Photos by Minnesota Sports Information/Tech-Fall.com

Wrestling fans in the West will get two chances to see Colorado and Idaho mix it up on the college wrestling mats. They’ll do so watching wrestlers representing schools from Minnesota and Oklahoma.

Minnesota’s Sonny Yohn and Oklahoma State’s Clayton Foster have been selected to compete against one another at 197 pounds on November 21 at Selland Arena in Fresno, Calif., as part of the 2010 NWCA All-Star Classic presented by The Marines on Nov. 21

As noted earlier, Yohn and Foster will be the second Colorado vs. Idaho matchup in the event, following the 184-pound matchup released earlier between Joe LeBlanc and Kirk Smith. Yohn hails from Alamosa, Colo., while Foster is from Kamiah, Idaho.

Both were All-Americans last season – Yohn finished eighth at 197 pounds, while Foster finished sixth at 184 pounds. 

The two met once last season, in the dual meet between the two schools and before Yohn moved up from 184 to 197. Foster won that match 13-1. It was also Yohn’s only loss at 184 before the move up. 

Going back to high school, Foster bested Yohn in a three-period final at 189 pounds at the USA Wrestling Junior Freestyle Nationals in 2006. Yohn won the Junior Nationals the next season. 

Yohn finished the season 27-13, while Foster finished up with a 23-6 mark. 

Foster is the third Cowboy in the 2010 event and 84th overall. He’s joined this season by Jordan Oliver at 133 pounds and Alan Gelogaev at 285 pounds. Yohn becomes the 27th Golden Gopher to wrestle in the event. 125-pounder Zach Sanders wrestled in the event last year, beating Old Dominion’s James Nicholson. 

The 45th Annual NWCA All-Star Classic Presented by The Marines will be held at the Selland Arena in Fresno, California on Sunday, November 21, 2010. The doors open at 2:00 p.m. The All-Star Classic follows a weekend of fundraising events. For more information about the tournament, purchasing tickets and the fundraising events, visit the www.nwcaonline.com's event page.  

To donate to the effort to save collegiate wrestling programs, visit http://nwca.ticketleap.net.

2010 NWCA All-Star Classic Presented by the Marines
Rankings by W.I.N. Magazine
125 - 
133 - #1 Jordan Oliver, So. (Oklahoma St.) vs. #2 Andrew Hochstrasser, Sr. (Boise St.)
141 - 
149 - #4 Torsten Gillespie, Jr. (Edinboro) vs. #5 Kevin LeValley, Sr. (Bucknell)
157 - 
165 - 
174 - #3 Jordan Blanton, Sr. (Illinois) vs. #6 Nick Amuchastegui, Jr. (Stanford)
184 - #1 Kirk Smith, Sr. (Boise St.) vs. #2 Joe LeBlanc, Jr. (Wyoming)
197 - #3 Sonny Yohn, Jr. (Minnesota) vs. #4 Clayton Foster, Sr. (Oklahoma St.)
285 - #2 Jarod Trice, Jr. (Central Michigan) vs. #4 Alan Gelogaev, Jr. (Oklahoma St.)

Exhibitions:

About California USA Wrestling 

California USA Wrestling is a non-profit organization committed to the success and health of their athletes and dedicated to the promotion and preservation of collegiate and international styles of amateur wrestling. As the official California affiliate of USA Wrestling, the national governing board for international-style amateur wrestling in the United States, the club is responsible for the organization and execution of sanctioned USA Wrestling events in the state. California USA Wrestling educates the community about the styles of wrestling and the value of being involved in the sport. They strive to provide fun, exciting and well-planned events and improve the quality of California wrestling at the competitive level. For more information, visit www.ca-usaw.org.

About NWCA

The National Wrestling Coaches Association, established in 1928, is a professional organization dedicated to supporting and elevating the sport of amateur wrestling. NWCA provides leadership and guidance primarily to scholastic and collegiate wrestling programs, but is an advocate to all levels of wrestling. The NWCA promotes communication, recognizes achievement, recommends rules and regulations, sponsors events and serves as a resource for education and information pertaining to the sport of wrestling. Additionally, The NWCA strives to foster the sportsmanship and integrity that are the cornerstones of any competitive sport. For more information, visit http://www.nwcaonline.com.