Five Bison Head to Kansas City for NCAA Wrestling Championships
2024 NCAA Championships The 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships will take place at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. Five Bucknell wrestlers are set to compete in the event, the most since 2016. The top five qualifiers are Mulvaney, Takats, Phipps, Chappell, and Crosby, who each qualified for the first time last season. This will be their first appearance at the championships. ESPN will air the entire NCAA Championships on its family of networks for the ninth consecutive year. The Bison wrestling program has a history of five qualifiers for four NCAA Championships.
Published : 2 months ago by in Sports Science
2024 NCAA Championships
When: Thursday, March 21 to Saturday, March 23
Where: T-Mobile Center – Kansas City, Mo.
Event Website: NCAA.com
Live Results: TrackWrestling
Television/Online Video: ESPN Family of Networks (Full schedule below)
Follow on Twitter:@Bucknell_WRST
Media Notes: BucknellBison.com
About the NCAA Championships
• NCAA wrestling's premier event will be held Thursday, March 18 to Saturday, March 21 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
• (133), (141), (165), (174) and (285) are set to represent Bucknell at the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships this week. The five qualifiers are the most Bucknell has sent to the national championships since 2016. Mulvaney and Takats are making their first trip to the big stage, while Phipps, Chappell and Crosby each qualified for the first time last season.
• With Mulvaney and Takats both qualifying, Bucknell is sending two true freshmen to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2015.
• Phipps is seeded highest among the Bison at 13th in the 133-pound bracket. He was an automatic qualifier after placing fourth at the EIWA Championships back on March 9. is Bucknell's second-highest seed at 16th in the 141-pound bracket. Chappell was a runner-up at the EIWA Championships. Mulvaney is seeded 22nd at 165-pounds after earning one of the NCAA's 47 at-large bids. He placed sixth at EIWAs. Takats is seeded 30th at 174 following a sixth-place finish at EIWAs, and Crosby comes in as the 19th seed at 285 pounds after a runner-up finish at the conference championships.
ESPN to Air the NCAA Championships
• For the ninth-straight year, ESPN will air the entire NCAA Championships on its family of networks.
• The night sessions, which includes Thursday's second round, Friday's semifinals and Saturday's finals, will air on ESPN.
• ESPNU will carry the earlier sessions on all three days. During every session, ESPN+ will stream every single mat and match, allowing fans to follow any wrestler and/or school.
12 p.m., March 21 – First Round (Session 1) on ESPNU/ESPN+
7 p.m., March 21 – Second Round + Consi. (Session 2) on ESPN/ESPN+
12 p.m., March 22 – Quarterfinals + Consi. (Session 3) on ESPNU/ESPN+
8 p.m., March 22 – Semifinals + Blood Round (Session 4) on ESPN/ESPN+
11 a.m., March 23 – Medal Round (Session 5) on ESPNU/ESPN+
7 p.m., March 23 – Finals (Session 6) on ESPN/ESPN+
All times Eastern
Bucknell's NCAA Championships History
• Since the Bucknell wrestling program was reinstated ahead of the 2006-07 season, thanks in large part to a generous donation from Bill Graham '62, 25 different wrestlers have combined to earn 53 NCAA berths and five All-America certificates.
• This year, Bucknell's five NCAA qualifiers are the most the program has had since 2016.
• Since the program was revived, five Bison have qualified for four NCAA Championships: David Marble (133, 2007-10), Andy Rendos (165, 2007-10), Joe Stolfi (285, 2013-16), current assistant coach (141, 2015-18) and Zach Hartman (157/165, 2019-22).
• (133), (141) and (285) are the 11th, 12th and 13th Bison to reached the NCAA Championships more than once since 2007, and Chappell is the third to do it at two different weights.
• At last year's NCAA Championships, Phipps, Chappell and Crosby each went 0-2 on the first day of the NCAA Championships.
Bucknell's First-Round Opponents
• will face Minnesota's 20th-seeded Tyler Wells in the first round. Wells defeated Phipps earlier this year by an 11-5 decision in a home dual for the Bison on Nov. 16.
