USA Wrestling awards the 2005 and 2006 Junior Dual National Championships to Enid, Okla.

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
09/23/2004


USA Wrestling is excited to announce it has awarded the 2005 and 2006 Junior Dual National Championships to Enid, Okla.    The 2005 Junior Dual National Championships will be held June 28 - July 3 at the Chisolm Trail Coliseum. Enid has hosted the Junior Dual National Championships for the last three years.    "USA Wrestling was thrilled to receive several outstanding bid applications for the Junior Dual National Championships," said USA Wrestling Director of National Events, Pete Isais.  "In the end, we made a decision to award these outstanding National Championships based on several supporting factors including location, facilities, volunteer base and past success in coordinating USA Wrestling regional and national championships."    The Junior Dual National Championships were established to create an opportunity for athletes to compete on their state teams in a dual meet format.     The event, which consistently draws the best teams and individual talent from around the country, provides a great opportunity for wrestlers to face top competition weeks before the Junior National Championships.      The event director will continue to be Archie Randall, the USA Wrestling State Chairperson for Oklahoma and a member of the USA Wrestling Board of Directors. Randall is the wrestling coach at nationally respected El Reno High School.    "For the wrestling community in Oklahoma, it is a great honor to run this event," said Randall. "It is one of the most exciting wrestling events to watch. An individual can wrestle up to seven times in dual meets, against great wrestlers from across the nation."    "Most of the states are bringing both a freestyle team and a Greco-Roman team," said Randall. "You see the teams fighting to be in the top eight, an honor to be one of the best dual meet teams in the nation. They are bringing their best kids. The tournament has become tremendously competitive. With dual matches, a coach must use strategy. Duals are fun to watch. The venue is great, with the mats close to the fans. At the Junior Duals, anything can happen."    Enid is in the North Central part of Oklahoma, approximately 80 miles north of Oklahoma City, 112 miles west of Tulsa and 100 miles south of Wichita, Kan. The Chisolm Trail Coliseum opened in 1998. There is permanent seating for 6,000 fans during the wrestling competition.    The defending Junior Duals champion in freestyle is Ohio, which defeated Oklahoma in the finals last year. The defending Junior Duals Greco-Roman champion is Florida, which defeated New York in the gold-medal finals.    Only two states have hosted this popular event, Illinois and Oklahoma. The competition was initiated in Illinois, and has been held in sites in Oklahoma for the last seven years.