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Raymond James and its advisors do not offer tax or legal advice. 1 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS April 2, 2021 We welcome the wrestlers, coaches, and family members from Maryland, Pennsylvania and 4:00 PM across our great country to the City of Pittsburgh for the 47th Annual Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic, dubbed the “The Rose Bowl of Wrestling.” • WPIAL vs Maryland All-Star Dual The Wrestling Classic local organizing committee of volunteers is delighted to partner with Meet the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) to host this great event for the wrestling • Format: 3 periods, 2 minutes each community. The NWCA is the oldest and largest non-profit organization supporting wrestling. Our sincere appreciation goes to our major sponsors: A.C. Dellovade, Cliff Keen Athletics, Confluence Financial Partners, FloSports Inc., Koppers Inc., Pittsburgh Wrestling Club and UPMC Health Plan. We are also grateful to our many local small business sponsors and national corporations. It is their financial support and product donations that make this great 5:45 PM event possible each year and we ask you to please patronize these businesses. We would like to thank you for your attendance. The net proceeds of the Pittsburgh Wrestling • WPIAL and Maryland Outstanding Classic benefit the wrestling program at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania. This Wrestler Awards program provides under-served youth with an opportunity to wrestle within the Dapper Dan Charities Youth Sports Leagues. The program will begin its 21st season this winter. Learn • Southwest PA Hall of Fame more about this community-based wrestling program that has had a lasting impact one the Awards lives of many kids on page 38. • UPMC Community Service Award During the intermission we will take time to recognize: • Maryland and WPIAL Outstanding Wrestlers. • Four individuals being inducted into the Southwest PA Hall of Fame. • Bruce Closson as he receives the Community Service Award, sponsored by UPMC Health Plan. 6:00 PM We thank Bruce for his many contributions serving the Plum wrestling program, the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic and the wrestling community for the past four decades through his web site • Introduction of USA and www.wrestlingreport.com. Pennsylvania All-Stars After the PA versus USA dual we will award the outstanding wrestler on each team and the • National Anthem Turning Point of the Dual Award. • Women’s PA vs. USA All-Star On behalf of the NWCA and the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic local organizing committee, and Match its many volunteers, good luck to all the wrestlers! • Men’s PA vs. USA Dual Meet • PA and USA Outstanding Wrestlers Very truly yours, • Turning Point of the Match Kraig M. Nellis Phil Mary Co-Director Co-Director 3 WM_2020_pittsburgh_classic_half_page_program_ad_f2_otln.indd 1 2/21/20 12:22 PM WE BELIEVE IN THE TAKEDOWN. THE MAJOR DECISION. AND PITTSBURGH WRESTLING. At UPMC Sports Medicine, our team diagnoses and repairs injuries, but we also help you get stronger, faster, and more agile — to help prevent injuries. In fact, no other sports medicine provider in the region has more expertise when it comes to treating, training, and inspiring athletes. To learn more visit UPMCSportsMedicine.com or call 1-855-93-SPORT (77678). 4 0254_SPORTS510425_wpial_pgh_wrestling_classic_ad_7.5x4.875.indd 1 1/29/19 12:11 PM THANKS TO OUR CORPORATE SPONSORS Team Sponsors CLIFF KEEN ATHLETIC Weight Class Sponsors All-Star Sponsors Product Sponsors DISINFECTION AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT SINCE 2008 AUTOMOTIVE GROUP wrig htcars.c om 5 WRESTLING CLASSIC HALL OF FAME Classic - Name Wt. Wrestled High School College NCAA Olympic Robert Weaver III-98 lbs. Easton, PA Lehigh Gold, 1984 Randy Lewis III-119 lbs. Rapid City, SD Iowa 1979-1980 Gold, 1984 Nate Carr V-145 lbs. Erie, PA Iowa St. 1981, 1982, 1983 Bronze, 1988 Dave Schultz III-155 lbs. Palo Alto, CA Oklahoma 1982 Gold, 1984 Kevin Darkus VI-112 lbs. Erie, PA Iowa St. 1984 Carlton Haselrig* X-HWT Johnstown, PA Pitt Johnstown 