NWCA Announces Lineup Changes to the All-Star Classic

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Pat Tocci (NWCA)
02/01/2003


The NWCA would like to announce several lineup changes to the 37th Annual Cape Cod Potato Chips/NWCA All-Star Classic that will be held on Monday, February 3 at the Bob Carpenter Center on the campus of the University of Delaware.  The additions to the lineup include:  Chris Rodriquez from the  University of North Carolina at 125lbs, Bo Maynes of Oklahoma University at 125lbs, Phillip Simpson of Army at 141lbs, and Pat Cummins of Penn State at 285lbs.    Maynes and Rodriquez will be competing in the All-Star Classic as replacements for number one ranked Chris Fleeger of Purdue and number two-ranked Travis Lee of Cornell.  Maynes, is currently ranked eighth in the  nation with a 26-4 record. He recently defeated All-Americans, Skyler Holman of Oklahoma State and Iowa's Luke Eustice. Rodriquez, who is currently ranked 12th in the nation by Amateur Wrestling News was a 2002 All-American. He is 20-9 on the season.    The eighth ranked Simpson is the first Army wrestler ever to compete in the All-Star Classic.  Simpson, who is 22-2 on the season, is replacing Lock Haven's Mike Maney.   He will meet second ranked Dylan Long of Northern Iowa.    Cummins will wrestle in his first All-Star Classic as a replacement for Ohio State's Tommy Rowlands.  Cummins, who has a season record of 24-3, is ranked ninth in the nation by Amateur Wrestling News.  His opponent will be number one ranked Steve Mocco of Iowa.  Mocco is undefeated on the season and is the 2002 NCAA runner-up.    The Cape Cod Potato Chips / NWCA All-Star Classic pits the nation's top collegiate wrestlers against each other in challenge matches that is often seen as a preview of the upcoming NCAA finals.  The 2002 All-Star Classic at Hofstra University saw three wrestlers go onto capture NCAA titles in March.    Headlining the lineup is returning NCAA Champion Greg Jones of West Virginia University at 174lbs.  Jones is currently ranked one nation with a perfect 15-0 record this season. Jones will meet second ranked Chris Pendleton of Oklahoma State University, who is also undefeated at 14-0.    There will be two other matches that will see the number one versus number two wrestlers meet.  At 184lbs, Jessman Smith of Iowa will look to defend his number one ranking versus Cornell*s second ranked Clint Wattenberg. Smith defeated Wattenberg in the finals of the Midlands 5-4.    Number one ranked Muhammad Lawal of Oklahoma State will battle Lehigh's second ranked Jon  Trenge at 197lbs.  Trenge was a 2-1 winner over Lawal in their only meeting at the 2001 Las Vegas Invitational.    Cornell's Dustin Manotti at 149lbs and Lehigh*s Troy Letters at 165lbs were the lone freshmen selected to compete in this year's event.  The ninth ranked Manotti will meet fourth ranked Jake Percival of Ohio University while fourth ranked Letters will wrestle fifth ranked Johnny Clark of Ohio State.    The remaining lineup includes:  Fifth ranked Witt Durden of Oklahoma meeting sixth ranked Kevin Black of Wisconsin at 133lbs, and second ranked Keaton Anderson of Ohio State wrestling third ranked Scott Owen of Northern Illinois at 157lbs.    In keeping with the tradition of a local feature match, the Delaware Wrestling Alliance invited Clarion University's sixth ranked John Testa to meet seventh ranked Matt Feast of Penn at 285lbs.  Testa grew up in Newark, DE and went to school at St. Mark's High School.    A special prelude to the Cape Cod Potato Chips/NWCA All-Star Classic will be six-team high school event at 5p.m.  The feature match will be Pennsylvania State Champions, Easton High School versus New Jersey State Champions, Absegami High School.  The two other duals meets will highlight four Delaware schools as Delaware State Champions St. Marks High School will meet William Penn High School while Delaware State Runner-up, Caesar Rodney High School will meet Sussex Central High School.    Tickets are still available for the event and can be purchased on the day of the event at the Bob Carpenter Center.    For more information, call the NWCA office at 717-653-8009.    2003 Cape Cod Potato Chips / NWCA All-Star Classic Lineup    February 3, 2003  University of Delaware    125  - #12 Chris Rodriquez (North Carolina) vs. #8 Bo Maynes (OU)  133 - #6 Kevin Black (Wisc) vs. #5 Witt Durden (OU)  141  - #8 Phillip Simpson (Army) vs. #2 Dylan Long (UNI)  149 - #4 Jake Percival (Ohio) vs. #9 Dustin Manotti (Cornell)  157 - #3 Scott Owen (Northern Illinois) vs. #2 Keaton Anderson (Ohio State)  165 - #4 Troy Letters (Lehigh) vs. #5 Johnny Clark (Ohio State)  174 -  #1 Greg Jones (WVU) vs. #2 Chris Pendleton (Okla State)  184  - #1 Jessman Smith (Iowa) vs. #2 Clint Wattenberg (Cornell)  197 - #2 Jon Trenge (Lehigh) vs. #1 Muhammad Lawal (Okla State)  285 - #1 Steve Mocco (Iowa) vs. #9 Pat Cummins (Penn State)  285 - #8 John Testa (Clarion) vs. #11 Matt Feast (Penn)  Rankings are based on the January 27 Amateur Wrestling News Rankings    Coaches: Craig Turnbull (West Virginia), Russ Hellickson (Ohio State), Jeff Swenson (Augsburg) and Ray Kowatch (Ashland)