Area middle schoolers to compete in Saturday's annual competition

Know and Go: What: 51st annual Northern California Tournament of Champions When: Doors open at 7:30 a.m. and wrestling starts at 8:45 a.m. Saturday Where: Del Oro High School, 3301 Taylor Road, Loomis Admission: $7 general, $3 for ages 12 to 18 and ages 60 and over, and free for ages 11 and under. Professional color programs are $6. Area middle schoolers to compete in Saturday's annual competition Twenty to 30 area wrestlers will be among the 520 competitors in Saturday's annual Northern California Tournament of Champions at Del Oro High School in Loomis. Students from Granite Oaks Middle School, Spring View Middle School, George A. Buljan Middle School and Olympus Junior High School are among the area students qualifying for Saturday's 51st annual tournament. Saturday's competitors are from Bakersfield to the Oregon border and work hard to be eligible for the tournament.. ""Wrestling demands a high level of dedication. Students have to train and work on their agility, their strength and their mental toughness," said Del Oro High School wrestling coach Clint Madden. "You're up there on the mat, there's no team there, it's just one person against another person. When you win, it can be very gratifying. When you lose, it can be very humbling." Placer Valley Tourism again partners with Georgetown Wrestling Club to bring the Northern California Tournament of Champions to Placer County. Matches will be held all day in both Del Oro gymnasiums, according to tournament director Rod Hedlund. "The wrestlers who place in Saturday's tournament, you'll see in high school meets in the next few years," Madden said. Saturday's wrestlers are among the best middle school wrestlers in California, according to Madden. "It is exciting to have an event of this caliber right in our backyard at Del Oro High School in Loomis," said Amy Looney, Placer Valley Tourism's public relations coordinator. "This year will mark 51 years for the Nocal TOC and that is a true testament to what this event means in the youth wrestling community. With more than 500 youth wrestlers competing from throughout the state, all you wrestling fans won't want to miss this amazing event." Why should non-wrestlers pay money to watch the competition? "It's going to be jam-packed at Del Oro with 1,500 people. It'll look like the county fair with snack bars, popups and chairs and matches in two gyms," Hedlund said. "It's an exciting sport and in a lot of ways acrobatic. People are trying to control their opponent and the opponent is trying to get loose. It's competitive and quite an event. We'll have 11 matches going on at one time with 19 weight classes."