Mansfield High Wrestling To Hold Senior Night On Wednesday

Thewrestling team will honor its outstanding senior class prior to its showdown with Franklin for first place in the Hockomock League’s Large School Division on Wednesday night.

The Senior Night ceremony will be held between the junior varsity and varsity meets.

The junior varsity meet is scheduled to begin at 5:45 p.m. with the varsity contest starting at approximately 7 p.m.

The talented senior class that will be honored on Wednesday night includes captains Henry Larose, Mike Trowbridge and Kyle McGuire as well as classmates Brett Reed, Ryan McCaffrey, Sean Hansen and Mike Collins.

will enter the showdown for division supremacy with a 6-1 overall record. The Hornets are also 4-0 in the league, including a 1-0 mark in the division. Mansfield’s victory within the division came against North Attleboro, 41-32, at the James Albertini Memorial Gymnasium on Wednesday, January 5. The Hornets improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the league with a 59-23 verdict in Sharon on Monday.

“I would never say we are exactly where we want to be,” said Mansfield head coach Eric Farley. “As a team the kids have done well preparing. Now, it is more about attitude and execution than learning.”

The Hornets have been battling various injuries for a good part of the season, but seemed to be a pretty healthy group right now.

“We have played it cautiously with some of the guys, but we are getting back on track,” said Farley. “We pretty much have a full lineup right now.”

Franklin is 4-0 in the league and 2-0 in the division, having already beaten North Attleboro (49-27) and King Philip (51-17). The only losses for the Panthers this winter have come in non-league meets.

A win on Wednesday night would secure the outright division championship for Franklin.

If the Hornets knock off the defending league champions, they will also need to defeat King Philip in Wrentham on Wednesday, February 2 to secure the outright division crown.

Franklin had an outstanding 2009-10 campaign, but lost a lot of its top wrestlers from that team to graduation. The Panthers steamrolled through the 2009-10 season, finishing with a 27-4 overall record and winning the Division 1 team state championship.

Franklin captured the league dual-meet crown with a perfect 8-0 record, while Mansfield was second at 7-1. The Hornets then finished second to the Panthers at the league championship meet. Franklin went on to win the Division 1 Central Sectional team title before winning the state division championship.

“It is not a big surprise that we have been keeping our sights on Franklin,” said Farley. “They are an extremely tough team even though they have lost a couple of matches this year. They are still very good. They have guys that are capable of running up scores. Franklin’s talent is spread out throughout the weight classes. They are strong from top to bottom. For us the meet will come down to the attitude and the confidence of our guys. We are a very good team. It comes down to strategy now.”