Seven UW wrestlers heading to NCAA Tourney
INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA has released the brackets and seeds for the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships, including seeds and matchups for the seven Wyoming Cowboys set to compete at the national tournament.
At 197 pounds, Stephen Buchanan is the No. 8 seed and will face Oregon State’s No. 25 seeded J.J. Dixon in the first round. In his second year as a Cowboy, Buchanan picked up three wins over top 10 opponents including a win over at the time No. 1 ranked Noah Adams. Buchanan is 11-3 on the season and finished second at the Big 12 Championships.
Tate Samuelson at 184 pounds is the No. 10 seed and draws No. 23 Charles Small (HOF) in his first-round matchup. Samuelson comes into his third NCAA appearance with a 13-3 record. Samuelson finished in second in the Big 12 championships to earn his spot at the NCAA tournament.
Brian Andrews is tabbed as the No. 13 seed in the heavyweight bracket and will have a first round matchup against No. 20 Quinn Miller (UVA). Andrews earned his second trip to the NCAA tournament after a runner-up finish at the Big 12 Championships.
At 174 pounds, Hayden Hastings comes in as the No. 14 seed and will square off against No. 19 Michael O’Malley (DREX) in the first round. Hastings is coming off of a career best third place finish at the Big 12 championships and is set to compete in his third NCAA tournament.
In his first NCAA tournament appearance Cole Moody will be the No. 20 seed at 165 pounds, he faces No. 13 Tanner Skidgel (NAVY) in the first round. Moody finished as a runner-up at the Big 12 Championships and has an overall record of 13-5.
Jacob Wright at 157 comes in as the No. 23 seed and will face No. 10 Justin Thomas (OU) in the first round. At the Big 12 Championships, Wright dropped an 8-2 decision to Thomas but came back to finish fifth at the tournament. Wright is 16-4 on the season with five bonus point wins.
Rounding out the qualifiers, Chase Zollmann is the No. 29 seed in 141 pound bracket. In the first round Zollmann will match up with No. 4 seed Tariq Wilson (NCST). Zollmann is 12-6 on the season and placed 5that the Big 12 Championships. He will be wrestling in his first NCAA Championships.
The 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are March 18-22 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo.
* University of Wyoming press release
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