OXFORD – The 56th annual Clyde Cole Wrestling tournament, co-sponsored by the Oxford Rotary Club and Oxford Academy Central School, will be held at the Blackhawks’ high school gymnasium Friday, November 30 and Saturday, December 1.

More than 8,000 wrestlers have participated in the Clyde Cole Tournament over the years including more than 50 Section IV and state champions.

The tournament has also witnessed J.P. O’Connor of Oxford, Lansing’s Kyle Dake and Brad Penrith of Windsor on the mats – all three wrestlers are NCAA Division-I Wrestling Champions with Dake recently being crowned a World Champion at the 79kg weight class – as well as several New York State Champions, both past and present.

The tournament will host 14 teams this year, including several local teams that will be challenged by teams from other parts of the state. This year’s local field includes Oxford, Norwich, Greene, Sidney, and Bainbridge-Guilford-Afton-Harpursville – the 2017 Clyde Cole team champion

Other regional teams include Maine-Endwell, Groton and Spencer-VanEtten. Strong returning contenders from outside the area include Averill Park, Carthage, Elder-Liberty-Sullivan West (ELS) and perennial powerhouses Queensbury and Shenendehowa. It appears this year’s tournament can again be expected to be one of the strongest in the area and provide a high level of competition very early in the season.