The lights. The crowd. The podium. The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship is something most wrestlers only dream of (as they sleep on their stomach, of course). But these nine local wrestlers not only get to compete — they get to do it in front of a home crowd at Quicken Loans Arena. Here’s who to look out for as you watch the tournament this weekend.
Domenic AbounaderUniversity of Michigan
Class: Senior
Weight: 184 pounds
High School: St. Edward High School
Hometown: Bay Village
This year’s No. 5 seed in the 184-pound weight class has qualified for three NCAA Championships in his career. Abounader, who sat out last year due to injury and took third in this year’s Big Ten Championships, is a three-time Ohio high school state champion.
Ben Darmstadt
Cornell University
Weight: 197 pounds
Class: Redshirt freshman
Hometown: Elyria
High School: Elyria High School
The two-time Ohio high school state champion comes into Cleveland as the No. 2 seed after going 32-1 this season with a 29 match win streak. There's a good chance he runs into Ohio State's Kollin Moore (below), who is the No. 1 seed at his weight. The match would be a rematch from three years ago when Moore beat Darmstadt at the Bill Dies Memorial tournament at Akron Firestone High School.
Colin Heffernan
Central Michigan University
Class: Senior
Weight: 157 pounds
High School: St. Edward High School
Hometown: Bay Village
The son of John Heffernan and nephew of Jim Heffernan, who were both All-American wrestlers for Iowa and standouts at St. Ed’s, looks to end his collegiate career with a tournament run after finishing third at this year’s MAC Championship.
Dean Heil
Oklahoma State University
Class: Redshirt senior
Weight: 141 pounds
High School: St. Edward High School
Hometown: Brunswick
Coming in with a 23-5 record, the No. 6 seed is competing for his third-straight national title, after posting an undefeated record last season. While at St. Ed’s, Heil was a four-time state champion with 126 wins and only seven losses.
Billy Miller
Edinboro University
Class: Redshirt junior
Weight: 285 pounds
High School: Perry High School
Hometown: Perry
After winning the heavyweight title at the Eastern Wrestling League Tournament, the No. 13 seed with a 16-4 record will look to surprise local fans this weekend with a successful run — but all roads lead through Ohio State Buckeye Kyle Snyder for the two-time state champion from Perry.
Kollin Moore
Ohio State University
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Weight: 197 pounds
High School: Norwayne High School
Hometown: Burbank
The 2017 All-American took third at last year’s NCAA Championships. After taking his second individual Big Ten title last week, the wrestler with a record of 22-2 is the favorite to win his weight class this year, starting the tournament as a No. 1 seed.
Markus Scheidel
Columbia University
Class: Senior
Weight: 157 pounds
High School: St. Edward High School
Hometown: Bay Village
Entering the tournament as a No. 10 seed with 24 wins and two losses, the two-time state runner up and high school All-American will look to improve from his 2-2 appearance as a No. 15 seed in last year’s tournament.
Nathan Tomasello (pictured)
Ohio State University
Class: Senior
Weight: 125 pounds
High School: Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy
Hometown: Parma
After winning his fourth Big Ten title this year, Tomasello, a four-time Ohio high school state champion, is the No. 2 seed in his weight division. He’s looking for his second national title, after winning in 2015. He’s also finished third in 2016 and 2017, when he wrestled at 133 pounds.
Anthony Tutolo
Kent State University
Class: Junior
Weight: 133 pounds
High School: Lake Catholic High School
Hometown: Concord
Coming in with a record of 22-10, the two-time Ohio high school state champion placed third at the Mid-American Conference Tournament on March 4. After qualifying for last year’s national championship tournament, Tutolo is hoping for a podium finish this weekend.
Tariq Wilson
North Carolina State
Weight: 133 pounds
Class: Redshirt freshman
High School: Steubenville High School
Hometown: Steubenville
After a first day upset, the three-time Ohio high school state runner-up looks to build off the big win in his first NCAA Division I Championship showing.