With 53 total wrestlers in the 2019 NCAA National Championships there are bound to be Pennsylvania grapplers who have tough draws on Thursday afternoon. Below are ten wrestlers from Pennsylvania who have uphill battles straight out of the gate in Round 1 from Pittsburgh.

 

Gage Curry (North Hills/American) – 125 Pounds

Gage Curry, the 4-Time State Medalist from Pennsylvania, is seeded 28th and will face the 5th seed Jack Mueller of Virginia. in the opening round. Mueller, the ACC Champion, is undefeated and was an All-American at 125 pounds in 2017. The two have not faced each other in their careers.

 

Sam Krivus (Hempfield Area/Virginia) – 141 Pounds

A 2-time Pennsylvania State Champion, Sammy Krivus enters seeded #26 with a 19-10 season record. This is his third trip to the NCAA Tournament but he draws the 7th seed Mitch McKee of Minnesota in the opening round. McKee is also in his third trip to Nationals and has twice made it to the Round of 12. The two have not faced each other in their careers.

 

Cameron Coy (Penn Trafford/Virginia) – 165 Pounds

Redshirt freshman Cam Coy, a 3-time Pennsylvania State Champion from Penn Trafford, is making his first trip to Nationals at 165 pounds. He is seeded 25th and will face an ACC opponent in the first round – Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech. Also a redshirt freshman, Lewis is the 8th seed and was an ACC Champion last week. He has two wins over Coy this season, a 10-1 major and a 6-2 decision, in addition to a 7-1 win over him last season.

 

Evan DeLong (Kane/Clarion) – 165 Pounds

Redshirt senior and 2014 Pennsylvania State Champion Evan DeLong is making his first trip to the National Tournament and he is welcomed in the first round by 2-time NCAA Champion Vincenzo Joseph. DeLong is the 31st seed against 2nd seed and fellow Pennsylvania wrestler Joseph. They have not wrestled in their careers.

 

Jacob Oliver (Huntingdon/Edinboro) – 174 Pounds

Redshirt freshman Jacob Oliver makes his first trip to Nationals at 174 pounds and the 28th seed will meet returning All-American Jordan Kutler in the first round. The Lehigh junior is the 5th seed. Oliver, a 2-time Pennsylvania State Champion, was an EWL runner-up last weekend and the two have to faced off in their careers.

 

Travis Stefanick (Nazareth/Princeton) – 174 Pounds

Nazareth graduate and 2017 PIAA State Champion Travis Stefanick makes his Nationals debut in Pittsburgh at 174 pounds. He is seeded #31 and draws the second seed Daniel Lewis of Missouri. Lewis is a senior and 3-time All-American who has a win over 2018 National Champion Zahid Valencia (Arizona State). To put it nicely – Stefanik will have his hands full and then some. 

 

Noah Stewart (Mifflin County/Army) – 184 Pounds

Army junior Noah Stewart enters as the 28th seed in his first trip to Nationals and will draw fifth seed Max Dean of Cornell in the opening round. The Mifflin County graduate gets an All-American in Max Dean – a wrestler he has not faced in his career. 

 

Jake Jakobsen (Stroudsburg/Lehigh) – 197 Pounds

2016 Pennsylvania State Champion Jake Jakobsen from Stroudsburg has been in and out of the Lehigh starting spot at 197 pounds and enters his first NCAA Tournament as the 24th seed with a 10-7 season record. The junior has a tall task in the first round with Cornell senior Ben Honis. The 9th seed has two wins over Jakobsen this season winning 5-1 and 6-2. 

 

Updated Brackets

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