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Keystone Classic

Maddog

Well-Known Member
May 29, 2001
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Anyone have any details of the Keystone Classic tourney at the Palestra in November? Have tried searching the web in numerous variations but all I find are details of past years. Specifically looking for info on times and ticket prices/purchasing.

Thanks for any help anyone can provide! :)
 
-- 11 teams last year, including Penn, Pitt, Rider and Drexel locally.
-- Tournament scoring, just like B1G's or NCAA's
-- Up to 20 wrestlers, 1 scorer per weight class
-- No redshirts
-- 1 day tournament
-- Held at the Palestra
-- Roar will attend this year...who else?
-- I'll probably know the ticket prices soon...will post here
 
Northwestern would have gone last year, but their flights got cancelled.

I've gone the last three years, but I'll be at Mizzou that day, and unable to attend. (they're wrestling Virginia Tech)
 
It's a much shorter drive for me than to State College, so I will go. Annieat285 probably won't join me but he might. The Palestra takes me back to watching Big 5 basketball on channel 17 when I was a kid, so it's both nostalgic and a great place to watch wrestling. I hope Penn gets its act back together. When the program was at its best, it was a great local (relative) alternative for wrestling.
 
Thanks for all the input. For those who have attended before, is there one ticket for all day or separate tickets for different sessions? Will probably be there with whole family so my grandson (grade school wrestler) can see how the big guys do it. Was hoping to get them to the BJC match but that doesn't work well. At Penn, we can leave early if needed to get kids home in time to get ready for school the next day.
 
...are the seats all general admission or can we get several together?...
 
I have always wanted to visit the palestra comma and this is looking like an excellent excuse to do so.
 
As a big sports buff, I've always wanted to visit the Palestra, this is sounding more and more like the perfect opportunity to do that!
 
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I've been to the Palestra for dual meets and it was GA. I've been there for the EIWAs, and I can't recall if those seats were assigned.

I've been several times for duals and it was GA. I expect they will run 8 mats so the seating will be somewhat limited. I will definitely be there as Philly is only 2 hours or so. Closer than the 3.5 hours to State College.
 
The Palestra rules! You can't beat the historic 1/2 punch of the Palestra and Franklin Field.

I remember throwing streamers onto the court when Penn scored its first basket against one of those great Nate Blackwell-led Temple teams. There was a lot of pent up energy in our throws because Temple started on an 18-0 run.

I'm a Penn alum and really hope Coach Tirapelle gets us back to being a "mid-major" wrestling power so to speak.

While Penn is my school, Penn State was by far my first favorite team. Just because I went to school somewhere else doesn't mean I go back on years of fandom
 
I've been several times for duals and it was GA. I expect they will run 8 mats so the seating will be somewhat limited. I will definitely be there as Philly is only 2 hours or so. Closer than the 3.5 hours to State College.

Basically my situation. But I never tire of the drive along the Susquehanna on 322. Once you get past the truckers' sex stop, it's one of the most gorgeous drives I've ever experienced.

As a big sports buff, I've always wanted to visit the Palestra, this is sounding more and more like the perfect opportunity to do that!

It's a great venue, imo. You should do it!

Will PSU have much competition?

That could be a question for the entire year if things work out positively. Could be an amazing season if 184, 197 and 285 can stay healthy.
 
Will PSU have much competition?
No, not really. Excluding the PSU guys, there'll probably be less than half dozen All-Americans present. Given the scheduling challenges for the year, our coaches were grateful to Alex Tirapelle, and his staff for working with them to enter the tournament. Each of our guys should get about 4 bouts...which is all the coaches want this early in the season. Considering the focus on "the process", and keeping an eye on the real prize, it's a good tournament to enter.
 
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CLICK HERE for an article about the Keystone Classic posted on U. of PA's web site on Labor Day. It lists many of the teams participating. More importantly, it states "Ticket information for the 2016 Keystone Classic will be released at a later date."
 
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I was looking at the rosters of the other teams planning to attend and noticed that Garrett Hammond's name is not listed on Drexel's 2016-17 roster. Anyone know if his plans have changed?

PSU's roster was just recently updated so no surprise that Drexel's may not have been updated yet. Plus, I just checked and I don't see any true frosh listed on Drexel's roster.
 
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It's a much shorter drive for me than to State College, so I will go. Annieat285 probably won't join me but he might. The Palestra takes me back to watching Big 5 basketball on channel 17 when I was a kid, so it's both nostalgic and a great place to watch wrestling. I hope Penn gets its act back together. When the program was at its best, it was a great local (relative) alternative for wrestling.
All we need is Les Keiter to call the action.
from wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Keiter

Keiter left New York and headed to Philadelphia in 1963, calling games for the Philadelphia 76ers and Big Five college basketball. While broadcasting at the Palestra, Keiter was known for his sign-on phrase, "Welcome to Panicsville, USA,"and also coined phrases such as "ring-tailed howitzer," "tickled the twine" and "in again, out again, Finnegan."

