Photo courtesy of MIDD-WEST ATHLETICS Midd-West wrestlers get work in during an open gym.

MIDDLEBURG – Tye Boyer is always looking for the next big idea to benefit the Midd-West High School wrestling program.

The new Midd-West head coach, who’ll be starting his first go-round with the Mustangs this winter after a decorated career at Indian Valley High School and Division III Elizabethtown College, helped to organize the inaugural Mustangs Gridiron Grapple Outdoor Team Duals on Saturday at the Midd-West High School football stadium in Middleburg.

“I was sitting at the Coal Cracker Tournament (at Lehighton High School in Carbon County) with one of our wrestler’s moms – Charley Paige – his mom Jennifer,” recalled Boyer of how the Gridiron Grapple came to fruition.

“We were talking about having a fundraiser and having something good this summer for the kids,” Boyer added.

The idea was hatched when Paige suggested holding an outdoor team duals tournament. “She said, ‘We could call it the Gridiron Grapple and do it on the football field,'” Boyer said. “And we just kind of ran with it from there.”

The idea of having an outdoor wrestling event isn’t original, but there’s still an incredible amount of planning and organizing involved.

Penn State wrestling has talked about having a similar event at Beaver Stadium for more than a year now. The Iowa Hawkeyes hold the college record for attendance at an outdoor dual when they hosted Oklahoma State in 2015 in front of 42,287 fans.

Rutgers also did it in back-to-back years – 2016 and 2017 – with outdoor duals against rival Princeton and Big Ten foe Maryland. The 16,178 fans for the “Battle at the Birthplace” between Rutgers and Princeton was the second highest attended dual in NCAA wrestling history when it happened.

Saturday’s Gridiron Grapple team duals feature six teams – Midd-West; Mifflin County; District 4; Mifflinburg; BC Predators, of Bradford County; and Buffalo Valley Wrestling Club, of Montoursville.

“I’ve been blessed with a good group of parents, who believe in me,” Boyer said. “We all work together and make it happen; it’s not all me. I definitely have the support and help from the parents.”

On Saturday, weigh-ins start at 8 a.m. with action on the mats following at 9 a.m. Wrestlers will be from eighth grade through high school seniors. The six teams will be guaranteed to have five matches, with the top-three teams receiving awards.

“There will definitely be some good wrestling,” Boyer said as weights will range from 85 pounds and go up to heavyweight. “It will be a fun day.”

“I think it should draw a big crowd, but you are always unsure of these things,” Boyer added. “You’re hoping for the best.”

Midd-West’s lineup consists of all returning wrestlers. “I was able to field a whole team,” Boyer said. “I just think that shows the dedication our kids have to the program, and their belief in me as their coach.”

The main goal of the event is to raise funds for the booster club so they can help the program cover hotel and meal expenses on trips as well as purchase new warmups.

Funding benefits all levels of the wrestling – varsity, junior high, elementary and girls programs. “We’re hoping this is a big fundraiser for us,” Boyer explained. “If it runs smoothly, we’ll keep this as an annual thing we do every year. We already talked about adding elementary next year.”

Admission to the event is $5. Concessions will be available all day.

In the event of inclement weather, the team duals will be moved to the middle school gym, located at 10 Dock Hill Road, Middleburg.

Boyer has rolled up his sleeves and gotten to work quickly since being hired as Midd-West’s head coach in May.

“It’s been awesome so far, we’ve had open mats every Tuesday and Thursday,” Boyer said. “We’ve had consistent kids and consistent numbers after every open mat.

“We’ll transition to Saturday morning workouts,” Boyer added. “We had 10 to 14 kids, so they were a big hit last summer. Just the kids showing up and seeing them willing to do the work makes you feel good.”

Recently, Indian Valley product Nick Myers was also approved as the Mustangs’ assistant coach. Like Boyer, Myers is a former volunteer coach.