However, now in its thirteenth year, the AAU Scholastic Duals (aka Disney Duals) have broken that paradigm.
Held in Orlando, Florida -- hosted at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex -- many of the top wrestlers from across the nation have assembled for a week of intense competition in conjunction with the laid back atmosphere inherent of being at Disney World.
Approximately 30 of those earning medals at the Disney Duals in 2008 ended the 2008-09 school year ranked in the top 20 nationally at their respective weight class according to InterMat, while another 15 were graduating seniors and in the year-end rankings for 2007-08.
Starting June 22, approximately 100 teams will converge upon the Milk House and Jostens Center to battle it out for team and individual honors in at least three different divisions. They include the District All-Star Division, Community Division 1, Community Division 2, and possibly a District Reserve Division. District teams can come from any number of schools, but all the competitors have to reside within an AAU district. Community teams come from primarily one school, while at most three team members can attend another high school.
Competition in the Community divisions commences on the opening day, and ends with championship matches on Thursday. District division competition starts on Tuesday, June 23, and ends with championship matches on Friday, June 26. In each division, the competition will start with preliminary pools. The top few teams will advance to championship bracket competition, while the other teams will compete in consolation rounds.
Team awards will be given to those finishing in the top 8 as well as for best sportsmanship. Individual awards will go to the Most Outstanding Wrestler and the Most Technical Wrestler.
For the fifth consecutive summer an open invitation has been extended by the AAU for college coaches to join them for this event. Many programs have capitalized on this opportunity, including some of the nation's foremost Division I wrestling programs.
For further information, check out the information on http://www.aauwrestling.net.
A Look Back at 2008
District All-Star:
Championship Match: Ohio Samsons defeated Michigan Red, 30-18, for the championship to end the four-year reign for teams coming from the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Association (MAWA). They also were champions in 2003, the year before the recent run of titles by MAWA.
Third-Place Match: PA Steel Gold defeated Michigan Blue, 31-27.
Fifth-Place Match: Team Diesel (PA) defeated Michigan Freeze by walkover.
Seventh-Place Match: (PA) Premium Select defeated MAWA Blue, 30-27.
Awards: Jacob Burge earned Outstanding Wrestler, while Eric Cubberly was named Technically Superior.
Community Division 1:
Championship Match: Troy Christian (OH), after a third place finish in 2007, avenged their only loss from that year's tournament with a 35-26 victory in the championship final over Bronco Wrestling Club (Montini Catholic IL).
Third-Place Match: In their Disney Duals debut, Collins Hill (GA) defeated 2007 tournament runners-up Palmetto Ridge (FL), 32-24, to earn a third-place finish.
Fifth-Place Match: Springfield Delco (PA) defeated Perry Meridian (IN) Falcons Blue, 43-28.
Seventh-Place Match: Moeller (OH) defeated Oregon Clay (OH), 31-27.
Awards: Troy Christian swept the individual honors with Zach Toal earning Outstanding Wrestler and Ben Sergent winning the Technically Superior award.
Community Division 2:
Championship Match: Yorktown (IN) Tigers won the championship available for schools with a smaller enrollment in a 28-21 victory over Fuzzy Hat (IL). This was the first year of a split in the Community Division.
Third-Place Match: Maumee (OH) defeated Spring Hill (FL), 48-22.
Awards: Kyle Moser was the Outstanding Wrestler, while Yohe Rojas was named Technically Superior.
Looking Forward to 2009
While official team lineups are not yet known, the published team lists indicate that most of the usual suspects are back to compete in the 13th edition of the Disney Duals.
District All-Star:
Ohio Samsons will seek to defend its title from last summer, and should yet again have a strong and capable squad ready for the many capable challengers present among the field.
Foremost among the challengers is MAWA Blue, which is a perennial power in this event. Two other traditionally strong squads from the Keystone State of Pennsylvania are Diesel and Premium Select, while a new entry from Quest could be a squad to watch.
Entries from the state of Michigan are always dangerous, and headlined by last year's event runners-up Michigan Red. Also present will be Michigan Blue and Michigan Storm.
Looking to finally make a break into the championship bracket will be Ohio Dragons, which has finished third in its preliminary pool that last two years, but then steamrolled its way through the consolation bracket back to ninth place finishes.
Community Division 1:
Neither of the finalists -- Bronco Wrestling Club (Montini IL) nor Troy Christian (OH) -- from the 2008 tournament is listed for a return appearance this year, which means there will be new blood on top of this division. The team most likely to capitalize on this opportunity would be Collins Hill (GA), which ended the year ranked in the Amateur Wrestling News Top 40.
However, at least three Ohio entries will be nipping on their heels -- Moeller, Oak Harbor, and Ohio Lightning (CVCA). Also to watch are Perry Meridian, team state runner-up in Indiana; and Hartland, team state semifinalists in Michigan's big-school division.
Community Division 2:
Yorktown (IN) will seek to defend its title, as over 20 other teams seek to dethrone.
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