ESPN's Quint Kessenich will provide play-by-play announcing and Jeff Blatnick will serve as color analyst. Marty Ehrlich will serve as Executive Producer for the event, and Chris Lincoln will direct the event. Both have over 20 years experience producing major sports and entertainment events around the globe.
Kessenich has covered wrestling, college and professional lacrosse, basketball, football, track and field and horse racing for the ESPN family of networks as a commentator and sideline reporter. A former All-American lacrosse goalkeeper, Kessenich attended the Johns Hopkins University from 1987 to 1990, and has covered 15 NCAA lacrosse championships as ESPN's TV analyst. The native of Lynbrook, N.Y. also wrestled and played soccer in high school.
A gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Blatnick has become a renowned wrestling color analyst, working on Olympic, collegiate and high school wrestling broadcasts nationwide. He has appeared as an analyst on ABC, ESPN, Madison Square Garden Network, and Prime Ticket Cable. He also is one of the nation's premier motivational speakers. Kessenich and Blatnick recently were part of the broadcast team for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, which also aired on the ESPN family of networks.
During his career, Ehrlich has held lead roles in the production of the Tour de France, the National Hockey League, college football and basketball. Lincoln has produced and directed many sports and entertainment events, including the National Hockey League, college basketball and the America's Cup.
"We're very pleased to have assembled a telecast team with the experience and the credentials of Marty Ehrlich, Chris Lincoln, Quint Kessenich and Jeff Blatnick," NHSCA executive director Bob Ferraro said. "This is a historic opportunity to acquire nationwide exposure for the NHSCA and for high school wrestling's signature event. The opportunity to work with these consummate professionals will make this a historic and first-rate broadcast."
The telecast will air live on ESPN360.com on Sunday, April 5 from 7-9 p.m. ET, and will be followed by a 30-minute highlight show that will air on ESPNU in July.
Over one-fourth of the 2,628 wrestlers who are registered to compete – more than 700 in all – have won at least one state championship during their careers, and more than 1,300 are state placewinners.
"Our collaboration with ESPN360.com is a huge step forward for the NHSCA," NHSCA founder Bob Ferraro Sr. said. "This is a unique opportunity to bring the finals of the Senior Nationals, the nation's most prestigious scholastic wrestling event, live to our loyal wrestling fan base. We're very excited to bring this outstanding event to ESPN360.com."
Last year's National Seniors Championship attracted 818 competitors from a record 49 states. The finals featured an outstanding field, including five two-time state champions, seven three-time state champions and three four-time state champions. The 28 finalists combined for 51 state or National Prep Championships titles in their careers.
The National High School Seniors Wrestling Championships is open to any high-school senior wrestler who has been a finalist in his high school state tournament or the National Prep Championships, with several wild-card entries through a petition system. The National Juniors, Sophomores and Freshman Championships are open events, with any wrestler eligible to enter at his grade level. For a complete list of Championships and Convention events, visit the NHSCA's web site at www.nhsca.com.
To watch the broadcast live, click on the following link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/espn360/index?id=5118
This link will become active during the broadcast.
The NHSCA continues its involvement in high-profile high school sports events across the board. In addition to a full schedule of wrestling events, the NHSCA conducted its annual 7-on-7 football championships at storied Hoover High School in Hoover, Ala. in July, and hosted the NHSCA High School Basketball Festival Dec. 26-30 at Salisbury, Md. Formerly the Lions Club Holiday Classic, a long-standing event on the sports calendar of Maryland's Eastern Shore, the NHSCA hosted the 20th anniversary event with a field that included over 30 teams from five states.
The NHSCA also has entered a sponsorship agreement with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) for the state football and wrestling championships.
Founded in 1989, the National High School Coaches Association is a not-for-profit 501c3 service organization providing support and leadership programs for the nation's 500,000 high school coaches and 10 million high school athletes.
About ESPN360.com
ESPN360.com is ESPN's broadband sports television network that gives fans a 24/7 online destination delivering more than 3,000 live, global sports events annually. It is available at no cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection from an affiliated service provider. ESPN360.com is currently available in nearly 25 million homes via approximately 45 Internet service providers (ISPs) nationwide, up 40 percent in 2008 and more than triple its distribution just 2 years ago. Among the affiliated ISPs are AT&T, Verizon, RCN, Insight, Frontier, Cavalier, Charter, Mediacom, Conway, Grande Communications and many more. In addition, ESPN360.com is also available at no cost to approximately 18 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks (those with ".edu" and ".mil" domains).
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