Due to an injury to Pittsburgh All-American Tyler Wilps at 174 pounds, Southern Oregon's three-time NAIA national champion Brock Gutches has been named as a participant at the 2014 NWCA All-Star Classic presented by the United States Marine Corps and the Wrestlers in Business Network hosted by Penn and WIBN-Philadelphia on November 1 at the Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.
The last time an NAIA wrestler competed in the main event was when Montana State-Northern's Emmett Willson took to the mat at 197 pounds in Cedar Falls, Iowa in February of 2004. Willson won that match, beating Northern Iowa's Sean Stender 7-3.
Gutches, a Central Point, Oregon native, started his career at Division I Boise State before heading back to his home state to wrestle for coach Mike Ritchey. Southern Oregon wrestlers have competed in the showcase matches, with 125-pounder Trevor Lofstedt competing at the 2007 event in Eugene, Oregon.
Gutches will face two-time Division I All-American Robert Kokesh of Nebraska. In the finals of last season's Reno Tournament of Champions, Kokesh defeated Gutches 3-1. Gutches placed fourth at the Division I-heavy Midlands championships last season. He ended his season 30-3. Gutches brings a career record of 72-11 into the match with 47 career falls. He holds a 38-0 record against NAIA competition and is 15-9 against Division I opponents in his career. Gutches is also currently on the U.S. Greco-Roman national team.
"It's an outstanding opportunity for both the NAIA to be represented and for us as a university," said Southern Oregon coach Mike Ritchey. "I think it's a heck of a compliment to Brock and his abilities and I feel he's capable of wrestling at that level. So it's an opportunity for him to show you can be an NAIA guy and wrestle at a really high level. He's pretty pumped up."
"While we never want to see any of our athletes get hurt, injuries do happen," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "Coach Mike Ritchey jumped at the opportunity to have Brock Gutches compete in the event. It brings a lot of exposure to the NAIA. The Gutches family is synonymous with wrestling in Oregon and worldwide. Brock is an aggressive competitor and will be able to show the wrestling community the talent level that competes in the NAIA."
Gutches inclusion brings the total number of All-American medals won by the competitors to 36, with 14 finals apperances and 10 total championships across the NCAA and NAIA levels.
To purchase tickets to the event, click here for the Penn Athletic Ticket Office.
The event will be streamed live by the NWCA's live streaming partner Flowrestling. Fox College Sports will air the event on television via tape-delay no less than 10 times during the season, starting two weeks after the event has completed. These broadcasts are paid for by Rothschild, a leading global financial advisory based in New York City with offices in Washington, Los Angeles and Houston.
Hibiclens and Resilite will again support the event as associate sponsors. The Rothman Institute and the United Association (UA) Group will also make 1,500 tickets available for local students (K-12) throughout southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. These tickets will be distributed to regional schools by representatives of the United States Marine Corps.
Follow on Social Media!
For more information on the All-Star Classic, visit www.theallstarclassic.com and follow the NWCA on Facebook and Twitter. Fans can join the discussion with the #NWCAClassic hashtag. Fans should keep an eye on the discussion as there will be contests and interactive discussions about the event via Twitter and Facebook!
Competing wrestlers will be eligible for the Outstanding Wrestler Award, presented by the Wrestlers in Business Network - Atlanta Chapter.
Announced Matchups
125: Nahshon Garrett, Jr. (Cornell) vs. Joey Dance, So. (Virginia Tech)
133: A.J. Schopp, Sr. (Edinboro) vs. Mason Beckman, Jr. (Lehigh)
141: Logan Stieber, Sr. (Ohio State) vs. Mitchell Port, Sr. (Edinboro)
149: Jason Tsirtsis, So. (Northwestern) vs. Josh Kindig, Sr. (Oklahoma State)
157: James Green, Sr. (Nebraska) vs. Ian Miller, Jr. (Kent State)
165: Alex Dieringer, Jr. (Oklahoma State) vs. Nick Sulzer, Sr. (Virginia)
174: Robert Kokesh, Sr. (Nebraska) vs. Brock Gutches, Sr. (Southern Oregon)
184: Gabe Dean, So. (Cornell) vs. Jack Dechow, So. (Old Dominion)
197: J'Den Cox, So. (Missouri) vs. Scott Schiller, Sr. (Minnesota)
285: Nick Gwiazdowski, Jr. (N.C. State) vs. Mike McMullan, Sr. (Northwestern)
Showcase matchups to be announced
About the NWCA
Founded in 1928, the NWCA strives to promote and provide leadership for the advancement of amateur wrestling, primarily at the scholastic and collegiate levels. The association is headquartered in Manheim Pa. The three core competencies are coaching development, student-wrestler welfare, and promotion/advocacy. The NWCA has 10,000 members and educational programs that serve 230,000 students each year. www.nwcaonline.com NWCA on Facebook | NWCA on Twitter
About the University of Pennsylvania
Established in 1740, the University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League research university located in Philadelphia. Incorporated as The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn is one of 14 founding members of the Association of American Universities and is one of the nine original Colonial Colleges. The school was founded by Ben Franklin. Penn is ranked among the top research universities in the world.
About Wrestlers in Business/Wrestlers in Business Philadelphia
The Group Wrestlers in Business is a non-profit organization that strives to unite the thousands of wrestlers that have retired from the sport and are now in their respective careers. It started as a networking group on LinkedIn. Since then, the group has evolved into a more prominent, member-focused organization that cares about supporting current & former wrestlers and the sport. Their mission is to establish a community of wrestlers who commonly share in the interest of helping each other in business and in life, while supporting and strengthening the sport that made us who we are today. www.wrestlersinbusiness.org
Wrestlers in Business Philadelphia is a newly formed group who will kick-off their Chapter events with a Social Event in September followed by All-Star Classic. A 14-member Board has been elected led by President Anthony Stagliano and he is joined by distinguished names in the wrestling and business community including four members who have long ties to the University of Pennsylvania; Roger Reina who is playing a prominent role in the promotion of the All-Star Classic, Gary Baker, Andy Matter and Chris Hanlon. www.wrestlersinbusiness.org/chapters/philadelphia-pa
About the United States Marine Corps
On November 10, 1775, the Marine Corps was established by the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since then, the Marine Corps, through service on land, in air, and at sea, have acquitted themselves with the greatest distinction, winning new honors on each occasion until the term "Marine" has come to signify all that is highest in military efficiency and soldierly virtue. Whether facing our nation's foes or conducting humanitarian relief and disaster recovery operations at home or abroad, today's Marine Corps stands ready to continue in the same proud tradition of faithful service to the United States. For more information, visit www.Marines.com.
About Rothman Institute
Rothman Institute is a private orthopaedic practice dedicated to providing communities with high-quality, compassionate, and affordable musculoskeletal care that is grounded in evidence-based medicine, the results of which will exceed expectations. Rothman Institute orthopaedists treat patients at 20 locations in the Philadelphia-region, including orthopaedic urgent care clinics in Marlton, NJ and Limerick, PA. With experts in orthopaedic sub-specialties including spine, hip and knee, foot and ankle, shoulder and elbow, hand and wrist, sports medicine, physical medicine and rehabilitation, orthopaedic oncology and trauma, the Rothman Institute is internationally recognized for excellence in clinical treatment methods, research, education and technology. Consistently recognized as national and regional "Top Docs," the Rothman Institute is proud to be official team physicians for several professional, college and high school teams. For more information about the Rothman Institute please call 1-800-321-9999 or visit www.RothmanInstitute.com.
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