Four qualify for state
Staff writer
After two days of hard competition at regionals, four Hillsboro wrestlers emerged from the mat qualified to compete at state this weekend in Hays.
Coach Scott O’Hare said the team fought very hard in Douglass with several students winning matches and coming just short of qualifying. The team placed fifth out of 22 at the meet.
“I was pleased with how the guys competed at regionals,” O’Hare said. “It would have been great to get a few others through to state, but others not getting there was certainly not due to lack of effort. The guys all competed hard.”
Jon Carey and Cody Delk competed well Friday to get into the finals.
“Jon dominated in both of his Friday matches and in the semifinals,” O’Hare said. “Cody defeated the No. two seed who had beaten him earlier this year.”
On Saturday both Preston Nelson and Levi Mendoza got on a roll, O’Hare said, defeating their opponents and qualifying for state.
“Both wrestled took advantage of some opportunities and wrestled with a lot of heart,” O’Hare said.
Even though they didn’t qualify, O’Hare said several other team members competed with a lot of heart and will be instrumental to the team next season.
“Freshmen Travis King, Tristan Donaldson, Tyson Reimer, Nathan Simhiser, and junior Jesse Meier all showed tremendous improvement throughout the year,” O’Hare said. “If they continue progressing, these six guys will play a huge role in the future success of our program.”