One of the biggest events of the season for the Panther wrestlers will take place this upcoming weekend in the McLeod Center. The Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championships will be hosted here in Cedar Falls, where wrestlers from across the country will come to compete for their chance  to advance to the NCAA Championships.

Due to their increased strength and proven worth on the mat, UNI advanced to No. 14 in the nation after being ranked at No. 19 throughout the season; following close behind their season-rivals, Missouri, who ranked No. 10.

Increasing their individual national standings were redshirt freshman Max Thomsen at No. 8, sophomore Bryce Steiert at No. 9, redshirt freshman Taylor Lujan at No. 13 and redshirt sophomore Drew Foster at No. 12, competing in the 149, 165, 174 and 184 weight classes, respectively.

This year, the conference was awarded 37 automatic bids to the NCAA tournament, the fourth highest amount out of the eight national conferences. Placement into the tournament is measured on three criteria from the current year’s data: Division I winning percentage at the weight class, their ratings percentage index (RPI) and coaches’ rankings.

Place-finishes at each qualifying tournament will determine the NCAA tournament spots. In addition to the automatic bids allocated, there will be an additional 33 at-large positions that will be determined after the tournaments, based on the following criteria: coaches’ rankings, RPI, winning percentages, qualifying event placements, quality of wins and head-to-head competition.

Following the qualifying tournaments, the NCAA Championships will take place in St. Louis, MO at the Scottrade Center from March 16-18.

The MAC Championships will begin March 4 with doors opening to the public at 10 a.m., with final bouts scheduled for 2 p.m. March 5. Tickets are available now and can be found online or by phone through (319) 273-4849.