The Marlboro Mustangs 2017 wrestling season was nothing short of eventful. The wrestling program for Marlboro fell short of their goal in 2016 with a record of 4-16, a 9^th place finish in District 21 and a 7^th place finish in A-North Division. The 2017 brought an opportunity to build off the previous year as the Mustangs were moved to District 19 and they introduced new Head Coach Charlie Frankel.

To begin, the Mustangs entered the Hawk Classic and Colt Classic events to start the season. After much positivity and a first place finish by Chris Owens in the Hawk Classic, Marlboro was looking to extend success into the regular season. After close and hard fought matches, Marlboro was able to pick up their first win against Neptune by an overwhelming score of 44-16. Rounding out the month of January, the Stangs won a 37-36 decision to Toms River South. This victory catapulted a dominant end to the Mustangs’ season. The team finished the season winning six out of their last eight. Senior Logan Semegram said, “We wanted to win the month, and we did. We finished strong.” The Mustangs fulfilled their team goal thanks to an outstanding streak by Alan Lipovetsky to end the season. Alan won a whopping 12 matches in a row to contribute to his team’s success for the month of February.

Despite having lost Mike DeFaria to an injury early in the season, the Mustangs finished 2017 with a 7-13 record. Lead by Mike Dukas with 17 wins, the ending of the wrestling season was bright and included many highlights for the program.

The Mustangs finished 5^th in District 19 and finished 7^th yet again in the A-North Division. Marlboro was able to finish the year strong with dominant performances and showcase what we will see in the years to come.