No. 3 @MizzouWrestling Seeds Seven as 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships Brackets Revealed
3/7/2018 6:14:00 PM | Wrestling
Eierman and Lavallee lead the way as No. 2 seeds
2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships BRACKETS
COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 3 Mizzou Wrestling will open the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships with seven seeded wrestlers, including six ranked in the top-six as the NCAA announced the brackets for the March 15-17 tournament in Cleveland, Ohio. Overall, Mizzou qualified nine wrestlers for this year's tournament, the sixth time in the last eight seasons head coach Brian Smith has sent nine or 10 wrestlers to the National Tournament.
Redshirt sophomore 141-pounder Jaydin Eierman (Columbia, Mo.) and redshirt senior 157-pounder Joey Lavallee (Reno, Nev.) will be Mizzou's top-seeds in the tournament, as they both enter as the No. 2 seed in their respective weight class. In the first round, Eierman will wrestle North Carolina's Austin Headlee in a rematch from the South Beach Duals (Dec. 29) where Eierman defeated Headlee by 15-5 major decision. The Tiger sophomore enters the National Tournament coming off his second MAC title, and has wrestled to a record of 28-1, including 21 bonus point wins. Last season, Eierman earned All-America honors by finishing fifth at the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships, and was named the 2017 MAC Freshman of the Year. In his fourth NCAA Tournament, Lavallee will wrestle North Carolina's Kennedy Monday in the first round. At the South Beach Duals (Dec. 29), Lavallee beat Monday by 17-2 technical fall (7:00) to earn his 100th career victory. The Tiger senior won his second consecutive MAC title at 157 pounds last weekend (March 4), and enters the tournament with a 28-1 record. Last season, Lavallee earned All-America honors for the first time in his career with a runner-up finish at 157 pounds.
Two Tigers will enter the tournament as No. 3 seeds, as redshirt junior 174-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.) seeks his third All-America honor, while redshirt junior 149-pounder Grant Leeth (Kearney, Mo.) makes his debut at the National Tournament. Lewis will head to Cleveland with a perfect 29-0 mark on the season after becoming just the sixth wrestler in program history to win his third conference title. The Tiger junior, who leads the team with 16 falls, will wrestle Rider's Dean Sherry in another South Beach Duals rematch in the first round. Lewis pinned Sherry at 2:26 in the first round on Dec. 30. At the NCAA Championships, Lewis finish fourth in 2016 and sixth in 2017, both at 165 pounds. Leeth, who be making his NCAA Championships debut, will wrestle the winner of the 149 pound pigtail match, Rutgers' Eleazar Deluca and Minnesota's Steve Bleise in his opening round bout. Leeth, who won the MAC title at 149 pounds, enters the tournament with a 17-match win streak, and has a record of 22-2.
Making his second NCAA appearance, redshirt junior 133-pounder John Erneste (Kansas City, Mo.) will be the No. 5 seed, as he draws North Carolina State's Tariq Wilson in the first round. After coming one win away from an All-American finish in 2017, Erneste enters this year's tournament with a 22-2 record and recently won his second MAC title. A year removed from his last NCAA appearance, redshirt senior 197-pounder Willie Miklus (Altoona, Iowa) will wrestle as the No. 6 seed. In a rematch from a Feb. 17 dual where Miklus pulled out an 8-4 win, the Tiger senior will wrestle Northern Iowa's Jacob Holschlag in the first round. Wrestling at 184 pounds, Miklus finished seventh in 2015 and sixth in 2016 before missing a majority of last season with an injury. The Tiger senior enters this year's tournament coming off his first conference title, and has wrestled to a record of 21-3.
Redshirt freshman 184-pounder Canten Marriott (Excelsior Springs, Mo.) will making his NCAA debut as the No. 15 seed, as he draws Iowa's Mitchell Bowman in the first round. Marriott enters the tournament with a record of 25-6 coming off a third place finish at the MAC Championships.
Mizzou's final two wrestlers, redshirt senior 125-pounder Barlow McGhee (Rock Island, Ill.) and redshirt sophomore 165-pounder Connor Flynn (Dardenne Prairie, Mo.) will begin the tournament as unseeded wrestlers. McGhee, who is making his third straight NCAA appearance, will wrestle No. 8 seed Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) in the first round, while Flynn, making his NCAA debut, will wrestle No. 14 seed Branson Ashworth (Wyoming) in the opening round. Flynn recently captured the 165-pound conference title at the MAC Championships (March 4).
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First Round Matchups:
125: Barlow McGhee (MIZ) vs. No. 8 Ethan Lizak (MINN)
133: No. 5 John Erneste (MIZ) vs. Tariq Wilson (NCST)
141: No. 2 Jaydin Eierman (MIZ) vs. Austin Headlee (UNC)
149: No. 3 Grant Leeth (MIZ) vs. winner of Eleazar Deluca (RUT)/Steve Bleise (MINN)
157: No. 2 Joey Lavallee (MIZ) vs. Kennedy Monday (UNC)
165: Connor Flynn (MIZ) vs. No. 14 Branson Ashworth (WYO)
174: No. 3 Daniel Lewis (MIZ) vs. Dean Sherry (RID)
184: No. 15 Canten Marriott (MIZ) vs. Mitchell Bowman (IOWA)
197: No. 6 Willie Miklus (MIZ) vs. Jacob Holschlag (UNI)
Players Mentioned
