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Findlay is in, UVU will send a record six to nationals

By UVU Athletics, 03/12/19, 2:30PM MDT

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INDIANAPOLIS – Utah Valley University sophomore 141-pounder Matt Findlay has earned an at-large selection to compete at the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, as the Wolverines will now send a program record six to Pittsburgh next week. 
 
Findlay, who went an impressive 14-2 on the season, received the at-large bid on Tuesday after having to withdraw from the Big 12 Championships over the weekend with a pair of medical forfeits. The Wolverine 141-pounder will now join his teammates Demetrius Romero (165 pounds), Kimball Bastian (174), Will Sumner (184), Tanner Orndorff (197) and Tate Orndorff (285) who all previously punched their tickets to nationals at the Big 12 Championships last week. 
 
The NCAA appearance will mark the first for Findlay, Sumner and Tate Orndorff, the second straight for both Romero and Bastian, as well as the third consecutive for Tanner Orndorff
 
Romero (25-3) led UVU at the Big 12 Championship this past weekend by becoming the program's first Big 12 Champion after going an unblemished 3-0 with wins over Oklahoma State's Joe Smith, Northern Iowa's Bryce Steiert and a come-from-behind overtime win over North Dakota State's Andrew Fogarty in the title bout. Tate Orndorff (24-7) was next by placing third in his weight class, while both Bastian (18-10) and Sumner (21-11) each took fourth, and Tanner Orndorff (18-12) finished sixth. 
 
The at-large selections were made by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee using the following selection criteria: head-to-head competition, quality wins, results against common opponents, winning percentage, rating percentage index, coaches ranking and conference tournament finish.
 
Brackets and seeding will be released for next week's NCAA Championships live on NCAA.com on Wednesday at 4 p.m. MT.
 
The NCAA Wrestling Championships will run Thursday to Saturday, March 21-23, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh and will be televised on the ESPN family of networks.