1987, 1988, 1989 Steelers Lee Roy Smith II-132 lbs. Del City, OK Oklahoma St. 1980 Coach USA Olympic Kenny Monday VI-138 lbs. Tulsa, OK Oklahoma St. 1984 Gold, 1988 Kurt Angle XIII-HWT. Mt. Lebanon, PA Clarion 1990-1992 Gold, 1996 Gene Barone** Contributor Dormont, PA Univ. Pittsburgh Rob Koll X-155 lbs. State College, PA N. Carolina 1988 Jeremy Hunter XXII-119 lbs. McGuffey, PA Penn State 2000 Jim Jordan VIII -126 lbs. Paris Graham Univ. of Wisconsin 1985 & 1986 Greg Jones XXVI-160 lbs. Greensburg Salem, PA West Virginia 2002, 2004, 2005 Gene Bowman** Founder Canonsburg, PA Waynesburg Teague Moore XXI-119 lbs. North Allegheny, PA Oklahoma State 1998 Troy Letters XXVII-160 lbs. Shaler Area, PA Lehigh 2004 Ken Chertow X-119 lbs. Huntington, WV Penn State 3X All-American 1998 Team Mark Churella I-155 lbs. Farmington, MI Michigan 1977, 1978, 1979 Jarrod King XXX-160 lbs. Connellsville, PA Edinboro 2009 Jake Herbert XXIX-189 lbs. North Allegheny, PA Northwestern 2007,2009 2012 Team Coleman Scott XXX-125 lbs. Waynesburg Central, PA Oklahoma State 2008 Bronze, 2012 Sammie Henson XV-112 lbs. St. Charles, MO Clemson 1993,1994 Silver -2000 Kyle Synder XL – 220 lbs. Good Council, MD Ohio State 2015, 2016, 2017 Gold 2016 Chris Bono XVII – 135 lbs. Ponte Verde, FL Iowa State 1996 * Actually a six-time NCAA Champion - 3x Div. II and 3x Div. I. ** Did not wrestle in Classic but is a founder of the event. 6 7 DR. KURT J. NELLIS MEMORIAL AWARD sponsored by UPMC Health Plan By Ken Wunderley Tri-State Sports & News Service The Dr. Kurt J. Nellis Memorial Award was summaries and press releases,” Closson Ron Frank, President of the WPIAL created to recognize individuals who have said. “Alan Brown coordinated our college Coaches Association, is glad to see that served their community in the sport of ama- coverage. Ron Garrison and Ken Wunderley Closson is being honored. teur wrestling. helped me with the high school coverage.” “Bruce Closson played a part in build- Bruce Closson fits that criteria for his 10 WrestlingReport.com was one of the top ing Plum’s youth program, but he’s best years of coaching with Plum’s Junior Olympic five wrestling web sites in the country. The known for promoting wrestling through his program. web site was named National Web Site of web sites,” said Frank, who recently stepped But Closson is even more deserving of the Year by the National Wrestling Media down as Fox Chapel’s head coach. “He has recognition for his 25 years of publicizing the Association in 2005. also played an essential part on the Wrestling sport through web site development that has Classic selection committee in helping us taken wrestling coverage to a new level. evaluate and pick wrestlers.” The web sites he created have been Closson is a 1968 graduate of Penn Hills enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of wres- High School and was a three-sport athlete. tling fans across the country. Was a member of the track & field team “When my son Billy wrestled at Plum and three years, and two years with the football Lehigh University, it was almost impossible to and wrestling teams. He attended Salem find results of high school and college wres- College in West Virginia, but the school did tling,” Closson said. “The newspapers were not have a wrestling program. He began doing some coverage, but were only covering coaching with the Plum Junior Wrestling the top wrestlers. team in 1979 and ran the program for 10 “I searched the internet and the only sites years. that covered wrestling were Intermat and “Bruce did a lot for Plum wrestling,” said The Mat, but both had limited coverage. former Plum wrestler Steve Cassidy. “I spent I wanted to see everybody publicized, not a lot of time with Bruce and his son Billy. just the top wrestlers. That’s why I started Bruce was at every event and took us to WrestlingReport.com.” every tournament. In 1995, Closson, a contractor by trade “But Bruce is best known for his web sites. who had limited experience in the computer He was the first to have a wrestling forum. It field, self-taught himself to design a wrestling Bruce Closson was the first form of what we now know as web site that became the most visited wres- twitter.