After capping off his undefeated senior season with a state title, Apollo’s Preston Mattingly decided to continue his wrestling career by singing with Lindsey Wilson College at a ceremony at the high school Wednesday.
Mattingly was rarely given much of a challenge en route to his 51-0 season, and he said he welcomes more fierce competition.
“It’s just going to be a lot more intense and a lot more hard work, but that’s what I want,” he said. “I want more of a challenge. Going undefeated this season, it wasn’t the hardest thing. I want to be pushed more.”
The Blue Raiders first started showing interest in Mattingly during his sophomore campaign, but he only recently decided he wanted to keep wrestling at the next level.
“As soon as I went there (on a visit), it felt like home,” he said. “It felt like the same environment I had with my coaches. They’ve been looking at me for a while, but I hadn’t committed fully until a couple of weeks ago.”
Mattingly has been under the wings of Apollo head coach Lee Mitchell for the last 12 years, dating back to when he was still at West Louisville Elementary School. Mitchell said Mattingly has been a staple for the team.
“Preston has always kind of been the building block for my program due to the length of time that I had him,” he said. “He always was a good team leader and set good examples for other athletes coming into the room. He always had a positive attitude.”
Mitchell said each year Mattingly got a little bit better, improving on his basic strengths to keep him a well-rounded wrestler.
“We just kind of built slowly on our skills over the years,” Mitchell said. “He has a really solid fundamental skill set. The last two or three years, he’s been able to add some newer, bigger things to his toolbox.”
Mattingly was on track to contend for a KHSAA title his junior year, but he lost in the first two rounds of the state tournament. To come back from that, he said, was a good feeling.
“It was like a Cinderella story,” he said. “Last year I didn’t place. I lost two matches after going undefeated all year.”
Mitchell thinks there could be more championships in store at Lindsey Wilson.
“If he stays with it, he’ll be an NAIA champion,” Mitchell said. “Some kids go to college and they’ve either peaked or they’re burnt out. The sky is the limit for him. I would almost put money that he’ll see a championship if he can stay healthy.”
Mattingly will move up from the 122-pound weight class, but doesn’t think he’ll have much trouble competing in the 125 division. He’s ready to get started and see how he stacks up.
“It’s going to be a lot tougher because I’ll be wrestling nationally,” he said. “I’m excited.”
