ESPN

Friday
Quarterfinals – 12 p.m. ET – ESPNU
Semifinals – 8 p.m. ET – ESPN 

Saturday
Medal Rounds – 11 a.m. ET – ESPNU
Finals – 7 p.m. ET – ESPN

QUICK SHOTS

  • The Hoos head into the 2024 NCAA Championships making the program’s 44th appearance at the event
  • Justin McCoy is the only Cavalier in the field who has wrestled at an NCAA Championship as he earned his fifth berth this season with his runner-up finish at the ACC Championships.
  • Three Cavaliers are making their first appearance with Marlon Yarbrough (133), Nick Hamilton (165) and Krystian Kinsey (197) all earning bids or the first time.
  • Virginia has been no stranger to wrestling on the road this year with only two home competitions on the schedule. UVA went 7-2 to start the year with the first nine duals on the road or at neutral sites.
  • The Hoos have three competing wrestlers ranked in the InterMat rankings as Marlon Yarbrough checks in at No. 22 at 133 and Nick Hamilton is No. 22 at 165. Justin McCoy is No. 16 at 174 pounds.
  • Justin McCoy is 17-5 on the season with all five defeats coming at the hands of nationally-ranked opponents. He went 10-3 in dual action with a 2-1 overtime loss to No. 18 Max Maylor and a 2-0 loss to No. 2 Mekhi Lewis and a 4-2 loss to No. 18 Luca Augustine.
  • Nick Hamilton brought home the program’s 94th individual ACC Championship when he claimed the title at 165 pounds earlier this month to lock up his bid to the annual event.

VIRGINIA IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

  • UVA had wrestlers receive bids to the NCAA Championships for the 40th consecutive season in 2024.
  • The Cavaliers’ best finish under head coach Steve Garland is 15th in the 2010 and 2017 championships.
  • The best finish all-time for Virginia came in the program’s first appearance – 10th place in 1957.
  • Virginia has had four finalists at the NCAA Championships – Henry Jordan (1957 – HWT), Steve Garland (2000 – 125), George DiCamillo (2017 – 141) and Jack Mueller ( 2019 – 125).
  • In addition to his finals appearance in 2019, Mueller also advanced to the semifinals in the 2017 NCAA Championships and took a sixth-place finish after having to medically withdraw from competition.
  • All-time, Virginia has had 17 wrestlers garner All-America honors. Three of them earned the honor multiple times with Chris Henrich, Nick Sulzer and Jack Mueller being three-time All-Americans. 

HOOS AGAINST THE FIELD

  • Justin McCoy has extensive experience against the field with 10 matches against wrestlers in the bracket at 174 pounds and has gone 5-5 in those 10 matches.
  • McCoy’s five losses include one injury default, three by two points or less and one to top-seed Mekhi Lewis on a takedown with eight seconds left in the finals at the ACC Championships.
  • McCoy’s opening match is a rematch against Brody Conley who he beat in an 11-6 decision in the quarterfinals of the Midlands Championships.
  • Marlon Yarbrough faced six wrestlers in the field that includes a season split with Sam Latona -a win by major decision and a loss on riding time in tie breaks in the ACC Championships – and a one point loss to Dylan Ragusin of Michigan.
  • Nick Hamilton had tight matches in his six matches against the field – including wins in the ACC Championships over Derek Fields (NC State) and Connor Brady (VT) to avenge regular-season losses.
  • Krystian Kinsey had seven matches vs. the field, all of them ACC opponents, and will face ACC foe and second-seeded Trent Hidlay in the opening round of competition on Thursday.

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