SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Twelve Southern Conference wrestlers will begin competition at the 2009 NCAA Wrestling Championships Thursday, March 19 in St. Louis, Mo.

 

The 12 wrestlers will compete in 10 different weight classes, representing five different SoCon schools this weekend in St. Louis:

 

125 ? Demetrius Johnson, Chattanooga

133 ? Frank Celorrio, Appalachian State

141 ? Cody Cleveland, Chattanooga

141 ? Chris Bencivenga, UNC Greensboro

149 ? Daniel Waddell, Chattanooga

157 ? Joey Knox, Chattanooga

165 ? Seth Garvin, Chattanooga

174 ? Jason McCroskey, Chattanooga

174 ? Byron Sigmon, UNC Greensboro

184 ? Mikal McKee, UNC Greensboro

197 ? Andrew Delaney, The Citadel

Hwt ? Josh Wine, VMI

 

The complete brackets for the championships can be found at the NCAA website.

 

The ESPN family of networks is launching unprecedented coverage of the Championships this week, beginning with the quarterfinal round.  ESPNU, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN360.com will combine for expanded live coverage this weekend, as all 11 hours will be presented in high definition for the first time ever.

 

Also for the first time, ESPN2 will telecast the semifinals along with ESPNU. The quarterfinals will air Friday, March 20, at 11 a.m. ET on ESPNU and ESPN360.com, and the semifinals at 7 p.m. on ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com. For the third consecutive year, the semifinals will be telecast in a side-by-side format, allowing viewers to see both semifinal matches in each weight class at the same time, both on ESPNU and ESPN2.

 

ESPNU will telecast the Championship Medal Round on Saturday, March 21, at 10:30 a.m., and the hunt for the Div. I title culminates with the Finals at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN.

 

Intermatwrestle.com will also provide live scoring of the event.

 

For a complete review of all the SoCon participants, check back to the SoCon website following the conclusion of the championships.