Utah Valley wrestling set for NCAA Championships
Jade Rauser, Ethan Smith and Chasen Tolbert will represent UVU at the ‘Big Show’ in St. Louis this weekend.
Utah Valley at NCAA Wrestling Championships
Thursday-Saturday, March 19-21, 2015
Scottrade Center | St. Louis, Mo.
Tournament Central | Brackets | UVU Notes
TV: ESPN/ESPNU | Live Video | Live Results
OREM, Utah – Utah Valley University wrestling will send three of its grapplers to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships that will run Thursday through Saturday, March 19-21, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. This year will mark the sixth straight season that the Wolverines will wrestle at the national tournament.
Thursday's opening session will get underway at 10 a.m. MT/11 a.m. CT and will be televised live on ESPNU.
The three Wolverines that will compete at the NCAA Championships this weekend will be senior Ethan Smith (174 pounds), and juniors Jade Rauser (133) and Chasen Tolbert (125). Both Smith and Tolbert will head to the 'Big Show' for the time in their respective careers while Rauser will compete at nationals for a program record third time. Rauser, who won the first conference title of his career a week and a half ago to qualify for the third consecutive time, went 1-2 at the tournament in 2013 and 0-2 a year ago.
"Anybody can be beaten," said head coach Greg Williams. "Our guys are good wrestlers. It's one match at a time and you give it your best effort. I feel like all three of these guys have a chance to perform well and go out there and get on that podium."
Tolbert is the lone grappler of the group to enter the tournament seeded, as he'll enter as the No. 15 seed at 125 pounds.
Tolbert had a strong junior campaign in which he went 18-6 with eight victories over fellow foes in the NCAA Tournament. The junior from Delta, Utah (Delta HS) will open his 2015 NCAA run against Zeke Moisey (27-13) of West Virginia, who Tolbert lost to by the score of 14-10 at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in early December. Tolbert placed third in a stacked 125-pound weight class at the NCAA West Regional/Western Wrestling Conference Championships to earn his automatic berth to the NCAAs. He was ranked 12th on the final RPI and 17th on the final NCAA Coaches' Panel Ranking.
Rauser will head to his third straight NCAA Championships after leading the Wolverines in 2014-15 with a 21-6 record. The junior from Townsend, Montana (Broadwater HS) went a perfect 2-0 at the NCAA West Regional/WWC Championships to earn his automatic bid to nationals. Despite being his third straight appearance at the 'Big Show', this year will mark his first at 133 pounds as he bumped up a weight class this season. He'll open the tournament against No. 10 Mason Beckman (25-5) of Lehigh. Rauser was ranked 21st in his weight class on the final RPI and 25th on the most recent NCAA Coaches' Ranking
The senior Smith earned his first berth to the NCAAs after placing second in his weight class at the conference tournament. Smith picked up a huge overtime win over the top seed Andy McCulley of Wyoming in the semifinal match by a score of 3-1 in sudden victory-2 to reach the finals. He then placed second after dropping the title bout by injury default to earn an automatic bid at his weight class to nationals. The senior from Midway, Utah (Wasatch HS), who is 14-12 on the season, will enter the tournament in the pigtail round on Thursday morning against Indiana's Nathan Jackson (27-11).
"My expectations are for them to wrestle their very best matches (at the NCAA Championships)," added Williams. "Last week was the best that these three have ever wrestled, and the goal is that they will be even better this week."
This weekend will mark the sixth consecutive year that UVU will compete at the national tournament as it sent three grapplers to the NCAAs in both 2010 and 2011, one in 2012, three again in 2013, and a program best four last year. Former 125-pounder Benjamin Kjar is the program's lone All-American as he placed fourth in his weight class during his senior campaign (2011).
The three-day, six-session national tournament will take place this year at the Scottrade Center, which is home of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League. All six sessions will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks and each mat/match can be viewed by visiting WatchESPN.com. ESPN will televise the semifinals (March 20) and finals (March 21) in prime time while ESPNU will televise the first and second rounds (March 19), the quarterfinals (March 20) and the medal round (March 21).
Following Thursday's opening session (10 a.m. MT/11 a.m. CT), session II will get underway that evening at 5 p.m. MT/6 p.m. CT. Friday's third session/quarterfinals will then begin at 9 a.m. MT/10 a.m. CT while the fourth session/semifinals will take place that night at 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT. The fifth session/medal round will begin on Saturday at 9 a.m. MT/10 a.m. CT while the finals/sixth session will be held on Saturday evening on ESPN at 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT.
To view the championship brackets for this weekend's tournament click HERE.
2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship Schedule of Events
Session I – March 19 at 11 a.m. CT (Eight Mats – Pigtails and First Round)
Session II – March 19 at 6 p.m. CT (Eight Mats – Preliminaries; Wrestlebacks)
Session III – March 20 at 10 a.m. CT (Eight Mats – Quarterfinals and Wrestlebacks)
Session IV – March 20 at 7 p.m. CT (Six Mats – Semifinals and Wrestlebacks)
Session V – March 21 at 10 a.m. CT (Three Mats – 3rd-5th-7th Medal Rounds)
Session VI – March 21 at 7 p.m. CT (One Mat – Finals and Awards Ceremony)
UVU's First Round Matches at the 2015 NCAA Championships
125: No. 15 Chasen Tolbert (UVU) vs. Zeke Moisey (West Virginia)
133: Jade Rauser (UVU) vs. No. 10 Mason Beckman (Lehigh)
174: Ethan Smith (UVU) vs. Nathan Jackson (Indiana)
Thursday-Saturday, March 19-21, 2015
Scottrade Center | St. Louis, Mo.
