After many practices, scrimmages, and preseason competitions, wrestling season officially kicked off at the start of December with the Blackhorse Tournament at Houston High School. In that first weekend of December, the MUS wrestlers placed seventh as a team out of nineteen teams from Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Individually, many Owls wrestled very well and impressively placed in the large field. Sophomore Zack Gordon took 1st place in the 160-pound weight class, starting the season out very strong. Other impressive finishes at the Blackhorse included 2nd place finishers Josh Hall (145), Nelson Rainey (152), and Joey Friend (212); also, Andrew Gordon placed 5th place in the heavyweight class.
Following the Blackhorse Tournament were two team meets in which the Owls competed well. In the first meet, the Owls defeated both Arlington and Briarcrest but fell to a strong Germantown team by only two points. Then, the Owls continued their season with a tough match against Collierville, losing 23 to 49. MUS wrestlers went into the holiday break with a positive mindset, focusing on the new year.
Coach Shaun Gehres was pleased with what he had observed in the first few meets.
“We have the talent to become a better team overall. We’ll use the winter break to get back on the right track.”
Looking ahead, Gehres said, “Our consistency as a team will determine how far we get in the postseason.”
The next match will be on January 6 when the Owls travel to Munford.