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IOWA CITY, Iowa — Six University of Iowa wrestlers earned tournament seeds when the NCAA selection show announced the official brackets for the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Wednesday.
Four the six Hawkeyes are seeded fifth or better, including three-time All-American Brandon Sorensen, who earned the No. 2 seed at 149 pounds.
Spencer Lee is the No. 3 seed at 125, and junior Sam Stoll (285) and redshirt freshman Alex Marinelli (165) are seeded fifth at their respective weight classes.
Michael Kemerer is seeded sixth at 157, and Cash Wilcke is seeded No. 14 at 197.
Three more Hawkeyes – Vince Turk (141), Joey Gunther (165), and Mitch Bowman (197) – enter the tournament field unseeded.
Sorensen is making his fourth appearance at the national tournament. Stoll, Kemerer, Gunther, and Wilcke are making their second appearance. Lee, Turk, Marinelli, and Bowman are making their NCAA debuts.
The NCAA Championships begin March 15 at 11 a.m. (CT) at Quicken Loans Arena. Hawkeye fans can follow the tournament online at Hawkeye All-Access and ESPN3. The second round and semifinals air live on ESPN. The finals are on ESPN2. The opening round, quarterfinals, and Saturday’s medal round is on ESPNU.
IOWA’S FIRST ROUND NCAA MATCHUPS (# indicates tournament seed)
125 – #3 Spencer Lee (Iowa) vs Sergio Mendez (CSU Bakersfield)/Alonzo Allen (Chattanooga)
141 – Vince Turk (Iowa) vs. Kyle Shoop (Lehigh)
149 – #2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) Jared Prince (Navy)
157 – #6 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) vs. Coleman Hammond (CSU Bakersfield
165 – #5 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) vs. Jacob Morrissey (Purdue)
174 – Joey Gunther (Iowa) vs. Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State)
184 – Mitch Bowman (Iowa) vs. Canten Marriott (Missouri)
197 – #14 Cash Wilcke (Iowa) vs. Eric Schultz (Nebraska)
285 – #5 Sam Stoll (Iowa) vs. Anonio Pelusi (Franklin & Marshall)
