21st Annual NHSCA HIGH SCHOOL NATIONALS, March 23rd through March 28th at the Virginia Beach Convention Center
Easton, PA- The National High School Coaches Association 21st Annual High School Wrestling Nationals Championship event is slated for March 23rd to March 28th at the Virginia Beach Convention Center in Virginia Beach, VA. The National High School Coaches Association is a non-profit organization who owns and produces the most prestigious high school wrestling event in the country.
Last year, a total of 2,628 competitors from 49 wrestling states and 4 different countries registered to compete in this event. Across all four divisions, over 700 of the individuals had won at least one state title throughout their career.
The Senior Nationals alone boasted 16 4x state champions, 46 3x state champions over 100 2x state champions and over 200 1x state champions. The 28 finalists in the event sported 54 individual state or national prep titles.
In the Junior Nationals sector, there were 789 entries from 43 different states, highlighting 173 state champions and 545 state place-winners. Of the 581 wrestlers from 42 different states that entered the Sophomore Nationals, 53 of them have already won a state title and 209 of them had placed in their respective state tournament.
The Freshman Nationals, in only its 3rd year, attracted 420 competitors from 40 different states; 35 state champions and 76 state place-winners. Wrestling in this field prepares you for what you will face at the next level. Last year, 74 of the 80 2009 Division I All Americans competed in this event.
Bobby Ferraro Jr, the Executive Director of the NHSCA says, “High School Nationals is the most unique wrestling tournaments in all of the country as it pairs state champions and state place winners from nearly all 50 states against on another. There is no doubt that all of these wrestlers are wrestling the best competition in their respective weight classes and that this is one of the most prestigious events one could wrestle in throughout their high school careers.”
High School Nationals is also a prime recruiting hot bed for hundreds of collegiate wrestling coaches across the country who are looking to recruit the top talent in the country. Last year, 218 college coaches were in attendance and every top 25 team in the country had a representative present.
Matt Valenti, the Assistant Coach at the University of Pennsylvania, who is a 2x NCAA Champ and a 3x All-American, and who also placed 2nd at Senior Nationals in 2002 says, “There’s historically been some great wrestling at the Senior Nationals over the years. For years, it has been the premier folk-style national tournament in the country.”
This year’s event has national television coverage that is committed to over 60 million homes. This year’s event will be broadcast on ESPN and Comcast SportsNet properties and it will also be featured on High School Television Network. For the first time ever, High School Nationals will be streamed live on the National High School Coaches Association website. This will give family, friends, and fans of high school wrestling the opportunity to watch the event live online if they are not able to attend the event for themselves.
One-day unlimited webcast passes are affordably priced at $9.95, while the five-day complete event subscription is available for $24.95. For more information and to order the High School National Wrestling webcast, please visit NHSCA.com.
About the NHSCA:
Founded in 1989, the National High School Coaches Association is a not-for-profit 501c3 service organization providing support and leadership programs for the nation's 500,000 high school coaches and 10 million high school athletes.