• Wells, a true freshman from Princeton, Minn., went 1-2 at the Big Ten Championships and is 13-5 on the season. This will be his first appearance at the NCAA Championships.
• The winner between Phipps and Wells will face the winner of 29th-seeded Jace Koelzer of Oklahoma and 4th-seeded Dylan Shawver of Rutgers in the round of 16.
• will face 17th-seeded Isaiah Powe of Chattanooga in the first round. It will be the first meeting between the two wrestlers.
• Powe, a true freshman, went 24-2 during his first season and won the SoCon Tournament title. Powe is making his first NCAA Championships appearance.
• The winner between Chappell and Powe will face the winner of top-seeded Jesse Mendez of Ohio State and the wrestler that emerges from the pigtail round.
• will challenge 11th-seeded Andrew Cerniglia of Navy in the first round. The two EIWA foes have yet to face. Cerniglia, a senior, took the runner-up spot at the EIWA Championships and is 22-5 on the season. Cerniglia is in his first season wrestling at 165 pounds and previously qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2021 and 2022 at 157 pounds. He is 1-4 in his career at the national tournament.
• The winner between Mulvaney and Cerniglia will go on to face the winner of 6th-seeded Connor Brady of Virginia Tech and 15th-seeded Brevin Cassella of Binghamton.
• faces 3rd-seeded Edmond Ruth of Illinois in the first round. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two. Ruth captured the Big Ten 174-pound title and enters the NCAA Championships with a 22-2 record this season. The Harrisburg, Pa. native, who competed at Lehigh his first two collegiate seasons, qualified for the 2023 national tournament and went 3-2 before losing in the blood round.
• The winner of the Takats-Ruth matchup will move on to face the winner of 19th-seeded Alex Cramer of Central Michigan and 14th-seeded Gaven Sax of North Dakota State.
• faces 14th-seeded Boone McDermott of Oregon State for the first time in the first round of the tournament. McDermott, a redshirt senior, is in his first season with the Beavers after previously competing for Rutgers. He enters the tournament 18-9. McDermott was a 2023 NCAA qualifier and went 0-2 at the tournament.
• The winner between Crosby and McDermott will take on the winner of 3rd-seeded Wyatt Hendrickson of Air Force and 30th-seeded Seth Nevills of Maryland in the round of 16.
Bucknell Wrestlers Against the Field
• faced eight of the 32 other wrestlers in the NCAA Championships' 133-pound bracket this season and went 6-4 against them. Two of his losses were to the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, Daton Fix of Oklahoma State and Ryan Crookham on Lehigh. Phipps' best win was over 9th-seeded Dom Serrano of Northern Colorado at the Southern Scuffle.
• Throughout his career, Phipps is 10-14 against wrestlers in this year's 133-pound bracket.
• went 2-3 against wrestlers in the 149-pound bracket, including a pair of losses to 11th-seeded Josh Koderhandt of Navy. Chappell split two matchups against 19th-seeded Malyke Hines of Lehigh and went 1-0 against No. 24 seed Vince Cornella from Cornell.
• Chappell is 10-11 in his career against wrestlers in the entire NCAA Championships field, having wrestled at 133 and 149 as well.
• faced eight different wrestlers in the championship field during his rookie campaign and went 4-7 in those matches. Mulvaney earned wins over No. 17 Tyler Lilard of Indiana, No. 19 Gunner Filipowicz of Army, No. 27 Blaine Brenner of Minnesota and No. 32 Jake Logan of Lehigh. The highest seed Mulvaney faced was 3rd-seeded Julian Ramirez of Cornell in the EIWA semifinals, where he lost by a 10-4 decision.
• went 1-9 against wrestlers in the 174-pound bracket during his rookie campaign, with his lone win coming against 25th-seeded Brayden Thompson of Oklahoma State. Four of Mulvaney's losses were to wrestlers seeded 10th or higher.
• faced eight wrestlers in the 285-pound bracket this season and went 4-7 against the group. His highest-seeded victory was over No. 16 Cory Day of Binghamton, who he defeated by an 8-2 decision in the EIWA semifinals. Two of Crosby's losses this season were to fifth-seeded Nathan Taylor of Lehigh. Crosby also has two wins this season over No. 22 seed Matt Cover of Princeton and one over No. 23 seed Lucas Stoddard of Army.
