 |  Senior captain Matt Stolpinski placed fourth place at the NCAA Championship a year ago to garner All-America honors. |
Nov. 2, 2007
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy senior All-American wrestler Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) has received and accepted an invitation to take part in the 42nd edition of the NWCA All-Star Classic presented by the United States Marine Corps slated for Nov. 19, in Eugene, Ore. Navy's team captain, Stolpinski is the 12th different Navy wrestler to be invited to the all-star tournament since its inception in 1967 and the first since Mark Conley in 2002.
"This is truly an honor for both Matt and the Navy wrestling program," said eighth-year Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "It's an opportunity for Matt to shine among some of the greatest competitors in the sport today. It's also an incredible chance for wrestling fans on the West Coast to see what Navy wrestling is all about. I'm excited for Matt and I know we will be an exceptional representative of the Naval Academy at this prestigious event."
This year's lineup features six top-ranked wrestlers in Division I, one top-ranked wrestler in Division II, eight second-ranked wrestlers from Division I along with four #3's and one #4. In all, 14 different schools will be represented and will comprise athletes from the Big Ten, Big 12, Colonial, EIWA, EWL, Pac 10 and Division II.
There is one pivotal focus of this year's event - save the wrestling program at the University of Oregon. In June, the school announced it was cutting the sport in favor of adding baseball and women's competitive cheer, and that 2007-08 would be the final season of Duck Wrestling in Eugene.
"This is an important event, not only for the sport of wrestling, but for the health and well-being of wrestling in the state of Oregon and around the country," said NWCA President Ron Mirikitani. "There is great tradition at the University of Oregon. National Champions, Olympic Medalists, Olympic Coaches. We're hoping that a great fan presence will show the administration that Oregon needs wrestling and wrestling needs Oregon."
The lineup that's going to be taking to the mat at McArthur Court is solid.
At 125 pounds, returning NCAA champion Paul Donahoe of Nebraska comes in ranked No. 1 in the country after his surprise run to the title last season. He'll take on Jayson Ness, a sophomore from Minnesota ranked fourth in the nation and a fifth-place finisher at the NCAA Championships last March. It is the first appearance for both wrestlers.
At 133 pounds, two of the Big 12's top wrestlers will square off with three-time All-American and returning NCAA runner-up Coleman Scott of Oklahoma State will take on Missouri's two-time All-American Tyler McCormick. Scott is 2-1 lifetime against McCormick and is one of two Cowboys to be represented in the event. Scott's making his second All-Star appearance, losing last year to Penn's Matt Valenti.
At 141 pounds, it's two-time All-American Nathan Morgan. Morgan, ranked third, will face second-ranked Charles Griffin of Hofstra. Griffin defeated Morgan in the third-place match at the 2007 NCAA Division I Championships last March, 6-2, and is the first Hofstra wrestler to compete in the main event of the All-Star Classic since Nick Gallo wrestled in the event in 1977. Morgan, meanwhile, is making his second All-Star appearance. He fell last year to top-ranked Ryan Lang of Northwestern.
At 149 pounds, a pair of Big Ten opponents will tangle as top-ranked Dustin Schlatter, a two-time All-American and 2006 NCAA champion, will face off with second-ranked Josh Churella, a two-time All-American and 2007 NCAA runner-up. It will be Schlatter's second All-Star appearance. Last season, he defeated Oklahoma's Matt Storniolo in Dallas.
At 157 pounds, Wisconsin's NCAA runner-up Craig Henning, ranked second at the weight, will wrestle Illinois' Mike Poeta in another All-Big Ten tussle. It's been six years since Barry Davis has had a wrestler compete in the event - Donny Pritzlaff in 2001.
Second-ranked Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan, ranked second, will take on third-ranked Patrick Pitsch of Arizona State at 165 pounds. The match could draw some fans from nearby Washington as the two-time Pac-10 champion hails from Spanaway, Wash., a four-hour drive up I-5.
