In his first season with the Hillsboro High School wrestling team, junior heavy weight Tyrell Thiessen earned a trip to Hays for the state tournament and won his second match.

After being pinned by Cody Cooper of Rossville, Thiessen defeated Fritz Berger of Sylvan-Lucas Unified, 4-2. Thiessen then lost to Kyle Besher of Southeast of Saline by pin in his third match.

“He controlled this match from the beginning but struggled putting points on the board,” head coach Scott O’Hare said.

Fellow junior Tanner Jones also earned a state berth. He lost to Matt Schneider of Phillipsburg, 9-3, and Kaleb Gillis of Herington, 3-0 in the 160-lb weight class.

“Probably the one thing holding Tanner back was lack of experienced practice partners near his weight,” O’Hare said. “As the season progressed, it was obvious that Tanner struggled against bigger, stronger opponents at 160 lbs. We will have to work with this over the off-season to help him get stronger and better prepared to wrestle with these types of opponents. He has all of the skills, it just needs to all come together.”

O’Hare was a bit disappointed with the outcome at the state tournament.

“I really believed going in that both of these two had legitimate chances of bringing home medals,” O’Hare said. “I do believe these guys gave a good effort, but I question whether they were adequately prepared for this tournament, and I take the blame for that. I think that the opportunity for both of them to get there this year will be huge for them next year as seniors.”