City Times Staff

Rookies Sports Pub is holding a special sendoff celebration for Olympic wrestler Ben Provisor.

The SPASH graduate is soon leaving for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he will compete for the United State in Greco-Roman Olympic Wrestling. Provisor qualified for the Olympics in April after winning the United States Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestling Team Trials at 85kg in Iowa City, Iowa.

The sendoff will be on Thurs., July 28 from 6 PM to 9 PM at Rookies Sports Pub, 3425 Church Street. Tickets are available at the door for $10 and limited to the first 1,000 people.

Music will be provided by the Spicy Tie Band, and special guests include Mayor Mike Wiza and three-time Olympian Dennis Hall. The event will include a silent auction and prize drawings, and Ben Provisor Olympic gear will also be available for purchase.

A GoFundMe page has been established to help the Provisor Family offset costs to Brazil.

Olympic wrestling is split into two disciplines — freestyle and Greco-Roman — which are further divided into weight categories. Wrestling competition begins on Aug. 14.