Blue Devil Wrestling Invitational returns January 11- 12
Contributed by Dreher High School

Dreher's Blake Olso wrestles Hammond's Weston Verner at last year's Dreher Invitational.

One of Columbia's major high school athletic events and one of the state's best amateur high school wrestling tournaments returns to Dreher this weekend! The 18th annual "Hardee's Blue Devil Wrestling Invitational" is set for January 11 and 12.

The tournament once again features some of SC's best wrestling programs. Not only are some of the traditional powerhouses included in the field, but some of the up and coming programs are as well. Nineteen of the 24 teams are ranked in the Top 20 in their respective classes.

North Myrtle Beach returns to defend its 2007 tournament championship and continues to be a AAA powerhouse. Repeating this year will be programs such as Chesterfield, Chapin, Crescent, Irmo, and Bluffton.

The Blue Devil Invitational is usually considered a stepping stone for many wrestlers in their quest to make it to the state championships.

The Dreher wrestling team takes immense pride in hosting this event. For more information call Coach Paul Watson at Dreher, 253-7000 or email him at pwatson@richlandone.org.

Video highlights of last year's tournament can be seen at www. TheColumbiaStar.com in the Shandon section.