Seven Sooners Set for NCAA Championship

2021 NCAA Wrestling Championship oklahoma

March 18-20 | All Day | Enterprise Center | St. Louis, Mo.

Notes | Stats Hub | Watch | Brackets | Championship Hub

Oklahoma Competitors (with NCAA seed)
Weight	Wrestler	Record
133	No. 11 Tony Madrigal	6-8
141	No. 5 Dom Demas	12-1
149	No. 13 Mitch Moore	9-4
157	No. 10 Justin Thomas	11-3
174	No. 23 Anthony Mantanona	8-7
197	No. 26 Jake Woodley	9-7
HWT	No. 19 Josh Heindselman	9-5

ST. LOUIS – The Big 12 champion Oklahoma Sooners head to St. Louis for the 2021 NCAA Championship, slated for March 18-20 at the Enterprise Center. Big 12 Coach of the Year Lou Rosselli brings seven qualified wrestlers to the championships as his team looks to improve on its 25th-place finish at the 2019 championship.

The Sooners are led by Big 12 champion Dom Demas at 141 pounds and a pair of Big 12 runners-up in Tony Madrigal (133) and Mitch Moore (149). Rosselli's team continues its strong middleweight lineup at 157 where Justin Thomas is a three-time NCAA qualifier and the No. 10 seed at the championship. At-large qualifier and No. 23 Anthony Mantanona was an All-American in 2019 and hit his stride at Big 12s, finishing in fifth to secure the bid. Jake Woodley and Josh Heindselman close out the Oklahoma qualifiers at 197 and 285 pounds, respectively.

The seven Sooner qualifiers are the second-most since Rosselli took over in 2016, second only to eight in 2017. The seven wrestlers have combined for 17 NCAA championship qualifications, piloted by four three-time qualifiers in Demas, Moore, Thomas and Woodley.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

The championship is split over three days. The first three rounds will be split in accordance to weight class and the finals will be broadcast on ESPN on Saturday night.

Thursday, March 18
Session I A - 10:00 a.m. - ESPNU
First Round (125-157 pounds)
Session I B - 1 p.m. - ESPNU
First Round (165-285 pounds)
Session II A - 5 p.m. - ESPN2
Second Round (125-157 pounds)
Session II B - 8 p.m. - ESPN2
Second Round (165-285 pounds)

Friday, March 19
Session III - 10:00 a.m. - ESPNU
Quarterfinals (125-157 pounds)
Session IV - 2:00 p.m. - ESPNU
Quarterfinals (165-285 pounds)
Session V - 7:00 p.m. - ESPN2
Semifinals

Saturday, March 20
Session VI - 10:00 a.m. - ESPN2
Medal Matches
Session VII - 6 p.m. - ESPN
Finals

FIRST-ROUND MATCHES

No. 11 Tony Madrigal vs. No. 22 Mario Guillen (OHIO)
No. 5 Dom Demas vs. No. 28 Marcos Polanco (MINN)
No. 13 Mitch Moore vs. No. 20 Josh Heil (CAMP)
No. 10 Justin Thomas vs. No. 23 Jacob Wright (WYO)
No. 23 Anthony Mantanona vs. No. 10 Peyton Mocco (MIZZ)
No. 26 Jake Woodley vs. No. 7 Rocky Elam (MIZZ)
No. 19 Josh Heindselman vs. No. 14 Trent Hillger (WISC)

MADE FOR MARCH

Since the inception of collegiate wrestling in 1928, Oklahoma has been one of the most dominant wrestling programs in the country. The Sooners have seven team national titles, 24 conference championships, 67 individual national champs, 186 individual conference champions and 276 All-American honors.

In addition to the Sooners' seven national championships, Oklahoma has finished as runner-up at NCAAs 12 times, tied for second most in the country. The Sooners' 40 finishes inside the top four are the fourth-most nationally and OU has grabbed a top-10 spot at NCAAs 64 times (third most) out of 88 NCAA championships held.

The NCAA named Oklahoma the fourth-greatest wrestling dynasty in the country in the summer of 2020. As a state, Oklahoma has produced more national champions (153) than any other state in the country, with 36 more than Pennsylvania.

LAST TIME OUT

The Sooners were crowned champions of the Big 12 Conference at the 2021 Big 12 championship when they scored 124 points to tie Oklahoma State for the title. It was Oklahoma wrestling's 24th conference championship all-time, but first since 2002. The team was powered by a trio of finalists and one individual champion in Dom Demas. The Sooners took the lead in session two behind five bonus point victories in the consolation bracket.

HOW WE GOT HERE

Six of the Oklahoma qualifiers earned auto-bids based on their performances at the Big 12 Championship, and the seventh qualifier, Anthony Mantanona, earned an at-large bid to secure his spot in the field.

The NCAA announced that the Big 12 Conference earned 45 pre-allocations to the 2021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis. The allocations are spread amongst all 10 weight classes, with six classes earning five spots (125, 133, 149, 165, 197 and 285). The 141, 174 and 184 earned four allocations, while 157 collected three.

In recent years, pre-allocations have been determined by a formula measuring Division I winning percentage, ratings percentage index and coaches' ranking. A decrease in overall matches, and in particular non-conference matches, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, led the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee to transition to using the five-year historical average to determine pre-allocations for 2021.

TOURNAMENT INFO

The championship will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks, culminating with the finals live on ESPN on Saturday night. Fans can see when and what mat their favorite Sooner will compete on and then use the tournament hub to find the broadcast.

For updates, follow @OU_Wrestling on Twitter, or like Oklahoma Wrestling on Facebook.