The McCracken County Mustangs wrestling team has stayed busy throughout the holiday season, as a successful season for the program continues.
Through this point in the year, the Mustangs’ boy’s team holds a record of 18-10, most recently earning a win in Cape Central, Missouri, while also holding victories over Henderson County, Calloway County, Fort Campbell. Standout performers for the Mustangs so far include Zaven Branch (18-7), Benjamin Kale (22-6), and Cade Turner (23-7), while James Barragan (22-4) and Camryn Freiberg (27-4) each picked up individual first place finishes in recent tournaments.
Alongside to the boy’s team’s success, the girl’s team have also had strong performances as of late. Finishing in fourth and third place overall at tournaments in Illinois and Indiana. Lakelynn Janssen, Eelynn Hayden, and Lillian Harned each picked up individual first place finishes in that span.
“We’ve had a good first half of the season, we’ve definitely been winning more than we’ve been losing, and we’ve got kids with good records heading into championship season that should be seeded well,” McCracken County head coach Steven Spadafino, reflecting on the season so far.
The philosophy for the Mustangs? Iron sharpens iron. In addition to their hard work in practice, the Mustangs have chosen to fill their schedule with challenges, already having faced a number of top programs from across Kentucky and surrounding states.
“We’re getting into the tough stuff now. We just faced Jackson, Missouri; they’re ranked 14th in the state, and they gave us a tough time. We’ve got Montgomery, who’s ninth in Tennessee, and Christian Brothers, a private school in Memphis who are also ranked highly,” Spadafino continued. “We’re not wrestling a light schedule. We want good competition to get our kids ready for the postseason. We don’t want to just pad our numbers, we want to be battle-tested and ready for championships, because this is what you’re going to see there.”
This week, the Mustangs are gearing up for another stiff test, this time closer to home as they take on the defending state champions, third ranked Paducah Tilghman.
“They’re still a dominant program in the state, and when we face these high-caliber teams, it’s where we want to be. That’s the level we want to be at. We want to go out there and show that we can compete, and do so with respect, class, and character,” Spadafino concluded, looking at the matchup with Tilghman. “We should be facing each other every year, and going against one another is only going to make both of us better.”
The Mustangs and Tornado are set to meet this Thursday at Paducah Tilghman, beginning at 6 p.m.