INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. ? Byron Sigmon secured one of 52 at-large selections for the 2009 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships the NCAA announced on Wednesday afternoon.
The 52 wrestlers join the other 278 student-athletes that qualified automatically through their conference and regional qualifying tournaments. The at-large selections were made by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee using the selection criteria without priority order, which consists of head-to-head competition, qualifying event placement, quality wins, results against common opponents, winning percentage, rating percentage index (RPI), coaches ranking and number of matches contested at that weight class.
Sigmon, a redshirt sophomore from Claremont, NC, will be making his second straight trip to the NCAA Championships after winning the SoCon championships last season at 165 pounds. His achievement marks the 11th time in school history that a wrestler has gone to nationals more than once in their career.
This past weekend, Sigmon claimed third place at the 2009 SoCon Championships at 174 pounds. He dropped his first round match before winning by major decision and pin to finish in third.
Sigmon, who wrestled most of the season with an injured knee, went 17-10 on the season with a 3-1 record in conference action.
He will now join teammates Chris Bencivenga and Mikal McKee next week in St. Louis, MO as the NCAA Championships kick off on Thursday March 19.