CORRECTED -- The best day in wrestling?

Note: Thanks to an alert reader who, knowing that math isn't my strong suit, let me know that there are 80 NCAA All-Americans, not 40 as I wrote. (I really can multiple 8x10 and come up with 80 in most cases. Not sure what I was thinking there.) I have corrected the post to show that.

It's one of my favorite times of the wrestling year.
Not the end of the high school season (that would be my wife Tami's favorite).
No, it's the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic. If you've never been to "The Rose Bowl of Wrestling," you're really missing out on a fantastic event.
I preview the event - which includes a pair of local wrestlers this year in Richlnd's John Rizzo and North Star's Nick Roberts - in Sunday's editions of The Tribune-Democrat. The paper and e-editions (PDF versions of the actual pages) include complete lineups for the event along with the Intermat ranking for each wrestler.
Intermat's Josh Lowe also has a great preview of the event if you pay to receive the platinum content.
The great thing about the Classic is that it gives you a chance to see the NCAA champs of tomorrow today. For the past 36 years, at least one NCAA champion has participated in the event. That includes three from last weekend in St. Louis - Ohio State's Logan Stieber (133), Michigan's Kellen Russell (141) and Penn State's David Taylor (165).
Of the 80 All-Americans crowned at "Arch Matness," exactly one quarter (by my count) had wrestled in the Classic. If you've been to every Classic for the past five years, as I have, you'd have seen each of these All-Americans before they ever pulled on a college singlet.
Here's the list:

2012 All-Americans in the Classic

Ohio State's Cam Tessari (USA 2011) 4^th at 149

Ohio State's Hunter Stieber (USA 2011) 6^th at 141

Penn State's Andrew Alton (Pa. 2010) 3^rd at 157

Ohio State's Logan Stieber (USA 2010) 1^st at 133

Iowa's Bobby Telford (USA 2010) 5^th at 285

Clarion's James Fleming (WPIAL 2009) 5^th at 157

Oklahoma State's Chris Perry (USA 2009) 3^rd at 174

Iowa's Tony Ramos (USA 2009) 3^rd at 133

Penn State's David Taylor (USA 2009) 1^st at 165

Stanford's Ryan Mango (USA 2009) 3^rd at 125

Oklahoma State's Jordan Oliver (Pa. 2008) 2^nd at 133

Harvard's Walter Peppelman (Pa. 2008) 8^th at 157

Northwestern's Jason Welch (USA 2008) 4^th at 157

Illinois' B.J. Futrell (USA 2008) 6^th at 133

Penn State's Quentin Wright (Pa. 2008) 2^nd at 184

Lehigh's Joe Kennedy (USA 2008) 8^th at 197

Edinboro's Chris Honeycutt (Ohio 2007) 2^nd at 197

Minnesota's Zach Sanders (USA 2007) 3^rd at 125

Pitt's Tyler Nauman (Pa. 2007) 5^th at 149

Michigan's Kellen Russell (USA 2007) 1^st at 141

So head out to Pitt's Fitzgerald Field House this afternoon. (The preliminary match is at 4 p.m. with the main event at 6). If you're a wrestling fan (and I assume you are if you read my blog), then you won't regret it. We actually make a day of it, as my brother and I take our nephews to Dave and Buster's first for some lunch and games. It's a great day filled with the best wrestling in the country.
If you can't make it today but want to keep up with the action, follow me on Twitter, where I'll be posting updates.
I'll also be covering the event for The Tribune-Democrat, so look for a story and photo(s).