NCAA releases seeds for wrestling championships

Lelund Weatherspoon, an Iowa State RSr., takes on his opponent Kyle Crutchmer in the 174 pound weight division. Weatherspoon lost the match in a close contest 3-2.

Ben Visser

A day after Iowa State wrestlers found out who was going to St. Louis, Missouri, to wrestle in the NCAA Championships, they found out what they were seeded and who they’d be wrestling.

The Cyclones’ 133-pound Earl Hall earned a 13 seed. He’s wrestling Princeton’s Pat D’Arcy in the first round. D’Arcy went 16-14 this season, including 9-8 in duals.

D’Arcy’s best win this season came against then-No. 20 Mark Grey, who D’Arcy lost to twice later in the season.

If everything goes as expected in Hall’s bracket, he will wrestle Iowa’s Cory Clark in the second round.

Clark, the No. 3 seed, has been battling a shoulder injury all season. Earlier in the year, when Iowa State traveled to Iowa, the two didn’t meet due to a Clark injury. Instead, Hall wrestled and beat Phillip Laux 5-3.

At 174 pounds, Lelund Weatherspoon got a 14 seed. Last season, Weatherspoon was the only unseeded wrestler to make it to the semifinals.

He’ll wrestle Stanford’s Peter Galli. Galli’s best win came against then-No. 16 Jon Schleifer.

If Lelund gets past Galli, he’ll likely get No. 3 Bo Jordan of Ohio State. Last season, Weatherspoon upset No. 2 Brian Realbuto in the first round, so he’s familiar with upsetting top-ranked opponents.

Last, the only Iowa State wrestler to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships is Marcus Harrington. He is unseeded in the NCAA Championships.

Harrington is pitted against Oklahoma State’s Preston Weigel. Weigel is the No. 6 seed.

When Iowa State wrestled Oklahoma State earlier this season, Harrington and Weigel didn’t meet. Instead, Oklahoma State sent out its backup. Harrington won 3-2 in that match.

The tournament starts on March 16 in St. Louis.