COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Senior heavyweight Youssif Hemida earned the 10th-overall seed in the heavyweight bracket ahead of next week's 2019 NCAA Championships, the NCAA announced Wednesday.
 
Hemida, who earned All-American status at the 2018 tournament, will wrestle Jake Gunning of Buffalo in the first round of the event, which will be at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 21.
 
Gunning will enter the NCAA Championships with an overall record of 17-6 after posting a pair of wins at the MAC Championships last weekend. He advanced to the fourth-place match in the event, before falling to Ohio's Zack Parker. Gunning was an at-large selection to the national tournament. 
 
Maryland's heavyweight shined at the 2019 Big Ten Championships last weekend, entering the competition unseeded but managed to win five consecutive matches en route to a third-place finish. Hemida fell to third-seeded Mason Parris in the first round before topping a pair of seeded wrestlers to find his way onto the podium for the third consecutive season.
 
The finish made Hemida Maryland's highest Big Ten placer since the Terrapins joined the conference, passing Ryan Diehl and Alfred Bannister, who both placed fifth at the 2017 and 2018 championships, respectively. Hemida had previously placed sixth and seventh in the last two conference tournaments. 
 
Hemida now owns the highest finish in a conference tournament since current associate head coach Jimmy Sheptock placed first at 2014 ACC Championships. He is also the first three-time Big Ten place winner in program history. 

The 2019 NCAA Championships will take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 21-23.