Tulsa Awarded USA Wrestling National Junior Duals for 2015 and 2016

USA Wrestling announced that Tulsa, Okla. will host the 2015 and 2016 National Junior Dual Meet Championships, bringing 1,500 attendees and competitors to Tulsa’s Cox Business Center for the Oklahoma USA Wrestling and Tulsa Sports Commission-hosted event. The Tulsa Sports Commission partnered with Oklahoma USA Wrestling to bid on and secure the event for June 23-27, 2015 and June 21-25, 2016.

This popular event for boys features Dual-meet competition between state-level teams in the Olympic styles of the sport, freestyle and Greco-Roman, with as many as 16 mats used for the tournament.

"The tradition of the Junior Duals sparked us to put in a bid," said Oklahoma USA Wrestling state chairperson Kevin Crutchmer. "This is the top Dual meet event in the nation in our mind. We felt that the Tulsa Sports Commission, Oklahoma USA Wrestling and the Tulsa region would do an outstanding job hosting the tournament. It is a tradition-rich event which we did not want to lose."

 “The Tulsa Sports Commission is proud and honored to work with Oklahoma USA Wrestling to bring this quality event to Tulsa,” said Vince Trinidad, Executive Director of the Tulsa Sports Commission. “The Junior Duals have a deep-rooted history in Oklahoma, and we are excited to host it in Tulsa. We look forward to having the wrestling community from all over the country come to our city and show them our Tulsa hospitality.”

“There were a number of competitive bids for the Junior Duals, which made for a challenging decision. The bid presented by the Tulsa Sports Committee and Oklahoma USA Wrestling provided a great facility in a vibrant downtown area. Athletes, coaches, officials and fans will be able to enjoy many of these amenities throughout their trip to this outstanding event.” said Pete Isais, USA Wrestling National Events Director.

Many of the athletes who compete at the National Junior Duals have gone on to earn national titles and All-American honors at the ASICS/Vaughan Junior National Championships later that summer.

Since its inception in 1991, the National Junior Duals have been held in only two states, Illinois and Oklahoma. The state of Oklahoma has hosted the tournament 19 times, but this is the first time it will be held in Tulsa. Other Oklahoma cities to host the event have been Oklahoma City, Lawton, Edmond and Enid. The three cities in Illinois which served as hosts were Wheaton, Park Forest and Edwardsville.

The defending National Junior Duals champion in freestyle is Oklahoma, which defeated Minnesota Blue in the finals, 38-29. The defending National Junior Duals champions in Greco-Roman is Michigan, which defeated Oklahoma in the finals, 36-29.

“Our goal is to showcase the finals matches. We want the finals mat to be something that everybody is shooting for at the Junior Duals. It is our goal to make the Junior Duals even more exciting and attract even more fans. In Tulsa, we can provide a fan-friendly atmosphere. There are many places for fans to enjoy outside of the wrestling venue. We have a neat atmosphere downtown which we expect our participants and fans to enjoy,” said Crutchmer.

JUNIOR NATIONAL DUALS LOCATIONS

1991 – Wheaton, Ill.
1992 – Wheaton, Ill.
1993 – Park Forest, Ill.
1994 – Lawton, Okla.
1995 -  Lawton, Okla.
1996 – Edwardsville, Ill.
1997 – Edwardsville, Ill.
1998 – Oklahoma City, Okla.
1999 – Edmond, Okla.
2000 – Edmond, Okla.
2001 – Enid, Okla.
2002 – Enid, Okla.
2003 – Enid, Okla.
2004 – Enid, Okla.
2005 – Enid, Okla.
2006 – Oklahoma City, Okla.
2007 – Oklahoma City, Okla.
2008 – Oklahoma City, Okla.
2009 – Oklahoma City, Okla.
2010 – Oklahoma City, Okla.
2011 – Oklahoma City, Okla.
2012 – Oklahoma City, Okla.
2013 – Oklahoma City, Okla.
2014 – Oklahoma City, Okla.