Grappling With History: Titans Gear Up For First Season Of Wrestling
The Harrodsburg Herald/April Ellis
Members of Mercer County Senior High School’s first ever wrestling team. Aaron Bricarello, Cannon Buchannon, Mackenzie Carrier, Brandon Gibson, Jaycee Foley, Jayden Foster, Damon Goins, Owen Gravett, Hailey Childers, Trinity Drew, Alex Justice, Levi Perry, Calib Russell, Collin Wilson, Brelee Cox, Bryson Garcia, Hayden Patton, Sammy Bragg, Jayden Brock, Jack Gammon, Cameron Johnson, Tylen Sheron, Hezekiah Stanley, Samuel Horn, Ayden Snellen, Aiden Watson and Gage Bennett.
Samuel Warren
Herald Staff
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Mercer County athletics has introduced a new opportunity for student athletes in high school and middle school over the last year. After spending its initial season as a club, wrestling will be kicking off its first competitive season with a tournament at East Jessamine High School on Saturday, Dec. 7.
Fans at Meet the Titans on Thursday, Nov. 21, got a glimpse of the action. As wrestlers flung themselves across the mat, the crowd grew louder. The sport has attracted a lot of interest from students, and the program currently has 51 wrestlers.
Coach Craig Hampton was expecting half as many wrestlers to join the program in its inaugural KHSAA season. The former Johnson County native was a prolific high school wrestler himself and upon settling in Harrodsburg, was shocked at the lack of a wrestling program.
“I always found it odd that we didn’t have a wrestling team. It’s a very blue-collar sport. I’ve always felt like Mercer County as a whole is a lot like that—hardworking and blue-collar,” Hampton told the Harrodsburg Herald last winter.
The response has been more than enough to build a competitive program from the ground up. Hampton, along with Coach Brandon Sellers, have been working hard leading both the middle school and high school programs by themselves.
Sellers is a former wrestling coach with Bellarmine University, St. Catherine College and Taylor County. Sellers brings much experience and knowledge to a program with next-to-none, and he leads the high school program, while Hampton is the head coach of the middle school team. The pair have already begun to see progress, and despite the newness of the program, the Titans have several athletes who could challenge for silverware this winter.
Sophomore Hailey Childers has been to the state wrestling competition the last two seasons with Boyle County, and is ranked sixth in the state in her weight class this season.
“We have high hopes for her,” Hampton said.
