NCAA D1 Wrestling Championships
TrackWrestling Live Scoring
Live Coverage on ESPNU/ESPN: 
March 16 -- Noon (ESPNU); 7 p.m. (ESPN)
March 17 -- 11 a.m. (ESPNU); 8 p.m. (ESPN)
March 18 -- 11 a.m. (ESPNU); 7 p.m. Medal round and National Finals (ESPN)


Fairfax, Va. – The NCAA released the brackets and seeds for the 2023 NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championships on March 8. The George Mason men's wrestling team will be represented by two individuals at the national tournament.
 
Peter Pappas (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview – Old Bethpage JFK) and Nathan Higley (Sullivan County, Pa./Sullivan County) earned automatic bids to compete at the NCAA Championships, March 16-18 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
 
Competing for the first time in the tournament, Pappas (157) is slotted as the No. 23 seed, while Higley (149) goes into the tournament in the No. 26 slot.
 
Pappas made history as the first Patriots wrestler to earn a MAC Championship in the four-year history as members of the MAC. Pappas defeated NCAA Qualifier Ashton Eyler 3-1 in sudden victory in the MAC Championship final. The 157-pounder, ranked #25 in the NCAA Coaches poll, will enter the NCAA Tournament with a 23-3 record.
 
The grad student will battle 10-seeded Kaden Gfeller from Oklahoma State in the first round.
 
Gfeller, a two-time Big 12 champion, will enter his third NCAA Championships. He has gone 21-6 this season and finished second in his third career Big 12 championship match. Gfeller has been a top-10 seed twice before in his career at 149 pounds, making it as far as the blood rounds last season.
 
Higley, unseeded at the MAC Championships, finished runner-up at the tournament. The redshirt-freshman took down two ranked opponents enroute to the 149-pound MAC Championship final. Central Michigan's NCAA Qualifier #26 edged Higley, 7-5, in the final to win the championship. He takes a 24-15 record into the tournament.
 
The redshirt freshman is matched up against Northwestern's Yahya Thomas. The Wildcat finished third at the 2021 NCAA tournament.

George Mason First Round Bouts:
149:  #26 Nathan Higley vs. #7 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern)
157: #23 Peter Pappas vs. #10 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State)
 # = NCAA Tournament Seed

First-round coverage will be on ESPNU starting at noon, while later coverage of the first and second round will be on ESPN at 7 p.m. Thursday.  Friday coverage begins at 11a.m. on ESPNU and 8 p.m. on ESPN. 
The final day of the championships on Saturday will start on ESPNU at 11 a.m., featuring the medal rounds and the National Finals will be on ESPN at 7 p.m.