(Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com/Graphic courtesy of Anna-Lee Boerner)Journeymen Wrestling is excited to announce the reformation of one of the most popular events of the college wrestling season.
Until the 2018 season, National Duals was annually among the crown jewels of Division I Wrestling and among the most attended and watched event of the year. After that season however, the event dissolved. But we're bringing it back!
Journeymen's Frank Popolizio, who has run national level wrestling events for over a decade, took on the task of making National Duals a reality again out of both nostalgia and the desire to fill a void in collegiate team competition.
"Ever since my brother Pat, wrestled in the National Duals while at Oklahoma state in the late 1990s , I have been fascinated by duals and particularly a dual championship. Twice a year I would get on an airplane to go watch collegiate wrestling: NCAAs and the National Duals. It created an awesome ambiance. I know I'm not alone . I know wrestling fans appreciate duals and I thought the timing was right to bring a high stakes - unyielding dual competition back to wrestling."
When & Where
National Duals will feature 12 teams and will be held in Fort Walton Beach, Florida on December 20th and 21st, 2021 at NW Florida State College. Hotel and ticket information for fans will be available soon. All mats and rounds will be streamed on this channel.
The Field
Five of the top seven teams from NCAA's are in the field including defending team champions, the Iowa Hawkeyes. Additionally, Cornell, who did not compete last year, and three other Top 25 finishers are in the mix. Defending EIWA Champions Lehigh, along with Oregon State and Hofstra, round out the 12-team field.
Invitations were extended to the two top returning teams in each conference. #22 Central Michigan, the top returning team in the MAC, was the only team in the conference to accept the invitation. Hofstra, who was 4th in the EIWA last year replaced a second team from the MAC. All representatives from SoCon conference declined.
Participating Teams
#1 Iowa Hawkeyes (Big Ten)
#4 Arizona State Sun Devils (Pac 12)
#5 Michigan Wolverines (Big Ten)
#6 North Carolina State Wolfpack (ACC)
#7 Missouri Tigers (Big 12)
#15 Virginia Tech Hokies (ACC)
#19 Northern Iowa Panthers (Big 12)
#22 Central Michigan Chippewas (MAC)
Cornell Big Red (EIWA)
Lehigh Mountain Hawks (EIWA)
Oregon State Beavers (Pac 12)
Hofstra Pride (EIWA)
The Format
The twelve teams will be placed in four pools of three by seed but also avoiding conference opponents. On Day 2, winners of the pools will advance to a four-team bracket for semi's and finals to determine a National Dual Champion. The remaining schools will wrestle extra duals vs. teams of correlating pool placement.
About Journeymen Wrestling
Journeymen Wrestling runs camps, clinics and events of all age groups under the leadership of Frank Popolizio. Annual and past events include the Northeast Duals (DI College), Collegiate Classic (DI Individual), Journeymen Fall Classic (HS), Journeymen Duals (HS), World Freestyle Challenge (HS), MiniMen (Youth) and Tussle for the Troops: NC State vs. Oklahoma State in Naples, Italy.
For more information on any of Journeymen's events contact info@journeymenwrestling.com
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