UNI All-American Max Thomsen will join his partner on the podium from last season, Drew Foster, in New Jersey November 5th at the NWCA All-Star Classic.
His opponent is also a returning All-American, but bumping up a weight class from last season. Matt Kolodzik finished 7th at the 2017 NCAA Championships, wrapping up a redshirt freshman year going 31-4. He first burst onto the national stage defeating Anthony Ashnault, 4-3, at Rutgers “Battle at the Birthplace.”
This will be the first meeting between the two and a matchup of top-five ranked wrestlers to start the season. Thomsen is ranked #3 while Kolodzik is #5 by Intermat.
The full NWCA release can be found below. The NWCA All-Star Classic will be available on TrackWrestling.
Manheim, Pennsylvania — Princeton’s Matthew Kolodzik will start a new weight class in an old gym as he’s set to face Northern Iowa’s Max Thomsen at 149 pounds at the 52nd annual NWCA All-Star Classic set for Princeton University’s Jadwin Gym on Sunday, November 5.
The NWCA All-Star Classic is hosted by Wrestlers in Business Network and sponsored by Princeton Brain and Spine and Northwestern Mutual Life.
Kolodzik is coming off a solid 30-4 season but a somewhat disappointing Division I championship tournament. Entering as the No. 4 seed, the Ohio native who prepped at New Jersey’s Blair Academy for three years, wound up seventh. With a new weight comes a new mission and the first person standing in the way of that mission is Thomsen.
An All-American last year as a freshman, Thomsen reached the NCAA Division I semifinals at 149 pounds as the No. 7 seed before ultimately finishing fifth. The redshirt sophomore from La Porte City, Iowa ended the season with a 31-7 record.
Both were All-Americans in Fargo at the Cadet & Junior Nationals with Kolodzik winning two freestyle national championships. Thomsen was a four-time Iowa high school state champion, while Kolodzik won an Ohio state championship as a freshman and three National Prep championships.
Thomsen will join teammate Drew Foster (184 pounds) in the event, while Kolodzik will be just the fourth Princeton wrestler to be represented. The Tigers are 0-3 all-time in the event, while Panther wrestlers are 3-10-1.
On the women’s side, two wrestlers who know each other very well will square off at 109 pounds. Emmanuel College’s Maria Vidales will face Campbellsville’s Charlotte Fowler in a battle of returning sophomore All-Americans.
The two met during their high school careers at the state tournament, with Vidales earning a 7-1 win during the pair’s junior season and a 5-4 win in the 6A 110-pound UIL state finals in 2016.
Both competed at the WCWA National Championships a year ago with Vidales finishing third and Fowler fifth. The two didn’t meet in that tournament.
Vidales, a Dallas, Texas native, was a state champion in Texas, one of the top states for girls high school wrestling. A four-time district champion in high school, Vidales has also jumped into the international freestyle circuit, recently finishing second at the UWW U23 World Team Trials earlier this month in Rochester, Minnesota.
Fowler, a native of Katy, Texas, was a two-time placewinner in Fargo at the USA Wrestling Cadet & Junior Nationals during her high school career. She also competed at the U23 Trials, falling to Vidales in the challenge tournament semifinals. Fowler finished third at 48kg.
WHAT: 52nd NWCA All-Star Classic hosted by Wrestlers in Business Network
WHEN: Sunday, November 5, 3 p.m.
WHERE: Jadwin Gym, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.
TICKETS: $20 (group discounts available)
SOCIAL MEDIA: #ComeBackToJadwin #allstarclassic2017 #wrestleback
WATCH:Â www.trackwrestling.com
INFO:Â www.goallstarclassic.com
ANNOUNCED MATCHUPS
Men
125: Darian Cruz, Sr. (Lehigh) vs. Nick Piccininni, So. (Oklahoma State)
133: Seth Gross, Jr. (South Dakota State) vs. Stevan Micic, So. (Michigan)
141: Kevin Jack, Sr. (NC State) vs. Bryce Meredith, Sr. (Wyoming)
149: Max Thomsen, So. (Northern Iowa) vs. Matthew Kolodzik, So. (Princeton)
157:
165:
174: Mark Hall, So. (Penn State) vs. Zahid Valencia, So. (Arizona State)
184: Pete Renda, Sr. (NC State) vs. Drew Foster, Jr. (Northern Iowa)
197: Kollin Moore, So. (Ohio State) vs. Jared Haught, Sr. (Virginia Tech)
285:
Women
101:
109: Maria Vidales, So. (Emmanuel) vs. Charlotte Fowler, So. (Campbellsville)
116: Fayth Woodward (Emmanuel) vs. Makayla Bourbon, Sr. (U. of the Cumberlands)
123: Dom Parrish, Jr. (Simon Fraser) vs. Andribeth Rivera, So. (Campbellsville)
130: Megan Black, Sr. (McKendree) vs. Shelby Hall, Sr. (Campbellsville)
136: Kayla Miracle, Sr. (Campbellsville) vs. Solin Piearcy, So. (Menlo)
143: Mallory Velte, Sr. (Simon Fraser) vs. Desiree Zavala, So. (Grays Harbor)
155:
170: Jessika Rottier, Jr. (U. of the Cumberlands) vs. Brandy Lowe, Sr. (McKendree)
191:
Note: Women’s college wrestling competes under international freestyle rules.