If you want to be on the podium at the end of the season, you’ll probably have to go through a lot of the faces at USA Wrestling’s Fourth Annual Preseason Nationals at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on October 29, 2011. 

Registration for the event opens online Thursday, September 1st, at 5:00 PM EST. The registration will be capped at 1,500 wrestlers so sign up early to guarantee a spot in the tournament. 

Registration links and all tournament information can be found at: 
www.preseasonnationals.com

The event sold out several weeks before registration closed last year, so all wrestlers that intend on participating are encouraged to sign up as early as possible. 

Last year the event reached its cap of 1,500 preregistered athletes, with over 800 wrestlers in the high school division alone. 

In total over 40 place winners from the 2010 USAW Preseason Nationals went on to place at the ASICS/USAW Folkstyle Nationals in April, or earned Cadet or Junior All-American status in Freestyle and Greco-Roman.

In addition to the high school division, the event also features competition for middle school and elementary aged wrestlers. Last year over 600 middle school and elementary aged wrestlers competed in the event, bringing the total wrestlers to over 1,400, and making the USA Wrestling Preseason Nationals one of the largest one day events in the country. 

The wrestling will take place on twenty-eight wrestling mats at the University of Northern Iowa’s UNI-Dome. 

USA Wrestling’s National Events Director Pete Isais has been very pleased with the growth of the event over the last few years. 

“This event is a great place for wrestlers to gauge where they stand to start the year. It lets them know where they fall among the elite high school wrestlers in the country. Many of the participants in this event have gone on to win not just state titles, but to All-American or win the Folkstyle Nationals in April and the Junior and Cadet Nationals in July,” said Isais.

For information on all of USA Wrestling’s upcoming regional and national events, please visit:
www.usawrestlingevents.com

See below for a list of what some of the champions from last year’s event went on to achieve later on in the year. 

Matthew Garelli of Izzy Style (IL) – 1st at USAW Preseason Nationals at 103 lbs., 1st at ASICS/Vaughan Junior Freestyle Nationals at 105 lbs.

Colton Adams of Panhandle Xtreme (NE) – 1st at USAW Preseason Nationals at 112 lbs., 1st at ASICS/USAW Folkstyle Nationals at Cadet 119 lbs, 7th at Cadet Freestyle Nationals at 119 lbs.

Jesse Thielke of Ringers (WI) – 1st at USAW Preseason Nationals at 130 lbs., FILA Junior Greco World Team Member

Joey Munos of PINnacle (MN) – 1st at USAW Preseason Nationals at 135 lbs., 1st at ASICS/USAW Folkstyle Nationals at Junior 130 lbs

Alex Dieringer of Ringers (WI) – 1st at USAW Preseason Nationals at 145 lbs., 1st at ASICS/Vaughan Junior Freestyle Nationals at 160 lbs., 1st at ASICS/Vaughan Junior Greco Nationals at 152 lbs.

Justin Koethe of Trojan Wrestling Club (IA) – 1st at USAW Preseason Nationals at 160 lbs., 3rd at ASICS/Vaughan Junior Greco Nationals at 152 lbs., 8th at ASICS/Vaughan Junior Freestyle Nationals at 152 lbs.

Sam Brooks of Team Overtime (IL) – 1st at USAW Preseason Nationals at 171 lbs., 4th at ASICS/Vaughan Junior Freestyle Nationals 189 lbs., 3rd at ASICS/Vaughan Junior Greco Nationals at 189 lbs

Cody Krumwiede of Waverly-Shell Rock (IA) – 1st at USAW Preseason Nationals at 285 lbs., 1st at ASICS/USAW Folkstyle Nationals at Junior 285 lbs, 2nd at ASICS/Vaughan Junior Freestyle 285 lbs