NCAA All-Americans and familiar foes Taylor Meeks of Oregon State, and Minnesota’s Scott Schiller, will go up against each other in the 197-pound match at the 2013 NWCA All-Star Classic, event sponsors announced Monday.
Meeks and Schiller have some history on the mat, having wrestled in a dual meet last season… and at the 2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in the consolation round. Meeks came out on top in both matches… so it’s easy to imagine that the Golden Gopher would like to avenge those losses.
A native of West Fargo, N.D., Schiller launched his career with the Golden Gophers as a redshirt freshman in 2011-12, scoring victories at a number of tournaments. Last season, Schiller was runner-up at 197 at the 2013 Big Ten Championships, which automatically qualified him for the 2013 NCAAs where he ultimate placed fifth to become an All-American in his first appearance at Nationals. He compiled a 29-6 overall record in 2012-13.
Meeks, who hails from Orting, Wash., started wrestling for the Beavers in tournaments during the 2010-11 season as a 184-pounder; the following season, he competed at 184 and 197, where he capped off his redshirt sophomore year as a Pac 12 finalist and NCAA qualifier. Settling on 197 for the 2012-13 season, Meeks won the Pac-12 conference title, and All-American status at the NCAAs, placing fourth at 197. His record last season was 36-7.
Meeks vs. Schiller is the third match-up announced for the 2013 NWCA All-Star Classic. That battle at 197, along with a first-ever out-of-weight-class match-up between Ohio State’s Logan Stieber, and Oklahoma’s Kendric Maple at 149 pounds, and at 125, Cornell’s Nahshon Garrett vs. Oklahoma’s Jarrod Patterson, will take place Nov. 2 at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. just outside Washington, D.C.
Other matches are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
An annual fixture on college wrestling schedule since 1967, the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s All-Star Classic traditionally features match-ups of the two top wrestlers in each weight class. For the past decade, the event has served as the kickoff for the national college wrestling season.
The 2013 All-Star Classic takes place Saturday, Nov. 2 at 7:15 p.m. Eastern at Patriot Center on the GMU campus in suburban Washington, D.C. To purchase tickets to the event, visit the Ticketmaster website. For more information on the All-Star Classic, visit the NWCA website.
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