Tony Rotundo www.wrestlersarewarriors.com Photo

WASHINGTON D.C. - The heavyweight match at the 2013 NWCA All-Star Classic will feature Mike McMullan of Northwestern University and Tony Nelson of the University of Minnesota, a fierce rivalry contested twice during the 2012-2013 season for a conference and national championship title.
 
McMullan, a redshirt Junior who is a 2x All-American, enters the match hoping to turn the tables on Nelson, whom he suffered a 6-2 decision loss to at the NCAA Championships and 4-1 loss to at the Big Ten Championships.
 
During the 2011-2012 season, McMullan entered the Northwestern starting lineup as a redshirt freshman.  McMullan wrestled to a 29-11 overall and 11-3 dual record, with four of his wins earned against top-10 heavyweights.
 
In the post season McMullan finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. At the championships, seeded tenth, McMullan earned All-American honors via his third place finish, which was the best finish for any Northwestern freshman since 2005.
 
As a redshirt sophomore, McMullan continued the momentum he generated the prior season. McMullan began the season wrestling at the 2012 NWCA All-Star Classic against Missouri’s Dom Bradley, whom he suffered a 3-2 decision loss to, and completed the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record in duals, 3-0 in conference matches, and 22-4 overall season record.
 
At the Big Ten Championships McMullan took home a runner-up finish and earned a number five seed at the NCAA Championships.
 
At the championships McMullan finished second to Minnesota’s Nelson after upsetting the number one seed Bradley via a 3-1 sudden victory in the semifinals. For his finish McMullan earned All-American honors and became only the 16th Northwestern athlete to earn the honor twice.
 
Nelson will enter the All-Star Classic matchup fresh from earning his second back-to-back NCAA Championship, with his most recent title earned over McMullan.  
 
In his first official season as a Gopher Nelson logged a 33-8 overall record, 13-4 record in duals and 4-3 record in the Big Ten.  Nelson additionally earned championships at the Bison Open and Kaufman-Brand Open prior to finishing second at the Big Ten Championships.
 
At the NCAA Championships Nelson finished seventh earning All-American honors.
 
As a redshirt sophomore, Nelson completed the season with a 32-2 overall record, 15-2 dual record and perfect 8-0 record against Big Ten competition.  Throughout the season Nelson outscored his opponents 150-55 and accrued a 25 match win streak. Additionally Nelson won titles at the Bison Open and Southern Scuffle.
 
In the post season Nelson earned his first Big Ten Championship title and his second-consecutive bid to the NCAA Championships. At the championships Nelson gave up a mere four points on his way to a NCAA individual national title.
 
For his success, Nelson was named the Best Male Athlete of the Year at the Minnesota Athletic Awards, the Golden Goldy’s.
 
During the 2012-2013 season Nelson achieved even greater success. Nelson once again finished the season undefeated against Big Ten opponents, 8-0, and logged an undefeated dual meet record, 17-0,  suffering only one loss to Missouri’s Bradley, with a 33-1 overall record.  
 
In the post season Nelson earned his second consecutive Big Ten Championship title and his third trip to the NCAA Championships after defeating McMullan 4-1 in the final match. At the championship Nelson again met McMullan in the finals, where he claimed victory, a national title and All-American honors.
 
The All-Star Classic will take place on November 2nd at 7:15pm on the campus of George Mason University.  To purchase tickets to the event, visit the Ticketmaster website.  For more information on the All-Star Classic, visit the NWCA website and follow the NWCA on Facebook and Twitter.

About the NWCA
Founded in 1928, the NWCA strives to promote and provide leadership for the advancement of amateur wrestling, primarily at the scholastic and collegiate levels. The association is headquartered in Manheim Pa. The three core competencies are coaching development, student-wrestler welfare, and promotion/advocacy.  The NWCA has 10,000 members and educational programs that serve 230,000 students each year.

About George Mason University (GMU)
Was established in 1957 and obtained university status in 1972.  George Mason University is located in Fairfax Virginia has 32,000 students.  The GMU wrestling program has a rich tradition as evidenced by having advanced 41 different wrestlers to the NCAA Division I Championships, two wrestlers achieved All American status one time and one wrestler achieved All American status two times. The head coach is Joe Russell and he is in his 2nd year. 

About Wrestlers in Business Network (WIBN)
The WIBN-Washington DC Chapter consists of prominent business leaders in the Washington DC metropolitan region.  The organization was originally formed in September 2012 under the name of the Greater Washington Wrestlers in Business Network and more recently merged with the Wrestlers in Business Network (headquartered in Cleveland OH) to form a national Wrestlers in Business Network. The purpose of this organization is to support amateur wrestling activities in major cities across America.