WASHINGTON D.C. – The Wrestlers In Business Network (WIBN) and USA Wrestling are expanding the opportunity for youth to participate in the NWCA All-Star Classic weekend by hosting The Inaugural WIBN Middle School All-Star Dual Meet.  

The WIBN Middle School All-Star Dual Meet will be the kick-off event of the NWCA All-Star Classic weekend and will be held on the campus of George Mason University on Friday, November 1st. The event will be hosted in conjunction with USA Wrestling.

Last year’s All-Star Classic featured a very entertaining youth exhibition match.  Building off of the success of last year’s youth exhibition match, the WIBN is providing an opportunity for some of the nation’s best Middle School wrestlers to showcase their talents in an All-Star dual format.

The November 1st dual will feature head to head match-ups of some of the best middle school wrestlers in the nation.  Middle School wrestlers from California, Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia are scheduled to participate in the event.  

This year’s event will also feature members of Beat the Streets Baltimore and Beat the Streets Philadelphia, highlighting the WIBN and NWCA’s commitment to growing the sport of wrestling at the grass roots level.

Brute Wrestling is demonstrating their commitment to youth wrestling by donating competition uniforms to the participants in this year’s event.  In addition, the WIBN will be purchasing Flip Audio Headphones for each of the participants.

“We are excited about working with USA Wrestling to provide these outstanding Middle School wrestlers with an opportunity to showcase their talents as part of the NWCA’s All-Star Classic Weekend.  The goals of this event are to promote the continued growth of wrestling at the youth level and to provide these young wrestlers with a positive experience they will carry with them for the rest of their lives,” said Kurt McHenry, WIBN-Washington DC Chapter Board Member.

"The WIBN Middle School All-Star Dual Meet provides a great opportunity for USA Wrestling to partner with the NWCA, the Wrestlers in Business Network and Beat the Streets USA to showcase youth wrestling. These middle school matches promise to be an exciting experience for both athletes and fans.  I won’t be surprised to see many of these youth athletes come back as participants in the All-Star Classic as college athletes some day," said Les Gutches, USA Wrestling Associate Executive Director.
 
Gutches is also excited that USA Wrestling can help support the NWCA All-Star Classic, one of the great traditions in American wrestling.
 
"I had the honor to wrestle in two NWCA All-Star meets and look back on the experience as one of the highlights of my college wrestling career. Fans will not want to miss this great weekend of wrestling," he said.

Event Details:
George Mason University Field House
4400 University Drive
Fairfax, Virginia
November 1st, 2013
7:00pm

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.

About USA Wrestling
USA Wrestling is the National Governing Body for the Sport of Wrestling in the United States and, as such, is its representative to the United States Olympic Committee and the International Wrestling Federation FILA. Simply, USA Wrestling is the central organization that coordinates amateur wrestling programs in the nation and works to create interest and participation in these programs. Its president is James Ravannack, and its Executive Director is Rich Bender.