Wrestling Opens NCAA Championships Thursday

Thursday, March 19

Cleveland, Ohio

All Day

North Carolina

NCAA Championships

Photo by: AINSLEY E. FAUTH

March 18, 2026 | Wrestling

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Six North Carolina wrestlers begin their quests for national championships tomorrow morning, at the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena.

Tournament Information
Dates: Thursday, March 19 - Saturday, March 21
Location: Rocket Arena - Cleveland, Ohio
Watch: ESPNU/ESPN+ (Morning) and ESPN/ESPN+ (Evening)

Two Tar Heels earned top-15 seeding, led by Bryce Hepner's No. 9 seed at 165 pounds, as well as Luke Simcox seeded 12th at 141 pounds.

Rounding out the Carolina seeding, four-time NCAA qualifier Kysen Terukina earned the No. 19 seed at 125 pounds, Laird Root collected the 30th-seed at 157 pounds, Collin Carrigan will face an ACC opponent in the opening round as the No. 27 seed at 174 pounds, and 184-pounder Jake Dailey was awarded the No. 18 seed.

North Carolina NCAA Seeding and Opening Matchups
125: No. 19 Kysen Terukina vs. No. 14 Jacob Moran (Indiana)
141: No. 12 Luke Simcox vs. No. 21 Tyler Wells (Oklahoma)
157: No. 30 Laird Root vs. No. 3 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell)
165: No. 9 Bryce Hepner vs. No. 24 Sean Seefeldt (Penn)
174: No. 27 Collin Carrigan vs. No. 6 Matty Singleton (NC State)
184: No. 18 Jake Dailey vs. No. 15 Sal Perrine (Ohio)