Five South Dakota State University wrestlers will compete for All-America honors and individual national titles this week at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, Missouri.
Competition begins at 11 a.m. Thursday at Scottrade Center with first-round matches.
This year's tournament will feature expanded television coverage, with both the Friday and Saturday night sessions slated for broadcast on ESPN. The entire tournament can be viewed on ESPN3.com, with additional coverage on ESPNU.
A complete tournament schedule follows:
2017 NCAA DIVISION I WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Thursday, March 16
Session 1: First-Round Matches, 11 a.m., [ESPNU/ ESPN3]
Session 2: Round of 16 Matches, Consolation
Matches, 6 p.m. [ESPNU/ESPN3]
Friday, March 17
Session 3: Quarterfinals, Consolation Matches,
10 a.m. [ESPNU/ESPN3]
Session 4: Semifinals, Consolation Matches,
7 p.m. [ESPN/ESPN3]
Saturday, March 18
Session 5: Championship Medal Round, 10 a.m.
[ESPNU/ESPN3]
Session 6: Championship Finals, 7 p.m.
(Parade of All-Americans at 6:35 p.m.) [ESPN/ESPN3]
NATIONAL QUALIFIERS:
South Dakota State's Seth Gross is seeded second at 133 pounds and Nate Rotert was awarded the No. 9 seed in the 197-pound weight class as pairings for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were announced March 8.
A sophomore from Apple Valley, Minn., Gross enters the three-day tournament with a 30-1 overall record and will square off against Maryland's Billy Rappo, 16-13 overall. The two wrestlers met in the quarterfinals of the Midlands Championships on Dec. 29, with Gross recording an 11-3 major decision.
Gross holds a combined 9-1 record against other wrestlers in the tournament field, with his lone loss of the year coming in overtime against Nebraska's Eric Montoya in the Midlands semifinals. Gross and Montoya could meet in the quarterfinals, while a potential third meeting with Oklahoma State's Kaid Brock looms in the semifinals.
Nathan Tomasello, who enters the NCAA Championships undefeated at 19-0, is the top seed in the 133-pound weight class.
Gross, named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at last weekend's Big 12 Conference Wrestling Championship, qualified for the 2016 NCAA Championships at 141 pounds.
Rotert, a junior from Spearfish, will be making his third trip to nationals after posting a 21-7 overall record and fourth-place finish at the Big 12 tournament. Rotert will meet Daniel Chaid of North Carolina in opening-round action.
Three-time NCAA qualifier Alex Kocer will open his 2017 tournament run against eighth-seeded Patricio Lugo of Edinboro, 30-7 overall. A senior from Wagner, Kocer has compiled a 27-8 record during the 2016-17 season, with all eight of his losses coming against wrestlers in the 149-pound tournament field.
Younger brother, David, makes a return trip to the NCAA Championships in the 174-pound weight class and will meet fifth-seeded
Mark Hall of tournament favorite Penn State. Hall is 26-3 overall, while Kocer enters the tournament with a 23-8 mark after a third-place finish at the Big 12 Conference Wrestling Championship.
Rounding out the Jackrabbit list of qualifiers is 165-pounder Luke Zilverberg. A junior from Belle Plaine, Minn., Zilverberg will be making his first NCAA Championship appearance after posting a 24-8 overall record. He will face Tyrel White, 22-13, of Columbia in an opening-round match for the right to face sixth-seeded Daniel Lewis of Missouri, 24-3 overall, in the Round of 32.
