Star-Journbal Editor
After a 10-1 successful regular-season campaign, suddenly it's crunch-time for the Hillsboro wrestling team.
The season climax for the Trojans Friday and Saturday at the 3A regional in Burlington. Wrestlers who place in the top four in their divisions will advance to the state tournament on Feb. 23-24 in Hays.
The competition in Burlington will be the best so far this season. But according to Trojan Coach Scott O'Hare, his team is peaking at the right time.
The Trojans are coming off a decisive victory at the Remington tournament on Saturday, and a double dual meet victory at home this past Thursday.
At Remington, O'Hare was disappointed some teams the Trojans faced couldn't fill all the weight classes, but winning all four duals en route to the title was a confidence-booster.
It's gratifying for the coach to see his grapplers grasping what he's been trying to teach them.
"We continue to improve on some of the mistakes we've been making, and at times, see some very good things happening on the mat. There were a couple of things we really focused on in practice this past week that really paid off in some matches."
Against Lyons and Haven, Hillsboro won easily. But in a sport where attack-dog mode is the attitude wrestlers need to have to compete at a high level, O'Hare wasn't happy with the intensity level of his team.
"We'll spend some of our practice time over the next couple weeks fine-tuning our techniques," he said. "But we'll be focusing a lot of time on the mental aspects: attitude, intensity, and aggressiveness."
O'Hare says the big challenge this season has been trying to convince even his best wrestlers that they're actually as good as he says they are. In wrestling, swagger is a good thing.
"A few of the guys are really starting to wrestle with some confidence, and it shows," he said. "A few others are still a little tentative and hesitant. That's the one thing that we continue to focus on and try to improve."
Nothing would make O'Hare happier than having his Trojans ride the mental high through the regional on Saturday. If that happens, then he's confident that several Hillsboro wrestlers will be moving on to the state meet.
"If this entire group would recognize the abilities they have and simply put everything on the line, every match, I believe we will have a great last few weeks of the season," O'Hare said.
