Northwestern University Athletics
NCAA Announces Qualifier Allocations, Final Polls
2/23/2012 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 23, 2012
NCAASports.com: Qualifier allocations announced
EVANSTON, Ill. – Thursday, the NCAA released a number of documents essential for determining who will compete at the 2012 NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, Mo., March 15-17. The qualifier allocations for the tournament, along with final Coaches' Panel Rankings and RPI were released. Northwestern has six wrestlers ranked in the coaches poll and seven in RPI.
Each qualifying tournament was awarded spots per weight class based on current year data and the Big Ten Conference received the most spots with 74. Each wrestler was measured on the following: Division I winning percentage; rating percentage index (RPI); and coaches ranking.
For each wrestler that reached the threshold in at least two of the three categories, his qualifying tournament was awarded a qualifying spot in that weight class. Each qualifying tournament, with automatic qualifying status, was awarded a minimum of one wrestler per weight class, which will go to the tournament champion, even if they did not have any wrestlers reach at least two of the three thresholds. NCAA tournament spots for each qualifying event will be awarded at the tournament based solely on place-finish.
The Big Ten breakdown is as follows: six for 125, seven for 133, five for 141, nine for 149, six for 157, eight for 165, nine for 174, seven for 184, seven for 197 and 10 for heavyweight. This means the wrestlers that place at the Big Ten championships within the qualifier allocation for their weight class (ex: top six at 125 lbs.) receive an automatic bid for the NCAA championships.
After all of the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 40 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 7. All weight classes at the NCAA championships will consist of 33 wrestlers. The at-large selections will be made based on the following criteria: head-to-head competition; qualifying event placement; quality wins; results against common opponents; winning percentage; RPI; coaches ranking and the number of matches contested at that weight class.
The following is a list of Northwestern wrestlers ranked in the final Coaches' Panel Rankings/RPI.
| Weight | Name | Coaches' Panel Ranking | RPI Ranking |
| 125 | Levi Mele | 9 | 10 |
| 133 | Jameson Oster | NR | 33 |
| 149 | Kaleb Friedley | 26 | 25 |
| 157 | Jason Welch | 2 | 4 |
| 165 | Pierce Harger | 28 | 24 |
| 174 | Lee Munster | 13 | 15 |
| 285 | Mike McMullan | 13 | 13 |
Northwestern is currently preparing for the 2012 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, held next weekend, March 3-4. Purdue hosts this year's tournament at Mackey Arena. Tickets are still available for the tournament and fans can purchase by visiting PurdueSports.com.
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