Nine Hawkeye wrestlers qualify for NCAAs
All of the Hawkeyes still competing at Big Tens have received automatic berths for the 2020 NCAA Championships.
Iowa’s 149-pound Pat Lugo grapples with Nebraska’s Collin Purinton during session one of the Big Ten Wrestling Tournament in Piscataway, NJ on Saturday, March 7, 2020. Lugo won by major decision, 11-3. (Nichole Harris/The Daily Iowan)
March 7, 2020
PISCATAWAY, NJ – All nine of the Iowa wrestlers still competing in the 2020 Big Ten Championships have received automatic berths for the 2020 NCAA Championships in Minneapolis on March 19-21.
The NCAA awarded the Big Ten 79 of the 283 automatic qualifying bids.
Spencer Lee (125), Pat Lugo (149), Alex Marinelli (165), and Michael Kemerer (174) will all compete at NCAAs after clinching berths in the Big Ten finals, which will take place tomorrow night.
Austin DeSanto (133), Abe Assad (184), and Tony Cassioppi (285) dropped semifinal matches and will compete in the consolation semifinals Sunday.
Max Murin (141) and Jacob Warner (197) both won a pair of matches Sunday afternoon to advance through the consolation round.
Junior Kaleb Young was eliminated from the tournament and is eligible for an at-large berth for the national tournament at 157 pounds. At-large selections are based on the following criteria: head-to-head competition, quality wins, coaches’ ranking, results against common opponents, RPI, qualifying event placement, and winning percentage.