Wrestling Looking Forward to Season

By Kevin Eickman

Don Parsley

With only five seniors on the Milford wrestling team, it will likely be a season of growth for the Buccaneers, who do have some areas of strength.

Don Parsley returns for his 34^th year as the head coach. Even with a five-year break, Parsley is synonymous with Milford wrestling. After watching a wrestling practice this week, you could see his deep passion for teaching.

“I love to teach,” he said. “I really have a passion for the sport, but that is just a small part of it. This is about teaching young people how to handle challenges in life. Everyone wants to win, but this is a high school, which means this is about education. It’s about preparation and discipline. It’s about overcoming adversity and respecting your fellow human being. We are building the citizens of tomorrow; that is what this program is all about.”

Last season with a similarly young squad, Milford posted a 12-4 dual meet record before bowing out to Salesianum in the quarterfinals of the state dual meet tournament.

“We don’t go out there to roll over,” Parsley said. “We have had young teams before that were tough to beat. We expect to be very competitive this season as well.”

Some of the wrestlers expected to lead are junior Gregory Lockett,  senior Brian Seward, and junior Jami White. With young wrestlers projected to serve key roles, this year’s summer workouts and training camps were competitive.

“We had great participation, and the wrestlers have been working out and keeping themselves in great shape,” Parsley said. “When you work hard at something, you get better, and everyone has been working hard.”

Some other wrestlers to watch are junior Davon Dallas, sophomore Daniel McElwee, and junior Alexander Sharkey. Watch for sophomore Autumn Littleton, who will also wrestle on the boys’ team when there are no female events in tournaments. Also, keep an eye out for 8^th grader Ryan Farissier.

Milford saw their first action this past Saturday at the Polytech Invitational, where they finished fifth in the team standings. Milford will square off for their first dual meet of the season at Smyrna on Wednesday, before hosting the Milford Invitational this Saturday.