With just one loss and two All-American finishes on his resume, Brewer was tagged with the No. 13 seed. He subsequently blistered the field to win the NCAA championship at 133 pounds.
Cody Brewer finishes a takedown on Minnesota's Chris Dardanes (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Brewer, a senior from Oak Park High School in Kansas City, Missouri, blitzed through the field at the NCAA championships at 133 pounds last season. Four of his five wins were bonus victories, including a major decisions over No. 4 Johnni DiJulius of Ohio State, No. 12 George DiCamillo of Virginia and top-seeded Chris Dardanes of Minnesota. He defeated Iowa's Cory Clark 11-8 in the finals.
Brewer finished last season 22-1 and comes into the match with a career record of 70-19. He'll try to become just the 11th wrestler to earn four All-American medals all at Oklahoma and the first since Sam Hazewinkel earned his fourth honor in Auburn Hills, Mich., in 2007. Brewer is expected to move down to 133 pounds later in the season.
Heil, a sophomore who earned a fourth-place finish last season at 141 pounds after coming in as the No. 14 seed, is from wrestling powerhouse St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio. He finished last season 27-10 and his tournament was highlighted by wins over No. 3 Lavion Mayes of Missouri, allowing him to reach the quarterfinals. Wins over Boise State's Geo Martinez, Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers and N.C. State's Kevin Jack followed until he fell in the third-place match to Virginia Tech's Devin Carter.
"Cody Brewer wrestled like a man possessed last year at the NCAA championships," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "What's more amazing about this matchup is we're looking at two wrestlers with realistic chances of winning an NCAA championship or repeating as a champion and they were the No. 13 and No. 14 seeds at last year's tournament and now they're kicking off the season at the All-Star Classic."
This will be the first meeting between the two wrestlers. Heil did compete at 133 pounds for the first part of his true freshman season in 2013-14.
Oklahoma State, with a long tradition of competing in the event, has seen its wrestlers compete in the event a record 87 times coming into this season. Heil and teammate Alex Dieringer will make it 89.
Brewer will make the 52nd Sooner appearance in the event. Andrew Howe was the last Sooner to win at the event in 2013, defeating Penn State's Matt Brown. Oklahoma wrestlers are 26-25 all-time in the event.
Cowboy wrestlers are 43-38-6 all-time in the All-Star Classic, winning five of the last six matches they've wrestled. Virginia Tech is still looking for its first win in the event and will have three cracks at it as Nick Brascetta (157) and Ty Walz (285) are also competing.
Announced #NWCAClassic50 Matchups
125:
133:
141: Cody Brewer, Sr. (Oklahoma) vs. Dean Heil, So. (Oklahoma State)
149:
157: Isaiah Martinez, So. (Illinois) vs. Nick Brascetta, Sr. (Virginia Tech)
165:
174: Kyle Crutchmer, Jr. (Oklahoma State) vs. Zach Epperly, So. (Virginia Tech)
184: Nathaniel Brown, Sr. (Lehigh) vs. Vic Avery, Sr. (Edinboro)
197:
285: Adam Coon, Jr. (Michigan) vs. Ty Walz, Jr. (Virginia Tech)
WHAT: 50th Annual Hire Heroes NWCA All-Star Classic presented by the Wrestlers in Business Network Atlanta Chapter
WHEN: Sunday, November 1, 2015, 5 p.m. Eastern
WHERE: Hank McCamish Pavilion, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Ga.
TICKETS: VIP/Social $125, Premium Floor $100, Premium $50, Reserved $25-$35; General Admission $10-$20; Student Rate $15
PURCHASE ONLINE: Click here
TV/LIVE STREAMING: ESPNU (Find ESPNU on your cable or satellite provider)
EVENT WEBSITE: http://www.theallstarclassic.com
About the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA)
The NWCA brings the wrestling coaching community together to advance the sport and ensure that current and future generations have the opportunity to engage in a safe and educationally based wrestling experience. This is primarily done by strengthening existing programs, creating new programs, and providing coaches with progressive educational opportunities.
About Wrestlers in Business Network (WIBN)
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
About ESPNU
The 24-hour college sports television network airs more than 650 live events annually. ESPNU is available nationwide in approximately 73 million households.
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