North Carolina State University Athletics
Gwiazdowski Starts His NCAA Title Defense on Saturday
10/31/2014 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Oct. 31, 2014
“It’s a real honor to be invited to wrestle at this event,” said Gwiazdowski. “I can remember hearing and reading about the All-Star Classic growing up, it’s like a who’s-who in the wrestling world each year. This year, you can look at the amount of national champions competing and know this is such a prestigious event to be invited too.”
The pair have split matches against one another during their collegiate careers. McMullan took a 2012 matchup 5-3 in the consolation quarterfinals at the NCAA Division I Championships in St. Louis, Missouri, during Gwiazdowski’s freshman season at Binghamton. Last season, Gwiazdowski topped McMullen 5-3 in sudden victory in a dual meet when the Pack faced off against Northwestern.
McMullan comes in with a 71-20 overall record, including a 20-5 record last year. Gwiazdowski is 73-11 in two full seasons of college wrestling including a 43-2 record last season. Gwiazdowski won the Pack’s sixth national championships this past spring, while McMullan placed third overall.
“We both have similar styles on the mat, and are familiar with each other,” said Gwiazdowski. “It will be a battle with two of the top guys in our division for sure.”
For this event, there will be an experimental rule in place where if a wrestler gets a takedown and the clock is stopped for going out of bounds, or any other reason, the man on top can choose to let his opponent up and into the neutral position without giving up a point.
“I’m excited about the new rule for this weekend,” said Gwiazdowski. “Obviously there is going to be another level of strategy to my match, so coach Popolizio and myself will talk about it beforehand, but I think it will be more spur of the moment decisions based on score and time remaining.”
All matches Saturday are exhibition matches and do not count toward their season or career records.
The event will be streamed live on Flowrestling.org and requires a FloPro subscription ($20/month). Television coverage will be provided by FOX College Sports on a tape-delayed basic.
Competition is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. Below are the announced matchups, with rankings from TheOpenMat.com:
125: #3 Alan Waters, Sr. (Missouri) vs. #4 Joey Dance, So. (Virginia Tech)
133: #1 A.J. Schopp, Sr. (Edinboro) vs. #2 Mason Beckman, Jr. (Lehigh)
141: #1 Logan Stieber, Sr. (Ohio State) vs. #2 Mitchell Port, Sr. (Edinboro)
149: #1 Jason Tsirtsis, So. (Northwestern) vs. #2 Josh Kindig, Sr. (Oklahoma State)
157: #2 James Green, Sr. (Nebraska) vs. #3 Ian Miller, Jr. (Kent State)
165: #1 Alex Dieringer, Jr. (Oklahoma State) vs. #2 Nick Sulzer, Sr. (Virginia)
174: #2 Robert Kokesh, Sr. (Nebraska) vs. #1-NAIA Brock Gutches, Sr. (Southern Oregon)
184: #1 Gabe Dean, So. (Cornell) vs. #2 Jack Dechow, So. (Old Dominion)
197: #1 J’Den Cox, So. (Missouri) vs. #2 Scott Schiller, Sr. (Minnesota)
285: #1 Nick Gwiazdowski, Jr. (NC State) vs. #2 Mike McMullan, Sr. (Northwestern)
RALEIGH, N.C. - With the start of the NC State wrestling season right around the corner, defending NCAA Champion Nick Gwiazdowski will get a head start on the action as he will compete for the first time this season on Saturday. Gwiazdowski was invited to compete in the prestigious NWCA All-Star Classic, which features many of the nation’s top Division I wrestlers. He will wrestle three-time All-American Mike McMullan of Northwestern in the 285-pound bout in Philadelphia.
“It’s a real honor to be invited to wrestle at this event,” said Gwiazdowski. “I can remember hearing and reading about the All-Star Classic growing up, it’s like a who’s-who in the wrestling world each year. This year, you can look at the amount of national champions competing and know this is such a prestigious event to be invited too.”
The pair have split matches against one another during their collegiate careers. McMullan took a 2012 matchup 5-3 in the consolation quarterfinals at the NCAA Division I Championships in St. Louis, Missouri, during Gwiazdowski’s freshman season at Binghamton. Last season, Gwiazdowski topped McMullen 5-3 in sudden victory in a dual meet when the Pack faced off against Northwestern.
McMullan comes in with a 71-20 overall record, including a 20-5 record last year. Gwiazdowski is 73-11 in two full seasons of college wrestling including a 43-2 record last season. Gwiazdowski won the Pack’s sixth national championships this past spring, while McMullan placed third overall.
“We both have similar styles on the mat, and are familiar with each other,” said Gwiazdowski. “It will be a battle with two of the top guys in our division for sure.”
For this event, there will be an experimental rule in place where if a wrestler gets a takedown and the clock is stopped for going out of bounds, or any other reason, the man on top can choose to let his opponent up and into the neutral position without giving up a point.
“I’m excited about the new rule for this weekend,” said Gwiazdowski. “Obviously there is going to be another level of strategy to my match, so coach Popolizio and myself will talk about it beforehand, but I think it will be more spur of the moment decisions based on score and time remaining.”
All matches Saturday are exhibition matches and do not count toward their season or career records.
The event will be streamed live on Flowrestling.org and requires a FloPro subscription ($20/month). Television coverage will be provided by FOX College Sports on a tape-delayed basic.
Competition is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. Below are the announced matchups, with rankings from TheOpenMat.com:
125: #3 Alan Waters, Sr. (Missouri) vs. #4 Joey Dance, So. (Virginia Tech)
133: #1 A.J. Schopp, Sr. (Edinboro) vs. #2 Mason Beckman, Jr. (Lehigh)
141: #1 Logan Stieber, Sr. (Ohio State) vs. #2 Mitchell Port, Sr. (Edinboro)
149: #1 Jason Tsirtsis, So. (Northwestern) vs. #2 Josh Kindig, Sr. (Oklahoma State)
157: #2 James Green, Sr. (Nebraska) vs. #3 Ian Miller, Jr. (Kent State)
165: #1 Alex Dieringer, Jr. (Oklahoma State) vs. #2 Nick Sulzer, Sr. (Virginia)
174: #2 Robert Kokesh, Sr. (Nebraska) vs. #1-NAIA Brock Gutches, Sr. (Southern Oregon)
184: #1 Gabe Dean, So. (Cornell) vs. #2 Jack Dechow, So. (Old Dominion)
197: #1 J’Den Cox, So. (Missouri) vs. #2 Scott Schiller, Sr. (Minnesota)
285: #1 Nick Gwiazdowski, Jr. (NC State) vs. #2 Mike McMullan, Sr. (Northwestern)
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