Staff writer
The Trojans placed 13th out of 17 teams Saturday at a wrestling tournament in Hesston.
“It was a disappointing day on the scoreboard, but overall we have definitely improved since our opening duals,” coach Scott O’Hare said. “We saw some good things throughout the day.”
O’Hare noted Hillsboro 138-pounder Travis King.
“Travis wrestled more solid and is looking more and more confident on his feet,” O’Hare said. “He looked much better in both top and bottom positions, but we definitely identified some things he needs to improve on.”
After receiving a bye in the first round and beating a wrestler from Nickerson in the second round, King lost to a Marion wrestler in the semifinals. However, he came back to win his next match by major decision, and then pinned his final opponent to finish third.
O’Hare said Hillsboro’s 182-pounder Franklin Jost “continues to improve in every area and maybe wrestled some of his best matches ever on Saturday.”
Jost won three matches and lost one to a Marion wrestler, and was pinned by a Burden-Central wrestler in the consolation semifinals.
O’Hare said Hillsboro’s 195-pounder Levi Mendoza also wrestled well but faced a difficult bracket.
“Levi was in a pretty solid bracket and lost a triple overtime match to the No. 4-ranked kid in class 3-2-1A and ended up getting eliminated in another overtime match,” he said. “He is getting close, but has to gain some confidence in his attacks. He is wrestling too tentative, which cost him both loses.”
After receiving a bye in the first round, Mendoza lost 6-3 in the quarterfinals against a Chaparral wrestler, then pinned a Smoky Valley opponent in the second round of the consolation bracket, only to lose 7-4 against a Lyons wrestler in his last match.
William Spaich and Tristan Donaldson each won some matches at the tournament, too.
“Overall, I am pleased with some of the progress the guys have made,” O’Hare said, “but we really need them to get physically and mentally tougher so we can progress to another level.”
The Trojans take the mat at 3 p.m. Friday in the Marion County Duals.