ST. LOUIS – The Citadel heavyweight Michael McAleavey will take on Deonte Wilson of North Carolina State in the opening round of the NCAA Wrestling Championships Thursday afternoon inside the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The match is scheduled to take place during Session 1B, which begins at 2 p.m.
 
McAleavey enters the event seeded No. 23, while Wilson is seeded 10th. The winner will advance to face the winner of the match between No. 7 Ethan Laird (Rider) and No. 26 Sam Schuyler (Buffalo) Thursday evening.
 
McAleavey enters the championship with an overall record of 15-1. His 15 victories are tied for the most of any heavyweight in the field. He is 2-1 against the field, picking up a pair of victories over Taye Ghadiali of Campbell, and falling in a decision to No. 20 Quinn Miller of Virginia.
 
This season marks the 13^th consecutive season that the Bulldogs have qualified at least one wrestler for the NCAA Championships. McAleavey is the first heavyweight to qualify since Odie Delaney in 2013.
 
For more information on The Citadel wrestling team, please visit CitadelSports.com or follow @CitadelWrestle on Twitter and Instagram, and @CitadelWrestling on Facebook.
 
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