In the world of high school wrestling, there may not be a bigger and more prestigious preseason tournament than the Super 32 Challenge.  According to their website, www.super32.com, they are the fastest growing and most competitive preseason tournament in the country.  Ty Lydic, a junior at Greater Latrobe, happened to be one of the outstanding participants.  The thrilling event took place at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center in Greensboro, North Carolina October 30-31, 2010.  This marks the first time that the tournament has been held over two days. 

Lydic wrestled in the 135 pound division, along with 128 other wrestlers from various states.  After starting the tourney with a bye, he opened up with a dominating 12-1 victory over Justin Russo from Michigan.  Lydic continued his winning ways in his next two matches against ranked opponents Wayne Armstrong and Bandon Choate who are also from Pennsylvania, with scores of 12-6 and 1-0, respectively.  Finally, after making it to the quarterfinals, he was defeated in an intense overtime match by a score of 4-2 by 2010 Pennsylvania State Champion Steve Spearman.  In fact, Spearman, a junior from Erie McDowell, went on to win it all after barely getting by Lydic.  In the wrestle backs, Lydic needed to win only one match in order to place.  Unfortunately, up by a score of 2-1, he rolled his ankle only eight seconds into the third period and ended up with a sprain.  This caused him to default out, ending his tournament early.  “I was preparing heavily for this tournament and was really disappointed with how it ended,” said Lydic.  While this may be the case, there is no doubt that the future is still bright.  He will wrestle for the high school team in the 135 pound class this winter and is currently ranked 18^th in the entire nation.