SPORTS | Scholastic wrestling is a character building sports. It requires toughness, dedication, and many former wrestlers say it helped them develop self esteem, work ethic, leadership skills, and sportsmanship.
These are just the types of characteristic MCHS Athletic Director Josh Deal is looking to instill in his student athletes. As such, on Monday night, the Moore County Board of Education approved his request to start a Raider wrestling team. Deal said he started researching a team after being approached by several interested students.
“I’ve put out feelers and had conversations and as of today we have around 20-25 interested wrestlers including five girls,” Deal said.
MCHS Football Coach Kris White and area wrestling coach and MCHS alumni Kevin Pearson would volunteer to coach the wrestlers.
“It’s a great way for athletes who aren’t interested in basketball to gain strength and stay conditioned in the winter,” Pearson added.
The wrestling program would be open to students in grades 8-12 and would begin in November and extend through February. According to Deal in the first year, the wrestler would travel to area matches at schools like Eagleville and Cascade. Unlike group sports, wrestler compete based on weight class and not regions.
The first obstacle for the new team will be fund raising. Deal stated the cost to participate individually for personal equipment would be around $125. To host matches at MCHS, the school system would need to purchase a wrestling mat.
“There are guidelines for the mat,” said Deal. “Right now, the ones I’ve searched are around $9,000.”
Deal also stated at Tullahoma High School had agreed to let the new wrestling team borrow and practice mat until a permanent one could be purchased.
If you are interested in supporting the new sports program with their upstart expenses or have a student interested in wrestling, contact Athletic Director Josh Deal at MCHS at 931-759-4231. •
{The Lynchburg Times is the only independently owned and operated newspaper in Lynchburg, Tennessee. We cover Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}