The Port Washington, Wisconsin native, Dieringer comes into his senior season with a 100-4 career record and is poised to become the Cowboys' 15th three-time NCAA champion. His quest will start out with a matchup with North Carolina's Ethan Ramos at 165 pounds at the 50th annual Hire Heroes NWCA All-Star Classic presented by the Wrestlers in Business Network on November 1 in Atlanta, Ga. The All-Star Classic is also sponsored by Raymond James and will be held at Georgia Tech's McCamish Pavilion at 5 p.m.
Dieringer repeated as an NCAA champion last season, going 33-0 and piling up mountains of bonus points. Of his 33 wins, 28 of them were by fall, major decision or technical fall. Dieringer is also accomplished on the freestyle side of things, earning a silver medal at the 2013 Junior World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. He claimed the Cowboys' 139th individual championship last season.
"When you look at the tradition of Oklahoma State wrestling, Alex Dieringer's fearless attitude plays right into it," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "Fans in Atlanta are going to see one of the very best step on the mat."
This will be Dieringer's second straight appearance in the All-Star Classic. He defeated Virginia's Nick Sulzer 4-2 last year in Philadelphia.
Ramos was a surprise success at the NCAA championships last year. As a freshman last season, the Hawthorne, N.J., native finished 31-11 and closed out his season with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA championships coming in as the No. 15 seed. Ramos reached the NCAA semifinals with a fall over Oregon's Seth Thomas before knocking off Nebraska's Austin Wilson. In the quarterfinals, he moved on past Northwestern's Pierce Harger by injury default before falling to Indiana's Taylor Walsh.
"Anytime you have a program with the proud tradition that North Carolina has participate in the All-Star Classic, it's great for wrestling," said Moyer. "It's been a while since they last appeared in the event, but I'm certain we won't have to go nearly as long to see another Tar Heel wrestler in the event in the future."
Ramos will be coached by Coleman Scott, a 2012 Olympic bronze medalist who enters his first year as the head coach at North Carolina. Scott was an NCAA champion at Oklahoma State. Scott competed in the All-Star Classic at 133 pounds in 2007.
Ramos and Dieringer met once last season, with Dieringer earning a 17-6 major decision in a February dual meet.
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. Dieringer will join Cowboy teammates Kyle Crutchmer and Dean Heil in the event. Crutchmer will face Virginia Tech's Zach Epperly at 174 pounds, while Heil will face Oklahoma's Cody Brewer.
Cowboy wrestlers are 43-38-6 all-time in the All-Star Classic, winning five of the last six matches they've wrestled. Ramos will be North Carolina's first entrant into the Classic since 2007 when Spencer Nadolsky fell 3-2 in overtime to Harvard's Bode Ogunwole at 285 pounds.
Tar Heel wrestlers are 7-7 all-time in the event with the last victory coming in 1995 in Chapel Hill when Stan Banks defeated Wyoming's Reese Andy 4-3 at 177 pounds. T.J. Jaworsky was also a winner for the Heels in the same dual at 134 pounds.
Announced #NWCAClassic50 Matchups
125: Nathan Tomasello, So. (Ohio State) vs. Zeke Moisey, So. (West Virginia)
133:
141: Cody Brewer, Sr. (Oklahoma) vs. Dean Heil, So. (Oklahoma State)
149: B.J. Clagon, So. (Rider) vs. Alexander Richardson, Sr. (Old Dominion)
157: Isaiah Martinez, So. (Illinois) vs. Nick Brascetta, Sr. (Virginia Tech)
165: Alex Dieringer, Sr. (Oklahoma State) vs. Ethan Ramos, So. (North Carolina)
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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