IRVING, Texas (Feb. 26, 2018) – Pre-seeds for the 2018 Big 12 Wrestling Championship were announced by the league office on Monday. Both senior
Bryce Meredith and junior
Branson Ashworth will enter the tournament as the top seed in their respective weight classes. The event is set for March 3-4 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.
Meredith, the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds, rides a 22-match win streak into the postseason. He is 26-1 on the year and 9-0 against Big 12 opponents. The two-time All-American took home runner-up honors a year ago at the conference tournament before a fourth-place finish at NCAAs.
Ashworth, currently ranked No. 13 at 165 pounds and with a team-best record of 31-3, has won his last 20 matches as he heads to Tulsa. Like Meredith, he also went perfect against the Big 12 this season. He finished in fifth-place a season ago to earn his first trip to Nationals.
Senior
Archie Colgan (157) and redshirt freshman
Montorie Bridges (133) each picked up No. 2 seeds in their respective weight classes. Colgan owns a 29-7 record and qualified for NCAAs for the first time last season, while Bridges sports a 29-3 overall mark, including 8-0 against Big 12 competition.
Senior
Chaz Polson (184) and redshirt freshman
Sam Turner (149) round out the Cowboys pre-seeded in the top-five. Polson has posted a 26-9 record, including the last five, while Turner holds a 22-13 mark. Senior
Kyle Pope is the No. 6 seed at 174 pounds. He will enter the tournament with a 21-10 mark, with a 5-2 record against Big 12 opponents.
UW also has
Drake Foster (125) and
Sam Eagan (285) each pre-seeded at No. 8 for the Big 12 Championship. Foster has a record of 18-10, as Eagan is 12-11 on the year. Senior
Luke Paine, who has a 4-1 record this season, is the No. 12 seed at 197 pounds.
The pre-seeds are tentative and will be finalized on Friday evening before the championship begins. For more information on the Big 12 Championship, visit Big12sports.com. The first session of the event will take place on Saturday at 10 a.m. MT.
