Border Brawl@ UPJ

[Manfred]

[hr]
Any word on who's participating in this all-star type event?  Big ad in today's T-D.

[Manfred]

Kudo's to Eric Knopsnyder and all who organized, participated in, or attended this event. An entertaining several hours, including the clinic put on by Coach Pecora and his wrestlers of UPJ. I was more than surprised by the differences in the talent level between the states. Pa. is CLEARLY more dominant than either Md., W.Va., or a combination of both. A lot of state champions and repeat state champions from the south, were soundly beaten by the 'locals' who were lucky to survive districts or regionals. Still a great time by all for a great cause, PIN Cancer. As this was the inaugural event, and was hosted by UPJ, I'm wondering if it's going to be a Home-n-Home type competition, if it's going to go to Frostburg or Allegheny Colleges in alternating years? Mr. Knop, do you know?

[EricKnopsnyder]

Thanks Manfred. I'm so proud of the way that the wrestling community turned out for the event. Having so many fans there was awesome and the atmosphere was great. So many times when you go to an all-star match, the fans just kind of sit on their hands and watch, but when Daniel Verhovsek came back to win, the place was electric! (Quite a few other matches had the fans into it as well).
Huge thank yous are necessary to all who helped make for such a successful first year. We're already looking forward to getting better next year. One of the key discussions will be exactly what you've asked: will it be here again or shift to the Cumberland area? The event is put on in conjunction with The Tribune-Democrat and the Cumberland Times-News, so obviously the folks in Cumberland are interested in having it in their region as well. The problem becomes where to host it. UPJ is such a great facility and has such a powerhouse program that it's just the perfect venue for it in our area. Cumberland doesn't have a college with wrestling, so it's a tougher fit. We've talked about having it at a high school there, but Coach Pecora and the clinic he did for the kids was a huge draw yesterday, so you lose that aspect as well. There are probably more risks in moving it somewhere else, but as someone interested in growing the sport everywhere, there's also the potential for reward in taking it to a different locale.
So, the short answer is, we're not sure yet. We'll discuss it and try to do what's best when a number of different variables are considered.

[Manfred]

Thanks for your reply. Your explanation will suffice for now, and I'm sure any new news about it will be passed along to us, by you. Congrats again for your efforts.

[old school]

March 22 Cumberland Times

http://www.times-news.com/sports/local_ ... de1ab.html