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MN USA Wrestling State Freestyle & Greco Returns to Rochester

May 8, 2018

The MN USA Wrestling State tournament returns to Rochester this weekend for the first time since 2015. The state tournament will be held at the Mayo Civic Center Auditorium and Exhibit Hall this coming weekend and will feature over 1000 wrestlers from around the state of Minnesota.

Prior to moving to a twin-cities location the past couple years, this tournament had a long history of being in Rochester that dates back to the late 1990’s. In the early years it was held in the Mayo Civic Arena and then moved to the UCR Regional Sports Center once that was built in 2003 and was held there through 2015. It returns to downtown Rochester’s Mayo Civic Center and should create a great championship atmosphere for the athletes and fans. The proximity of the event being held at the Civic Center with the convenient skyway connections to downtown hotels, parking, local restaurants and businesses will help the wrestlers and their families enjoy a fun and memorable championship weekend. Estimated economic impact of the tournament will approach $350,000 in direct spending.

This will be the third state youth wrestling tournament held in Rochester in the past ten weeks but brings a different flavor of wrestling as it is the freestyle and Greco styles of wrestling this weekend. What is the difference between Freestyle and Greco wrestling from other styles? Currently, most are familiar with folkstyle wrestling, which is the is the style currently wrestled by most youth, high school, and college programs. The best way to distinguish between the two styles is freestyle and Greco are the styles used in international competition. So those striving to represent the U.S. in the Olympic games will have to be highly successful in wrestling freestyle and Greco.

As with any major tournament, a strong group of individuals with expertise in running events is vital to the success of an event. MN USA Wrestling hosts numerous tournaments a year and has a dedicated group of people that have been working together for years. Many who attend the event this weekend will notice the cohesiveness this group exhibits and realize the hours of planning and preparation it takes to make sure all the details are covered.

We are excited to have MN USA Wrestling back in Rochester this weekend to host the Freestyle and Greco State tournament and hope we can continue the tradition of hosting the great event in Rochester for years to come. Good luck to all the wrestlers this weekend!

Upcoming Events:

May 12-13: MN USA Wrestling Freestyle & Greco State Tournament

May 12-13: Rochester Cup II