Region 8 wrestling tournament moving to Williamstown, Lacey to host Region 7

(This story has been updated with new information and correct a typo)

The Region 8 wrestling tournament will be contested at a different venue this winter.

Region 7 will be on the move, too.

Williamstown High School will host Region 8 while Lacey will be the site for Region 7. The regional tournaments are the second leg of the NJSIAA state individual tournament. NJSIAA Wrestling Tournament Director Howie O’Neil confirmed the venues on Tuesday.

It’s the first time in 14 years that the Region 8 tournament won’t be wrestled at Egg Harbor Township.

More: NJSIAA announces new alignment for district/region wrestling for 2024-25 season

The top three finishers from each weight class from Districts 29, 30, 31 and 32 will convene at Williamstown for Region 8 on Feb. 28 and March 1. The top four place winners in each weight class will advance to Atlantic City’s Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall for the final state of the tournament from March 6-8.

“Williamstown has a facility that will be a very good fit for the tournament,” O’Neil said. The gymnasium has hosted district as well as girls’ regional tournaments in recent years.

Williamstown athletic director Dean Insana said, "We're excited to have the Region 8 tournament here and a lot of people we've talked to about it are very excited too."

Area coaches certainly seem pumped up about the move to Monroe Township.

“I love the fact that we’re going to Williamstown,” St. Augustine Prep head coach Bill Ward said. “It’s in the heart of Region 8.”

Gateway/Woodbury head coach Jim Rutter, who is also on the region seeding committee, added, “I love that it’s at Williamstown. We don’t need to reserve or pay for hotels, so that helps my budget and for my transportation to and from (the venue). … Williamstown has done big tournaments in the past and I’m sure they will do a great job.”

And Region 8 wrestling fans need not worry: The trademark of the Region 8 tournament - a dark gymnasium with spotlights over the wrestlers during finals introductions - will remain intact.

"We're working on it," said Insana, who knew all about the Region 8 tradition.

According to Insana, the Williamstown gymnasium holds approximately 1,500 spectators, about 900 fewer than Egg Harbor Township's capacity.

The Region 8 tournament had been held from 1986 to 2010 at Absegami before moving to Egg Harbor Township in 2011. The 2021 COVID season had one South Regional which wrestled at Cherry Hill East.

Collingswood hosted the first-ever Region 8 tournament in 1972. It was held in Camden County until moving to Vineland in 1977.

Ward, a Vineland native, remembers growing up with the tournament in his backyard.

“I used to walk over there as a kid and watch the Region 8 tournament, it was a great time,” said Ward, who later wrestled to a second-place finish for the Hermits at the tournament in 1985 at VHS.

Region 7 was wrestled at Lenape last winter. Moorestown, Robbinsville and Eastern hosted the event in recent years.

The top three finishers from Districts 26, 27, 28 and 29 will advance to Region 7.

Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com . Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Region 8 wrestling tournament moving to Williamstown, Lacey to host Region 7