24th annual NHSCA National Wrestling Championships set for April 3-7

by Jeff Fisher
Follow @NHSCAradioshow

The National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) is pleased to announce that the prestigious NHSCA National Wrestling Championships will be held April 3-7, 2013 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia.  This is the 24^th straight year that the NHSCA has brought the high school wrestling community together to determine the best-of-the-best in America.

Last year was another record-breaking year with over 2,407 wrestlers competing in our five championship divisions: Senior, Junior, Sophomore, Freshman and Middle School.  In the four high school divisions in 2012, there were over 800 state champions and 1,600 state place winners competing for the coveted title of NHSCA national champ.  In addition to crowning individual champs, the NHSCA names wrestlers All-Americans for finishing in the Top 8 in each weight class.

“This year’s tourney going to be even bigger than last year’s amazing tournament,” said Bobby Ferraro, Junior, Executive Director of the National High School Coaches Association.  “With more than two weeks to go before the competition, we have wrestlers registered from 44 states, plus an entrant from Europe.  The most important thing is the number of college coaches that our event attracts.  As in years past, last year over 200 college coaches descended upon Virginia Beach to check-out our incredible field of talent.”

Ferraro added, “The depth of the tournament is evidenced by the fact that in the past that 90% of NCAA All-Americans competed at the NHSCA National at some point during their high school wrestling careers.”

Already registered in the Senior Division are two two-time NHSCA National Gold Medalists: Dennis Gustafson of Forest Park High School in Virginia and Coleman Hammond from Bakersfield High School in California.  One of the top returners in the Junior Division is Burke Paddock of Warsaw High School in New York, who has claimed a gold and silver in his two years at the NHSCA Nationals.

If you can’t make it to Virginia Beach to watch the national championships in-person, the NHSCA will televise action on all 28 mats on the High School Television Network. Go to NHSCA.com for more information on the telecast.