Camp Hill boys and girls wrestlers raise funds to participate in Wyoming tournaments this month

The Camp Hill boys and girls wrestling teams will log significant airline miles during the month of the December.

And they’ve earned the trip.

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The Camp Hill boys will head to Gillette, Wyo. from Dec. 19-22 to participate in the Pat Weede Memorial Tournament.

Before the boys team returns, the Camp Hill girls wrestling team will embark on a trip to Sheridan, Wyo. to participate in the Sheridan Girls Wrestling Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 21.

The teams raised the necessary funds for the trips – more than $50,000 – by selling mums and holding car washes, pancake breakfasts in addition to support from alumni, according to head coach Chad Gallaher.

“The cool thing is, this is completely funded for the coaches and kids without spending a school district penny,” Gallaher said.

So just how did Gallaher decide to take his charges some 1.800 miles away just a few days prior to Christmas?

“I have a friend that lived in Gillette. We have some really good donors to our program. We’ve been to Florida three times over the last six year. And. I said, on a whim, let’s see what’s out in Wyoming,” Gallaher said.

Gallaher called out to the tournament directors and asked if there were openings.

“They said, we’re an invitational, but tell us about yourself,” Gallaher said. “We’re a Pennsylvania school. Kind of average in Pennsylvania. We do well sometimes, but sometimes we get our clocks cleaned. We’re just doing this so our kids can see another part of the country.”

Camp Hill wrestlers will be taking on opponents from Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Nebraska.

“The cool thing was the lady said we’ve never a had a team from the East Coast ever come to this,” Gallaher said. “They’re probably wondering how the heck I got there. So, it’s a pure one of these kind of deals.”

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