by Laura Monico, social media editor
Senior Cody Mulligan was in Greensboro, North Carolina on Sunday, Oct. 29 wrestling in the 182 lbs. finals of the Super 32 Challenge tournament which is accredited as the best preseason tournament in the entire country according to flowrestling.com. Mulligan has been reaching for a Super 32 title since last year’s loss in the elimination round. “I really wanted to win the Super 32 because not being able to compete my sophomore year made me want to win it as a senior even more,” Mulligan said.
The tournament began on Saturday Oct. 28. Mulligan started the day with by fall. He then moved on to win in the second preliminary round, 3-0. To end the day, Mulligan had another fall, securing a spot in the quarterfinals the following morning. He knew he needed to stay focused for day two of competition. “I wrestled my match. I didn’t worry about what the other guy was doing. I wrestled my pace and dictated the guys,” said Mulligan.
On Sunday morning Mulligan came gunning for his quarterfinals opponent winning the match with a score of 10-2. At this point Mulligan’s bracket was narrowed down to the four best wrestlers at his weight. Many would be concerned with their upcoming opponents knowing they were only going to get better, but not Mulligan. He had his eye on the prize and was not letting anything get in his way. “I didn’t really pay attention. I didn’t look at my bracket the whole time.” He was again victorious in his semi-finals bout winning 4-0. He then went on to win in the finals 4-3 against Josh Stillings who placed second at the PIAA class AAA State Championship tournament last year. “They set up a big stage, and I let the nerves get to me a little bit, but it felt pretty good. I think I wrestled decent throughout the tournament. It was a pretty big accomplishment,” Mulligan said.
Mulligan’s senior and final high school wrestling season will begin shortly, and he is looking forward to it. “The team should be pretty good this year. We are getting a lot of guys to come out.” After winning this tournament and being ranked third in the nation at 195 lbs. by flowrestling.com, Mulligan feels good about the upcoming season as an individual as well. “It makes me feel good. I just need to keep improving.”
Following this season Mulligan will be attending Edinboro University to continue his academic and athletic career. He said his soon to be Edinboro coaches were pleased with his performance as well. “They all said all of my hard work is paying off, and they think their practices are improving my wrestling.”
