Cy-Fair ISD’s 16th annual Invitational wrestling tournament kicks off this weekend at the Berry Center, 8877 Barker Cypress Road, Cypress. Expecting to draw more than 160 teams from across the state, the event is the largest boys’ and girls’ varsity invitational in the nation.

Sixteen total wrestling mats will be featured in the arena and conference center Jan. 5-6. The event serves as a preview for the UIL Wrestling State Tournament, which is set to take place Feb. 23-24 at the Berry Center.

Tim Ray, Cypress Ridge High School wrestling coach and tournament director, launched the tournament in 2002.

“It is a great preview for the state tournament,” he said in a statement. “It’s grown exponentially, from 20 teams the very first year to what it is now 16 years later. It went from eight mats to now being 16.”

Competitions run from 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday and kick off at 9 a.m. with finals starting around 3 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets can be purchased for $5 (adults) and $3 (students) at the door.

Fans can follow live updates throughout the weekend at www.trackwrestling.com.