Fans of McDonald County High School wrestling got their first view of the 2020-2021 Mustangs at the 11th Annual Red and Black Dual held on Nov. 24 at McDonald County High School.
The scrimmage featured Mustang wrestlers divided evenly into Red and Black teams.
The first match of the night was a girls' bout between Stacy Lopez and Gisel Aragon. The two battled equally for the first period before Aragon won by pin at the 1:19 mark of the second period.
In the first boys' match, Michael Owens pinned Victor Lopez in the first half-minute of the match.
Blaine Ortiz followed with an early second period pin of Ayden Ball.
Levi Smith then won by pin over Ryan Donica in the final seconds of the first period.
Karlo Barreda then pinned Wyatt Yousey halfway through the first period, before Caleb Gardner pinned Alexis Molina midway through the second period.
Jaun Morales pinned Alberto Valdez in the third period. Freshman Sam Murphy pinned Reid Myer in the first period.
Freshman Gunner Cooper followed with a first-period pin of Jose Mendoza, and Colter Vick then pinned Barreda.
In the final match of the night, Aedan Ordaz claimed a 10-1 decision over Myer.
"We definitely were glad to get on the mat in a dual even though it was just against each other," said coach Josh Factor. "I feel that the ones who have put in the time and work definitely showed. Some of the newcomers learned a lot and took a lot of coaching away from their match so they know what they need to work on when they come back to practice. I think overall we showed we have to get in a lot better shape. I think it always is a good eye-opener for the coaches to see where our kids are at and where we need to get to for the first week of the season."
McDonald County opened its season on Dec. 1 at Rogers Heritage before traveling to Diamond on Dec. 3. The Mustang varsity's home opener is set for Jan. 21 when the Mustangs host Springfield Glendale and Parkview.
McDonald County hosts a girls' tournament on Dec. 18 and a JV tournament on Dec. 19.
