BUIES CREEK, N.C. –
Jere Heino and
Quentin Perez will represent Campbell in the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships.
The NCAA announced it's 47 at-large selections Tuesday, with Perez getting the nod at 165 pounds to join Heino, who secured automatic qualification with the 2018 Southern Conference heavyweight championship. This marks the second consecutive year multiple Camels will head to the event.
The full 330 man field with brackets will be unveiled Wednesday at 6 p.m. via NCAA.com. The 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are set for March 15-17 at Quicken Loads Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Both Heino and Perez will be making return trips to the NCAA Championships, with Heino receiving an at-large berth and Perez earning the SoCon title and automatic bid in 2017.
Heino won the 2018 SoCon Championship on Saturday in Charleston, S.C., cruising to three victories, including a pin to top Appalachian State's Cary Miller in just 1:48 in the finals to secure his second straight trip to the NCAA Championships.
The SoCon's No. 1 seed at heavyweight, Heino was named to the All-SoCon Team, going 21-5 overall in the regular season while running the table in SoCon matches, going a perfect 7-0. Of his seven SoCon victories, five came in bonus fashion, including three pins, a tech fall and a major decision. The Helsinki, Finland native has won 22 of his last 24 bouts, and is ranked No. 28 at 285 by the NCAA's coaches panel with a 24 RPI.
At 165 pounds, Perez will also make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament, earning an at-large bid. The Campbell junior made the SoCon podium for the second straight season last weekend. Perez pinned VMI's Blake Hohman at the 4:13 mark to advance to the consolation final, and in the third place match, topped Appalachian State's Laken Cook 11-7, for the second time of the day, earning bronze.
Perez is 25-8 on the season, going 5-1 in SoCon duals during the regular season. An Arlington, Texas native, Perez was ranked No. 32 by the NCAA coaches panel, and owned a RPI of 25 heading into the SoCon Championships.
