IOWA CITY, Iowa – Advanced all-session ticket sales for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials to be staged at the University of Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena in April have surpassed 6,000, UI and USA Wrestling officials announced today.

More than 4,800 all-session adult tickets and another 500 all-session youth tickets make up the bulk of the purchases. As expected, sales spiked during the weeks following the start of the college wrestling season, with more than 600 tickets to the Trials sold during the month of December.

“We’re off to a fantastic start, the best ever in the history of this event, which is our most important and popular spectator competition,” said USA Wrestling National Events Director Pete Isais. “We are very excited to see all-session ticket sales continue to pick up during the months leading up to the Trials. We encourage wrestling fans all over the nation to finalize their travel plans and make their ticket purchase to insure that they can be there in person to witness wrestling history.”

“We’re really encouraged by where we are today,” said Josh Schamberger, president of the Iowa City Coralville Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We knew fans of the Iowa wrestling program would seize the opportunity to watch the nation’s very best compete for a chance to win gold in London and they’ve done just that.  Now, our goal is to increase the number of fans of the UI wrestling program who have purchased tickets while securing commitments from wrestling fans across the Midwest and nationwide.” 

All-session tickets cost $70 for an adult and $40 for boys and girls high school age and younger.  They gain the ticket holder admission to the two sessions of wrestling scheduled for both Saturday, April 21, and Sunday, April 22.  The Trials will determine the United States’ representatives at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London next August.

Five former University of Iowa wrestlers have already qualified for participation in the Trials:  Three-time All-American Phil Keddy (84 kg), three-time All-American Brent Metcalf (66 kg), two-time All-American and 2008 Olympian Steve Mocco (120 kg), two-time All-American Ryan Morningstar (74 kg), and three-time All-American and 2008 Olympian Mike Zadick (60 kg).

Click here for the updated list of Olympic Trials Qualifiers

The aforementioned former Hawkeyes are attempting to follow in the footsteps of 17 Hawkeyes who have participated in the Olympic Games.  That list includes gold medal winners Ed Banach (1984), Lou Banach (1984), Tom Brands (1996), Randy Lewis (1984), and Terry McCann (1960).

Fans can order their all-session tickets by visiting iowacitytolondon.com,  the official world wide web site of the 2012 United States Olympic Team Trials for wrestling, or by visiting the Athletics Ticket Office inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on the University of Iowa campus.  All-session tickets can be purchased prior to dual featuring the No. 1 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes and No. 2 ranked Oklahoma State this Saturday at 7 p.m. inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.