Buffaloes head coach Kydel Billy is excited for the upcoming season. McAlester might be the underdogs this season, which is a title they will carry proudly.
“We’re the Rocky Balboa team. We’re undersized, overmatched, underqualified but we’re going to pull off some big upsets. We have a good young group full of sophomores and freshman. We’ll take some bumps but we’re going to stay moving forward. We lost our two senior leaders but wrestlers like Kenneth Carter, Adam Dixon and Kam Hutchison are stepping up to take their places,” said coach Billy.
Kenneth Carter (So.) was close to qualifying for state last season. In fact he was one match away from making the tournament. He did attend the tournament as an alternate. “He got to step on the state mats, and I think that made him hungry. He wrestled Freestyle and Greco all summer and even qualified for nationals. We sent him across the nation to compete and he came back at veteran of the sport. He’s the toughest kid in the room and hasn’t been taken down all year. He’s going to pull off some upsets,” said coach Billy.
Adam Dixon (Sr.) is a sponge in the wrestling room, soaking up everything the coaches are teaching. In only his second year, Dixon is poised for a breakout season. Kamden Hutchison will likely wrestle at 106 giving the Buffaloes an experienced wrestler at the lowest weight. Hutchison spent the summer in the gym and is stronger coming into this wrestling season. Other wrestlers to watch include Luke Clifton, Axton Gibson, and Corbyn Price.
Makenna Manning is helping establish the girls wrestling program at McAlester. “She’s always recruiting more girls, trying to get people to come out to duals, and she’s always making her teammates do things right. I’ve witnessed her on more than one occasion pull her teammate across the line after they tried to short it during conditioning. She’s shown a lot of improvement from last year,” said coach Billy.
VYPE Trivia
Who was the first state champion at McAlester High School? A: The Buffaloes had three wrestlers win state titles in the same season. Philip Ranan (101), Angelo Cuzalina (136), and Billy Huddleston (148).
McAlester 4X State Champion
Kyle Rosebure (136) 1984-1987
McAlester State Champions
Philip Ranan, 1981
Angelo Cuzalina, 1981
Billy Huddleston, 1981
Kyle Rosebure, 1984-87
James Williams, 1985
Dirk Lee, 1990
Miguel Spencer, 1990
Nathan Faber, 1993
Garrett Johnston, 1999
Donald Cannon, 2013-14
Hunter Smith, 2017
