Wolverines Receive Seeds for NCAAs, Cardenas Earns No. 1 at 197 Pounds

• NCAA Championship Brackets (PDF)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The University of Michigan wrestling program's seven NCAA Championships qualifiers earned their seeds for the 2025 NCAA Championships, notably graduate student Jacob Cardenas, who earned the No. 1 seed at 197 pounds, when the NCAA released its full tournament brackets Wednesday evening (March 12).

Cardenas is the fifth Wolverine to earn a No. 1 NCAA seed over the last five seasons. He owns a 20-1 record on the season and avenged his only loss of the season with a 4-1 win over Penn State's Josh Barr in the Big Ten semifinals before knocking off Iowa's top-ranked and previously undefeated Stephen Buchanan 4-2 in the championship bout. Cardenas is a two-time NCAA All-American at 197 pounds, claiming fourth place in 2024 while competing for Cornell. He will face the winner of the pigtail between Appalachian State Carson Floyd and Army West Point's Wolfgang Frable in the first round.

Sophomore/freshman Beau Mantanona and graduate student Josh Heindselman claimed the No. 6 seeds at 165 pounds and heavyweight, respectively -- in what will be Mantanona's first NCAA Championships and Heindselman's fifth. Mantanona is 15-4 on the season after claiming third place in his Big Ten Championships debut and will face Indiana's Tyler Lillard in the first round. Heindselman is 22-4 and placed fourth at Big Tens; he will wrestle Duke's Connor Barket in his first bout.

Sophomore Sergio Lemley earned the No. 14 seed in his second straight NCAA appearance at 141 pounds. Lemley took fifth place at the Big Ten Championships and owns a 20-9 record. He will face Oklahoma's Mosha Schwartz in the first round.

Graduate student Chase Saldate is the No. 23 seed at 157 pounds, while sophomore/freshman Dylan Gilcher is No. 28 at 149. Both wrestlers placed eighth at the Big Ten Championships after battling injury down the stretch of the dual season. Saldate owns a 10-9 record and will wrestle Maryland's Ethen Miller to open his fifth NCAA Championships appearance. Gilcher is 10-10 this season and will wrestle Iowa's Kyle Parco in the first round.

Senior/junior Nolan Wertanen rounds out the Wolverines' NCAA qualifiers with the No. 33 seed at 133 pounds. Wertnanen, who bumped up from 125 midway through the season after fifth-year senior Dylan Ragusin's season-ending injury, owns a 7-18 overall record and placed 10th at the Big Ten Championships to secure the weight's final automatic bid. He will wrestle against Cal Baptist's Hunter Leake in the 125-pound pigtail bout.

The NCAA Championships are scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, March 20-22, at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa.