National Duals Invitational drew more than 23,000 fans to multiple-day event

Numbers are in for the number of fans that watched the National Duals Invitational at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.

According to tournament staff, the four-session, two-day event drew a total of 23,465.

Session 3 on Sunday morning experienced the biggest crowd with 6,306. Fans watched Iowa defeat Oklahoma State, 18-16, and Ohio State beat Nebraska, 33-3, in the semifinals.

The second-largest crowd was for the quarterfinals, bringing in a 6,103. Iowa beat Illinois, 24-13, that round.

The opening session Saturday drew 5,968, while the finals only had 5,088 in attendance.

University of Northern Iowa wrestled in the dual tournament. The Panthers went 1-2, falling to North Carolina State (27-8) in the first round. UNI rebounded with a 26-8 win over Cornell before being eliminated by No. 9 Minnesota, 22-16,

Numbers for television and live-streaming have not been released. Those numbers may shed light on the bigger picture. The first three sessions were covered by Flowrestling and the finals were on ESPN2, providing unparalleled coverage for a regular-season college wrestling competition.

The viewership online and on TV over the two days will be more indicative of the tournament’s popularity and success.

Ohio State claimed the title with a 27-12 win over Iowa. Oklahoma State was third with No. 2-seed Nebraska in fourth. Minnesota, Virginia Tech, Illinois and Missouri rounded out the top eight.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com