He called some huge boxing matches, so I'd guess he could do justice to a wrestling call.
 
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PSU's roster was just recently updated so no surprise that Drexel's may not have been updated yet. Plus, I just checked and I don't see any true frosh listed on Drexel's roster.

Drexel also has Hokit still on there. I think they just did an automatic roll-over to update eligibility (i.e. add a year to everyone on the existing roster)
 
I will definitely be there to watch PSU and one of my former youth wrestlers, Casey Kent of UPENN. I'll probably also get some of my youth and HS wrestlers down to watch the event as well.
 
I will definitely be there to watch PSU and one of my former youth wrestlers, Casey Kent of UPENN. I'll probably also get some of my youth and HS wrestlers down to watch the event as well.

I know the weights still need to be sorted out but Bo Nickal vs. Casey Kent would be amazing.

Casey really came on strong at the end last year. LaSalle had quite a few great wrestlers on that team 5 or so years ago
 
Last year, ticket prices (I believe) were $10 in advance, $15 at the door...good all day.

Still nothing beyond what I posted on 9/6. So, let's deal with last year's Keystone Classic.

The ticket prices were what Roar indicated.

The wrestling started at 9 am, and the finals started at 6 pm

Lastly, the Ivy League Digital Network streamed action from the Keystone Classic from 5 pm through the end of the finals.

No guarantees that the prices, times, and streaming option will be the same this year.
 
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Last year, ticket prices (I believe) were $10 in advance, $15 at the door...good all day.

Still nothing beyond what I posted on 9/6. So, let's deal with last year's Keystone Classic.

The ticket prices were what Roar indicated.

The wrestling started at 9 am, and the finals started at 6 pm

Lastly, the Ivy League Digital Network streamed action from the Keystone Classic from 5 pm through the end of the finals.

No guarantees that the prices, times, and streaming option will be the same this year.
Thanks for bringing this up again, Tom. The Penn Ticket Office still knows very little about pricing, and ticket sales haven't started yet. Looks like the PSWC will be taking a bus down, but the details are not available. As soon as info is available re. pricing, I'll post it here. We did confirm it's all general admission.

I'll be there for sure, as will NoVa and androcles...may be a chance to meet a few more board members.
 
Thanks for bringing this up again, Tom. The Penn Ticket Office still knows very little about pricing, and ticket sales haven't started yet. Looks like the PSWC will be taking a bus down, but the details are not available. As soon as info is available re. pricing, I'll post it here. We did confirm it's all general admission.

I'll be there for sure, as will NoVa and androcles...may be a chance to meet a few more board members.

Ticket office is making it clear they won't know for a bit. Still deciding. AKA thanks for the interest but we'll let you know.
 
Northwestern would have gone last year, but their flights got cancelled.

I've gone the last three years, but I'll be at Mizzou that day, and unable to attend. (they're wrestling Virginia Tech)

SHP, do you remember how may mats they ran? Thanks in advance. Mizzou vs VT should be a great dual. Hopefully it is streamed and I can watch it the next day.
 
6. There's no way you could fit eight mats into the Palestra.

The graphic that UPenn is using for the Classic shows 6 mats. I was last there for Flo's Who's #1 Team Competition, and they were using 3 mats, except for the finals which was 1. There's no way they could get more than 6 mats on the floor of the Palestra.

Penn just announced their 2016-17 wrestling schedule, and there was no info in the announcement about when tickets for the Classic go on sale.
 
Tickets went on sale today, 10/1, at 10 am. It appears you can purchase an all-day ticket (GA) for $10, and a ticket just for the finals (not sure of the price).

CLICK HERE for a link to purchase tickets.
 
All day pass $12. Bought mine today. Hope to meet a bunch of people from this forum. I'll be the one in the PSU shirt :)

Moi, assui. Not a bad $12 spent - no extra charges. Might sneak out to Abner's for a cheesesteak if time allows.
 
Oh, please, NoVa, you pay more than that each way (on average) in tolls to get from where you live up 95 to the Palestra! ($16 one way, $8 the other)
 
Still nothing beyond what I posted on 9/6. So, let's deal with last year's Keystone Classic.

The ticket prices were what Roar indicated.

The wrestling started at 9 am, and the finals started at 6 pm

Lastly, the Ivy League Digital Network streamed action from the Keystone Classic from 5 pm through the end of the finals.

No guarantees that the prices, times, and streaming option will be the same this year.

Bump.

Quick shout to the quality of this board...was just buying my Amtrak tix and trying to decide what depart time to get on Sunday night...thought 'hmmm, I know I saw a thread on bwi...quick search for 'Keystone' and a brief browse through, and bam! Learned enough to decide on the 9:30p option vs the 10p or 11p.

Thanks!
 
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