Wolverines to Send Seven Qualifiers to 2025 NCAA Championships in Philly

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan wrestling team will send seven individual wrestlers to Philadelphia, Pa., to compete in the 2025 NCAA Championships, scheduled for Thursday through Saturday (March 20-22) at Wells Fargo Center. Live coverage of the NCAA Championships will be available on the ESPN family of networks.

The NCAA Championships will take place in six sessions over three days, starting at noon on Thursday (March 20) with pigtail matches and the first round. The second session will resume later that day at 7 p.m. and feature continued preliminary matches as well as the first round of wrestlebacks.

On Friday (March 21), wrestling again starts at noon with the quarterfinal round and continued wrestlebacks. The fourth session is slated for 7 p.m. and will feature semifinals and wrestlebacks. On Saturday (March 22), the fifth session is slated for 11 a.m. and will wrap up the consolation bracket, featuring seventh-, fifth- and third-place matches at all weights. The finals are slated for 7 p.m. on Saturday.

The Wolverines have finished runner-up at the NCAA Championships on five occasions (1928, '29, '67, '74, 2005, '22) and have earned eight straight top-10 NCAA finishes, including six in the top five over the stretch (2018-19, '21-22, '23-24). Michigan took third place last season with four NCAA All-Americans and a pair of finalists.

Individually, U-M has produced 24 NCAA champions and 212 All-Americans. The Wolverines have boasted at least one All-American in 27 of the last 29 tournaments, including three or more in each of the last nine appearances.

Notes

• Michigan will send seven wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, including one returning NCAA All-American in graduate student Jacob Cardenas (197 pounds). Cardenas placed eighth at 197 pounds in 2023 and fourth last season while competing for Cornell. He is a four-time NCAA qualifier. Fellow grad students Chase Saldate (157) and Josh Heindselman (Hwt) are both five-time NCAA qualifiers, joining U-M from Michigan State and Oklahoma, respectively. Both will look for their first podium finish this week.

• Three Wolverines are set to make their NCAA Championships debut this week in Philadelphia: senior/junior Nolan Wertanen (125 pounds) and sophomore/freshmen Dylan Gilcher (149) and Beau Mantanona (165).

• With 212 NCAA All-America certificates in program history, the Wolverines rank sixth among the leading programs in the nation, trailing only Oklahoma State, Iowa, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Penn State. Michigan has produced at least one All-American in 27 of the last 29 seasons. The Wolverines also share the ninth spot among the national elite with 24 NCAA individual titles in program history.

• All four members of the Michigan coaching staff garnered NCAA All-America honors during their respective collegiate careers. Head coach Sean Bormet was a two-time NCAA All-American at 158 pounds, after seeing his sophomore season cut short due to injury, and reached the final as a senior (1994). Assistant coach Josh Churella was a three-time All-American at 141 and 149 pounds and reached the final as a junior (2007), while Kevin Jackson was a four-time All-American at LSU and Iowa State. Volunteer coach David Bolyard claimed All-America honors at 165 pounds (2004) at Central Michigan.

• Michigan earned three top-10 NCAA seeds, including No. 1 Cardenas at 197 pounds. He is the fifth Wolverine to earn a No. 1 NCAA seed over the last five seasons. Mantanona and Heindselman are both a No. 6 seed at 165 pounds and heavyweight, respectively.

• The Wolverines took seventh place in the Big Ten Championships with 71 points and six total placewinners, including three in the top four at their respective weights. Cardenas captured the 197-pound title to become Michigan's 132nd Big Ten champion and fifth since 2021. Mantanona and Heindselman both reached third-place bouts, with Mantanona earning a close 2-1 decision win and Heindselman a close 2-1 loss.

• Cardenas knocked off the nation's No. 1 and No. 2-ranked wrestlers en route to his 197-pound title, avenging his only loss of the season with a 4-1 overtime win over Penn State's Josh Barr in the semifinals before beating Iowa's top-ranked and previously-undefeated Stephen Buchanan, 4-2, in the championship final. Cardenas is now a two-time conference champion, previously winning a 2023 EIWA title at 197 pounds while at Cornell.

• Cardenas enters the NCAA Championships with a 20-1 record on the season, boasting 14 bonus wins with one fall, eight technical falls and four major decisions. He has allowed just two takedowns all season. Cardenas owns 12 wins over ranked opposition this season; in addition to No. 1 Buchanan and No. 2 Barr, he has a top-10 win over Minnesota's then-No. 9 Isaiah Salazar (8-3, Jan. 19).

• Heindselman earned two top-10 wins en route to fourth place at the Big Ten Championships, defeating Rutgers' seventh-ranked Yaraslau Slavikouski, 2-1 SV, in the quarterfinals and Illinois' 10th-ranked Luke Luffman, 7-3, in the consolations semifinals. He is 22-4 on the season with six ranked wins, including a 4-2 dual win over Ohio State's Nick Feldman, who knocked him in overtime in last season's NCAA bloodround.

• Heindselman is 22-4 on the season with 14 bonus wins, including 11 technical falls to rank sixth among the nation's leaders in the category. He closed the dual season with back-to-back tech falls, including his 100th career win at Michigan State (21-5, Feb. 16), and picked up a third straight in the first round of the Big Ten Championships.

• Saldate is also approaching the 100-win milestone, currently at 96-39 with a 10-9 mark this season. He missed the final three duals due to injury. He took eighth place at the Big Ten Championships, where he scored a top-10 win with a 6-3 wrestleback decision against Northwestern's ninth-ranked Trevor Chumbley. In all, Saldate has wrestled 11 ranked opponents this season, including seven in the top 10.

• Mantanona took third in his Big Ten Championships debut with a 4-1 record at 165 pounds. He earned three bonus wins with a pair of first-period wins and a consolation injury default, and posted two wins against Minnesota's Andrew Sparks, including a quick fall (1:29) in the quarterfinals. It was his second and third win over the Gopher this season. Mantanona owns six ranked wins in total this season. He is 15-4 with nine bonus wins and shares the team's top spot with Cameron Catrabone with five pins. Mantanona suffered what was thought to be a season-ending ACL tear a week before the season started in October, but surgery proved the ACL intact and he returned to competition in January.

• The Wolverines went 7-5 in dual meets this season, including a 3-5 record in Big Ten action, finishing in a tie for eighth in the conference standings. Key wins included victories over Northwestern (26-10), No. 24 Indiana (22-13), and in-state rival Michigan State (27-12). Michigan has posted a 38-18 Big Ten dual record under sixth-year head coach Bormet.

• Fifth-year senior Dylan Ragusin suffered a season-ending knee injury at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 6-7) to miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season. Ragusin, who has already had surgery to repair the injured knee, is a 2024 All-American and four-time NCAA qualifier. He was ranked No. 4 at 133 pounds to start the season after coming out of redshirt midseason to go 28-4 last year and claim a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. He is 82-30 in his career and will have one more year of eligibility after medical hardship.