Wrestling's LaFragola Earns At-Large Berth into NCAA Championships
3/7/2017 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Sophomore CJ LaFragola has earned an at-large bid to the 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in the 184-pound weight class and will make his debut at the NCAA Championships, the NCAA announced on Tuesday afternoon.
LaFragola (Little Egg Harbor, N.J.) took a major step forward in his second season, tying for first on the team in dual wins (11) and ranking second for the Bears in total wins (24), dual EIWA wins (nine), and dual points (35).
A product of St. Joseph High School, LaFragola won his weight class at the Franklin & Marshall Open and closed the regular season with wins in each of his last six bouts and 11 of his last 13 matches.
Against the NCAA field, he owns victories over Rider's Michale Fagg-Daves and Penn's Joe Heyob.
The NCAA Championships will take place from Thursday, March 16 to Sunday, March 18 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. The NCAA will announce the tournament's full bracket on Wednesday, March 8 at 6 p.m. on NCAA.com.
The NCAA announced 53 at-large selections for the NCAA Championships who joined the 277 student-athletes that qualified automatically through their conference tournament finishes over the past two weekends. The at-large selections were made by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee using the following selection criteria: head-to-head competition, quality wins, results against common opponents, winning percentage, rating percentage index, coaches ranking and qualifying event placement.
