Wrestling Prepped For 2017 MAC Championships

MAC Championships
Date	Saturday-Sunday, March 4-5
Location	Cedar Falls, Iowa \| McLeod Center
Game Notes	PDF Notes
Twitter	@EMUWrestling
Live Results	Track Wrestling
Live Stream	ESPN 3 (Day 1) (Day 2)
Tournament Central	macsports.com
Schedule	PDF Schedule

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University wrestling team has completed its regular season and now turns its sights to the Mid-American Conference Championships. The tournament will take place at the University of Northern Iowa's McLeod Center, Saturday-Sunday, March 4-5. Action from Cedar Falls begins at noon on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday, with the championship bouts starting at 3 p.m.
The championships can be tracked live on Twitter by following @EMUWrestling. Full results can be found on TrackWrestling.com. The action will be streamed, on ESPN 3 as well.

ALL-TIME AT MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS: Since joining the conference in 1971-72, EMU has captured one team conference championship and has had 25 individuals win a weight class. EMU's team title came in 1996 when it won five of the 10 weight classes. Its last individual champion came in 2009 when 197 pounder John McClure won the crown.

LAST SEASON AT THE MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS: EMU had three wrestlers automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, while placing six total in 2016. Returning placewinners include Nick Barber and Jacob Davis, who took third and sixth respectively, as well as Gage Hutchison, who claimed fourth at heavyweight.

MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS PRE-SEEDING: The Mid-American Conference announced its pre-seeding for the MAC Championships, Feb. 28. Here is a look at where EMU stands going into the tournament:

125: Noah Gonser (4)
133: Sa'Derian Perry (8/9)
141: Kyle Springer (4)
149: Nick Barber (6)
157: Zac Carson (6)
165: Devan Marry (4)
174: Jacob Davis (8/9)
184: Kayne MacCallum (7)
197: Derek Hillman (8/9)
HWT: Gage Hutchison (6)

THREE EAGLES IN NCAA COACHES PANEL: In the final NCAA Coaches Panel, three Eastern wrestlers were ranked inside the top-33 in the country. Noah Gonser and Gage Hutchison both checked in at No. 19 at 125 and heavyweight respectively, while 149 pounder Nick Barber was ranked No. 25.

NCAA ALLOCATIONS: The NCAA announced its allocations at each weight class Feb. 23, with the MAC earning 37 spots, the third most in the country. Class-by-class the conference has automatic bids at 125 (5), 133 (6), 141 (2), 149 (5), 157 (2), 165 (3), 174 (3), 184 (3), 197 (5) and HWT (3).

MOVING UP THE CHARTS: Redshirt senior Nick Barber has 80 victories in his EMU career, which ranks 12th on the all-time list. Barber trails David Wade and Vincent Pizzuto by one win for 10th all-time. Meanwhile redshirt junior Gage Hutchison has moved his way into the record book this season, as his 73 career wins rank 15th all-time. Recent EMU Hall of Fame inductee Steve Brown holds the all-time record with 117 wins.

20-WIN CLUB: With dual match wins over Adrian and Missouri, redshirt junior Gage Hutchison got to 20 wins for the second consecutive season after notching 21 all of last season. In EMU's history, only 12 wrestlers have notched more than 30 wins in a season, most recently by Kyle Springer, who had 31 in 2014-15.

UP NEXT ON THE MATS: The EMU wrestlers who qualify for the NCAA tournament will participate in the national meet Friday-Sunday, March 16-18 in St. Louis, Mo.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nick Barber

Zac Carson

Jacob Davis

Noah Gonser

Derek Hillman

Gage Hutchison

Kayne MacCallum

Devan Marry

Sa'Derian Perry

Vincent Pizzuto

Kyle Springer

Eastern Michigan Athletics