Penn State Wrestling to Skip National Duals Invitational for Second Straight Year
- Penn State wrestling will not participate in the National Duals Invitational for the second consecutive offseason, according to reporting from On3.
- The two-day tournament is scheduled to take place on December 12-13 at the BOK Center in Tulsa.
- As the defending national champion, Penn State had the opportunity to be included in the field but declined the invitation.
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Penn State wrestling will not participate in the National Duals Invitational for the second consecutive offseason, according to reporting from On3.
The two-day tournament is scheduled to take place on December 12-13 at the BOK Center in Tulsa. The event is hosted by Oklahoma State, the NCAA runner-up, and features a prize pool totaling $1,230,000.
Coaching Perspective on Participation
As the defending national champion, Penn State had the opportunity to be included in the field but declined the invitation. Head coach Cael Sanderson stated that he was just not really interested
in the event.
We’re always going to do what’s in the best interests of our kids and our team, and that’s my job and that’s what we’re going to do and that’s what we did. Create big events, that’s cool, but I think they knew right away when they were putting it when and where they were putting it, we’re probably not [going to participate] because we’re pretty consistent. We haven’t really changed a whole lot in that regard.
Cael Sanderson
Sanderson further addressed the structure of collegiate wrestling competitions, noting his preference for the current national tournament format. While he acknowledged that the team performs well in duals and would be open to the team championships moving to a dual format, he emphasized that the program just love[s] the format that It’s now.
Tournament Field and Competition
The National Duals Invitational will feature a field of 16 programs. The participating teams include:
- Ohio State
- Arizona State
- Arkansas-Little Rock
- Iowa State
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- NC State
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Oklahoma State
- Maryland
- Pittsburgh
- Rutgers
- Stanford
- Virginia Tech
- Wyoming
Ohio State enters the upcoming tournament as the previous winner of the event. Despite the absence of the defending national champion, the invitational remains a significant fixture on the calendar with a substantial financial incentive for the competing schools.