Iowa State and Wisconsin headline inaugural Battle in the River City event
JACKSONVILLE, FL — Airstream Ventures along with BonoBilt Wrestling and Journeyman Wrestling have partnered to bring the first-ever collegiate wrestling event to Jacksonville in the Battle in the River City. Wrestling continues to gain in popularity in the youth and high school ranks so the inaugural event will feature some of the nation’s top teams including Iowa State and Wisconsin who both will start the season in the Top 15.
It is also a great homecoming for Wisconsin wrestling coach Chris Bono who grew up in Jacksonville and was a state champion at The Bolles School. Bono was a top wrestler at Iowa State and served as an alternate on the 2000 Olympic team. He has been the head coach of Wisconsin now for four years.
“I am so fired up to be invited to compete in the first-ever Battle in the River City,” said Bono. “To be able to come back to my home city and compete is a dream come true. It is our job to grow the sport and to come to the city that gave me my wrestling start and showcase some of the top wrestlers in the country. I am looking forward to seeing all my family, friends and former teammates come out to support this event.
This inaugural Battle in the River City event on November 5th will feature Wisconsin, Iowa State, Chattanooga, Campbell, Little Rock and Buffalo. The teams will compete in a one-day round robin duel match where each team will wrestle against three teams. The entire event will be streamed on Rokfin.
“On behalf of our team and our super staff, Iowa State University is super excited about coming to Jacksonville, FL for this inaugural event,” said Kevin Dresser, Head Coach for Iowa State. “It will be awesome to begin the season in the Sunshine State and we hope this event will help continue to build the sport of wrestling in the south.”
Tickets are now on sale at AirstreamVentures.com or 904tix. General admission tickets for the day are $20 and VIP tickets are $65, which include VIP elements along with food and drink throughout the event.
“We have been working on this event now for almost a year and I’m excited to finally be able to make it a reality,” said Alan Verlander, CEO of Airstream Ventures. “The Bono family has done so much for the sport of wrestling on the First Coast and it is such a great way to honor Chris and his family, but also bring some of the best teams in the country to North Florida to compete. We hope the Battle in the River City will become an annual event that helps grow the sport of wrestling in North Florida.”
For more information on the November 5th event, reach out to airstreamventures.com.
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