J'den Cox celebrates after winning the NCAA title (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) MANHEIM, Pa. -- After an impressive season-long performance as a true freshman in 2013-14, Missouri 197-pounder J'den Cox is ready to defend his NCAA Division I championship. Cox will face a stern test in two-time All-American Scott Schiller of Minnesota at 197 pounds at the 2014 NWCA All-Star Classic presented by the United States Marine Corps and the Wrestlers in Business Network hosted by Penn and WIBN-Philadelphia on November 1 at the Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.
Cox is the fourth returning national champion set to compete in the event, joining Northwestern's Jason Tsirtsis, Oklahoma State's Alex Dieringer and N.C. State's Nick Gwiazdowski.
A Columbia, Missouri native, Cox ended his freshman season with a 38-2 record, winning the last 20 matches of the season and upending top-seeded Nick Heflin of Ohio State in the finals at the 2014 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Oklahoma City. His last loss came on January 2.
Schiller, a native of West Fargo, North Dakota, will wrestle in the event for a second-straight year. The two-time All-American fell in overtime last year in Fairfax to Oregon State's Taylor Meeks. Schiller comes in as a two-time All-American, taking third last season, and holds a career record of 94-15. The two have never met in collegiate competition, but Schiller does have four wins over Iowa State's Kyven Gadson, who was one of only two wrestlers to beat Cox last season.
Missouri's participation in the All-Star Classic dates back to 1979 where Dave Miller first represented the Tigers at 167 pounds. The last time a Tiger wrestler took to the mat in the All-Star Classic came in 2012 when heavyweight Dom Bradley defeated Northwestern's Mike McMullan 3-2.
Minnesota has been active in the All-Star Classic throughout the program's history. The Gophers' first appearance in the event came in 1967 when Jim Anderson wrestled at 115 pounds. Overall, Gopher wrestlers hold a 14-17-1 record with Tony Nelson picking up the last victory in last year's event.
"The University of Missouri is proud to have J'Den Cox representing Missouri at the NWCA All-Star Classic," said Missouri head wrestling coach Brian Smith. "The NWCA does an amazing job promoting this event and it is always a great honor for the athletes who participate in it. The All Star Classic is wrestling's annual kick-off event and features today's best college wrestlers. This event also provides a platform to communicate what the NWCA stands for; growing the sport of wrestling, being the voice for wrestling coaches, helping develop strong leadership within our coaches ranks through its leadership Academy and most of all looking out for the welfare of our student athletes. Again, we are very proud to have J'den taking part in this very prestigious event."
To purchase tickets to the event, click here for the Penn Athletic Ticket Office.
The event will be streamed live by the NWCA's live streaming partner Flowrestling. Fox College Sports will air the event on television via tape-delay no less than 10 times during the season, starting two weeks after the event has completed. These broadcasts are paid for by Rothschild, a leading global financial advisory based in New York City with offices in Washington, Los Angeles and Houston.
Hibiclens and Resilite will again support the event as associate sponsors. The Rothman Institute and the United Association (UA) Group will also make 1,500 tickets available for local students (K-12) throughout southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. These tickets will be distributed to regional schools by representatives of the United States Marine Corps.
Follow on Social Media!
For more information on the All-Star Classic, visit www.theallstarclassic.com and follow the NWCA on Facebook and Twitter. Fans can join the discussion with the #NWCAClassic hashtag. Fans should keep an eye on the discussion as there will be contests and interactive discussions about the event via Twitter and Facebook!
Competing wrestlers will be eligible for the Outstanding Wrestler Award, presented by the Wrestlers in Business Network - Atlanta Chapter.
Announced Matchups
125: Nahshon Garrett, Jr. (Cornell) vs. Joey Dance, So. (Virginia Tech)
133: A.J. Schopp, Sr. (Edinboro) vs. Mason Beckman, Jr. (Lehigh)
141:
149: Jason Tsirtsis, So. (Northwestern) vs. Josh Kindig, Sr. (Oklahoma State)
157: James Green, Sr. (Nebraska) vs. Ian Miller, Jr. (Kent State)
165: Alex Dieringer, Jr. (Oklahoma State) vs. Nick Sulzer, Sr. (Virginia)
174: Robert Kokesh, Sr. (Nebraska) vs. Tyler Wilps, Sr. (Pittsburgh)
184: Gabe Dean, So. (Cornell) vs. Jack Dechow, So. (Old Dominion)
197: J'Den Cox, So. (Missouri) vs. Scott Schiller, Sr. (Minnesota)
285: Nick Gwiazdowski, Jr. (N.C. State) vs. Mike McMullan, Sr. (Northwestern)
Showcase matchups to be announced
About the NWCA
Founded in 1928, the NWCA strives to promote and provide leadership for the advancement of amateur wrestling, primarily at the scholastic and collegiate levels. The association is headquartered in Manheim Pa. The three core competencies are coaching development, student-wrestler welfare, and promotion/advocacy. The NWCA has 10,000 members and educational programs that serve 230,000 students each year. www.nwcaonline.com NWCA on Facebook | NWCA on Twitter
About the University of Pennsylvania
Established in 1740, the University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League research university located in Philadelphia. Incorporated as The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn is one of 14 founding members of the Association of American Universities and is one of the nine original Colonial Colleges. The school was founded by Ben Franklin. Penn is ranked among the top research universities in the world.
About Wrestlers in Business/Wrestlers in Business Philadelphia
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
Wrestlers in Business Philadelphia is a newly formed group who will kick-off their Chapter events with a Social Event in September followed by All-Star Classic. A 14-member Board has been elected led by President Anthony Stagliano and he is joined by distinguished names in the wrestling and business community including four members who have long ties to the University of Pennsylvania; Roger Reina who is playing a prominent role in the promotion of the All-Star Classic, Gary Baker, Andy Matter and Chris Hanlon. www.wrestlersinbusiness.org/chapters/philadelphia-pa
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.
About Rothman Institute
Rothman Institute is a private orthopaedic practice dedicated to providing communities with high-quality, compassionate, and affordable musculoskeletal care that is grounded in evidence-based medicine, the results of which will exceed expectations. Rothman Institute orthopaedists treat patients at 20 locations in the Philadelphia-region, including orthopaedic urgent care clinics in Marlton, NJ and Limerick, PA. With experts in orthopaedic sub-specialties including spine, hip and knee, foot and ankle, shoulder and elbow, hand and wrist, sports medicine, physical medicine and rehabilitation, orthopaedic oncology and trauma, the Rothman Institute is internationally recognized for excellence in clinical treatment methods, research, education and technology. Consistently recognized as national and regional "Top Docs," the Rothman Institute is proud to be official team physicians for several professional, college and high school teams. For more information about the Rothman Institute please call 1-800-321-9999 or visit www.RothmanInstitute.com.
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