North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Wrestling To Compete This Week At Southern Scuffle
12/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 28, 2005
RALEIGH, N.C. - After a nice break for Christmas, the NC State wrestling team returns to action this Thursday and Friday at the Southern Scuffle, which will be held at the Special Events Center at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Six teams currently in the national rankings and 54 individuals who are ranked in their respective weight classes will participate in the Scuffle, generally regarded as one of the top three early-season collegiate wrestling tournaments in the country. NC State's Ryan Goodman, a redshirt-freshman ranked No. 18 nationally, is the fifth seed in the 197-pound bracket, which features four other ranked wrestlers.
The wrestling begins on Thursday at 10 a.m. with the round of 64. The round of 32 will follow at 11:30, with the first round of wrestlebacks due to begin at 1:45.
The quarterfinals and fourth round of wrestlebacks will begin on Friday at 9 a.m. Wrestleback rounds will continue through the morning and early afternoon, with the medal rounds for third through eighth places to start at 2 p.m. The championship finals will start at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
Tickets for the 2005 Southern Scuffle can be purchased through the Greensboro Coliseum Box Office beginning October 28. Adult tickets are $10, student tickets are $8 and children under age 5 are free.
Scuffle Notebook: Realtime results will be available on-line through SouthernScuffle.com and UNCGSpartans.com ... Thirty-one teams and more than 500 wrestlers will compete over two days at the Southern Scuffle. Because of the tournament's expansion this season, the tournament was moved to the Greensboro Coliseum's Special Events Center. The previous two tournaments, held at Fleming Gym on the UNCG campus, featured 23 teams. At the Special Events Center, up to 10 mats will be used at one time up through the championship round on Friday night, something that was not possible before the move ... According the the NWCA rankings that are used towards NCAA seeding, of the 54 ranked wrestlers that are expected to appear at the Southern Scuffle, nine are in the Top 5 of their respective weight classes including Ben Askren of Missouri, the top-ranked wrestler at 174 lbs. He was also the 2003 Southern Scuffle champ at 174. The tournament also features Minnesota's Cole Konrad at 285 lbs., who was the NCAA runner-up last year and currently sits ranked second in his respective weight class. In addition, Lehigh's Troy Letters is ranked No. 3 at 165 lbs. Letters was the national champion at 165 in 2004 and the runner-up in 2003. Last year, Letters finished third at the national championship meet ... The 133 lbs. weight class may be the most highly competitive division of the tournament as four of the Top 10 ranked wrestlers are expected to compete in the tournament. Overall, six of the Top 20 wrestlers at 133 are slated to compete at the Scuffle... At 141, seven of the Top 20 in both divisions are scheduled to participate in the event ... Overall, 19 of the 54 ranked wrestlers are currently ranked in the Top 10 of their respective weight classes ... UNC Greensboro will have four wrestlers who are currently nationally ranked in their respective weight classes. Joe Kemmerer, ranked No. 8 at 125 lbs.; Tyler Shovlin, ranked No. 11 at 285 lbs.; Daren Burns, ranked No. 15 at 197 lbs.; and Kevin Artis, ranked No. 18 at 141 lbs., will wrestle for the Spartans ... Tickets for the 2005 Southern Scuffle can be purchased through the Greensboro Coliseum Box Office, on-line through Tickets.com or by calling 1-888-397-3100. Adult tickets are $10, student tickets are $8 and children under age 5 are free.
A pay-per-view webcast will also be available through SouthernScuffle.com.
