2018 Final X - Lehigh

Final X Lehigh Will Be Held In Historic Grace Hall

Final X Lehigh Will Be Held In Historic Grace Hall

Final X at Lehigh on June 23 will be held in historic Grace Hall on the campus of Lehigh University.

Jun 4, 2018 by Andrew Spey
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USA Wrestling, the national governing body for wrestling in the United States, and FloSports, the innovator in live digital sports and original content, have announced that the Final X at Lehigh wrestling competition has been moved to a new location on the Lehigh campus, historic Grace Hall in Bethlehem, PA.

WATCH FINAL X BETHLEHEM LIVE

The main card for Final X at Lehigh will begin a 7 PM ET on Saturday, June 23, with a preliminary card of True Third Place bouts slated for 5 PM.

Previously, Final X at Lehigh was scheduled to be held at Stabler Arena.

Tickets remain available. Fans should go to the tickets tab on the official Final X website at www.FinalX.tv

The main card will determine the 2018 U.S. Senior world teams in men’s and women’s freestyle wrestling, featuring the nation’s top two athletes in the seven weight classes on the card. It will be a best-of-three series in each weight class, with the winner earning a spot on Team USA at the 2018 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on October 20-28.

The venue change will allow fans to enjoy one of the most historic wrestling settings in the sport’s history. Grace Hall has been the home of Lehigh wrestling since 1942. Known throughout wrestling circles as “the Snake Pit,” Grace Hall provides an unmatched environment, with seating for over 2,000 fans.

The venue has provided Lehigh wrestling with a setting that intimidates rivals. A multi-million dollar upgrade in 2003 helped modernize the facility while keeping its charm and intimate fan accessibility. A generous donation from the late John Harmon, a Lehigh alumnus who was a national wrestling leader, provided a VIP skybox, modern sound and lighting and retractable seating. It is now officially known as Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.

“This is a great place to wrestle and we’re ecstatic to be back in Grace. We really missed it last year. Our kids enjoy the home-mat advantage that it provides. It’s really electric. It is such a pretty building, very beautiful,” said Greg Strobel, a current USA Wrestling vice president who was Lehigh’s head coach when the renovation occurred.

Grace Hall hosted NCAA wrestling tournaments in 1948 and 1951, the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials in 1948, and the storied EIWA tournament in 1944, 1945, 1946, 1948, 1952, 1956, and 1961.

Fans who have previously purchased tickets for Stabler Arena will have their seats transferred to the appropriate location in Grace Hall.

The main card for Final X at Lehigh will start at 7 PM, featuring 2016 Olympic champion Helen Maroulis, 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and 2017 world bronze medalist J’den Cox, 2017 world bronze medalist Nick Gwiazdowski, Olympian Haley Augello, Junior world champions Whitney Conder and Victoria Anthony, and other exciting international wrestling stars.

The preliminary card of True Third Place bouts is set for 5 PM and will feature stars including 2012 Olympian Kelsey Campbell, two-time world team member Tony Ramos, three-time WCWA national champion Cody Pfau, and 2018 U.S. Open champion Austin Schafer.

The bout order for Final X at Lehigh will be announced shortly.

FloWrestling will provide exclusive live and on-demand coverage of the three-event Final X series. Watch the events across all screens by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Roku, or Apple TV 4, as well as on desktop or mobile web via FloWrestling.com

The other two Final X competitions are Final X in Lincoln on June 9, and Final X at State College on June 16. Tickets for all three Final X events can be purchased at www.FinalX.tv