Cal State Fullerton to host 44th Annual NWCA
All-Star Classic
By Tammy Tedesco
In an effort to assist Cal State Fullerton in its
fundraising efforts to help secure its wrestling program, the NWCA Board of
Directors is pleased to announce that Cal State Fullerton and the Titan
Wrestling Club have been awarded the 44th Annual NWCA All-Star
Classic.
The NWCA All Star Classic will be hosted by the Titan
Wrestling Club, and will be held at Titan Gym on the campus of Cal State
Fullerton, Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 2 p.m.
This will mark the first time in the 44 year history of the
event, it will be held in the state of California. The event has only been west
of the Rocky Mountains five times.
The event will serve as a fundraiser for the Cal State
Fullerton program who has been told they need to raise a minimum of $200,000 by
May 1, 2010, and possibly another $200,000 in pledges by August 2010, or be
discontinued.
Head Coach Dan Hicks said that, “Bringing the NWCA
All-Star Classic to the state of California is great for the state in many ways;
especially for all of the great athletes and coaches that California represents.
It is an honor to hold this event at Cal State Fullerton. We already have a
great start on our fundraising, but this event is going to help us gain even
better momentum.”
This is the fourth time in recent history that the NWCA has
used the All-Star Classic to help highlight programs that were in jeopardy or in
areas that did not have college wrestling. These sites included SIU-Edwardsville,
Newark, DE, Dallas, TX and University of Oregon.
The NWCA All-Star Classic is an All-Star wrestling
dual pitting the top collegiate wrestlers in the nation against each other in a
showcase that is often a preview of the NCAA Division I Championships. The event
will include 10 collegiate weight classes along with several local feature bouts
involving college wrestlers.
“We are excited to be able to have the NWCA All-Star
Classic take place in the state of California. This is a great opportunity to
bring awareness to the Cal State Fullerton Wrestling Program, and collegiate
wrestling in the state of California,” said Mike Moyer, NWCA Executive
Director. “California is such a large state with participation numbers close
to 26,000 at the high school level with both men’s and women’s wrestling,
that is a huge opportunity to promote the top level competition of the All-Star
Classic athletes to a potentially un-tapped crowd, when it comes to the
awareness of top collegiate wrestling.”
While the NWCA isn’t expected to announce the line-up for
the 44th All-Star Classic until October, the number of returning national
champions and All-Americans should make for an impressive set of matches.
For more information on the NWCA All-Star Classic, visit
the NWCA Website at www.nwcaonline.com/events/nwcaallstarclassic.aspx
.