11/02/12 Bremen and Culver Academies headline a list of 24 teams selected to participate in the first Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association (IHSWCA) State Duals Invitational.

The three-class tournament is scheduled Saturday, Dec. 22, at Westfield High School, just north of Indianapolis.

The Duals are an attempt to rekindle the excitement of a state championship event, featuring many of the best wrestling teams in Indiana, following the Indiana High School Athletic Association’s decision to end its state team tournament.

Admission will be $10.

The IHSAA ended its team state wrestling finals last February following a 17-year run.

In response, the IHSWCA has started a “team state” tournament of its own, with eight mat squads competing in each of three classes based on school enrollment.

Teams were selected with the assistance of a computer program which ranks a team’s returning strengths, based on last year’s sectional, regional, semi-state and individual state meet results.

Defending state champion Perry Meridian – the IHSAA’s final dual meet tourney winner – will be part of the field. So are two other teams that reached the Final Four last season, Indianapolis Cathedral and Evansville Mater Dei.

Wrestling begins at 10 a.m. The finals should start around 6 p.m.

Bremen will compete in Class A, while Culver Academies is slated to wrestle in Class AA.

Losing teams will drop into a consolation bracket and have the opportunity to wrestle for third through eighth place in their respective classes.

Tourney brackets and first-round opponents are tentatively slated to be announced Saturday, Dec. 15.

Participating teams include:

Class AAA (large schools)

Bloomington South

Center Grove

Elkhart Memorial

Evansville Mater Dei

Franklin Community

Indianapolis Cathedral

Penn

Perry Meridian

Class AA (medium-sized schools)

Culver Academies

Danville

Evansville Memorial

Heritage Hills

Jimtown

Muncie Southside

Southmont

Yorktown

Class A (small schools)

Adams Central

Bremen

Churubusco

Lewis Cass

Milan

Prairie Heights

South Adams

South Putnam