They competed well with the top two teams, but the Apollo wrestling squad missed the cut for state Saturday in the Region 1 Big Sectional Dual Meet.
The Eagles played host for the six-team meet, facing Christian County and McCracken County — who both advanced to state duals — in the final matches of the day. Owensboro’s team also competed, as did Ohio County and Hopkinsville.
Without wrestlers in every weight class, Apollo forfeited 18 points each match and wasn’t able to make up the gap. However, they scored well in the rest of the weight classes, and three wrestlers went undefeated on the day.
Preston Mattingly, wrestling in the 120-pound division, went 5-0 to maintain his perfect season. Jack Fuller (170) and Jake Insko (138) also went 5-0, while Cameron Baker (162) went 4-1.
Head coach Lee Mitchell said he’s glad to see how far the program has come over the last several years, and this team is the best in the short history at Apollo.
“When you start from scratch, it takes a while to get there,” he said. “This is definitely the strongest group in that time span, and it will be the best for a few years.”
Apollo will compete in two more events before KHSAA Regionals on Feb. 8-9 at Taylor County. They’ll travel to Male this weekend and close the regular season at Fort Knox, with both events being individual invitationals.
