Team ties for 14th

With just two Trojans placing in the top six, the Hillsboro High School wrestling team faced solid adversaries Saturday at a Eureka tournament.

Going 3-2 for the day, William Spaich placed fourth in the 126-pound weight class, defeating opponents 12-4 and 8-5 before he was pinned in the semifinals. Spaich came back to win 7-2 in the consolation semifinals, but was pinned in the match for third place.

Coach Scott O’Hare said Spaich wrestled some of the best matches of his career and seems to be making good progress.

“Some things are starting to click for him,” O’Hare said.

At 113 pounds, Raymond Johnston took sixth, pinning his first opponent and defeating his second 9-2, only to be pinned in semifinals, defeated 17-1 in consolation semifinals, and pinned in overtime during the match for fifth place.

“On paper, Raymond was possibly in one of the most competitive weights as there were four current state ranked wrestlers at 113 lbs,” O’Hare said. “Raymond had one of the best matches of his freshman season in the quarterfinals when he defeated the No. 5 wrestler in 3A by a 9-2 decision.”

As a team, the Trojans tied Central Burden at 45 points for 14th among 21 teams.

“It was another highly competitive tournament for us,” O’Hare said. “Most every bracket had a lot of depth. Many brackets had multiple state qualifiers, state placers, and current ranked wrestlers in 3-2-1A as well as 4A.”

The Trojans wrestle again in a Thursday dual at Council Grove.