NCAA Wrestling Championships Begin Tomorrow

NEW YORK – The stage is set at Madison Square Garden, and two Indiana wrestlers will begin tomorrow's run to the NCAA Championships: Elijah Oliver (125) and Nate Jackson (174). Both Hoosiers face tough roads to the finals, filled with well-known opponents and some of the top wrestlers in the country.

Oliver earned a qualifying spot and a national seed in his first collegiate season, entering the tournament at No. 16. For Jackson, he returns to the tournament for the second time in his career, but it's his first with a national seed at No. 12.

2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships
Thursday, March 17-Saturday, March 20, 2016
New York City, N.Y. • Madison Square Garden
Thursday, March 17
Session I - 12:00 p.m. Watch | Session II - 7:00 p.m. Watch
Friday, March 18
Session III - 11:00 a.m. Watch | Session IV - 8:00 p.m. Watch
Saturday, March 19 (Finals & Podiums)
Session V - 11:00 a.m. Watch | Session VI - 8:00 p.m. Watch

Top of the Class
Indiana redshirt junior Nate Jackson holds the No. 12 national ranking (InterMat) in the 174 lbs weight class after his fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. Jackson earned bonus points in two matches, and highlighted his weekend with a decision win over Iowa's Alex Meyer in the consolation semifinals. Jackson is now 31-7 with 20 wins by bonus points.

True freshman Elijah Oliver rose to No. 17 in the InterMat national rankings with his fifth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. Oliver battled through the wrestle-backs and fought to the finish, culminating with a decision win over No. 20 Conor Youtsey (Michigan).

Oliver is now 31-8 in his first collegiate season, with bonus point wins in 17 of his matches.

Familiar Faces
The first and potential second-round pairings provide a handful of familiar opponents for IU's NCAA duo.

First Round
Elijah Oliver vs. Sean McCabe (Rutgers)
Last: Oliver, 8-6 (Big Ten Consolation Quarterfinals)
Potential Second Round: vs. #1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State)
Last: Tomasello, 17-5

Potential Second Round
Nate Jackson vs. #5 Zac Brunson (Illinois)
Last: Brunson, 8-4 (Reno T.O.C. Championship)

Live on ESPN
All six sessions of the 2016 NCAA Championships will be available on Watch ESPN, ESPN's online streaming service. The semifinals and finals will air in prime time on ESPN, and ESPNU will provide an additional 13 hours of coverage from the weekend.

You can access Watch ESPN via your cable subscription package on any compatible device. For links to IU's championship bouts, follow us on Twitter @iuwrestling1.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nate Jackson

Elijah Oliver

Indiana University Athletics