How to watch La Salle, Lawrenceburg grads competing in NCAA wrestling national tournament

Alex Harrison, Cincinnati Enquirer
·2 min read

The 2023 NCAA wrestling championships start on Thursday, March 16, at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and run until the final sessions on Saturday, March 18.

Here is how to watch the championship tournament and some local connections to keep an eye on.

More:Harrison wins inaugural OHSAA girls wrestling state championship

More:Sycamore's Eugene Harney wins state title, Springboro and La Salle finish top 10

Lawrenceburg, La Salle grads make the cut

After finishing as a national runner-up and a fifth-place finisher, Lawrenceburg native Mason Parris enters his final NCAA tournament as the No. 1 heavyweight in the country.

Parris, wrestling for Michigan, enters the championships with a 28-0 record and is fresh off of winning the Big Ten title for the first time. Parris' bracket opens up on Thursday with the winner of No. 33 seeded Travis Stefanik from Princeton and No. 32 Garrett Jones from Minnesota.

Lawrenceburg native Mason Parris won a Big Ten championship and is top heavyweight in the country entering the NCAA National Championships.
Lawrenceburg native Mason Parris won a Big Ten championship and is top heavyweight in the country entering the NCAA National Championships.

In the 133-pound tournament, La Salle product and Illinois wrestler Lucas Byrd will wrestle as the No. 10 seed. Byrd was an automatic qualifier after finishing in third place in the Big Ten tournament. This will be Byrd's third-consecutive NCAA tournament after finishing in fifth each of the last two seasons.

What's the schedule?

The championship tournament is wrestled over six sessions across three days. Day one, March 16, will see the first two championship rounds and consolations. More consolations as well as championship quarterfinals and semifinals will continue on day two. Finally, on March 18, day three, placing matches will take place during the earlier session with championships taking place later in the day.

Session one kicks off the weekend at noon with session two starting at 7 p.m. Quarterfinals start at noon Friday and semifinals at 8 p.m. Placing matches start on Saturday at 11 a.m., with the championships beginning at 7 p.m.

Iowa State Cyclones Zach Redding tries to escape from Illinois Fighting Illini's Lucas Byrd during 133-pound wrestling in an NCAA dual meet at Hilton Coliseum Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, in Ames, Iowa.
Iowa State Cyclones Zach Redding tries to escape from Illinois Fighting Illini's Lucas Byrd during 133-pound wrestling in an NCAA dual meet at Hilton Coliseum Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, in Ames, Iowa.

How to watch the NCAA tournament?

If not making the trip to watch the championship tournament in person, the entire event will be televised on ESPN broadcasts.

Each day's early session will be aired on ESPNU while the evening sessions air on the main ESPN channel.

Session 1: noon, Thursday, March 16, on ESPNU

Session 2: 7 p.m., Thursday, March 16, on ESPN

Session 3: noon, Friday, March 17, on ESPNU

Session 4: 8 p.m. Friday, March 17, on ESPN

Session 5: 11 a.m. Saturday, March 18, on ESPNU

Session 6: 7 p.m., Saturday, March 18, on ESPN

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How to watch locals compete for NCAA wrestling national championships

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