LARAMIE, Wyo. (March 4, 2020) – Pre-seeds and brackets for this weekend's Big 12 Wrestling Championships have been released, announced by the conference Wednesday. Montorie Bridges is the top seed at 133 pounds for the tournament, held in Tulsa, Okla., March 7-8.
A total of eight Cowboys in the Wyoming lineup earned top-eight pre-seeds for the tournament.
Bridges, who is the highest-rated Big 12 wrestler at 133 in the coaches' panel (No. 9) and RPI (No. 5), leads the Cowboys with 28 victories this season, 10 of which have come via bonus-point wins. Bridges' four top-20 wins this season are the second-most on the team while his 15 dual wins are tied for the most. The Oklahoma native will be looking to qualify for his third NCAA Championships this weekend.
At 197, Stephen Buchanan is the next-best pre-seed for the Pokes, as he's set to be seeded fourth and like Bridges, will receive a first round bye. Buchanan has compiled 25 wins this season in his rookie campaign, including a pair of top-20 wins.
A pair of wrestlers, Brian Andrews (heavyweight) and Cole Moody (165) were each seeded No. 5. Andrews is second on the team with 26 victories this season while his five wins over ranked opponents, leads the Cowboys. 11 of Andrews' 26 wins have come via bonus points. Moody comes in with an 18-15 record during his first season in the Pokes' lineup and has a pair of ranked victories.
Hayden Hastings is the No. 6 pre-seed in the 174-pound bracket. Hastings leads the team in bonus-point wins this season as 14 of his 20 wins have come via fall or major decision. Hastings has two top-15 victories on the year, both of which came with bonus points.
Dewey Krueger at 157 and Tate Samuelson at 184 clock in as the No. 7 seeds. Krueger, who was the Reno Tournament of Champions' Most Outstanding Wrestler, has 19 wins on the year. Samuelson has posted an 18-11 record during the 2019-20 campaign.
Jaron Jensen at 149 pounds rounds-out the pre-seeded wrestlers for UW. Jensen comes in at No. 8 before the tournament and has 18 wins on the year, including a pair of top-20 wins, one of which came against second-ranked Brock Mauller of Missouri earlier in the year.
Tournament pre-seeds and brackets are subject to change following the coaches' meeting Friday night. Tickets for the Big 12 Championships are on sale now.
-WYO-
