Newly Elected National Wrestling Hall of Fame Board of Governors members purchase 300 tickets for Hurricane Sandy victims to attend Grapple at the Garden Duals

STILLWATER, Okla - Hurricane Sandy survivors will have the chance to attend "Grapple at the Garden" at no cost, thanks to two former collegiate wrestlers from Long Island, Michael DerGarabedian and Noel Thompson. The two are donating 300 all-session tickets for the inaugural collegiate wrestling duals on Dec. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. 

DerGarabedian and Thompson are newly-elected members of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Board of Governors who will begin serving in 2013. Thompson, CEO of Thompson Global LP, wrestled collegiately at Hofstra. DerGarabedian wrestled at the University of Michigan and is the founder of DerGarabedian, Dillon, Nathan and Coluccio Law Firm of Long Island.

“Wrestling is a very popular youth sport in the greater New York City area and Mike and I want to provide fans and participants affected by Sandy to have an opportunity to watch some of the greatest collegiate wrestling teams battle it out here in the city,” said Thompson, a member of the Grapple at the Garden Local Organizing Committee. Thompson's office will be handling all ticket requests. 

“When I heard what Noel was doing, I immediately wanted to match not only his generosity but also his concern for those from our greater wrestling community in the New York area," DerGarbabedian said. "We hope to provide them with a worry-free day to enjoy some outstanding collegiate wrestling in their own backyard.”

The Inaugural Grapple at the Garden will bring collegiate wrestling to Madison Square Garden for the first time in its illustrious 133-year history. The event, presented by Suplay.com, will feature 14 top-notch collegiate wrestling teams competing in two rounds of duals at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Teams competing include Bloomsburg, Bucknell, Chattanooga, Cornell, Drexel, Hofstra, George Mason, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Ohio State, and Rutgers. The Garden will stage eight wrestling mats on the arena floor, six for collegiate competition and two mats for high school wrestling teams participating in the NYC Public Schools Athletic League Holiday Tournament.

Anyone living in the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut) of metropolitan New York City and affected by the storm may request tickets by emailing his or her name and the number of tickets requested to Jessica at Jessica@thompsonglobal.com before noon on Tuesday, December 12, 2012.

Information about the Grapple at the Garden duals can be found at: www.thegarden.com/grapple and at:www.beat-the-streets.org.