MANY EYES ON TIMES LEADER
TOURNEY THIS YEAR
Posted: November 1, 2005

2005 - 2006
VARSITY NEWS

BERWICK WRESTLING
Over 50 Years Of Pride & Tradition

In just the past several years, the annual Times Leader wrestling tournament has become one of the largest and premier wrestling tournaments in Pennsylvania. The number of attending teams has more than doubled over the past 5 years.

But many eyes will be grading the Times Leader tournament this year due to changes in both the location and management of the tournament.

First, the tournament will not be held at the spacious Wachovia Arena this year and will be moved back to College Misericordia. It was reported that the dates for Wachovia were not available this year.  Since this tournament was previously held at Misericordia, fans and wrestlers alike enjoyed the move to the much larger Wachovia Arena last year. The only persistent complaint about Wachovia was the extreme food prices, wrestlers being searched for food prior to entering the arena, and the limited selection and supply of food at the few concession stands.  On the other hand, Misericordia only has one very small concession stand.  Enough on the food topic, there's more important issues "potentially" at stake.

Since this tournament has grown in size, many in the wrestling community are left wondering what the "space situation" is going to be like at Misericordia this year. It is important to note that College Misericordia is a great place but that certainly is not the point. There were 47 teams in attendance last year in 2004 at the Wachovia Arena, and at the present time it appears that there are 54 teams scheduled to attend this year. So growth in team numbers continues and time will tell how many of the 54 teams drop out (a few always do each year). While I am no expert, my past experiences seem to indicate that Misericordia would be ideal for about 30-35 teams.

One other change that it is reported is that the Keystone Games will be managing the tournament with Times Leader still retaining a sponsorship role. Based on internet forums across the board, many in the wrestling community appear to be highly critical of the way the Keystone Games manages its own summer tournament as well as the NCAA Wilkes Open.

So many eyes will be grading how the Times Leader wrestling tournament runs this year.

Year-round competitive wrestlers have seen it all and have wrestled in just about any circumstance you can imagine. The wrestlers are the least of which to be concerned about.  They would wrestle in your garage or basement if the competition is there.

The fair thing to do is "wait and see" how the tournament is managed this year. 

The bottom line is, if the same high standards are maintained as in past years, the tournament should continue to be successful, albeit there's no room for future growth at Misericordia. If the same high standards are not maintained, then there could be a significant number of high schools looking for another large wrestling tournament to attend on a December weekend next year.

Teams reported to attend Times Leader this year (courtesy Frank Krasteva, WVC Wrestling):