• Crosby is 6-16 in his career against wrestlers competing at this year's NCAA Championships.
NCAA Qualifiers from the EIWA Championships
• The EIWA had 53 automatic qualifiers for the 2024 NCAA Championships, ranking behind only the Big Ten (85) and Big 12 (57). The EIWA had eight more allotments than last year and 11 more than in 2022.
• With eight, the EIWA had the most automatic qualifiers in the country from the 285-pound weight class. The EIWA was second to the Big Ten in automatic qualifiers from the 184-pound weight class and tied with the Big 12 for second at 197 pounds.
• Additionally, the EIWA had nine of the 47 at-large selections, including Bucknell's .
Bison in the latest NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings
• (133): 20th (3rd of 6)
• (141): 24th (5th of 6)
• (165): 23rd (5th of 6)
• (285): 19th (5th of 8)
(Parenthesis is rank among EIWA wrestlers)
Bison in the latest NCAA Ratings Percentage Index
• (133): 19th (4th of 7)
• (141): 25th (5th of 6)
• (165): 17th (4th of 7)
• (174): 33rd (7th of 7)
• (197): 33rd (8th of 8)
• (285): 21st (6th of 8)
(Parenthesis is rank among EIWA wrestlers)
Bison in the latest National Rankings
• (133): 16th by Intermat, 19th by The Open Mat, 28th by FloWrestling
• (141): 28th by Intermat, 17th by FloWrestling
• (165): 18th by Intermat, 17th by The Open Mat, 28th by FloWrestling
• (285): 19th by Intermat, 22nd by FloWrestling
Bucknell at the 2024 EIWA Championships
• In 2024, Bucknell placed six on the podium at the EIWA Championships.
• (141) and (285) both finished runners-up, (133) placed fourth, (165) and (174) both took sixth, and (196) finished seventh. They were the most EIWA placewinners the Bison have had since 2020, when excluding the 10-team 2021 EIWA tournament, and the 11th time since 2000 that Bucknell has had five or more placewinners.
• Bucknell posted two runners-up for the first time since 2020, and it was Chappell's second season in a row reaching the finals.
• Bucknell saw four wrestlers reach the semifinal round.
• As a team, the Bison finished 7th of 17 teams with 72 points. It was the team's best finish in three years.
Bucknell at a Glance
• Bucknell ranked 18th in the latest NWCA Mid-Major Coaches Poll, released Feb. 14. The Bison were one of six EIWA teams to appear in the top 20. Bucknell ranked 17th in the first edition of the poll.
• The Bison went 8-8 (4-5 EIWA) during the 2023-24 campaign. Five of Bucknell's opponents made appearances in the NWCA Top 25 throughout the season.
• Bucknell returned all three 2023 NCAA qualifiers this season: (133), (149) and (285). Chappell and Crosby were both automatic qualifiers, and Phipps was one of 47 wrestlers to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.
• Bucknell also returned four of its five EIWA placewinners from a season ago: Phipps (7th at 133), Chappell (2nd at 149), Crosby (6th at 285), and (5th at 157).
• Bucknell graduated six seniors in 2023, including 2021 NCAA qualifier and three-time EIWA placewinner (141) as well as 2021 EIWA placewinners (197) and (174).
• The Bison added 11 newcomers this season, and the group was dubbed the No. 19 recruiting class in the country by Intermat.
• Chappell, Crosby, Delp and Phipps are serving as team captains this season.
• Bucknell went 6-9 (4-6 EIWA) during the 2022-23 season. It finished ninth at the 2023 EIWA Championships with 54 points.
• Head coach is in his 18th season with the Bison and his 19th year leading the program since its revival in 2005. He ranks second all-time in program history with 156 career victories. Wirnsberger was tabbed as the 2015 EIWA Coach of the Year after the Bison placed third at the EIWA Championships and qualified four wrestlers for the NCAA Championships.
• Wirnsberger and Bob Ferraro, who led Bucknell to a 169-175-6 record from 1974 to 1997, are the program's only head coaches to reach the 100-win plateau.
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