Dubuque RTC to hold Greco-Roman all-star event Saturday; Tickets for clinic & dual meet available, live stream on FloWrestling

The Dubuque Regional Training Center, which has been a leader in expanding opportunities in Greco-Roman wrestling, will host a full weekend of activities to build the sport, headlined by an all-star dual meet competition featuring outstanding Senior-level Greco-Roman wrestlers, as well as some top women’s wrestling matches.

The Dubuque RTC World Class Showdown will be held at the Stoltz Athletics Center on the campus of the University of Dubuque in Dubuque, Iowa, on Saturday, October 21, from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. CT.

Among those on the card are two-time Olympian and multiple World Team member Ben Provisor, Senior-level U.S. Open All-Americans Dylan Koontz and Darryl Aiello and many talented young Greco-Roman prospects from across the nation. In addition to the Greco-Roman athletes from the Dubuque RTC, a group of talented Greco-Roman wrestlers from the Northern Michigan University National Training Site will come down to Dubuque to compete.

The Ukrainian National Women’s Team, which is currently in the United States for training and preparation, will also be featured in the competition. A number of Ukrainian athletes will wrestle against U.S. wrestlers in the dual meet.

Provisor (Dubuque RTC/New York AC) is making a run at his third U.S. Olympic Team, having competed in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. He also has wrestled in two Senior World Championships. His opponent at 87 kg will be Casey Recrosio of NMU/NTS, a 2022 U23 Nationals All-American.

Dubuque RTC athletes Koontz and Aiello are also U.S. Olympic Team Trials hopefuls. Both were NCAA Div. III All-Americans for Dubuque. Koontz was a 2021 U.S. Open runner-up, and has placed in the top four of the U.S. Open for three straight years. He competed in the National Team True Third match as part of Final X in Newark, N.J. in June. Aiello was seventh in the 2023 U.S. Senior Open and placed fourth in the 2023 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament.

The final matchups for the dual meet will be determined on Saturday, but fans can expect to see high-quality action featuring elite Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle athletes.

Also included in the event is the Dubuque RTC Wrestling clinic, set from 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., featuring Olympic champions Rulon Gardner and Randy Lewis, World champion and Olympic medalist Dennis Hall, UFC legend and multiple World Team member Randy Couture, two-time NCAA Division III national champion and Dubuque head coach Jon McGovern and others.

Gardner, a two-time Olympic medalist and World champion, scored the greatest upset in Olympic sports history, when he beat three-time Olympic champion and unbeaten Alexandre Kareline of Russia in the finals of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Lewis won his Olympic freestyle gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Calif. Hall was an Olympic silver medalist at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Ga. and also won a World title and World bronze medal. Couture made numerous U.S. Senior Greco-Roman World Teams before becoming an MMA superstar with the UFC. McGovern was a member of the U.S. Senior Freestyle National Team.

Tickets are still available, which includes admission to the clinic and competition. Buy your tickets here.

Those who can not attend the event can enjoy the competition which will be broadcast live by FloWrestling.

In addition to raising funds for the Dubuque RTC and promoting Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle wrestling, the event is being organized as a way to provide athletes with more high quality competition right here on U.S. soil.  

“I can tell with our Dubuque RTC guys that having something to train for really picked up their training. We need more events in the United States, giving our guys competition to test their skills. We thought this was a good time for this. We will try to do something with Northern Michigan every year now. It is great for their athletes and great for our athletes. Maybe we do something with the World Class Athlete Program, and with the OTC athletes in the future, to give all of our guys something to train for and strive for,” said Dubuque RTC coach Dennis Hall.

For a more in-depth review of the competition, check out the Five Point Move preview story.

DUBUQUE RTC SHOWCASE WEEKEND SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20

1:00pm — Golf outing at Lacoma Golf Club (Dubuque, IA)

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21

9:00am — University of Dubuque Wrestling Practice and Alumni Scrimmage.

10:30am-12:30pm — High School Wrestling Clinic

3:30pm — K-12 Wrestling Clinic (with Randy Couture).

5:00pm — Olympic Wrestler Social featuring Hall, Gardner, Couture, Lewis, McGovern

6:00pm — Dubuque RTC Showcase.

Note: Specific match pairings for the competition will be finalized on Saturday