A historic college wrestling dual meet event will be hosted in the world’s most famous sports arena on December 16, when the inaugural “Grapple at the Garden,” presented by Suplay.com, will be hosted in Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Collegiate wrestling dual meets will invade Madison Square Garden for the first time in its illustrious 133 year history. New York City is one of the world’s biggest population, media and culture centers. As Frank Sinatra sang about New York, “if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere,” this event offers a wonderful opportunity for the sport to grow.

A robust field of 14 top notch Div. I wrestling teams will provide top entertainment for fans. The featured teams (alphabetically) are: Bloomsburg, Bucknell, Chattanooga, Cornell, Drexel, Hofstra, George Mason, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Ohio State, and Rutgers. College wrestling dual meets will be held on six mats, while two mats will feature high school wrestling action from New York City from the PSAL Holiday Tournament.

This event will consist of dual meets at 10:30 am and 12:30 pm. 

Numerous past NCAA All-Americans will be featured on the mats, including past NCAA champions Kyle Dake of Cornell, Matt McDonough of Iowa, Logan Stieber of Ohio State and Jordan Oliver of Oklahoma State.

All of the matchups are outstanding, as top teams from different parts of the nation and different conferences are putting it on the line. 

“We want to make sure wrestling is front and center. There is no bigger place to do it than at Madison Square Garden. Muhammed Ali fought there. The Knicks and Rangers play there. Some of the most memorable events in American sports have been in the Garden. It is only fitting that wrestling is in there,” said Noel Thompson, among the event organizers.

“College wrestling is one of the oldest sports the NCAA sponsors. New York City is the oldest big city in the United States which has constantly hosted major sports events. Madison Square Garden has a history of showcasing college athletics. It is a great stage for wrestling to showcase some of its greatest wrestlers and teams in college wrestling in the toughest sport that the NCAA fields in athletics,” said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Grapple at the Garden tickets and website

VIDEO: Noel Thompson talks about Grapple at the Garden

VIDEO: Grapple at the Garden promotional video

GRAPPLE AT THE GARDEN
Sunday, December 16, 2012
At Madison Square Garden in New York City, N.Y.

Dual  meet schedule
  
10:30AM
Mat 1 – PSAL Holiday Tournament (High School)
 Mat 2 – Drexel vs. George Mason
 Mat 3 - Rutgers vs. Nebraska
 Mat 4 - Iowa vs. Hofstra
 Mat 5 - Ohio State vs. Maryland
 Mat 6 – Cornell vs. Missouri
 Mat 7 – Oklahoma State vs. Chattanooga
 Mat 8 – PSAL Holiday Tournament (High School)
  
12:30PM
 Mat 1 – PSAL Holiday Tournament (High School)
 Mat 2 -  Iowa vs. Bucknell
 Mat 3 – Rutgers vs. Chattanooga
 Mat 4 – Ohio State vs. Hofstra
 Mat 5 – Nebraska vs. Maryland
 Mat 6 – Cornell vs. Oklahoma State
 Mat 7 – Missouri vs. Bloomsburg
 Mat 8 – PSAL Holiday Tournament (High School)