Tournament Central | Brackets | UVU Notes
TV: ESPN/ESPNU | Live Video | Live Results
Thursday's opening session will get underway at 10 a.m. MT/11 a.m. CT and will be televised live on ESPNU.
The three Wolverines that will compete at the NCAA Championships this weekend will be senior Ethan Smith (174 pounds), and juniors Jade Rauser (133) and Chasen Tolbert (125). Both Smith and Tolbert will head to the 'Big Show' for the time in their respective careers while Rauser will compete at nationals for a program record third time. Rauser, who won the first conference title of his career a week and a half ago to qualify for the third consecutive time, went 1-2 at the tournament in 2013 and 0-2 a year ago.
"Anybody can be beaten," said head coach Greg Williams. "Our guys are good wrestlers. It's one match at a time and you give it your best effort. I feel like all three of these guys have a chance to perform well and go out there and get on that podium."
Tolbert is the lone grappler of the group to enter the tournament seeded, as he'll enter as the No. 15 seed at 125 pounds.
Tolbert had a strong junior campaign in which he went 18-6 with eight victories over fellow foes in the NCAA Tournament. The junior from Delta, Utah (Delta HS) will open his 2015 NCAA run against Zeke Moisey (27-13) of West Virginia, who Tolbert lost to by the score of 14-10 at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in early December. Tolbert placed third in a stacked 125-pound weight class at the NCAA West Regional/Western Wrestling Conference Championships to earn his automatic berth to the NCAAs. He was ranked 12th on the final RPI and 17th on the final NCAA Coaches' Panel Ranking.
Rauser will head to his third straight NCAA Championships after leading the Wolverines in 2014-15 with a 21-6 record. The junior from Townsend, Montana (Broadwater HS) went a perfect 2-0 at the NCAA West Regional/WWC Championships to earn his automatic bid to nationals. Despite being his third straight appearance at the 'Big Show', this year will mark his first at 133 pounds as he bumped up a weight class this season. He'll open the tournament against No. 10 Mason Beckman (25-5) of Lehigh. Rauser was ranked 21st in his weight class on the final RPI and 25th on the most recent NCAA Coaches' Ranking
The senior Smith earned his first berth to the NCAAs after placing second in his weight class at the conference tournament. Smith picked up a huge overtime win over the top seed Andy McCulley of Wyoming in the semifinal match by a score of 3-1 in sudden victory-2 to reach the finals. He then placed second after dropping the title bout by injury default to earn an automatic bid at his weight class to nationals. The senior from Midway, Utah (Wasatch HS), who is 14-12 on the season, will enter the tournament in the pigtail round on Thursday morning against Indiana's Nathan Jackson (27-11).
"My expectations are for them to wrestle their very best matches (at the NCAA Championships)," added Williams. "Last week was the best that these three have ever wrestled, and the goal is that they will be even better this week."
This weekend will mark the sixth consecutive year that UVU will compete at the national tournament as it sent three grapplers to the NCAAs in both 2010 and 2011, one in 2012, three again in 2013, and a program best four last year. Former 125-pounder Benjamin Kjar is the program's lone All-American as he placed fourth in his weight class during his senior campaign (2011).
The three-day, six-session national tournament will take place this year at the Scottrade Center, which is home of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League. All six sessions will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks and each mat/match can be viewed by visiting WatchESPN.com. ESPN will televise the semifinals (March 20) and finals (March 21) in prime time while ESPNU will televise the first and second rounds (March 19), the quarterfinals (March 20) and the medal round (March 21).
Following Thursday's opening session (10 a.m. MT/11 a.m. CT), session II will get underway that evening at 5 p.m. MT/6 p.m. CT. Friday's third session/quarterfinals will then begin at 9 a.m. MT/10 a.m. CT while the fourth session/semifinals will take place that night at 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT. The fifth session/medal round will begin on Saturday at 9 a.m. MT/10 a.m. CT while the finals/sixth session will be held on Saturday evening on ESPN at 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT.
To view the championship brackets for this weekend's tournament click HERE.
2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship Schedule of Events
Session I – March 19 at 11 a.m. CT (Eight Mats – Pigtails and First Round)
Session II – March 19 at 6 p.m. CT (Eight Mats – Preliminaries; Wrestlebacks)
Session III – March 20 at 10 a.m. CT (Eight Mats – Quarterfinals and Wrestlebacks)
Session IV – March 20 at 7 p.m. CT (Six Mats – Semifinals and Wrestlebacks)
Session V – March 21 at 10 a.m. CT (Three Mats – 3rd-5th-7th Medal Rounds)
Session VI – March 21 at 7 p.m. CT (One Mat – Finals and Awards Ceremony)
UVU's First Round Matches at the 2015 NCAA Championships
125: No. 15 Chasen Tolbert (UVU) vs. Zeke Moisey (West Virginia)
133: Jade Rauser (UVU) vs. No. 10 Mason Beckman (Lehigh)
174: Ethan Smith (UVU) vs. Nathan Jackson (Indiana)
Tag(s): Home