INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship committee announced the qualifiers for this year’s tournament on Tuesday, March 10, and six North Dakota State University wrestlers, 133-pounder Cam Sykora, 141 Dylan Droegemueller, 157 Jared Franek, 165 Andrew Fogarty, 197 Cordell Eaton and 285 Brandon Metz are on the list.
Brackets and seeding for the NCAA Championship were announced on Wednesday, March 11, during the NCAA Selection Show on NCAA.com.
The NCAA tournament is scheduled for Thursday, March 19, through Saturday, March 21, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Sykora, Droegemueller, Franek, Fogarty, Eaton, and Metz were all automatic qualifiers based on their performances at the Big 12 Conference Wrestling Championship last weekend. Sykora and Fogarty are four-time NCAA qualifiers, while Droegemueller, Franek, Eaton, and Metz all make their first appearance. The six qualifiers match 2015 for the highest number NDSU has advanced to the NCAA Division I tournament.
North Dakota State First Round Pairings
133 -– #11 Cam Sykora (17-4) vs. Oklahoma State #22 Reece Witchcraft (18-10)
141 — #33 Dylan Droegemueller (15-10) vs. Purdue #32 Parker Filius (19-10)
157– #16 Jared Franek (27-7) vs. Oklahoma #17 Justin Thomas (21-9)
165 — #14 Andrew Fogarty (21-4) vs. Buffalo #19 Troy Keller (21-4)
197 — #31 Cordell Eaton (15-12) vs. West Virginia #2 Noah Adams (32-0)
285 — #20 Brandon Metz (22-10) vs. Wyoming #13 Brian Andrews (30-7)
#NCAA Seed
Big 12 Conference 133-pound champion Sykora, a redshirt senior from Wheaton, Minn., is making his fourth appearance at the NCAA tournament and has a 3-6 record. Sykora is 17-4 overall with seven tech falls, two major decisions and one pin. He has an 87-34 career record with 40 pins. Sykora is ninth nationally in tech falls this week
Droegemueller, a redshirt freshman from Champlin, Minn., is making his first trip to the NCAA tournament. He had a 3-2 record and battled through the 141 loser’s bracket to place fourth at the Big 12 championship. Droegemueller has a 15-10 record with five major decisions, three pins, and a tech fall.
Franek, a redshirt freshman from Hardwood, N.D., is making his first NCAA appearance. He bounced back from a semifinal loss at 157 and finished third at the Big 12 championship. Franek has a 27-7 record including seven major decisions and three tech falls.
Fogarty, a redshirt senior from Jordan, Minn., is making his fourth trip to the NCAA tournament and has a 3-6 record. He was the Big 12 runner-up at 165 for the third straight season. Fogarty enters next week with 21-4 record including eight pins, four tech falls, and four major decisions. He has a 96-35 career record and tied for 18th on the NDSU win charts.
Eaton, a redshirt senior Long Grove, Iowa, is making his first NCAA appearance. He won the 197-pound true sixth place match to earn the AQ at the Big 12 championship. Eaton went 4-2 at the Big 12 tournament and stands at 15-12 overall.
Metz, a redshirt senior from West Fargo, N.D., is making his first trip to the NCAA tournament. He placed seventh at the Big 12 championship on his fifth pin of the season. Metz has compiled a 22-10 record and adds four major decisions to the
NCAA Wrestling Championships Brackets
North Dakota State was 39th in the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships team standings.
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