Trojan grapplers maul competition at SES dual
Yoder still wrestling, Hillsboro runs dual record to 11-1
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Call it a wake-up call for the Trojan wrestling team.
The past few weeks Hillsboro coaches Scott O'Hare and Kurt Bowman have been noticing flaws that needed addressing for the Trojans to make a run at a strong finish down the stretch.
Maybe it was the Trojans' third place finish Jan. 25 at Hoisington that really alarmed O'Hare.
After a progressive week of practice, the Trojans apparently got the kinks out of the hose, running over the competition Saturday at the Southeast of Saline Tournament at Gypsum.
Hillsboro ran roughshod through four schools, beating its opponents by an average score of 58-16.
"This past week we really focused on a few areas of our technique that Coach Bowman and I were starting to notice the guys struggling with," O'Hare said. "We were pleased with how well they followed through and made these adjustments in match situations.
"As a team, we just seemed more in control in the matches and the guys did a much better job of forcing the action.
"Obviously, I am happy with winning the team title, more importantly, I am pleased with the way the guys competed and wrestled."
The Trojans ran over Republic County (66-9), Russell (55-20), Remington (58-16), SES (50-18) and St. John's Military (1-0) to finish the tournament a flawless 5-0.
The vast difference in scoring came from the fact that many of the weight classes were unable to be filled by other opponents.
Of the 13 weight classes, eight of the Trojans were unable to wrestle more than one match, winning by forfeit.
Only Darren Mueller (130), Nick Mueller (135), Grady Stultz (152), and Jake Yoder (189) wrestled three actual matches.
Darren Mueller ended the day 0-3, Nick Mueller was 2-1, and both Stultz and Yoder were a perfect 3-0.
Darren's day consisted of an 8-0 loss to SES' Devin Huehl, a 12-0 decision against Russell's Michael William, and a pinfall in one minute, 49 seconds of the second period by RC's Trenton Colburn.
Fifth-ranked Nick Mueller took down Russell's Brady Ruggels in 1:20 and SES' Jordan Huggins in 1:01, but dropped an 8-0 decision to RC's Aaron Weatherhead.
Stultz beat Russel's Sean Banks 4-0 and SES' Braden Long 7-0, before securing a 1:58 pin on RC's Cameron Trzicky in the first period.
The third-ranked Yoder's career appeared to be in peril this past week after re-aggravating a shoulder injury.
Unfortunately for opponents, Yoder's still wrestling, and pinned two of his three opponents in less than 25 seconds, and Russell's Tad Reddig in 3:48 in the second period.
Frankie Martin (171) and CJ Shaw (285) also were perfect on the day due to forfeits.
Alex Jost (112), Aaron Bina (119), Robby McClelland (125), Jared King (140), Tyler Jones (145), and 215-pound John Hein all completed the tournament 2-1, but didn't face more than two opponents.
Zach Jost (160) went 1-2, falling in two matches.
"I feel pretty good about where we are as far as physical condition," O'Hare said. "We made some good adjustments this past week that are starting to pay off.
"If we continue to build on this and work on a few other areas of concern, we should compete very well down the stretch.
"We will spend some of our practice time over the next couple weeks fine-tuning our techniques; however, we will also be focusing a lot of time on the mental aspects: attitude, intensity, and aggressiveness."
The Trojans wrap up their dual season Thursday, traveling to Marion before getting their final tune-up for regionals Saturday at the Remington Tournament.
Thursday's action is scheduled for 4 p.m. and Saturday's 9 a.m.
