PITTSBURGH, N.C. – Gardner-Webb redshirt-senior Tyler Marinelli is set to compete in this week's NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, beginning Thursday morning in Pittsburgh, Pa.
 
Marinelli, the 2019 Southern Conference champion at 165 pounds, enters the tournament at the No. 20 seed and will take on No. 13 Andrew Fogarty (20-4) of North Dakota State in Match 97 in the first round in Thursday's early session beginning at noon.
 
Marinelli is making his second straight appearances at the NCAA Championships, qualifying in 2018 at 157 pounds.  He is the first Gardner-Webb wrestler to win two SoCon titles and enters this year's event with an overall record of 26-2 and was a perfect 14-0 in dual bouts.
 
The winner of Thursday's morning's match will face the winner of the match between No. 4 Evan Wick (28-4) of Wisconsin and West Virginia's No. 29 Nick Kiussis (18-10).  Iowa's Alex Marinelli (23-0) is the tournament's top seed at 165 pounds.
 
The 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships begin Thursday morning from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa.  Each match throughout the three-day event will be covered on the ESPN family of networks, including dedicated feeds for each mat on ESPN 3 and the ESPN app.