Jones, Spadafora Earn At-Large Bids To NCAA Championships
3/10/2020 3:00:00 PM | Wrestling
INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Maryland wrestling team has qualified two wrestlers for the 2020 NCAA Championships March 19-21 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Redshirt senior Jahi Jones and redshirt sophomore Philip Spadafora will compete in their first career NCAA Championships. Jones and Spadafora received at-large bids based on each wrestler's head-to-head competition; quality wins; coaches' ranking; results against common opponents; RPI; qualifying event placement; and winning percentage.
Spadafora punches his ticket to the NCAA Championships after a redshirt sophomore campaign in which he finished 17-16 on the season. The Dix Hills, N.Y. native ranked third on the team in wins (17), dual wins (6), and Big Ten dual wins (3), while ranking first on the team among varsity wrestlers with 17 wins.
Spadafora picked up two ranked victories of the season, defeating then-No. 19 Neal Richards (VMI) and then-No. 8 Ben Harvey (Army).
Jones earns his first career bid to the NCAA Championships after accumulating a 11-8 record in his redshirt senior season. Jones ranked third on the team in major decisions (3), fourth on the team in dial wins (5) and fourth on the team in Big Ten dual wins (2). He won 10 of his first 12 bouts of the season, earned third place at the 2019 Black Knight Invite, and earned two ranked victories on the season.
Maryland most recently sent one qualifier, Youssif Hemida, to the 2019 NCAA Championships.
The 2020 NCAA Division I wrestling championships selection show will air at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 11, on NCAA.com
All matches will be streamed via ESPNU and ESPN.
-TURTLEPOWER-
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