Three Connecticut wrestlers set for NCAA Div. I tournament

Three Connecticut wrestlers are in the field for the NCAA Division I wrestling championships that begin Thursday morning in Kansas City. (Photo courtesy Sam Janicki / SJanickiPhoto.com)

KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 20, 2024 – Three Connecticut wrestlers will be competing in the NCAA Division I national championships beginning Thursday morning at the T-Mobile Center in downtown Kansas City.

North Carolina State’s Jakob Camacho (125) and Ryan Jack (141) are both set to compete along with Stanford’s Nico Provo (125).

Camacho and Jack wrestled at Danbury High while Provo grew up in Stratford and competed at Greens Farms Academy in Westport.

Penn State is the heavy favorite to win their fourth straight national championship with two Nittany Lions – Carter Starocci (174) and Aaron Brooks (197) – looking to win their fourth NCAA titles.

Wrestling begins at 11 a.m. and will be available through ESPNU. The second round and the first round of the consolation round begins at 6 p.m. and will be available on ESPN. You can watch action on all eight mats streaming on ESPN+

Camacho (15-4), the No. 7 seed, is making his third appearance in the tournament. He will be facing No. 26 seed Blake West of Northern Iowa (27-6). Camacho, who won his third ACC championship a week ago, is on an eight-match winning streak.

Jack (18-3), the No. 4 seed, will be facing No. 29 Greyson Clark of Purdue (16-8) in the first round. This is also Jack’s third NCAA appearance.

Provo (18-6) is seeded 14th at 125 and he will face West Virginia’s Jeff Strickenberger (20-6), who is the No. 19 seed. It is Provo’s second NCAA appearance.

The most recent Connecticut wrestler to earn All-American honors in the tournament was Jack’s older brother, Kevin, who was a three-time All-American for North Carolina State. Kevin Jack, now an assistant with the Wolfpack, finished sixth at 141 in 2018. Kevin Jack’s best finish was third in 2017.

Only four Connecticut wrestlers have earned All-American honors in this tournament – John Engel (Lehigh/Stamford), Jim Guzzio (Maryland/Hand), Orville Palmer (Oklahoma/Middletown) and Kevin Jack. Engel is the only NCAA champion from the state having won the 118-pound class in 1931.

The opportunity to win a fourth title for Starocci isn’t changing his approach to the tournament. “I think I approach it the same,” he said. “Just I think the next title is always the more fun one. So just really exciting.”

ESPN will have 19 hours of coverage of the NCAA Division I tournament, including three nights of prime-time coverage beginning on Thursday night.

ESPN has been covering the NCAA Division I finals since 1980, one of the network’s longest-running events.

The MatCast option – with every mat and every match – will be streamed live through the medal round via ESPN+. The presentation will show multi-boxes of all the mats, so fans never miss a single point.

Thursday’s first round will be on ESPNU beginning at noon with the second round and first round of consolations beginning at 6 p.m. on ESPN.

The quarterfinal round on Friday and medal round matches on Saturday will be on ESPNU. Semifinals on Friday night will be on ESPN along with the championship matches beginning Saturday night at 7 p.m.