Inaugural Southern Tier Memorial Wrestling Tourney Slated For Jan 13-14 At The First Arena

ELMIRA - The first annual "Southern Tier Memorial" wrestling tournament is shaping up to be one wrestling fans from all over will want to see.

The tournament - set for Jan. 13-14 here at The First Arena - is a combined effort of a small group of "wrestling guys," and will bring together Horseheads' Mark Stephens Classic, Waverly's Jim McCloe Memorial Tournament, and Tioga's Sgt. Justin Rogers Memorial Tournament. It will also honor former Elmira Southside state champ Jeff Reese.

"Our expectation is to have the premier arena tournament in our area," said tournament director and Waverly head coach Devan Witman. "It's been since the Jeff Reese Tournament that we've had that.

"I think the best way to honor the coaches, wrestlers, and officials we're honoring is with this tournament," he added.

"We need a big event in the area, and this will definitely fill the need," said Tioga coach Kris Harrington. "The venue is beautiful.

"If we have a flagship premier event, it's a way we can grow wrestling in the area," he added. "I'm excited about it."

Horseheads coach Brett Owen is impressed with how this tournament came about.

"For me, having coached with Jim McCloe, being coached by Mark Stephens when I was young, and wrestling with Jeff Reese, it's pretty cool to see everyone working together on this tournament.

"It really shows what wrestling is all about," said Owen. "It's not about one team, one program, it's about all these programs working together for the betterment of the sport."

The field is currently at 24 teams, with Witman hoping to add several more.

From Section IV, the field includes: Tioga, Waverly, Horseheads, Corning, Elmira, BGAH, Johnson City, Oxford-Greene, Sidney, SVEC, Thomas A. Edison, Vestal, and Whitney Point.

Also from New York: Copenhagen, Longwood, St. Anthony's, Sherburne-Earlville, Totenville-A, and Totenville-B.

From Pa.'s District 4: Milton and North Penn-Liberty.

Also from Pa.: Bellefonte Area.

From Florida: St. Thomas Aquinas.

From Ohio: Conneaut.

"It's turning into a tougher and tougher tournament the more teams we add," said Witman. "It's turning out really well, and I'm excited.

"We're tracking the number of state qualifiers we have, and it's getting lengthy," he noted. "It's going to be a tough tournament.

"We've been working with Spartan Combat, so we're hoping to pull some more teams from the City," Witman added.

Waverly Superintendent of Schools Eric Knolles is looking to grow this tournament into an annual premier event.

"When I grew up here in this area in the '70s and '80s, wrestling in the Northern Tier of Pa. and the Southern Tier of N.Y. was the center of wrestling for the East Coast.

"If you wanted to find competition, this is where you came. And, we still have those roots here," said Knolles.

"At one time, the Jeff Reese Tournament was a premier tournament on the East Coast, and it's time - with Tioga being very strong, with Horseheads strong, and Waverly growing - to bring that back, and have a centerpiece tournament in the Southern Tier of New York," he added.

Harrington believes the tournament could grow into a juggernaut.

"The venue is great. If we do a good job with it this year, this tournament is going to be something special in the coming years.

"We got a late start this year, so we'll do the best we can," he noted. "A lot of teams were already committed elsewhere this year, or had already maxed out.

"We already have commitments from several teams for next year," added Harrington.

Witman agrees with Harrington.

"For Year, 1, this is big," he said. "I can't even begin to think what this is going to look like in the years to come. I think this is going to keep growing to the point where we'll have to turn down teams."

Witman believes his former mentor, Hall of Fame coach Jim McCloe, would be pleased to have his name associated with this tournament.

"The number of life lessons Coach McCloe taught not only me, but everyone who wrestled underneath him is incredible.

"I think we're honoring his name and his legacy in the right way because, without a doubt, he would want to be in this tournament if he were still coaching today," said Witman.

"For my part, that was the goal - to help create a tournament Coach McCloe would be proud of, and want to run himself.

"I think we're definitely on our way to doing that," added Witman.