WHEELING — The 64th annual OVAC Ron Mauck Wrestling Tournament will be launched at 6 p.m. on Thursday and approximately 850 bouts will be run off before the last buzzer on Saturday night is sounded. The action will be heated on the eight mats.

The tournament will bring to the WesBanco Arena some 500 matmen from 42 high schools. Only 14 of these will be crowned as champions at Saturday evening’s final session.

Thursday night’s opening ceremony is at 6, followed by wrestling at 6:30. Friday’s morning session begins at noon and highlights second-round matches.

Quarterfinals and consolation matches are on tap for Friday night, starting at 6. On Saturday, semifinals and consolations get under way at noon. with the final ceremonies begin at 6.

All pre-tournament festivities will begin at 6 on Saturday.

The championship matches along with bouts to determine third-, fifth-, and seventh-places will begin at 6:30 on Saturday. Four mats will be in use Saturday, but eight mats will be utilized at the various earlier sessions to keep the tournament moving at a rapid pace. An added feature to the standout competition has been a program initiated by the Ohio Valley Wrestling Coaches Association to honor past conference champions observing their 25th anniversary.

This year we will honor the 1992 tournament champions. The 1992 champions and the coach of the 1992 team champions will be recognized before Saturday’s finals and will be seated in a special area on the main floor.

Special presentations: the Director’s Award and the Mr. Mat Award, annually given to an individual who has made valuable contributions to the sport in the Ohio Valley will be presented Saturday before the championship finals; varsity, varsity assistant, and Junior High Coach of the Year, and the “Larry Deaton” Official of the Year awards will be presented Thursday evening. The “Syd Stoltz” Tournament Worker and the Program Cover Recognition awards will be presented Friday evening. The Project Best “Pear Sadler” Team Sportsmanship award will be presented Saturday at noon.

Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students.

Advanced ticket books, which include tickets to all five sessions are $25 for adults and $15 for students.

Single tickets for the championship finals are: adults $8, students $5.

Saturday evening’s championship finals will be televised live by WTOV-9.