Photo by David Borer: Sam Myer of St. Edmond wrestles against Algona’s Elijah Wilhite at 138 pounds on Thursday night in Webster City.

Vinnie Harvey will always hold a special place in the heart of St. Edmond head wrestling coach Kaden McClintock.

A former teammate with Harvey and close friend, McClintock knows there will be plenty of emotions over the next two days as he spends time around both the current and next generation of Gaels.

Harvey, a 2014 graduate of St. Edmond, passed away in 2019. He was a state wrestling runner-up for the school, and a standout on the football field before continuing with both sports at Iowa Central.

On Friday evening, the school will host the annual Vinnie Harvey Wrestling Tournament for youth in grades PreK-through-sixth. Action starts inside the St. Edmond gym at 5 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome to register and compete.

From there, McClintock leads his crew at the yearly dual tourney — which will include the Fort Dodge JV, Southeast Valley, AGWSR and West Hancock — on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m.

“The school has done an incredible job of promoting the youth tournament, and it has gained a lot of traction over the last couple of years,” McClintock said. “The weather should be good and we have a large group of kids already registered.

“(Hosting the meet) is very important because that is our future. I keep telling our guys that they need to be good role models, because those eyes are always on them.”

From a personal standpoint, the youth tournament means a little more to McClintock.

“Vinnie was my best friend and like a brother to me,” he said. “The tournament has a very special meaning in my heart, and he holds a special place there.

“It’s just a big deal for me and a cool thing, being able to honor him.”

St. Edmond, which wrestled a triangular on Thursday at Webster City with Algona, will have a handful of athletes set for action — led by two-time state qualifier Sam Myer.

Myer, a senior, is joined by classmate Adam Walker, along with sophomores Drake Yurkovac, Dallas Groves and Grant Anderson. Freshmen Owen Rutherford and Matthew Crimmins have also seen varsity action this year.

“The goal is to get them as much mat time as possible,” McClintock said. “We keep telling the guys we are going to celebrate the small victories. The theme has to be to control what we can control, and that means winning all of our matches that we compete in.”

The program will honor Myer and Walker on Tuesday during a home quadangular that involves North Central Conference contender Clarion-Goldfield/Dows, Forest City and Don Bosco — one of the top programs in the state — for Senior Night.

“It would be great if we can have a big crowd to see (Tuesday’s) meet,” McClintock said. “It will be a perfect time for local and area wrestlers to come and see Don Bosco live and in action.”