United Wrestling Group hosts the 2016 NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals presented by the United States Marine Corps in honor of Cliff Keen. It will be the second straight year Fort Wayne will serve as the host for the event.
"We've been fortunate to have the support of some great sponsors and donors throughout the history of this event," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "As hosts, the United Wrestling Group provides much-needed event support and manpower, while the Marine Corps has been one of the biggest supporters of our events and wrestling in general for a number of years. Resilite's name in wrestling is highly regarded and their presence at this event is also a vital one."
Of the 88 teams in action across five collegiate levels of wrestling, 70 are ranked in their respective national rankings, including all five No. 1's -- Maryville (Division II), Wartburg (Division III), Grand View (NAIA), Ellsworth (NJCAA) and King (WCWA).
"The growth of college wrestling is coming from the groups we'll see in Fort Wayne," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "When you look at the 88 teams competing at the Multi-Divisional National Duals, 46 of them were started after 2000. This is phenomenal growth and shows the tremendous commitment to wrestling we are seeing, especially with women's wrestling, where 14 of the 16 teams competing are newer programs."
Individually, 345 nationally-ranked wrestlers will take to the mats at the Allen County War Memorial, that comprises over 60 percent of the wrestlers ranked across the five divisions. The largest concentration of ranked wrestlers is in the Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association bracket, where an astounding 91 of the 100 athletes ranked in the organization will be in attendance.
Maryville and coach Mike Denney will look to win the program's second consecutive NWCA National Duals title in Division II. The Saints topped Notre Dame College 16-15 in last year's final. The championship was Denney's first at Maryville after a string of National Duals championships as the head coach at Nebraska-Omaha. Thirteen of the 16 teams are ranked in the Top 20 by D2wrestle.com, including seven of the top 10.
Wartburg looks to claim its sixth straight National Duals championship and 10th overall as the Knights defeated UW-Whitewater 20-13 in last year's final. Wartburg is expected to receive a push from second-ranked Augsburg and third-ranked UW-La Crosse. The Division III field is also the largest, with 24 teams competing in college wrestling's largest division in terms of teams. Of the 24 teams in the field, 18 are ranked in the Top 30 and nine of the top 10 teams will be competing.
Grand View looks to continue its dominance in the NAIA as the Vikings reloaded for 2015-16 and look to capture a fifth straight NAIA National Duals title. Coach Nick Mitchell's squad defeated Southern Oregon 23-13 in last year's championship bout. Twelve nationally-ranked teams are in the field of 16, led by Grand View and seven of the top 10 teams in the country.
In the Junior College Division, Clackamas is the two-time returning champions, but the Cougars will be pushed hard by current No. 1 Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. Last season, Clackamas upended NEO 26-18 to win its third National Duals title in the last five years. Every team in attendance is ranked in the Top 25 in the NJCAA with seven of the top 10 in attendance.
Repeat is the word of the day as King University looks to claim its third straight WCWA National Duals title. Coach Jason Moorman's team beat rival Oklahoma City 24-17 in the 2015 championship final. The WCWA, unlike the other four divisions, wrestles freestyle, which is one of the two Olympic styles of wrestling. Eleven of the nation's top 14 teams will be in the mix here, including multi-time champions Oklahoma City.
Action begins at 9 a.m. on Friday, January 8 with the final rounds set for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 9.
TICKETS
Tickets will be available at the box office of the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum and are $40 for an adult All-Weekend pass and $20 for single day passes. Youth tickets (16-and-under) are $30 for an All-Weekend pass and $15 for single day passes.
RESULTS, STREAMING & TELEVISION
Event results will be available live on Trackwrestling.com and live streaming of the event will also be provided via Trackwrestling's TrackCast program. Fans will be able to watch every mat and every dual for the event for a one-time cost of $19.95.
FOX College Sports will also air one selected dual in each of the five collegiate divisions on a tape-delayed basis. Each dual will be re-broadcast a minimum of 10 times for a total of 50 national broadcasts to a potential universe of 54 million homes.
Results from the four men's divisions: http://bit.ly/Mayhem16
Results from the WCWA division: http://bit.ly/MayhemWCWA16
THE FIELD
Division II: #1 Maryville, #2 St. Cloud State, #3 Nebraska-Kearney, #4 Mercyhurst, #5 Notre Dame College, #7 Pitt-Johnstown, #9 Lake Erie, #11 Upper Iowa, #12 Findlay, #12 Tiffin, #14 Indianapolis, #15 Wheeling Jesuit, #18 Newberry, McKendree, Minnesota State-Mankato, Central Missouri
Division III: #1 Wartburg, #2 Augsburg, #3 UW La Crosse, #4 Roger Williams, #5 Ithaca, #7 Concordia - Moorhead, #8 Wabash, #9 Cornell College, #10 SUNY Cortland, #11 Johnson & Wales, #12 Coe, #13 Alma, #15 Baldwin Wallace, #17 Luther, #20 UW Whitewater, #21 Mount Union, #23 Wilkes, #24 NYU, Augustana (Ill.), Coast Guard, Heidelberg, North Central, US Merchant Marine Academy, Wheaton
NAIA: #1 Grand View, #2 Indiana Tech, #3 Missouri Valley, #5 Oklahoma City, #6 Life, #7 Campbellsville, #9 Concordia-NE, #13 Great Falls, #15 Midland, #16 Cumberland U., #17 Lindsey Wilson, #19 U. of the Cumberlands, Benedictine, Jamestown, Ottawa, Williams Baptist
NJCAA: #1 Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, #2 Ellsworth, #3 Muskegon, #4 Iowa Central, #5 Iowa Western, #6 Clackamas, #7 Iowa Lakes, #12 Western Wyoming, #13 Colby, #14 Northwest, #15 Nassau, #17 Mercyhurst Northeast, #20 Harper, #23 Neosho, #24 Labette, #25 Triton
WCWA: #1 King, #2 Oklahoma City, #3 Simon Fraser, #4 U. of the Cumberlands, #5 Campbellsville, #6 Lindenwood, #7 Wayland Baptist, #8 McKendree , #10 Life, #11 Missouri Baptist, #14 Adrian, Emmanuel, Lyon, Missouri Valley, Ottawa, Waldorf
MEDIA INQUIRIES
For any media requests for the NWCA Duals this weekend please contact Eric Hughes at erichughes0667@gmail.com
About the National Wrestling Coaches Association
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 the United States Marine Corps
On November 10, 1775, the Marine Corps was established by the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since then, the Marine Corps, through service on land, in air, and at sea, have acquitted themselves with the greatest distinction, winning new honors on each occasion until the term "Marine" has come to signify all that is highest in military efficiency and soldierly virtue. Whether facing our nation's foes or conducting humanitarian relief and disaster recovery operations at home or abroad, today's Marine Corps stands ready to continue in the same proud tradition of faithful service to the United States. For more information, visit www.Marines.com.
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