A number of area schools will compete against the nation's best in what is dubbed the "Toughest Tournament in the U.S.A." Ticket prices are $15 per day for the high school tournament and an additional $15 for the high school finals. The college tournament ticket prices are $20 all day. Floor passes are $25 and provides access to the floor only but you will still need to purchase a ticket for each day to get into the building.
This year, Poway (Calif.) High School enters as defending high school team champions and have won two of the last three team titles. This year, however, they will face an uphill battle to defend their team title as seven teams enter the tournament ranked by InterMat's Fab 50 in the nation, including Canon-McMillan (Penn.) and Broken Arrow (Okla.), ranked Nos. 6 and 20, respectively.
The high school tournament features 11 wrestlers ranked in the top 20 in their respective weight classes (according to InterMat's rankings published on Dec. 4), including three wrestlers in the top three in their respective weights. Canon-McMillan boasts a pair of wrestlers ranked in the top three in their respective weights in 145-pounder Solomon Chishko at No. 3 and second-ranked Cody Wierciech at 170 pounds. They also have Connor Schram at No. 4 at 126 pounds.
Lemoore's Isaiah Martinez comes in as the second-ranked wrestler at 160 pounds. The senior has already committed to Illinois and will be looking to cap off his senior campaign with a tournament victory. Isaiah Locsin (Live Oak, Calif.) and Hayden Tuma (Centennial, Idaho) each enter the tournament ranked No. 4 at 120 and 138 pounds, respectively.
The college tournament will feature eight Division I schools in the Top 50 according to InterMat's rankings as of Dec. 4 as well as 21 individually ranked wrestlers in the nation's top division.
Mark Branch's Wyoming Cowboys will look to win their second team title in three years, while Oregon State and Boise State both enter the tournament ranked in the Top 20 and look to capture their first team title.
This year's tournament will feature five wrestlers ranked in the top 20 at heavyweight, including Oregon State's Chad Henke and Mike McClure of Michigan State each coming in ranked in the top 10. Henke came in as the tournament's runner-up last year as an Olympic redshirt and will look to capture an individual title in the toughest weight class at the tournament this year.
The college tournament will also feature wrestlers from the NAIA, NJCAA and Division 2 ranks as they will look to knock off the wrestlers and teams from D-1. To date, no team from a non D-1 school has won the tournament.
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