Two Eastern conferences are represented at 174 pounds, with returning NCAA finalist and top-ranked Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh against second-ranked Matt Stolpinski of the United States Naval Academy. Gavin is Pitt's first representative since J.J. Fasnacht in 1996, while Stolpinski is the Academy's first since Mark Conley in 2002.
"It's a huge honor to be selected to compete in the All-Star Classic," said Stolpinski, who is a two-time NCAA qualifier and tied the program record with 44 wins a year ago. "I am very excited at the chance to compete against the No. 1 guy in my weight so early in the season. Coach Burnett, as usual, has been getting us in awesome shape throughout the preseason and I feel like we are all ready to show what we can do.
"Keith Gavin is a tough wrestler with great technique," added Stolpinski about his competitor. "I am going to have to go into the match with a solid game plan. I'll have to stick with the basics and keep the pace of the match very high. Its going to be a lot of fun!"
Making his second All-Star Classic is Minnesota's Roger Kish. Last season, Kish fell to Northwestern's Jake Herbert, but the Michigan native will have a familiar foe in his opponent in 2007 - Iowa State's top-ranked sophomore Jake Varner. Varner defeated Kish in overtime in the semifinals of last year's NCAA championships at 184 pounds.
A pair of Big Ten wrestlers will again meet at 197 pounds, as second-ranked Phil Davis, a three-time All-American from Penn State, will face third-ranked Mike Tamillow of Northwestern. This will be Davis second appearance in the All-Star Classic, but he failed to make weight at last year's event. Tamillow was seventh at last year's NCAA championships.
At heavyweight, Division I's top-ranked heavyweight Dustin Fox of Northwestern will have a large challenge in front of him, the top-ranked heavyweight in Division II, Nebraska-Kearney's Tervel Dlagnev. Dlagnev beat Fox in the finals of last year's Midlands championships and is making his third All-Star appearance but first in the main event. In 2005 in Stillwater, Dlagnev beat Central Oklahoma's Josh LeadingFox in the event's only exhibition, while in 2006, the Texan beat Wartburg's Blake Gillis in one of five exhibition matches.
Dlagnev's the first non-Division I wrestler in the event since Emmett Willson of Montana State-Northern (NAIA) in 2004 and the first Division II wrestler to compete since Dan Russell of Portland State in 1990 - the last time Oregon hosted the event.
The event is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start, and tickets are available by calling the Duck ticket office at 1-800-WEB-FOOT (or 541.346.4461 locally) during weekday normal business hours. Prices are $15 for reserved, $10 for Adult General Admission and $5 for Children General Admission (ages 2-18) and UO Students (with a valid UO student ID). For teams of 15 or more, reserved tickets are available for $10 for each ticket if arranged in advance through the UO Athletic Department Ticket Office. Other general ticket information is available at the online at www.GoDucks.com website.
42nd NWCA All-Star Classic presented by the United States Marine Corps
November 19, Eugene, Ore.
125: #1 Paul Donahoe (Nebraska) vs. #4 Jayson Ness (Minnesota)
133: #1 Coleman Scott (Oklahoma State) vs. #2 Tyler McCormick (Missouri)
141: #2 Charles Griffin (Hofstra) vs. #3 Nathan Morgan (Oklahoma State)
149: #1 Dustin Schlatter (Minnesota) vs. #2 Josh Churella (Michigan)
157: #2 Craig Henning (Wisconsin) vs. #3 Mike Poeta (Illinois)
165: #2 Eric Tannenbaum (Michigan) vs. #3 Patrick Pitsch (Arizona State)
174: #1 Keith Gavin (Pittsburgh) vs. #2 Matt Stolpinski (Navy)
184: #1 Jake Varner (Iowa State) vs. #2 Roger Kish (Minnesota)
197: #2 Phil Davis (Penn State) vs. #3 Mike Tamillow (Northwestern)
285: #1 (D2) Tervel Dlagnev (Neb.-Kearney) vs. #1 (D1) Dustin Fox (Northwestern)
EXHIBITIONS
174: Ron Lee (Oregon) vs. Luke Feist (Stanford)
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