2014 NWCA All-Star Classic Home Page | TrackWrestling Statistics
MANHEIM, Pa. -- NCAA Champion Jason Tsirtsis will have a 2014 title rematch and three-time All-American Mike McMullan will take on last year's heavyweight champion at the NWCA All-Star Classic Saturday (Nov. 1) at The Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.
Saturday night's main event matches are slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. CT. The event will stream live on Flowrestling.org, accessible with a monthly subscription for $20.
The NWCA All-Star Classic has historically been an event where potential NCAA championship previews take place. This season the 149-pound matchup won't be just a preview, it'll be an NCAA finals rematch as Jason Tsirtsis will take on Oklahoma State's Josh Kindig.
The NU sophomore from Crown Point, Ind., went 32-3 last season, won the Big Ten title in Madison, and defeated Kindig 3-1 in sudden victory to capture the Division I title in Oklahoma City in front of a partisan crowd that was vocally behind the Cowboys grappler.
Tsirtsis entered last year's NCAA Division I championships as the No. 5 seed and defeated four eventual All-Americans, including defending champion Kendric Maple of Oklahoma, en route to becoming the first Northwestern freshman to ever win a national title.
"The fact we're starting off the season with a rematch of last year's final is remarkable," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "The matchup between Jason Tsirtsis and Josh Kindig isn't just a showcase of what's to come, it's a chance to see two of the top young wrestlers in the sport get reacquainted with a high-level, championship quality match."
McMullan will take on returning NCAA Division I heavyweight champion Nick Gwiazdowski of N.C. State. The Easton, Pa., native will be making his third straight appearance in the event. He lost to two-time NCAA champion Tony Nelson of Minnesota last season at George Mason University and fell to Missouri's Dom Bradley by a point a year prior at American University.
"When you talk about the current crop of heavyweight wrestlers, you see a lot more athletic, active wrestlers around the mats," said Moyer. "Nick Gwiazdowski and Mike McMullan are two of those gifted big guys."
The senior has earned All-America honors in each of his first three seasons of collegiate competition, and was an NCAA finalist in 2013. He finished in third place at the 2014 NCAA Championships to wrap up a season that saw him knock off two different wrestlers when they were ranked No. 1 in the nation, and held that title himself during the season.
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Northwestern first appeared in the NWCA All-Star Classic in 1968 when Russ Schnieder competed at 160 pounds in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Overall, Wildcats wrestlers have appeared 14 times with a 5-9 overall record. Jason Welch was the last Wildcat to win at the All-Star Classic, beating American's Ganbayar Sanjaa 8-5 at 157 pounds in Tempe, Arizona in 2011.
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