Lehigh's Nathaniel Brown gets his hand raised after a victory in the NCAA semifinals (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)"Lehigh and Edinboro are synonymous with wrestling tradition and wrestling success," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "Lehigh's tradition dates back over 100 years and they've always been supportive of the All-Star Classic."
Brown finished second in the nation as the No. 7 seed at the NCAA championships, while Avery's third-place performance as a No. 13 seed was crucial to the Fighting Scots winning a trophy for the first time at the event.
"Edinboro showed the power of wrestling and how a small program can compete with the sports' giants," said Moyer. "They're a Division II school with Division I wrestling and they attract and develop talent like Vic Avery. When you say Edinboro, you think wrestling."
Brown finished last season 29-6 and defeated second-seeded Max Thomusseit of Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals and unseeded Kenny Courts of Ohio State in the semifinals to reach the finals, where he lost to Cornell nemesis Gabe Dean in the finals.
Avery upended returning All-American Jack Dechow of Old Dominion in the second round and then majored No. 5 Taylor Meeks of Oregon State to reach the semifinals where he fell to Dean in the second tiebreaker.
The two met once last year at the Grapple at the Garden with Brown earning a 3-1 victory over Avery at Madison Square Garden, the site of this coming year's NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
Brown also defeated Avery 4-3 during the 2013-14 season at the Edinboro Open.
Lehigh is 15-14 overall in the event all-time with Mason Beckman last earning a victory in 2013 over Edinboro's A.J. Schopp at 133 pounds. Brown will be the Mountain Hawks' 30th all-time participant.
Edinboro is 8-7 all-time with Avery making the school's 16th appearance. Schopp picked up the last victory, last year in a rematch against Beckman at 133 pounds.
Announced #NWCAClassic50 Matchups
125:
133:
141:
149:
157:
165:
174:
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.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now