The St. Edmond Invitational was an event started 11 years ago by a group of Gaels who wanted to leave a mark on their school.

“The St. Edmond Invitational started as a goal of the Class of 2008,” said St. Edmond head coach Dee Huss. “They wanted to leave their mark on this program and host a home tournament by the fall of their senior year.

“It is exciting to see it is in its 12th year and still going strong thanks to our administration, athletic boosters and volunteers who make it run so smoothly. We love to showcase our team in front of a home crowd and hope to fill the bleachers.”

This Gael group only has two matches under their belts, and entertain their home crowd for the first time.

Action will begin at 8:30 a.m. with St. Edmond against Southeast Valley in the varsity gym and Pocahontas Area and Bishop Garrigan in the elementary gym.

Also in attendance will be Aplington Parkersburg and Webster City.

The tournament will take a round-robin format with each team playing five matches.

The Gaels are coming off a triangular split on Thursday. They lost to Perry in two games and beat Greene County in three.

“This year’s team has a lot of similarities to that squad, beginning with the number of seniors on the team (eight),” Huss said. “The height and the depth. That team of Nikki Huss (Young), Lindsay Boeckman (Laufersweiler), Chelsie Crouse (Eldridge), Emily Becker (Crimmins), Jade Condon, Kelsey Hawley, Katie Little and Jaci Johnson.

“This team put in a ton of hours and worked super hard throughout the summer. This team loves to compete and it shows in practice every day. Depth is a good thing and can bring out the best in a team. They are really pushing each other, building chemistry and having fun in the process.”