Grappling for a good cause: NCWA Championships bringing charitable project to Allen

The city of Allen is about to be invaded by a barrage of Lycra and denim.

The former is because of the 2013 National Collegiate Wrestling Association Championships, which begin Thursday at the Allen Event Center, while the latter is due to the charitable cause the NCWA brings to town.

That cause would be the 6:12 Project, a charitable endeavor named after the Ephesians 6:12 passage in The Bible.

"Every place we go we do an outreach project," said Jim Giunta, NCWA executive director. "We want our athletes to feel like one person can make a difference."

The NCWA attempts to do outreach projects specific to the city they are going to, with previous projects including a coat and canned food drive in Georgia.

"We asked the Allen Convention & Visitors Bureau what it was we could do that would be useful for the city," Giunta said. "They said Allen Community Outreach and suggested a blue jean drive. I've never really heard of anything like that, but said 'let's do it.'"

With the three-day NCWA Championships expected to draw 400-500 athletes from 78 different schools in nine different conferences, the organization set a goal of bringing 2,000 pairs of jeans for Allen Community Outreach with the athletes, coaches and fans coming into town for the tournament largely responsible for reaching that number.

"For our athletes, we feel like it's about more than just going out and winning," Giunta said. "We want to impact them mentally and physically, of course, but also academically and spiritually."

Though many of the jean donations will come from out of town, locals can get involved too by going to the organization's website (612project.org) or visiting the booth and drop boxes that will be set up at the AEC during the March 14-16 tournament.

"We'd love to see those boxes overflowing with jeans," Giunta said.

That isn't the only way the NCWA is hoping to involve the Metroplex (which beat out last year's host site of Daytona Beach, Fla. for the 2013 event) as there will also be a Recruit Me wrestling combine Wednesday at the AEC. That event will run from 4:30-6:30 p.m., feature at least 30 collegiate coaches offering pointers and is free for high school wrestlers who register online (NCWA.net) ahead of time. That will be followed at 7 p.m. by a youth-focused Meet the Athlete event.

The next day the race for individual and team championships begins.

And it will do so in a city plenty familiar with grappling gold as the Allen Eagles have won nine of the past 10 dual or UIL State Championships.

"I definitely think that played a part in our decision to come here," said Giunta, who is also an Allen resident. "If we were going to do wrestling in Texas, we'd want to go to Allen."

Count Eagles head coach Jerry Best as one of the interested parties in the tournament.

"I think it is definitely positive to have that tournament in our city," he said. "It's a good event and a great opportunity for these wrestlers that aren't at the Division I or Division II level."

While the NCWA wrestles Division I and II schools consistently, Giunta noted that the club-based organization probably fits best between Division II and III in terms of talent.

That leads to an eclectic mix of wrestlers with anticipated competitors including the club teams from powerhouse Division I schools like Iowa State, Michigan and Penn State, the Army, Navy and Air Force prep teams (which feature wrestlers that will be at the Division I level next year), M.I.T. and more local squads like the University of Texas-Austin and Arlington.

Competition begins at 9 a.m. Thursday with eight mats being used for the first of six sessions over three days, culminating in the championship round at 2 p.m. Saturday.

"The Allen Event Center has excellent floor space and is a good-sized venue for us," Giunta said. "We're expecting a great event and hopefully with it being Spring Break plenty of people will get to come see it."

Tickets at the gate are $70 for all three days or $12 per session, with $50 tournament passes available at NCWA.net until Tuesday.

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