The sophomore wrestler recently captured the Central League championship at 113 pounds, getting three pins, all in less than 90 seconds. As of Jan. 31, McFarland held a 22-1 record with 20 pins. Last year, he advanced to the PIAA East 3A Super Regionals, and nine of his 14 wins were by pin. Haverford High School wrestling coach Joe Jones said, “When Cole turns it on he’s unbeatable. He’s a great teammate, always helping show his teammates better technique.”
Q: What do you consider your biggest strength on the mat and what you are working on most currently?
A: Being a step ahead of my opponent and recognizing what to do in positions where most kids tend to pause. I have been working on top because I have been struggling with it recently, but I’m not worried about it.
Q: What do you think was the best match of your freshman season, and what do you think was the highlight of that match?
A: My overtime match against Cole Coffin was probably my best match of the season because I knew what I wanted, and taking him down in overtime was definitely the highlight of the match.
Q: Last year, when asked what sparked your interest in wrestling, you said, “I started wrestling when I was 5 and I hated it because I wasn’t any good. I did it for another couple years and stopped. Then my little brother Lucas started wrestling and was having a lot of success – way more than me. As his big brother, I couldn’t let my little brother have more success than me in anything we did. I felt like I wasn’t doing something I was supposed to be doing. So I told my Dad I wanted to start wrestling again. He said, ‘OK, but you’re coming to every practice that your brother goes to. No excuses.’ And we went to practice every day.” How old were you when this happened, and what team were the practices for?
A: In sixth grade I started practicing about 3-4 days a week. This put me in the position that I’m in today, but my work ethic hasn’t changed since then I still strive to take advantage of opportunities and time to get better. I started going to Malvern Prep, then from there I started going to other practice rooms.
Q: How did your first few matches go after you “re-started” your wrestling career?
A: I would tend to put kids on a pedestal based on their resume or their ranking. This would cause me to wrestle differently than if I hadn’t put them on this pedestal. I still struggle with this but now I have a pre-match routine.
Q: Tell us a little about your pre-match preparation the day of a match.
A: I’m going into the match knowing that I work harder and have more will to win than the guy standing across from me.
Q: What is your favorite course at Haverford High School?
A: My favorite current class is criminal justice.
Fun facts – Cole McFarland
Favorite book: Green Eggs and Ham.
Favorite author: Dr. Seuss.
Favorite TV show: Schitts Creek.
Favorite movie: Dictator.
Favorite athlete: Tiger Woods.
Favorite pre-meet pump-up song: “Hip hop music and some country.”
Favorite team: Philadelphia Eagles.
Favorite place to visit: Sea Isle City, N.J.
Favorite pre-meet meal: “After weigh-ins. I like a soft pretzel from
Wawa with some candy and a drink.”
Person I most admire: Matthew O’Neill.
Family members: parents Thomas and Deb, sister Juile, brother Lucas.
(To be selected as Main Line Boys Athlete of the Week, a student-athlete must first be nominated by his coach.)
