Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic adds three blue-chip wrestlers

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Frank Vulcano ()
02/26/2003


PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Three wrestlers with a combined eight state titles have accepted invitations to compete in the 29th annual Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic, which will be held Sunday, March 16 at the University of Pittsburgh's Fitzgerald Field House.    Brandon Tucker, a three-time state champion from Broken Arrow High School in Coweta. Okla.; Daniel Frishkorn, a three-time state champion from Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake, Va.; and Ryan Davis, a two-time state champion from Blair Academy in New Jersey; will compete on the United States All-Star Team.    Pennsylvania will wrestle the USA team at 6 p.m. The Western Pennsylvania All-Stars will take on Virginia in a 4 p.m. match.    Tucker, a 112-pound senior, won all but one of his 41 bouts last season on the way to an Oklahoma state title. He also won as a sophomore with a 37-2 record and as a freshman with a 36-6 mark. He has a three-year record of 113-9.    Tucker is a two-time junior high state champion, a three-time Kids State Champion, and a two-time Tulsa national champion. He took second place at both the Fargo Tournament and Reno Championships. Tucker is a six-time All-America.    Frishkorn, a 130-pounder, took a 133-9 record into his senior season. He won titles as a junior with a 41-2 record, as a sophomore with a 40-5 mark, and as a freshman with a 52-2 record. He is attempting to become only the seventh four-time state champion in Virginia history.    A recruit of Oklahoma State, Frishkorn is a two-time Junior freestyle All-America and was a National Wrestling Coaches Association underclassman national champion.    Davis, also an Oklahoma State recruit, has won two state titles. He won his second as a junior, after finishing with a 40-1 record, and his first as a sophomore after going 42-3. Davis was fifth as a freshman, going 40-4, and has a 122-8 record through three seasons.    A 140-pounder, Davis has a gold and bronze medal in the Cadet national freestyle tournament and a silver medal in the Cadet Greco-Roman championships. He is a two-time champion in the Beast of the East and Ironman tournaments.    The three will join five other elite wrestlers, who are attempting to win their fourth state schoolboy championships. Included in the group are C.P. Schlater of St. Paris, Ohio; Roger Kish of Lapeer, Mich.; Eric Sanders of Wabasha, Minn.; Mack Reiter of Jesup, Iowa; and Ryan Lang of North Royalton, Ohio.    The Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic, nicknamed "The Rose Bowl of Wrestling," is the premier high school all-star dual meet event in the United States.    The Wrestling Classic is presented by UPMC Health System, UPMC Health Plan, and Rubbermaid, and supported by other corporate sponsors. This all-star event is produced by a local committee of volunteers and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Dapper Dan Charities. The committee is co-directed by two former Wrestling Classic competitors: Kraig Nellis and Frank Vulcano, Jr.    Proceeds from the Wrestling Classic support a wrestling program for underprivileged children through the Dapper Dan Youth Sports League at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania.    Tickets can be purchased by calling the Dapper Dan Charities at 412-263-3850, visiting Wright Automotive Group on Route 19, Wexford, Pa., Canon McMillan High School or ordering online at www.wrestlingclassic.com.