The international-style event will held as part of the festivities at the 2012 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, Mo.
This is the third straight year that a USA Wrestling exhibition will be provided free of charge to wrestling fans who are attending the championships.
The event will be held between the first and second competition sessions on Thursday. It will be located at the Peabody Opera House, which is adjacent to Scottrade Center. The approximate start time will be at 3 p.m.
The meet will start off with a Greco-Roman match at 66 kg/145 lbs., as a pair of USOEC Northern Michigan Greco-Roman stars will battle, Kendrick Sanders (Homestead, Fla./New York AC) and Jonathan Drendel (North Aurora, Ill./USOEC). Sanders, who started his career at Purdue before switching to full-time Greco-Roman, recently won a gold medal at the Dave Schultz Memorial International.
The next four matches will be in men’s freestyle.
Chase Pami (Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids), who was an NCAA runner-up at Cal Poly, will battle former Iowa star Joe Johnston (Columbia, Mo./Missouri WF) at 66 kg/145 lbs. Both were two-time NCAA All-Americans.
The 74 kg/163 lbs. battle will pit 2011 U.S. Open runner-up Nick Marable (Columbia, Mo./Sunkist Kids), a two-time All-American for Missouri, against Tyler Caldwell (Wichita, Kan./Sunkist Kids), who starred for Oklahoma. Both were two-time All-Americans.
At 96 kg/211.5 lbs., 2010 World Team member J.D. Bergman (Columbus, Ohio/New York AC), an Ohio State NCAA runner-up, squares off with former Virginia star Brent Jones (Colorado Springs, Colo./OTC). Bergman won three All-American honors for the Buckeyes.
The heavyweight showdown features a pair of stars who are on Olympic redshirt, Chad Hanke (Dayton, Ore./Northwest RTC) of Oregon State against Jarod Trice (Highland Park, Mich./Gator WC) of Central Michigan. Hanke was second at the 2011 U.S. World Team Trials at 96 kg/211.5 lbs., but has moved up in weight this season. Trice boasts two All-American honors for the Chippewas.
An additional bout may be added to the card later this week.
The USA Wrestling All-Star Dual has become a traditional part of the NCAA Championships each year.
This event will serve as a tune-up competition for the athletes prior to the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling, which will be hosted at Carver-Hawkeye Arena at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, April 21-22.
USA Wrestling will also participate at the NCAA Fan Festival with National Team practice sessions, which are open to the public.
Last year at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Philadelphia, the format was a USA vs. International Team match. Team USA won the dual by a 12-10 margin,
At the 2010 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Omaha, Neb., USA Wrestling hosted a Big Ten vs. Big 12 Challenge, featuring Freestyle Team USA. The Big Ten earning bragging rights in the friendly competition.
For more information on the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, visit NCAA.com/wrestling.
USA WRESTLING NATIONAL TEAM ALL-STAR DUAL
At St. Louis, Mo., March 15
Match lineups, with residence, club, and college affiliation
66 kg/145.5 lbs. Greco-Roman
Kendrick Sanders, Homestead, Fla. (New York AC) -- Northern Michigan, Purdue
Jonathan Drendel, North Aurora, Ill. (USOEC) -- Northern Michigan
66 kg/145.5 lbs. men’s freestyle
Chase Pami, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids) -- Cal Poly
Joe Johnston, Columbia, Mo. (Missouri WF) - Iowa
74 kg/163 lbs. men’s freestyle
Nick Marable, Columbia, Mo. (Sunkist Kids) -- Missouri
Tyler Caldwell, Wichita, Kan. (Sunkist Kids) - Oklahoma
96 kg/211.5 lbs. freestyle
J.D. Bergman, Columbus, Ohio (New York AC) -- Ohio State
Brent Jones, Colorado Springs, Colo. (OTC) -- Virginia
120 kg/264.5 lbs. freestyle
Chad Hanke, Dayton, Ore. (Northwest RTC) -- Oregon State
Jarod Trice, Highland Park, Mich. (Gator WC) -- Central Michigan
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now