HAMPTON (WAVY) — The 38th annual Virginia Duals returns to the Hampton Coliseum this weekend. The wrestling event which features high school and college competition from all over the country takes place Friday and Saturday.
21 colleges are registered for the event, headlined by 9th ranked Virginia Tech, 10th ranked Arizona State and 11th ranked Northern Iowa. Other colleges include Old Dominion, Virginia, Oklahoma and Iowa State.
48 high school will be making the trip to the Coliseum, coming from as far south as South Carolina all the way up to New Jersey.
“It’s awesome, it’s a wonderful event, said Duals president Mike McCormick. “There aren’t too many dual meet tournaments in the country that can say this is their 38th year.”
The Virginia Duals has also garnered a reputation as a well run event, thanks in part to many of the volunteers.
“I’ve got coaches calling me from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, there all super excited to come down here,” Duals vice president John Swartz said. “The nice thing about the Virginia Duals is that we host well. Teams come down and they absolutely love it.”
Old Dominion will compete in the Duals for the 14th straight year. Monarchs coach Steve Martin calls this a home event for his squad. ODU’s first test, an in-state match-up against nationally ranked Virginia Tech.
“A great event for even the person who might not attend a wrestling match over the course of the year,” Martin said. “Everybody loves to see a great scrap. So, there’s going to be a lot of great scraps this weekend.”
For more information on the Virginia Duals, visit http://virginiaduals.mattalkonline.com/
