Utah Valley at 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships 
Thursday, March 17 - Saturday, March 19  
New York, N.Y.   |   Madison Square Garden
TV: ESPNU/ESPN/ESPN3 (Sessions I, II, III, V on ESPNU; Sessions IV & VI on ESPN; Every Session on ESPN3)
Live Results: TrackWrestling.com
Tournament Central  |  Brackets  |  UVU Match Notes

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Session I – Thurs., March 17 – 12 p.m. ET/10 a.m. MT – First Round Matches (Watch Live)
Session II – Thurs., March 17 – 7 p.m. ET/5 p.m. MT – Second Round/Wrestlebacks (Watch Live)
Session III – Fri., March 18 – 11 a.m. ET/9 a.m. MT – Quarterfinals/Wrestlebacks (Watch Live)
Session IV – Fri., March 18 – 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT – Semifinals/Wrestlebacks (Watch Live)
Session V – Sat., March 19 – 11 a.m. ET/9 a.m. MT – Medal Round (3rd, 5th, 7th) (Watch Live)
Session IV – Sat., March 19 – 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT – Championship Finals (Watch Live)
 
OREM, Utah – Two Utah Valley University wrestlers will head to historic Madison Square Garden in New York City this week to compete at the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Seniors Chasen Tolbert (125 pounds) and Jade Rauser (133) will both compete for UVU at nationals this weekend -- Thursday through Saturday, March 17-19 -- at "The World's Most Famous Arena".
 
Rauser will be making a program record fourth appearance at the 2016 NCAA Championships while Tolbert will be taking part at the "Big Show" for the second straight year.
 
"There's a lot of history that has taken place at Madison Square Garden. What a great venue to be able to compete at," head coach Greg Williams said. "It is going to be a great experience for both of our guys and we're looking forward to it."
 
Both UVU grapplers will enter the tournament unseeded and have each received tough draws in their opening-round matches. Tolbert will open up in the pigtail round against Old Dominion's Brandon Jeske (18-11) while Rauser will face the 2016 Big Ten champion and second-seeded Cory Clark (22-1) of Iowa in the first round.
 
Rauser earned his fourth straight trip to the NCAA's after taking third at the Big 12 Championship two week's ago. The 133-pound senior went 3-1 at his first appearance at the Big 12's with wins over fellow 2016 NCAA qualifiers Josh Martinez of Air Force and Gary Wayne Harding of Oklahoma State, as well as South Dakota State's Brance Simms. UVU's first-ever four-time NCAA qualifier will enter the tournament with a 20-6 record during his senior campaign and ranked 17th in his weight class on the latest InterMat poll.
 
"It's always been a goal of mine to go four times, now I just have to reach that next level," said Rauser. "I'm excited that this year's tournament is in New York. What a venue to be able to end my career at. This is definitely going to be one of the best places that I've wrestled at. I'm looking forward to getting there and reaching my goals."
 
After taking sixth at the Big 12 Championship and just missing out on automatically qualifying for his second consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships, Tolbert received an at-large selection to nationals as he's currently ranked 19th on both the NCAA Coaches' Panel Ranking and the RPI. The 125-pound senior went 17-7 during the season with wins over fellow 2016 NCAA qualifiers Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State), Zeke Moisey (West Virginia), Sean McCabe (Rutgers) and Drew Romero (Air Force).
 
"I'm really excited to be headed back to the NCAA Championships this year. I think it will definitely help that this is my second time around, so that I don't walk in and get a little star-struck," Tolbert stated. "Overall I think I will be more focused and ready to compete this year."
 
The winner of Tolbert's pigtail match against ODU's Jeske will advance on to face the three-time All-American and third-seeded Nico Megaludis of Penn State while the loser will drop to the wrestlebacks. The winner of Rauser's opening contest will move on to wrestle either No. 15 Josh Alber of Northern Iowa or Oklahoma State's Harding while the loser will also head to the wrestlebacks.
 
Rauser will enter this year's national tournament with a 2-6 all-time record at the NCAA Championships after going 1-2 a year ago with a win over the two-time All-American Mason Beckman of Lehigh, while Tolbert will be looking for his first win after going 0-2 a year ago.
 
Rauser and Tolbert will look to become the second and third All-American's in UVU wrestling's history this weekend. Former 125-pound standout Benjamin Kjar is the program's lone All-American to date after placing fourth in his weight class at the 2011 NCAA Championships in Philadelphia.
 
This season will mark the seventh straight year that the Wolverines will send at least one grappler to the NCAA Wrestling Championships.
 
The opening session of the 2016 NCAA Championships will get underway at noon ET/10 a.m. MT and will be televised live on ESPNU. Session II will then follow on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. ET/5 p.m. MT.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
ESPN will broadcast every match of the 2016 NCAA Championships for the third straight year on one of its networks. Sessions I, II, III and V will air live on ESPNU, while sessions IV (semifinals) and VI (finals) will be televised live on ESPN. ESPN3 will also show every match throughout the duration of the tournament. Live results can also be followed throughout the event by visiting TrackWrestling.com.