October 31, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT - Vanessa Kreckel/215.573.4125

Many of the nation's top collegiate wrestlers will again converge at The Palestra on November 24, 2002 for the 8^th Annual  Keystone Classic hosted by the University of Pennsylvania. The Keystone Classic will feature eleven schools including defending Champion and NCAA runner-up Iowa State University.

The Keystone Classic is one of top team tournaments in the east. The 2001 tournament featured nine wrestlers who went onto earn All-American honors at the 2002 NCAA Championships along with three of them being NCAA Champions. The 2002 Keystone Invitational will again see a wealth of talent as no fewer than 12 wrestlers are ranked nationally in the top 15. 

The host Quakers will be looking to recapture the team title this year after finishing second last year. The Quakers, who finished 11^th at the 2002 NCAA Championships are ranked in the top 20 in the nation in the preseason polls. The Red and Blue have three NCAA Qualifiers and as many as five Quakers are ranked in the national polls. Mason Lenhard, who is ranked 13^th in the nation at 125lbs, will be aiming for a third consecutive Keystone title. 13^th ranked Matt Feast, who burst onto the national scene at the 2001 Keystone Classic, will be looking to repeat his title from a year ago at heavyweight.  2000 NCAA Qualifier Jody Guiricich at 149lbs and Marcus Schontube at 184lbs will look to win individual titles after finishing second a year ago. Both wrestlers are nationally ranked in the preseason polls. The Keystone Invitational will also mark the home debut of Penn's 2002 recruiting class that was ranked number one in the nation. 

Iowa State, who is making their second appearance ever at the Keystone Classic will feature a line up that is ranked 5^th in the county by the major wrestling polls. NCAA Champion Aaron Hoelker leads the Cyclones at 141lbs. Hoelker captured the 2002 NCAA title at 141lbs and is currently ranked number one in the nation again at 141.   The Cyclones lineup also includes All-American Zach Roberson at 133lbs who is ranked sixth in the nation. Other ranked Cyclones: Nick Passalano (11^th, 165lbs) and Orville Palmer (17^th, 184lbs). Palmer is the defending Keystone Classic champion at 184lbs.

Nationally ranked Virginia Tech will look to be in the team mix for their first appearance at the Keystone. The Hokies have two nationally ranked wrestlers in 14^th ranked Dave Hoffman at 133lbs and 6^th ranked Scott Justus at 184lbs. Justus was the number one ranked wrestler in the nation much of 2002.  

Appalachian State University will have two of the top individuals in the tournament. All-American Mark Fee at 165lbs is ranked fourth in the nation at 165lbs while Travis Drake is ranked 13^th at 133lbs. Drake is the defending champion at 133lbs after winning the title with a win over Iowa State's Roberson. Drake, Roberson and Hoffman will all make up a very talented 133lbs weight class. 

The 157lbs weight class will feature a pair of top ten nationally ranked wrestlers in Derek Jenkins from Rider and Adam Britt of Virginia Military Institute. Jenkins was a second place finisher a year ago. 

The entire 11 team field includes: University of Pennsylvania, American University, Appalachian State University, Boston University, Brown University, Duke University, Iowa State University, Rider, VMI, Virginia Tech and Wagner. 

Wrestling is slated to begin at 10 a.m. at The Palestra. For more information contact the University of Pennsylvania Athletic Communications Office at 215-573-4125. For tickets, please contact the Penn Athletic Ticket Office at 215-898-6151 or visit www.pennathletics.com.