Cody Thorn
Rick Mudd has been the head wrestling coach at Lathrop for the past 23 years.
For most of his tenure, he has had either a member of the Osborn or Wright family on the roster and that group of cousins has accounted for two state championships and numerous medals. From 2005 to 2021, a member of the family was on the Mules’ roster.
“They all super competitive and that was probably the big thing,” Mudd said. “They like to win and would do the things it took to win and be successful. They’re a great family and super supportive. That is what made us have the success … the whole family.”
During the Osborn-Wright run, the Mules were third place three times (2012, 2019, 2020) and fourth in 2018.
It started years ago in nearby Cameron where Mudd went to school with twins Terry and Sherry Osborn and the trio ultimately ended up in Lathrop. Terry was a multi-time state qualifier for the Dragons and passed on the love of his sports to his sons, Caleb and Josh.
Terry Osborn became a youth wrestling coach, while Sherry married Jeff Wright and three of their four kids ultimately wrestled for Mudd at Lathrop: Jason, Justin and Josie.
All of them were state qualifiers and most of them earned a medal.
“Coach Mudd loves telling Justin and I how Josie was the most talented out of all of us,” Jason Wright said….
