NCAA Selection Show reveals matches for the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Championships

Then-redshirt freshman David Carr takes down Wyatt Sheets on Jan. 26, 2020, in Hilton Coliseum. 

Stephen Mcdaniel

The NCAA held the selection show for the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Wednesday. The NCAA Championships will be held at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Coming off a runner-up performance in the 125-pound finals at the Big 12 Championships, the No. 12 seeded Alex Mackall is slated to face off with No. 21 Justin Cardani of Illinois.

At 133, Iowa State’s lone at-large bid, No. 24 Todd Small will get a Sundevil Dual rematch with No. 9 Noah Gonser of Campbell. The last meeting between Small and Gonser saw the two decide things in a sudden victory period, where Gonser recorded the match-winning takedown on Small.

Ian Parker claimed the No. 4 seed in the 141 bracket and is set to face Oregon State’s No. 29 seeded Grant Willits. This isn’t the first time that Parker and Willits have met before. The two faced off in Oregon during last season’s dual between the Cyclones and the Beavers, where Willits defeated Parker in a 9-4 decision.

In a week, Willits will be going up against a Parker that’s coming off a Big 12 tournament that saw him defeat No. 5 Dom Demas in sudden victory two during the 141 finals.

No. 8 Jarrett Degen (149) will be facing off with an unfamiliar foe in No. 25 Hunter Richard of Cornell. Degen has been dealing with recent issues of his shoulder occasionally popping out, which may cause problems for the returning All-American.

The highest seeded wrestler for the Cyclones is redshirt freshman David Carr (157), who holds the No. 3 seed after becoming Iowa State’s second Big 12 title holder. Carr is set to face Lock Haven’s No. 30 Alexander Klucker.

No. 31 Chase Straw stole the last auto bid for the NCAA Tournament, but had one of the roughest draws out of all of the Cyclones making the trip to Minneapolis.

Straw’s opening opponent is the No. 2 seeded Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State, who is coming off a runner-up performance in the Big 10 Tournament and is contending for the NCAA title at 165.

Questions arise at 174, as No. 13 Sam Colbray is set to face No. 20 Connor Flynn of Missouri. Colbray finished in fourth place after injury defaulting to Oklahoma State’s Joe Smith in the third place match in the Big 12 Tournament.

Colbray is in a similar position as pre-Big 12 Tournament Todd Small, where he’ll be held off the mat for a few days, but is fully expected to compete during the NCAAs.

No. 23 Marcus Coleman will also be facing an unfamiliar opponent in No. 10 seeded Nino Bonaccorsi of Pittsburgh.

The last Cyclone competing in Minneapolis is No. 11 seeded Gannon Gremmel, who will face North Carolina State’s No. 22 Deonte Wilson. Gremmel is coming off a second place performance at the Big 12 Tournament, falling to Wyoming’s Brian Andrews.

The 2020 NCAA Championships go from March 19-21 in U.S. Bank Stadium. The NCAA recently called for restricted access that’s limited to essential staff and limited family due to concern of COVID-19.