Oklahoma City University announced Thursday it will host the NAIA Wrestling Championships in 2009 and 2010.
Advertisement
The tournament will be held at 3,500-seat Abe Lemons Arena March 5-7, 2009, and March 4-6, 2010. It's another event for a school that developed the Head of Oklahoma Regatta and will host the Women's Wrestling College National Championships on March 15.
The NAIA Championships had been in Sioux City, Iowa, the past three seasons. OCU began its bid to land the championships last year, when a snowstorm caused several teams to miss the event. The storm left OCU's team stranded in Sioux City.
"We think we have a lot more to offer,” OCU coach Archie Randall said. "They've had this event at some desolate, off-the-wall places like Great Falls, Mont. We had to sell the NAIA, but from talking to coaches, they like the idea of it being here.”
For OCU, it's another step in developing a men's wrestling program that began competing two years ago. OCU's women's wrestling program began competition this school year.
"Long term, the program will grow by recruits and by competition,” Randall said. "This will help raise awareness and get people interested. There really are no negatives. Our guys get to compete in their state and sleep in their own beds.”
OCU sophomore 184-pounder Mitchell Eichenauer said the team is excited to host the event.
"I never won a state championship in high school, so this gives me a chance to win a national championship where my friends and family can see,” said Eichenauer, a former Lawton MacArthur standout. "I think everyone is pumped.”
Drawing fans was an obstacle Sioux City struggled with, largely because of its rugged winter weather. OCU athletic director Jim Abbott said reaching out to the high school wrestling community in Oklahoma is one measure the school can take to boost attendance.
Oklahoma has only one other NAIA wrestling school, Bacone in Muskogee, leaving no real natural geographic rivalries.
"We don't have the natural draw in terms of teams within our state, but I think we will do everything we can to get people interested,” Abbott said. "We've talked about this strategically as far as getting the wrestling community involved. It's going to be a great event if you love wrestling, some of the best in the nation will be going from morning to night.”
0
