Published December 29. 2022 09:44AM
by Peter Car pcar@tnonline.com
The one holiday treat most wrestlers in the Lehigh Valley look forward to is the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic, which takes place this Wednesday and Thursday at Liberty’s Memorial Gymnasium.
Liberty head coach Brandon Hall knows how special of an event it is not only for his program, but also for the Lehigh Valley.
“Having moved here in the summer of 2000, I have been able to enjoy the BWHC for the past 22 years as a resident, fan and coach,” said Hall. “The tradition, the competition, Memorial Gym, the energy and atmosphere, of it all is tremendous. Tournaments are always great opportunities to bond as a team and given that this is run by our team/club, that means all levels of the Liberty program are present. Holidays are about family and friends and the Liberty family is quite large.”
Participating teams in this year’s event include: Bensalem, Freedom, Liberty, Blue Mountain, Boyertown, Council Rock South, Delaware Valley, Easton, Emmaus, Garnet Valley, Hazleton, Hempfield, Honesdale, Kennett, Malvern Prep, Manheim Township, Nazareth, North Penn, Northern Lebanon, Northampton, Northwestern, Parkland, Phillipsburg, Quakertown, Saucon Valley, Shenandowa, Southern Lehigh, Spring-Ford, Stroudsburg, West Scranton, Whitehall, Wilson West Lawn and Wilson.
Wrestling begins at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, but kicks up at 6:30 p.m. with the quarterfinals. Thursday’s action begins at 10 a.m. with wrestling taking place straight through to the medal rounds.