Star-Journbal Editor
When the last of his wrestlers dropped from medal contention, Hillsboro coach Scott O'Hare found a seat up in the stands to grapple with disappointment.
Last year at this time, two of his wrestlers brought medals home from state, and this year's team seemed ready for an even better showing.
But there would be no medals for this gritty group of valiant, vanquished wrestlers — five from Hillsboro and one from Goessel — who fought hard Friday and Saturday in the Class 3-2-1A State Championship Tournament at Fort Hays State University.
Time alone proved to be a tonic for O'Hare, as from his mental predicament came a stunning reversal. With a shift in perspective he saw that, far from down and out, his wrestlers were coming out on top after all.
"The longer I sat and reflected, although disappointed for the boys, the more excited I became about future possibilities," O'Hare said. "We stayed to watch the rest of the tournament so the guys could experience the state championship atmosphere right up through the finals.
"I hope it gave them something to strive for and get excited about."
The team caravan took this high road all the way back to Hillsboro, because, the season wasn't so bad, after all.
"It really was an exciting and fun season," O'Hare said. "The boys worked hard and competed hard. Although Sean and Darcy, the only two seniors on the team, will be missed, I believe we have a lot to look forward to down the road."
After all, it wasn't for lack of heart that these wrestlers came home empty-handed. O'Hare says he saw the high degree of want-to he was looking for.
"I am proud of these six guys, and the rest of team, for the way they worked and competed this year," O'Hare said. "For these state qualifiers, they have nothing to be ashamed of. I want them to be proud of what they accomplished this season."
Their all-out efforts during the double-elimination tournament impressed O'Hare because it proved that, even at the risk of losing it all, every wrestler had wrestled to win.
— At 103 pounds, Alex Jost (who ended the season with a 16 wins and 19 losses) lost in the first round to C.J. Wilson of Lincoln, and then was eliminated from the tournament after falling to Conner Pfannenstiel of Norton.
— Sophomore Nicholas Mueller (130 pounds) won his first match against Tyler White of Silver Lake, by fall. Then he lost in the quarterfinals to the defending state champion, Nathan Broekelman of Norton, who went on to defend his title.
In his next match, Mueller (31-7) found himself down by one point with less than a minute to go. In a gamble to take the lead, Mueller gave up a takedown and lost, 3-0, to Jeremy Chase of Hill City, who went on to finish fifth.
— Tyler Jones (140 pounds) lost his first match against Darrel Melcher of Herington. He came back strong Friday afternoon and earned a solid 8-4 decision over Sage Thimmesch of Garden Plain. In his first match Saturday morning, Jones (32-9) faced off with Jordon Noll of Effingham-Atchison County. Jones battled, but lost 3-2 in overtime to be eliminated.
— Senior Sean Leihy (145 pounds) started Friday matched with Zach Beach of Oskaloosa.
"Sean had lost to Beach earlier this year at the SE of Saline Dual Tournament, so we knew this was a tough match-up," O'Hare said. "Sean has really come on as of late and has defeated a number of wrestlers he had lost to earlier in the season."
Keeping that trend going, Leihy (31-11) dominated Beach by a score of 13-4. But Leihy, who wrestled just three years in his entire wrestling career, lost to Kade Bloom of Phillipsburg, the eventual third-place finisher.
On Saturday morning, Leihy lost a heartbreaking, 4-3, match to Drake Moore of Oakley to end his senior season.
— Goessel's Grady Stultz (152 pounds) was defeated by Jordon Meyer of Sabetha in the first round. Meyer went on to finish as the state runner-up in this bracket.
Later that evening, Stultz matched up with Travis Rempe of Smith Center. Stultz (25-19) wrestled him tough through the first period, but eventually was pinned. Rempe went on to finish sixth.
— Junior 171-pounder Jacob Yoder (31 7) started out Friday with a second-period pin over Logan Numrich of Scott City. But in the quarterfinal, Yoder was defeated by Andrew Stover of Sabetha, who finished sixth.
Saturday morning, Jacob was in a close match with Hickel from Hoisington, and trailed 6-4 going into the third period. In going for broke, he lost 11-4.
"As time was running out, Jacob had to try something risky to score, and it backfired," O'Hare said.
Aggressive and gifted, Yoder leads a group of wrestlers with bright futures, he added.
"I keep trying to convince them of how close they are, but I am not sure they are seeing it yet," O'Hare said.
"They competed very strong against the best in the state. If they take these experiences they got this year at state and throughout the season, and use them to improve, I believe a number of these guys will have an excellent opportunity to return to Hays next year and be in the hunt."
