Twinsburg Athletic Boosters Hosting Wrestling Tournament

Editor's note: This article was written by Bob Smaltz.

On Friday, Feb. 3 and Saturday, Feb. 4 we will begins the 36th annual Twinsburg Athletic Boosters (TAB) middle school wrestling tournament. 

Considered one of the top three middle school wrestling tournaments in the state, this year, we will have visitors from 35 schools, including:   Amherst, Aurora Harmon, Avon Lake, Beachwood, Brecksville, Chardon, Conneaut, Crestwood, Cuyahoga Falls, Cuyahoga Hts., Berea (Ford),  Green, Howland, Jackson, Kenston, Mayfield, Mentor Memorial, Mentor Ridge, Mentor Shore, North Canton, Nordonia, Solon, Stow, Tallmadge, Twinsburg, Twinsburg B, Wadsworth and West Geauga  

Many of these visitors will spend about 18 hours watching approximately 450 wrestlers compete in over 800 matches.

The success of this tournament is a direct result of the number of Twinsburg residents that volunteer for the event.  Here's a link to the volunteer schedule to understand the effort involved: http://www.twinsburgtab.com/TAB_Wrestling_Volunteer_Schedule%202012.pdf  

Interesting facts about the tournament:

• Bev Hegadish and her daughter Deni Synder have been keeping score for all 36 years.  They will work from 5-11 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. on Saturday. They do this for the boosters every year.  
• Councilman, coach, teacher, Assistant AD Gary Sorace is the tournament director and spends many hours organizing the tournament.  
• Dr Brad Hillard from University Hospitals and beloved trainer T-Mike volunteer their time (20 hours) to assist with injuries.   
• There are many others that have been working the entire tournament for several years.  (Brian and Jordan Link, Jack Turle Jr, Erik Keller, Bob Smaltz, Alexis Skoberne, Harvey Berlin, Dave Rader, Pam Hobart. Mark & Ruth Cohen, Mark and Kathleen Mohney).  
• On Friday there will be seven concurrent matches taking place.  Four in the and three in the  
• Volunteers bring food for coaches, officials and bus drivers in the  hospitality room.  This is much appreciated by these visitors who will spend 18-20 hours at the high school.  
• The athletic boosters expect to make over $9,000 from this tournament.  
• The finals are Saturday at 6 p.m. It not unusual to see wrestlers with 30-0 records facing each other in the finals.  For those that enjoy wrestling, the finals are a must see.    

It's a great experience for these middle school kids who are used to dual meets and some small tournaments. Results for the tournament will be available at http://www.baumspage.com.