Del Val’s First Wrestling tournament, the Wendy Pandy Leh wrestling invitational, will take place on Saturday Dec. 16 at Del Val.

The first Wendy Pandy Leh tournament took place on Dec. 20, 2014 and was named after a Del Val graduate who passed away in May of 2014 due to cancer.

The tournament features nine teams: Delaware Valley, Cherokee, Ocean Township, Williamstown, Westfield, Pingry, Woodstown, Voorhees, Wall and Pascack Hills. 

“I am very excited for this tournament because wrestling is one of my favorite sports,” said Tye Falkenstein. “I love to do it, I love the energy in the gym and the season is going to be very exciting. I think we will do really well this year and I think we have a chance at winning states for the third year in a row.”

Luke Cyphert, a first year wrestler, also spoke about his excitement for the tournament.

“I think that the team will do good because of our team experience and the amount of work that we put in,” said Cyphert.

The tournament ran every year until 2020, when the tournament could not take place because of COVID-19. It was rescheduled to 2021, and Del Val won by 40 points with a score of 239.5 points, second place going to Williamstown with 192.5 point and in third place Cherokee with 159.5 points.

Del Val won again last year with 211 points. Wall came in second place with 147.5 points and Westfield took third with 147 points.

“The team and coaches are very excited about the season ahead of us,” said head coach Andy Fitz. “Many of the wrestlers on the team have been wrestling for a long time, and they have put in the work needed to achieve very high goals. We are starting a first ever Girls Wrestling team and there is a lot of enthusiasm in the program right now. We can’t wait to get started, but right now the focus is getting better each day and just focusing on the next competition ahead of us.”

The wrestling staff, coaches and team are excited for the season, and they look to win this weekend’s tournament as they chase another title.