Draper, UT — AAU Wrestling Utah will host the AAU Grand Nationals three-style wrestling championships June 15-17, 2017, at Sport City in Draper. The agreement was happily arrived at after AAU Wrestling Board members toured the 80,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility.
“I have wanted to bring AAU Grand Nationals to Utah for years,” said AAU Wrestling Utah Director Bill Kilpack. “To find a facility like Sport City for the first outing is really great. AAU Wrestling Utah and Sport City can use this opportunity help each other build for the future. I see this as a great relationship to help wrestling in Utah continue to grow and improve.”
Kilpack actually first heard of Sport City while in Texas and, as soon as returning home, started on the path toward working together. The venue’s central sport court will sport the tournament wrestling mats, with bleacher seating in either side, and security methods to prevent overcrowding matside, so spectators will have no trouble seeing their athletes compete.
Sport City COO Amy Olsen said, “We look forward to hosting a first-class event at our beautiful facility built specifically for our sports community. This will be the first time we have had wrestling in our building and we couldn’t be more excited!”
This will be the first year of AAU Grand Nationals, the oldest wrestling national championship in the country, being hosted in Utah. In addition to including freestyle, Greco-Roman and folkstyle tournaments, some changes to the tournament will include adding a Women’s Division, Outstanding Wrestler awards in each of the seven youth categories in all three styles. A Fastest Pin award will be offered for each style. Champions in all three styles will receive a Triple Crown Award. The tournament is also part of the AAU Wrestling National Championship Belt Series.
After attending AAU Grand Nationals previously, former Mt. Crest High School Wrestling Coach Davie Swenson said, “I’m grateful that we [went] to Grand Nationals. One of my wrestlers had 24 matches … that’s a whole season’s worth of mat time. What a great deal!”
For more information, go to www.AAUGrandsUtah.com, www.AAUWrestlingUtah.com or www.MountainTopWrestling.com. For more information about Sport City, go to www.SportCityUtah.com.