Trojan wrestlers finish season undefeated
Sports reporter
Hillsboro High School wrestling team capped off a perfect dual season Thursday with victories against Haven and Lyons. The Trojans then took first Saturday at the Remington invitational.
"Obviously I am very pleased with this group of young men to complete the dual season the way they did," head coach Scott O'Hare said. "This group of six seniors has really come through and have been instrumental in leading the team."
Hillsboro easily took care of Haven, 61-12, at Lyons.
The Trojans won all eight matches they wrestled, dropping 12 points to forfeits.
Ric Johnson at 130-pounds had the fastest pin, when he defeated Kelly Engstrom in just 34 seconds.
Nicholas Mueller (125-pounds) racked up the biggest defeat after knocking off Colin Nusser, 9-0.
The Lyons match was much closer, as Andrew Bina wrapped up the victory for the team at 152-pounds when he defeated Keenan Kroetsch, 2-1. Hillsboro went on to win, 30-27.
The two victories gave Hillsboro a 7-0 Mid-Central Activities Association dual record, and 13-0 overall.
After the dual season ended, O'Hare was quick to praise his younger wrestlers as well.
"Some of these underclassmen have stepped up to fill the varsity roster," he said. "They have improved each week, which is always a goal from the beginning."
At Remington, Hillsboro racked up 160.5 points, 27 points ahead of second-place McPherson.
Mueller, Bina, Matt Brown, and Eric Cress took first place in their respective weight classes, and Johnson and Kuris Shaw finished second.
Four other wrestlers placed in the top four: Alex Jost fourth, Chris Jensen third, Frankie Martin third, Sean Leihy fourth, and Jacob Yoder, fourth.
"I am proud of these guys for winning this tournament," O'Hare said. "Finishing out the regular season with two tournament titles is a great momentum boost going into the regional tournament this weekend."
While O'Hare expected his upperclassmen to do well, once again he was happy with some younger wrestlers stepping up.
He praised Martin's third-place performance after wrestling junior varsity all season.
O'Hare also thought Leihy and Grady Stultz gained some helpful experience for regionals.
"I am hopeful our recent success is indicative of us being prepared for post-season," O'Hare said. "But as I have mentioned to these guys the past several weeks, we can be proud of what we've accomplished, but what really counts is still ahead of us."
Hillsboro will wrestle Friday and Saturday at the Eureka regional.
Results:
hillsboro 61, haven 12
103-Jost (Hi), open (Ha). 112-Ju. Simon (Ha), open (Hi) 119-Jensen (Hi) p. Jo. Simon (Ha), 1:01. 125-Mueller (Hi) d. Nusser (Ha), 9-0. 130-Johnson (Hi) p. Engstrom (Ha), 00:34. 135-Jones (Hi) p. Johnson (Ha), 00:57. 140-Cress (Hi) p. I. Reece (Ha), 00:42. 145-Brown (Hi) p. Moore (Ha), 5:28. 152-Bina (Hi) d. J. Reece (Ha), 4-3. 160-Yoder (Hi), open (Ha). 171-open. 189-Hein (Hi), open (Ha). 215-Ruan (Ha), open (Hi). 275-Shaw (Hi.), open (Ha.)
hillsboro 30, lyons 27
103-Larsen (L) p. Jost (H), 1:50. 112-Magnuson (H), open (L). 119-Jensen (H), open (L). 125-Kasting (L), d. Mueller (H), 4-3. 130-Johnson (H) d. Clarke (L), 9-3. 135-Jones (H) d. Miles (L), 5-3. 140-Cress (H) d. Ludwig (L), 3-0. 145-Hazard (L) p. Brown (H), N/A. 152-Bina (H) d. Kroetsch (L), 2-1. 160-Yoder (H), open (L). 171-open. 189-Verrette (L) p. Hein (H), 1:40. 215-open. 275-Cline (L) p. Shaw (H), 1:57.
